3.6
There are components here that are really fantastic, and then there's the rest. Mostly I was relieved it was short, prolonging what was left of the story would have been a big mistake.

2.5 rounded down. I am glad this was short, because unlike other reviewers, I did not find this very compelling. It seems like an average thriller. I was hoping the sex worker rep would be a little bit better.

This was an enjoyable read that was really compelling and hard to put down. I definitely enjoyed the first half more and I found that to be more compelling than the second half, although, I still found it enjoyable.

Nothing Can Hurt You Now has an interesting premise but the book isn't what it could have been.

Lucinda has always lived in the shadow of her sister, Viviana. When Viviana goes missing - without explanation - Lucinda stops everything to find her sister. A message to Lucinda suggests Viviana has been kidnapped so the search takes Lucinda to her sister's apartment. In digging deep it turns out Viviana has been a successful sex worker.
At this point Viviana is portrayed as an empowered woman running her own life as sex worker is her chosen field. However she becomes portrayed as more of a victim of societal norms than a trend setter. She is clearly not in charge of her life and her profession has led to her kidnapping. It reminds me of horror films where the women killed are the ones who are overtly sexual.

With this new knowledge, the possibilities for culprits widens and Lucinda and Viviana's girlfriend must find her quickly.

I enjoyed the first half of this book a lot; the development of a character discovering theh didn't know their sister the way they thought they did, whilst uncovering clues behind her disappearance, was very compelling to read. The switch of perspectives in the second half never quite worked as well for me, although I couldn't quite say why, perhaps just that the tension dropped a bit, although I did appreciate seeing her exercise her own autonomy.

There was a slight sex work shaming throughout that was mostly countered, but left me a little uneasy.
Overall, an enjoyable thriller, but mostly interesting for the backstory of the two sisters, and the discussions of race, colourism, and gender in Brazil.