Life is a rush. Always running here and there at a million miles per hour. That's Jamie Brandt's life with two pre-teen daughters.

The three are on their way to a friend's birthday party when Jamie runs in solo to grab a quick gift at the local Kmart and comes out to find an empty car. Where are the girls? First emotion: anger at how they could get out and run off when they knew they were going to be late, second: genuine panic when she realizes they had not left of their own accord.

Now what? Who can help her find her life - her everything - her daughters.

With the help of Alice Vega, bounty hunter and missing persons expert, and retired police officer Max Caplan, will the family be able to find the girls (alive)? Though predictable in parts, there are twists towards the end and the climax was a bit surprising. Well written for a first attempt at a thriller.

Vega and Cap make a great team. Vega reminds me a little of Lisbeth Salander from Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She is smart gets things done but there is something off about her. She barely sleeps or eats and seems to see things. Her specialty is finding missing children and she is good at it. There seems to be a back story surrounding Vega that I would love to delve into at some point.

Cap was a cop who took the fall for a fellow officer. He has a precocious teenager who seems to admire her father and also helps guide him in his investigations. Cap has a very strained relationship with the local PD and tries to avoid interaction with them.

Every mothers nightmare is to lose her children. When this happens to Jaime Brandt her life falls apart. With the help of her Cap and Vega hopefully she will be reunited with her family. This book is well written, the characters sympathetic and realistic. I really loved how this book built in tension. Starting off a little slow then building to an ending I didn't see coming.

I truly hope this isn't the last we see of Cap and Vega because these two make an entertaining and interesting crime solving duo.

Sisters disappear from a car in the parking lot of a mall while their mother is in a store picking up a birthday gift. So goes the beginning of this suspense thriller. . This story with its main character Alice Vega held my attention almost immediately. Lots of plot twists and turns and good to the very end.

I'd rate this between 4 and 4.5 stars.

I love when a book you stumble upon by an author you're not familiar with turns out to be a terrific read. Such was the case with Louisa Luna's Two Girls Down. It's a well-written, suspenseful whodunnit with some pretty fascinating characters.

A single mother, sometimes Jamie Brandt just needs a break from her two daughters, 10-year-old Kylie and 8-year-old Bailey. They're always wanting something, needing something, and she's just tired. What she wouldn't give for a few minutes of peace.

On the way to a birthday party, Jamie and the girls stop at a strip mall so Jamie can pick up a gift. She's just going to be five minutes, and she knows letting the girls come into the store will only lead to fighting, whining, and chaos, so she leaves them in the car with the ignition running. When she comes out of the store about 10 minutes later, her car is there but the girls are missing.

With the town's police force stretched beyond its means due to budget cuts and a growing drug epidemic, Jamie's family hires Alice Vega, an unorthodox bounty hunter with a good record of finding missing children. The local police don't take too kindly to Alice's involvement in the girls' case despite the fact they can't devote any resources to it, so she decides to turn to Max "Cap" Caplan, a former police detective who resigned from the force in disgrace.

Cap is trying to put his past life behind him, but it isn't rewarding taking pictures of cheating spouses and tracking down bail skips, so as much as he wants to avoid interacting with his former colleagues, there's something about Alice Vega that draws him in.

Alice and Cap make a commanding pair, and they start making progress on trying to find out what happened to the girls, which of course leads to the inevitable run-ins with the police. Little by little they have to determine which leads are false and which have potential, which people pose a threat and which people were merely in the wrong place at the wrong time, and uncover just how deep this crime runs within the town. At the same time, Alice and Cap have to struggle with their own demons, knowing every second they delay or ponder could result in the girls' deaths, if they aren't dead already.

I thought Luna did a great job with this book. Like with so many mysteries, I suspected nearly every character that popped up in the narrative, and I kept hoping she wouldn't disappoint me by taking the easy way out. I thought the resolution of the story was a little more complicated that it needed to be, but it definitely affected me, because as depressing as it was, I know that Luna didn't just invent this scenario out of whole cloth.

There was a good amount of tension and some great action, I thought Cap was a terrific character, and Alice is a bit of a badass! Luna knew how to ratchet up the suspense and toss in some characters you can't figure out if you should root for them or not. I don't know whether she intends this to become a series, but I hope to see more of Alice and Cap. There's so much I'd love to know about their backstories, too.

I really enjoyed this and read most of the book in one day. I'll definitely be looking for the next book in Luna's career!

NetGalley and Doubleday provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

There's nothing that compares to having both of your daughters kidnapped. You only left them alone long enough to buy a present at K-mart. The ice cream place remembers them. But then someone saw them getting in a car with someone she seemed to know... how many stones can remain unturned? The family contacts a private investigator with a phenomenal record in recovering missing kids. She finds a partner. They work with the police, but don't worry about breaking laws when time is of the essence. Will they find the girls before it is too late? Will there be horrifying outcomes? Will they catch the people responsible? Once you start this book you will be riveted.

This book was really good, a little sick & twisted but that's a good thing from where I stand. Very fast paced and thrilling ! I could not put it down. Read it in a day. The characters were awesome. Alice is a bad a$$. And Cap, well Cap is just cool. Loved his daughter. It was a very tangled web to weave and it certainly was not how I saw the story playing out, but man was it good !

I received an advance ebook copy from NetGalley.

Other reviewers have provided enough detailed synopses that I will not repeat their efforts here.

Overall, I found the book compelling, if a bit disturbing because of the subject matter involving kidnapped children. The twists and turns of the plot were occasionally hard to follow, and when the perpetrator was finally revealed, I had to go back and figure out where this person had figured into the story earlier. Also, we never did get a good explanation of the mysterious off-screen person who kept providing leads and tidbits for the investigators, presumably via hacking.

This book also had a good bit more profanity than I am quite comfortable with, although the language was not out of character for those using it.

In summary, a twisty, suspenseful page-turner, with complicated, baggage-laden characters. If you like gritty cop/private investigator mysteries, pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for an advanced copy in exchange for this review.

It is rare to read a book with so many twists and turns that are pulled off flawlessly.

Two Girls Down is not your typically thriller. It had me guessing until the very end.

Alice Vega is a bounty hunter with a reputation for finding missing kids. She is called to a small town in Pennsylvania where two little girls have disappeared from a strip mall. She police immediately shut her out, so she brings in a former cop named Max to help with the case.

What I loved about the book was that there was not just one character who overshadowed the story. As Vega attempts to untangle web of deceit, lies, relationships, and false leads, you wonder if she will find the girls in time. Each page is unpredictable and had me on the edge of my seat! Luna's writing is superb, and she has created a story that will keep you guessing. On one hand, you are hoping for the best outcome; on the other hand, you will not be sure it is possible.

When two young sisters disappear from a mall parking lot, the family hires bounty hunter Alice Vega who has a reputation for finding missing kids and bringing the home. This is a deeply riveting story, terrifying in its realism. It could have come from today's headlines. Alice Vega was well drawn, with a vaguely hinted-at motivation from what seems to be a dark past. Former cop and current private investigator Max Caplan (Cap) is brought into the investigation by Alice to help out with the locals. Cap is more lightly drawn than Alice, although what we learn paints him as a deeply sympathetic and likable character. I would have liked to know more. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good crime thriller, and I'll definitely be looking for Luna's next book.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of TWO GIRLS DOWN in exchange for my honest review.***

GRADE: A-
4.5 STARS

When two sisters go missing outside a mall, the girls’ aunt calls in private detective Alice Vega, who enlists the help of disgraced ex-cop Max Caplan.

TWO GIRLS DOWN starts off slowly but the unique characters kept me reading until I was hooked. Louisa Luna created messy, complex, highly imperfect characters who were always sympathetic. Jamie, the girls’ over stresses single mother initially responds with vitriol when she meets Vega and Cap. Who does that? I pictured myself in the situation thankful for any help. I thought of the parents of famous missing children and their tearful please for help. Not Jamie. Yet her unlikability works and grew on me until I understood who she was. Cap’s daughter Nell was my favorite character, bright and astute she had a great relationship with her father.

I became more invested in TWO GIRLS DOWN 25% into the story and couldn’t put it down. While I didn’t guess the ultimate resolution, some of my theories were accurate.

My only slight criticism was the lack of emotion I felt in certain areas of the story that should have watered my eyes. I wish Luna had put more heart into TWO GIRLS DOWN.

I wouldn’t mind seeing Vega and Cap back together solving other crimes in the future.

This was a hard book for me to rate, because it wasn't necessarily bad in any way, it just wasn't my kind of mystery. Instead of there being clues for the reader to find, the mystery all unveils itself as "Person A tells the investigators this info, suddenly they realize, it could be Person B based on this info!" I like the mystery where you can have a rolling list of suspects as you read, narrowing them down by clues the story gives. That said, the writing is good and the characters are complex, although by the 5th time of "Oh they imagined what life could be like, softer with another person," I was a little over it. The romance never really felt real to me aside from two people thrown together for work.

I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Louisa Luna, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.

When two young sisters disappear from a strip mall parking lot in a small Pennsylvania town, their devastated mother hires an enigmatic bounty hunter, Alice Vega, to help find the girls. Immediately shut out by a local police department already stretched thin by budget cuts and the growing OxyContin and meth epidemic, Vega enlists the help of a disgraced former cop, Max Caplan. Cap is a man trying to put the scandal of his past behind him and move on, but Vega needs his help to find the girls, and she will not be denied. With little to go on, Vega and Cap will go to extraordinary lengths to untangle a dangerous web of lies, false leads, and complex relationships to find the girls before time runs out, and they are gone forever.

TWO GIRLS DOWN was an exciting thriller with great character development. This fast-paced read kept me clutching my Kindle until the wee hours of the morning. I was impressed with the plot, which was extremely well done. I can only imagine the author must have outlined this one thoroughly before embarking on the journey, which only made for a more satisfying read., which was done in just one sitting.

Good plot but the writing is not very impressive. xxxxxxxxxxx

First, let’s look at the good things about Two Girls Down. It’s a really good story with twists and turns that you don’t see coming. It contains a good amount of suspense and keeps you turning the pages almost relentlessly. It also does justice to the genre, does not shy away from violence, and keeps you guessing till the last minute. As a crime thriller, it does well and has a lot of interesting angles.

But, it also has aspects that take away from how good it could have been.

Alice Vega and Max Caplan’s characters are really interesting. They are honest, raw, and easy to associate with, and unfold as the book progresses. But, there are these random moments where their actions make no sense and don’t even remain consistent with their characters.

A large part of the writing is through thought based narration. So you can really tell what the characters are feeling in any situation and you get to see the entire moment through their eyes and thoughts. I’m assuming that this was meant to come across as “intense” and to a great extent, it does. But at times, the writing is just so convoluted in its attempt to be human that it becomes too confusing and even annoying.

The most irritating part, though, is Vega and Caplan’s relationship. It’s an interesting and honest relationship, for the most part. But there is this element of attraction that is weakly explored at odd times. Honestly, I think the story could have been even better if that aspect was either ignored altogether or explored more fully. The way the attraction angle is used comes across more as forced than the intended (I assume) impulsive.

There are also a lot of characters who are briefly mentioned and then play an important role. With so many names being thrown at you on every page, keeping track can get difficult. And this makes the story a bit cumbersome.

These tiny problems really reduce the reading quality of the book. And yet, the book manages to be interesting enough to want to finish. It also has some great “kick-ass” elements for both the protagonists that are a lot of fun to read. It flows really well and in the end, has a great story. Although it is being published as a standalone, I’m hoping that Luna will write sequels because I want to see the development of the very interesting partnership between Vega and Caplan as they take on new cases.

So, in spite of its flaws, it can definitely be enjoyed, especially by:
- crime fiction fans
- mystery and thriller fans
- fans of female-centric books

Suspenseful with twists and turns and a great character in Alice Vega, a female bounty hunter. I would love to see a series where she and her partner Cap team up. Really well-written.

If you like sleep I would skip this book. This is a fast wild ride so get ready. Love this author.

When I first saw that Louisa Luna's TWO GIRLS DOWN was being compared to THE WIRE, I immediately knew I had to read it. The Wire is perhaps one of the finest television shows every produced. And it features the writing of some of the best crime fiction novelists in the game today (Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Richard Price et.al.). I thought it was a bold move for the publisher to compare this novel from a relative newcomer to such a lauded piece of work as THE WIRE.

Happily, I can say that the comparison isn't far off. I found the writing to be fresh, gritty, lyrical, and above all else compelling. In TWO GIRLS DOWN you ostensibly have two characters with equally interesting backgrounds. Alice Vega is an enigmatic bounty hunter who will no doubt draw comparisons to Lisbeth Salander. And by the way, those comparisons are also just. The other main character is a disgraced former cop named Max Caplan. Both characters are competent, despite their quirks, and committed to justice. With two girls down, the basic story lies around finding two young girls who were taken from a store parking lot while their mother shopped inside the store. Though Vega and Caplan are in many ways looking in on the investigation from the outside (the local authorities don't want their help) they manage to gain more traction in finding the girls than the police ever could. There are some interesting side stories to this tale as well that add texture and dimension. I believe Louisa Luna is a writer to watch!

There is the legal way to do things and then there is the Alice Vega way to do things. Alice's way gets more results and were very enjoyable to read.

Alice Vega is a Bounty Hunter in California who has a reputation of finding missing children. She's a yoga fanatic and can kick anyone's ass. She has one heck of a hacker on her side too who gets her better information than even the FBI can come up with. She is contacted by the Aunt of a mother in Pennsylvania whose two girls are taken and the police have no leads.. She decides to take the case and travels to Denville, PA. After being brushed off by the cops she decides to enlist the help of ex cop Max Caplan who is now a PI.

Max wasn't your typical over the top alpha hero. Divorced father of a teenager, with whom he has a great relationship with, he's more a rational thinker and great investigator. Unlike Alice who goes to any extreme to get her skip trace or perp or information. I dont think he knew what to think of balls to walls Alice at first but it was plain to see the two balanced each other out during the investigation.

The investigation into the missing girls was an interesting labyrinth that didn't lead in the end where I thought it would. I was immediately wrapped up in the story and stayed that way till the end. Alice and Max were great characters who I hope we get to see again.

I usually don't care for books that have missing children involved but this one was written tastefully. It was a great account on a mother who has been having issues and goes to find her two young children missing. The book I would recommend that anyone liking crime novels to pick up and read because it's a truly good book. I am grateful for Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.