Member Reviews

not much for making a verbose review... this book was awesome, absolutely awesome... intrigue, suspense, twisting plot, puzzles, thinking person's critique .... questions and hunt for deeper questions... realistically keeps you pinned into the excitement to find out what happens to these two little girls... and a bit creepy at the end

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This book grabs you from the beginning and takes you down a winding path to the surprising end. I really like the two main characters, bounty hunter Alicia Vega and disgraced but very capable ex-cop Max Caplan. Together they make a great team and follow the trail to find 2 missing sisters. Can they find the girls, and if so, can they find them in time? Great read!!

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If you watched (and still re-watch) the sadly short lived series Veronica Mars, you'll automatically be intrigued by the premise of Louisa Luna's Two Girls Down. Max Caplan AKA Cap resigned from the local police force before he would've been fired for something not his fault and has now become a private investigator, specializing in cheating spouses. The similarities don't stop there -- both Keith Mars and Cap have smart, sharp-witted high school-aged daughters that intentionally and unintentionally involve themselves in the cases their father's are working. Both are filled with moments of strategy, questionable ethics, and a desire to get the job done well. In the case of Two Girls Down, Cap meets Alice Vega, a bounty hunter who finds missing children and they team up to find Jamie Brandt's young daughters: Bailey and Kylie, who have been kidnapped from a strip mall. Their banter and the way they go about solving this mystery keeps readers on their toes and constantly trying to piece everything together. She does a great job and I can't wait to read her future novels!

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A fast paced thriller, Two Girls Down doesn’t waste time getting the mystery started. Two young sisters go missing from a strip mall parking lot, and time is of the essence – the longer the girls are missing, the less chance they have to find them alive.

With the police releasing little information, the family calls in an expert — bounty hunter Alice Vega, who has a reputation for finding missing children. The local police won’t share information with Vega, so she partners with local private investigator (and ex-cop) Max Caplan in the hope that he can get a little inside information from his old partner.

The mystery pulls the reader in — who took the girls and where did they go? Are they still alive? Vega pushes Cap almost around the clock following up leads in their race against time. The story is engaging and the pace to find the girls relentless. The mystery has a few good turns as clues are uncovered.

As always, my favorite part about this story is the characters. Vega is an interesting, strong female lead — she’s a loner, tough as nails, and doesn’t let anything deter her focus to find the missing girls and bring them home. As she and Cap continue to follow clues to the girls disappearance, we get glimpses into Vega’s past.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cap is a divorced father who would do anything for his sixteen-year-old daughter. Cap’s family man is a nice contrast to Vega’s solitude. Together they make the book much more engaging than a typical missing persons story.

I hope that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Alice Vega. I’d love to see her team up with Cap again, but (don’t worry I’m keeping it spoiler free) I don’t know if I see that happening. Cap is a family man, rooted in his town, while Vega has no ties, and moves where the cases take her. Vega (and Cap) or not, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Ms. Luna.

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When I picked this one up, I expected a gritty, and possibly dark, mystery and the story does start out with that potential. The beginning drew me in with the interactions between Jamie Brandt and her girls on the day that they were taken. From that point on, the story quickly fizzled for me as it became more a procedural type story of Alice and Cap following clues. This in itself wouldn't necessarily have been a bad thing, but the number of characters brought in and the heavy dialogue made this tale quite cumbersome and at times, convoluted. It may also have helped if the main characters had been more likable. Cap is a likable enough character, but Alice, who is supposed to be this tough, "enigmatic" bounty hunter, is just a hot mess. She's seems almost without emotion and then turns to violence in the blink of an eye. I was also left a bit confused by the dangling carrot of a possible romance between these two. That angle either needed to be better developed or left out entirely. As it stands, it just felt like filler which this one certainly did not need. The biggest drawback for this reader was that the story drags on for so long and the number of people questioned and re-questioned begins to run together. There is a decent action sequence toward the end along with an interesting twist to the story, but by that time, it was just too little, too late.
After seeing the number of four and five-star ratings for Two Girls Down, I realize that I'm in the minority, but it is what it is. The author clearly has talent and this book had great potential, but I prefer a much faster pace over getting bogged down in procedure.

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Very suspenseful thriller that could very well be from today's headlines. I did have a hard time keeping up with all the characters. There's a lot going on in this book to keep you on your toes. The reason for the disappearance of the girls was sad. Highly recommended.

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The author was new to me and though it sounded good I wasn't sure how it was going to play out but I really enjoyed this one.

Jamie Brandt isn't a fantastic mother but she is not terrible horrible either. She is kind of impatient with her two girls and so she decides to go into the mall on her own so she can be in and out really quick. She leaves the two young girls in the car and when she comes back out they are gone. She looks everywhere, the mall, the ice cream shop, etc.

Alice Vega is a private investigator who has a really great success rate at bringing home missing children, it doesn't mean that they are all alive or that even functioning well. She isn't afraid to ask the tough questions or get a little physical with a suspect. Jamie's aunt hires her to find the two girls.

Max "Cap" Caplan is a retired police officer turned private investigator who is verily getting by with the usual cases of cheating and trying to find those running from child support. He was a good cop but he took the fall for someone who had younger children and needed the job. Cap's daughter Nell is 16 and about as smart as he is when it comes to police work because he discusses his cases with her. Vega wants his help to find the missing girls and at first he says no but his daughter convinces him to take on the case.

I thought I knew where the case was going from some of the clues but I was totally surprised by what happened at the end and who was involved. It was a really fast paced read and I just loved the characters. Vega is a tough lady but sometimes you got a glimpse of her softer side when she was with Cap and his daughter. Cap is a great character as well and a really good cop and I felt bad that he was reduced to PI work. His daughter Nell is a hoot! She keeps him on the straight and narrow and I could see her being in investigative work when she got older.

If you into mystery suspense type novels I would recommend you give this one a try. I kind of hope the author will write another novel featuring Vega and Cap.

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Jamie Brandt only runs into the store for two minutes when she returns to her car her 8yr old and 10yr old daughters have disappeared. Hired by the family, Alice Vega is an experienced private investigator with a track record of locating missing and kidnapped children. She quickly partners up with former police officer and single father Caplan to search through a slew of suspects in the case. Can they find the girls before it is too late?

This is a good thriller full of action and suspense and I could see it easily becoming a series centered around Vega.

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She had intended for it be to quick, to leave the two girls inside the car while she picked up a present inside the local Kmart. A quick snatch and go, she got the gift and headed out to her car. It appeared she was successful until Jamie reached her car and found it empty. Her two daughters were gone.

Jamie enlisted the help of Alice Vega, a PI with a remarkable history of finding missing individuals but she is not welcomed by the Denville Police Department. Needing information from the department, Vega persuades a former member of their office to join her team. These two are quite the combination as Vega is resilient and Cap is brilliant. A perfect combination for this case as they confront the Denville Police and work together to locate the missing sisters. There doesn’t seem to be much to go on as the police try to piece this case together and with their resources stretched thin, the police are left scratching their heads. Meanwhile, Vega and Cap are talking to everyone and investigating every lead. This rigorous investigation provides many leads, some helpful and some not.

What I enjoyed about this novel was how Vega and Cap worked together to solve this case. Cap used to be a cop, so he is used to following a set of rules whereas Vega sets her own rules, working together they have to cross some lines with each other. They try to work with the police department and share their leads hoping that it will help the case which I thought was an interesting twist with this novel considering that Vega and Cap were doing most of the work. I really enjoyed how the author wrapped up this novel. It wasn’t an abrupt ending but an exciting conclusion that was suited the novel perfectly. I really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Doubleday Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for this copy,

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While this book had everything a thriller should have, and while I did somewhat enjoy the story, I don't think this was for me. I can appreciate a good thriller, just isn't my normal genre I'd say. Overall it had a good plot and storyline.

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I really wanted to skip to the end to make sure everything turns out OK. But, I didn't. I was very surprised at who actually did the kidnapping. I like it when I can't guess the end. And, I really hope to hear more from Alice and Cap. Alice can be a bit intense when she wants information and the person doesn't want to give it to her. She will do anything to find a missing child. Alice is a new experience for Cap. He is a very good investigator, but Alice is on a different level. I really enjoyed this story and hope there is more from this author.

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I enjoyed this book. You have Alice Vega who is a PI that is hired by the Brandt's to find Jamie's 2 daughters that have been kidnapped. Alice recruits ex-cop Cap to help. They are torn in a few directions until it all comes together because of a photograph. During the investigation they realize that there are 2 other girls that have disappeared in almost the same exact manner and now they have 4 girls to find. There is a lot of angst between the characters in the book which draws you in. The 2 complaints that I have about the book is the lack of capitalization (drives me nuts!) and the lack of background on both of the main character. You see glimpses but not enough to really care about them. I did love the relationship between Cap and his daughter Nell, you could feel the love in that relationship.

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an author was not familiar with turns out to be a terrific read. Fast paced and edge of your seat. I read this in one weekend

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Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna is a very highly recommended mystery/thriller.

Jamie Brandt, a single mother, is running late while on her way to a birthday party where the whole family is invited. When she stops at Kmart to buy a gift, she leaves 10-year-old Kylie and 8-year-old Bailey in the car while she runs into the store. When she returns, the sisters are gone. After 48 hours with no lead, Jamie's Aunt Maggie Shambley, hires California bounty hunter Alice Vega to locate the girls. Vega is a no nonsense enigmatic investigator who has a well-publicized national reputation for finding abducted children.

The Denville, Pennsylvania police chief, in a pique of misplaced pride, immediately refuses to work with Vega to find the girls, despite the fact that after budget cuts, the department can barely keep up with the local oxycodone and meth epidemic. With help from "the Bastard," a computer hacker who assists her, Vega has access to resources and information the police don't. She also hires a local disgraced former cop, Max Caplan. Cap is currently working as a PI. Vega knows that he has inside contacts and a favor he could call in with the local police. Vega and Cap work together to uncover a complicated web of lies, false leads, and inconsistent statements to try and find the girls before it is too late.

I liked Vega and Cap, who are both flawed but well-developed characters. They work very well together. Cap's problems (and strengths) are presented upfront, but Vega's are hidden and very slowly revealed in small increments. Both of them are fully aware of the ticking clock and how every hour, every minute, the girls are not found is one minute closer to what may be their death. They are both keen observers of people and can pick out clues that the police are overlooking.

Luna uses a third-person narrative that allows us access to the main protagonists' thoughts and feelings. Their thoughts and motivations are so different and contrast starkly with each other. She also does a great job describing all of the supporting characters; they are all written as real people.

This is an excellent nail-biting complex thriller that moves at a steady pace, building up the tension incrementally with each new suspect and lead. The writing is exceptional; the plot is complex and carefully reveals each new piece of evidence. I was totally immersed in the drama. The final conclusion was a shocker and took me by surprise.

Well, Done, Louisa Luna! I am hoping that this signals the start of a series featuring Vega and Cap.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Doubleday via Netgalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/12/two-girls-down.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2233001931
https://www.librarything.com/work/19732421/reviews/149605163
https://www.facebook.com/shetreadssoftly/
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/947182804529504256
AMZ and B&N after publication

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4.5 stars!
I was initially put off by Two Girls Down because I thought the book was going to end up blaming Jamie Brandt, the single, working class mother of two little girls who were kidnapped. My mistake.

Jamie Brandt stops at a strip mall to pick up a gift for the birthday party the girls were to attend. To make it quicker, she runs inside alone. When Jamie returns, ten-year-old Kylie and eight-year-old Bailey have disappeared.

The police department suffers from budget cuts, lack of leads, and plenty of crime related to drugs. The investigation is going nowhere, and with each day, Jamie's desperation increases and her hope for the safe return of her daughters diminishes.

Jamie's aunt calls in Alice Vega, a bounty hunter who has had uncanny luck at locating missing children. Once Alice is on the scene, the book takes a completely different direction from what I thought it would. Vega enlists Max Caplan, a former policeman who resigned in disgrace, to aid her in locating girls. At this point, I could scarcely bear to put the book down.

The chemistry between Vega and Cap is fascinating. They are both dedicated, but their approaches are distinctly different; eventually, the two are able to meld their divergent methods and make the most of the strengths they individually bring to the investigation.

Louisa Luna excels in bringing the characters and the investigation to life. I didn't so much anticipate the investigation as follow along with Vega and Cap. There were unexpected turns, certainly, but I more less discovered things along with this engrossing pair, getting the hints from them, rather than seeing the connections and wanting to help them see where things were leading.

Boy, I am glad to have returned to Two Girls Down and hope for more of Alice and Cap, who proved uniquely human and engaging. I kept thinking about what I would have missed if I'd just let this one go because I formed a misguided initial impression.

Blog review scheduled for Jan. 4, 2018

NetGalley/Doubleday

Mystery/Suspense/Crime. Jan. 9, 2018. Print length: 322 pages.

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About: Two Girls Down is a mystery thriller written by Louisa Luna. It will be published on 1/9/2018 by Doubleday, an imprint of Random House, 320 pages. The genres are mystery, thriller, crime, and fiction.

My Experience: I started reading Two Girls Down on 12/19/17 and finished it on 12/28/17. I love the start. I read this book during my Christmas travel and sometimes only read snippets of it so I didn’t fully enjoy the read as much as I normally would. I would have loved it if Cap caught some interesting cheaters. The one he caught is so mellow. I do like Vega’s contact “the Bastard” though it would have been great if he’s in the story a bit more. I would love to follow his train of thoughts while he digs around for info. He seems to have a good sense of humor. I like getting to know of the bounty hunter/private investigator profession reading this book.

This book is told in the third person point of view following Jamie Brandt, a single mother of two girls: Kylie 10 and Bailey 8, both went missing while she’s inside the store buying a birthday gift for Kylie’s friend. The story also introduces Max Caplan (Cap), an ex-cop and a current private investigator concerning on catching cheaters for a price. He’s a single dad to a teenage daughter Nell. The third main character is Alice Vega, 33, a bounty hunter specializing on finding missing persons. She doesn’t work with the police unless they want to. She was hired by Jamie’s aunt to find Jamie’s missing daughters. The grief a mom goes through while waiting for news of her daughters is tough. Alice hires Max to help her with the case. They both follow clues that leads to more clues to find the Brandt girls, though often they find more than they were looking for.

This book is well written. It keeps me wanting more and it’s intense at times. The story involves children but foul language and extreme content are in it. The boy in the tank freak me out. I have a love and hate relationship with Vega and Cap. Their mysterious background is not very interesting to read for me, but I do like them doing detective work and chasing after clues. The romance is slow which is good but then it came and it was so sudden and without any passion. There are so many characters in this book so I would recommend if you read, to read it within 3 days so you won’t lose track of who’s who. I lost track of them since I was only able to read a little each day. I love books with clues leading to another clues and though, most of the suspects it points to are troubled individuals that could be predictable, it’s still a great read and I do recommend everyone to read this book! As always, I can’t never guess the ending and this book didn’t fail to surprise me.

Pro: clues leading to more clues, mystery, suspense, fast pace, humor, diversity,

Con: I personally just have a love/hate relationship with main characters

I rate it 4 stars!

***Disclaimer: Many thanks to the author Louisa Luna, publisher Doubleday, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details

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Title: Two Girls Down

Author : Louisa Luna

Publisher: Doubleday

Publication Date: 01/09/18

Dates Read: 12/22/17 - 12/28/17

Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars



"You said every day we make a million little choices, and we should
try to make the right ones as much as we can. And you said rarely in life
do the big choices present themselves, so when they do, we have to take
advantage of the opportunity. We have to do the right thing."



Jamie Brandt is your average, worn-out mother of multiple children (plus some drugs.. that's not average, right?). She has two daughters, 10-year-old Kylie and 8-year-old Bailey, and a million things on her to-do list. Jamie makes a quick run inside the mall to pick up a birthday party gift, leaving her girls in the car. When she returns, she experiences every mother's worst nightmare. Her girls are gone.

With very little evidence to go off of and very few (seemingly) reliable witnesses, this case, like many before it, was destined to go cold.

Enter Alice Vega--Kick ass, won't-take-no-for-an-answer, tough-as-nails, female bounty hunter. Yeah, she's that cool. Alice has an impressive track record for finding missing persons and is well known in her field. Jamie Brandt's mother, with little trust in the police's efforts, hires Vega to help track down their girls. But the Denville police department is not willing to lift one finger to aid her efforts, much less work collaboratively for the sake of the missing girls...

Enter Max Caplan, a former police officer, better known as "Cap". He didn't exactly leave the police force on his best "swan song" and is working as a private investigator, catching cheaters and skips, and seems less than passionate about this line of work. Max is your average Joe... hard working guy, single dad, and an all-around "good guy" (despite what the rumors may lead people to believe. Vega recruits the not-initially-willing Cap to tag team the mission to find the Brandt girls and, oh man, they are one awesome team.

Cap and Vega have to jump through many hoops to find leads and are constantly (but amiably) battling one another along the way. They are the perfect balance of gone-rouge-badass and by-the-book-cop.

When I am reading a crime thriller, especially an uncorrected proof ARC, my ratings are primarily driven by engagement level. Before reading I checked out the author's other books and tried to gauge what I should expect from this title. To be honest, I wasn't expecting a lot. I hadn't seen a lot of 'chatter' about this upcoming release and wasn't familiar with the author or any of her previous books.

But y'all.... I set the bar entirely too low for this novel. It more than exceeded my expectations. I was fully engaged the entire time I read. Had it not been the holidays, I would have easily finished this book in 1-2 days.

The suspense was there for the entire course of the novel--the fear of a parent, the determination of those helping, the mystery behind the case, the thrill of the chase. The ending was fantastic but hard to swallow at times. The conclusion of the case of the Brandt girls shines a light on the raw, nasty, psychopathic tendencies that exist inside of some humans. The desires that no one even wants to speak of.

"As soon as you got closer you saw the damage, the disease, not what
monsters and wolves could do, but what regular men could do to a kid."

The thing that I loved the most about this title was the author's ability to create depth in her characters, especially her female characters. I love when an author can bring a character to such life that I feel like, not only that they are a real person, but that I know them. Here's looking at you Vega! This talent always makes me think about the talent that authors have to shape an entire existence other than their own-- an artistic equivalent to acting. Luna's characters came to life on the page for me and I was eating it up!

And on the note of female characters... if you love reading novels where there is a strong female lead, a totally badass lead.. you need to read this one. Vega is so much fun... she's snarky, strong, independent, and ruthless and I love it! And Cap's daughter, Nell, was also a super fun, intelligent, and leader-like character that I enjoyed watching come to life. (They would make a great team... Can we have a sequel please and put that into action?)

All in all.. a great read. A diamond in the rough. A thrill I wasn't expecting. I hope this novel is the come-back that puts Luna's name on the map.



*Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for sharing your novel with reviewers such as myself! 
** I saw what you did there Louisa Luna... a neighbor named Bosch? Maybe I'm wrong, but I would love to think that's a hat-tip to one of the greats of this genre, Mr. Connelly


Review can be viewed at the following links:
Blog: http://offthepressreads.com/two-girls-down/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2212186617
Instagram: @Off_The_Press
Review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble following the publication date.

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4.5 stars

I received an ARC of "Two Girls Down" from NetGalley for an honest review. I wish to thank NetGalley, Doubleday, and Louisa Luna for the opportunity to read this book.

This will probably be the last book that I read for 2017. But, it was a VERY good book to end the year with reading.

"Two Girls Down" is a TRUE mystery and who-done-it!! It is the type that I really like as it had me on EDGE without all of the blood and gore of other novels. It was well-written and was very fast-paced. The main characters were fully developed - I really liked Cap and Alice. I truly hope that the author, Louisa Luna, makes a series with this book as the premiere one. Also, this would be a FANTASTIC movie - it would have a fantastic story-line perfect for a great movie.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone who like thrillers, mysteries, or that type of book. It is also perfect for someone who like GOOD writing with a strong plot and character development. I cannot wait for the NEXT book that Louisa Luna writes!!

DEFINITE recommend!!

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I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Looking back on it, reading a book about kidnapped children is probably not the BEST choice when you are 8 months pregnant... regardless, I really liked this book. It was well paced and kept me guessing! I wanted to read one final book in 2017, and I am glad it was this one because it hit the spot.

My only gripe is the slight romance. Can’t a man and a woman work together without falling in love?!

That being said, I would love to read another book from this author. Or a sequel of these characters!

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Stunning from the first page to the last!!! 5 Stars and 5 Thumbs Up and a fist bump!

I sat down one morning, opened this book, and read it straight through. It’s rare to find a book that will not turn you loose...gets its hooks in early and won’t let go.

Why? Alice Vega is one reason, Max Caplan is the other. These two reluctant allies are dynamite! Max Caplan, Cap, is a great guy. He’s a sweetheart in every way. Alice, on the other hand, is prickly...and tough as nails. Alice wants to bully and fight through every situation while Cap wants to take a more reasoned approach. This is a serious roll-reversal from the usual trope, and I loved it!

Alice had to resort to a little underhanded skullduggery to convince Cap to help her, but once they teamed up? It was magic.

Cap’s daughter, Nell, almost steals the show. At sixteen, she is beautiful, smart, athletic and nearly as good a deceive as her dad. They discuss everything in their cozy home.

Oops...I’ve said more about the plot than I would normally do, but there’s a reason. This book is just wonderfully done. This author is new to me, but she’s going on my favorites list. I hope I have the opportunity to read more from her in the future! If you love a great mystery, grab a copy and...

Enjoy!

2shay

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