Hideout by Louisa Luna is the third book in her Alice Vega and Max Caplan series and while it is an excellent standalone thriller you'll get far more out of it if you've read the previous 2, not least to understand the history of the main characters.

Vega's newest case appears to be strange but presenting no danger. 30 years ago promising Football Player Zeb Williams has a chance of winning a big match only to take a bizarre course of action that leads to him running out of the stadium and disappearing, an event that is infamous for years afterwards. Just as strange is that a married former girlfriend of Williams is the person paying Vega to try to find him. The hunt leads Vega to the small town of Ilona in Oregan where she manages to upset everyone,not least a group of violent Neo-Nazis.

This is an enjoyable , action-packed book best read with a pinch of salt when Vega goes into full-on Jack Reacher mode,it is however great to have such a strong female character who the bad guys cross at their peril. Caplan is very much a secondary character in this book,and not a little irritating with his constant anxiety and introspection. There were parts that jarred with me plot-wise but overall it's an entertaining and gripping read.

While I like the characters and the series, I just feel like there is too much going on in this book. I would have preferred a book just about the Zeb Williams disappearance. Alice getting involved in trying to take down the white nationalist group was just a little too far-fetched for me. I also didn't like the Cap and Alice spent most of the books in separate storylines. But all that aside, fans of this series will enjoy the book. I look forward to another book featuring Cap and Alice where there are actually working together. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

Hideout-Alice Vega #3
I've read and enjoyed all 3 of the titles in this series and if they continue they will probably become an auto-buy or borrow for me. Yes, I know there are some eye-rolling moments: her ability to receive private, protected information online easily, thanks to her assistant-- the Bastard-- who seems to be a world-class hacker extraordinaire. Also some of the action-adventure chases and fights are fun, but are they realistic? And Vega is like the Eveready Bunny, she keeps going and going. She's like a female Jack Reacher with a chip on her shoulder. But the reader will probably agree to overlook some coincidental plot moves for their enjoyment of the story: um, the discovery of what happened to the Wrong-Way Runner, Zeb? I don't enjoy football but even I could get hooked on this plot.

This is a great quote from Cap, her off-and-on love interest, about what made her so talented: "She'd already planned a dozen moves ahead. It was just the way her head worked. Cap knew better than to call it a gift. It was not a thing that had been bestowed upon her by the unseen neuro-fairy. He'd guessed that some of it was innate--she had a good memory for numbers and names--but the rest of it she'd trained herself to do, during years of not sleeping or eating much and just thinking: thinking like the victim and thinking like the criminal".

So Vega looks for a person missing for over 30 years who doesn't want to be found, Cap rebuffs her and then pulls her close, and for no good reason-- other than her brain is wired to need to solve every puzzle in her way-- she goes after a White Supremacist cell in a small Oregon town too. Alice Vega in a nutshell. Recommended for suspense readers.

4.25/5

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I like this series, the plots move fast, the relationship between Vega and Cap is interesting and all the side characters are reasonably fleshed out. I like that many of the side conversations are the type of random weird conversations people really have. I didn’t particularly care for the client in this one.

I received an advance reading copy of this from Netgalley and the pubisher.

Oh how I love Louisa Luna's books, and this third installment in the Alice Vega series is another winner! I was engaged from the first page to the last, and the topics included are timely and important. They were well researched and stark, as I could tell from the anger and frustration I felt toward some of the characters. I was cheering badass Alice on until the very (and surprising!) conclusion. Thanks to Netgalley and Text Publishing for the advance digital copy!

Hideout is the third installment in the Alice Vega series. This time, Alice is hired to track down a college football player that disappeared 40 years ago. She tracks him to his last known location and ends up stumbling upon a group of white nationalists. This time, Cap doesn't work the case with her, but he's still a major character in the book. Because he isn't on the case, we get to see more of his teenage daughter, Nell, and their relationship. It really doesn't matter to me what kind of case Alice is working on, or why she makes terrible decisions like taking on a violent hate group alone. I love her character, and any setup that puts her in the position to solve mysteries and kick butt is going to be a satisfying read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This was more than a mystery it had a little romance added in for good measure. Liked the characters and setting. Good plot with lots of twists and turns.

Thanks to Doubleday & NetGalley for the ARC.
Oh how I love Louisa Luna! Crisp writing, not a wasted word to be found. Hideout is the 3rd in the Alice Vega series and it does not disappoint. In fact, Two Girls Down is one of my favorite books ever and I didn't think her writing could be better than that. I was wrong. Without spoilers, what a fabulous ending! And the meat thermometer scene - absolutely hilarious. Alice Vega, you rock. I love Alice. I love Cap. I. love Nell. I love Alice and Cap. I love Cap and Nell. I can't wait for the next one!

This is my first taste of the Private Investigator Alice Vega series but it works fine as a standalone, although there are reference to previous cases. Vega lands herself a cold case of a missing Cal footballer and legend, Zeb Williams, last seen over 30 years ago in 1984 leaving behind everyone and everything, including his then girlfriend, Carmen. She is hired by Carmen's husband, Anton Fohl, and the only lead she has is a photograph taken in Ilona, a small town in Southern Oregon, showing Williams with a young woman, Cara Simms, and 2 other unidentified men. In Ilona, Vega finds a troubled local community, graffitti tagging the Liberty Boys, a white supremacist group with an online presence, grooming young boys.

To exacerbate matters, there is little point in a fearful and terrorised community reporting the Liberty Boys incidents to local law enforcement, Sheriff Jay Fenton, as he does not even record them. Vega being Vega can't leave matters alone as she begins to amass information on various incidents and possible perpetrators but miscalculates the danger she is in, and which results in her return to California to take some time to recover sufficiently, this time returning to Ilona, basing herself in a trailer park. Her old partner, ex-police officer Max Caplan plays a more low key part in the cold case inquiry, he carries trauma from their previous cases and has family issues, specifically spending time with his beloved 18 year old daughter, Nell, who will be leaving home soon. As Vega delves into the lives of Matt Klimmer, his son, Neil, and Fenton, among a host of others, will she be able to locate Zeb Williams?

This was an enjoyable and engaging thriller, I liked the character of Vega, a formidable and kick ass protagonist, although it has to be said she needs more back up than she has here, she is helped to some degree by the elderly Abilene Dent, but it is not enough to counter the challenges she faces as those close to her find themselves targets. I am pleased to have discovered this crime series and look forward to the next book. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

(3.5 stars)
"Her job was like staggering blindfolded through the woods, holding your arms out to graze the trees with your fingertips before you ran into them." Despite Louisa Luna being a prolific author, Hideout was my first foray into her books. It's the third Alice Vega novel, tracking the adventures of a wayward private investigator who reads a bit like a female version of Lee Child's Jack Reacher. Vega is brusque and not particularly good at maintaining human relationships, eschewing small talk "unless she was trying to glean information from a person, much the same way someone would pull and pick the meat from the delicate bones of a steamed fish."

Not being a law enforcement officer sees Vega able to take a more direct route toward the outcomes her clients are seeking. So you can expect gun-fights, threats and bashings as Vega takes on white nationalists in a town called Ilona in Oregon, ostensibly in aid of finding a missing college ball player (but also for pleasure you might start to suspect). What I liked about this book was the pacing, with multiple mysteries it all unfolded slowly, even in the final chapter where one mystery actually pretty much solves itself. Nothing felt rushed. The characters, Vega, her boyfriend Caplan and his daughter Nell, are all sufficiently developed so that a first time reader like myself could jump in at this book without reading the preceding two novels.

Alice Vega made a career in finding missing cases. A case comes up of a Zeb Williams missing for thirty years .
Zebs cold trail leaves Vega to Oregon where she discovered a boys local hate group. Her partner having too much problems at home that she thinks its to hard for them to handle. Will Vega be able to solve the missing case? This book is part of a series. It is the 3rd in the series I recommend reading the books in order which I hadn't done. I think I would of been able to follow a bit more on the characters. I do plan on going back and reading the other 2 books.
Publishing Date March 16th 2022.
Thanks to netgalley, text publishing, and louisa luna in exchange for a review.

Louisa Luna is a must-read for me. I would have liked more of Vega and Cap together but this is another compelling, always surprising read.

Received Netgallet copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alice Vega and Max Caplan are back. While Max is still reeling from their last case 5 months ago. Cool and detached Alice never stood still.

Alice takes a seemingly boring job. A cold missing person case. Mostly just for the cash, which she does every while. She asks Max to tag along but he is still mad about the last case and is happy with his new steady job or so he tells himself.

While Max deals with sleepless nights and his daughter Nell. Alice takes off to Oregon and in typical Alice Vega style gets into trouble right away. When the consequences reach back to Alice's father and Max and Nell, the stakes are suddenly high.

The book sucks you in right away, I stayed up all night reading. I'm already excited for book 4. Luisa Luna has created one of my favourite characters in Alice Vega.

I was so excited for this book! I loved the first Alice Vega novel and received the second for my birthday. I really think that I’m missing something by not reading the second one before this one. While the book can stand alone, there is so much development and character interaction that relies on the knowledge of the books before. Definitely read these in order.

That said, it was a pretty good book though I didn’t feel as invested in it as others. I felt that the first book carried a lot more weight and that “edge of your seat” feel. I’ll continue reading the Alice Vega books as I do enjoy them!

Hideout by Louisa Luna was a slow-burn read. It took a while to get invested in the story and the characters. My favorite character was a peripheral character, Nell. The story's premise was interesting: the main character, Alice, is a private investigator hired to find a man that disappeared 20 years ago but, while investigating, runs into some very extreme white nationalists. It just seemed to take a long time to get to the meat of the story, and there were several characters involved to keep track of. It also didn't help that one whole chapter was devoted to the main character working with a yogi to learn how to do a one-handed handstand. To me, this was not necessary and where the author lost me in wanting to keep reading the story. However, I did keep reading, but at that point, I really was more irritated than enjoying the rest of the story.

#Hideout #NetGalley @text_publishing

The third installment of the Alice Vega series has solidified Louisa Luna as an automatic read author for me. I just really enjoy Vega as a main character. She is so tough but protecting a soft heart and unwavering loyalty to those she loves. She believes in finding the truth and upholding justice but also isn’t above some questionable tactics (you really get to see these this time around). The mystery of this book is based around a football player missing since the 80s but quickly involves small town hate groups as well. That aspect of the plot was hard to read at times (but very true to life) and added to the urgency the reader feels for Vega to figure it all out. Max Caplan, Vegas’ sometimes partner and sometimes love interest, plays a smaller but still pivotal role in this book. This is a solid mystery with lots of action and, as always, a satisfying ending. I hope this series keeps going!

Thank you to Louisa Luna, Text Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really love the Alice Vega series and I'm not quite sure why. This latest is a little convoluted. The story goes in a number of different directions and takes place in several locations, but Alice and Max and Nell are still front and center. The original case takes a backseat for a while as Alice becomes involved in attempts to eradicate a white supremacist group, but eventually she resolves that case, almost without trying.

This book is both a nice cosy mystery and a thriller and it even wraps up a cold case and it does it all rather seamlessly

I really enjoyed how this story took on two main paths and portrayed both Alex the private detective and Alex the human being. Seeing Alex Vega in both personal and professional lights gave me a profound sense of relatability to the main character.

‘Hideout’ is told in a captivating way that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go until the very end.

This was my first read by this author. I have previously heard many great things about this author and the ‘Alex Vega’ series in particular. I was apprehensive to read this book as it is the third of the series and I have not read the previous two. But I’m glad I did, there were rich details that still made me feel like I knew Alex despite not having read the first two books.

The detail-filled writing style and the ambitious plot kept me interested and guessing throughout! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fast-paced thrilling book with a strong female lead!

I didn't know that this was the third in the series when I received this ARC. Had I known that, I likely would have held off on reading it until I read the first two. While it stands alone just fine and reading the first two wasn't necessary, this definitely would have helped add to the historical context.

I enjoyed this thriller. It was paced well, the characters were fun to follow and overall this was an enjoyable read,