I loved this book. Alice Vega is smart, intuitive, ex-military with an uncanny ability to find missing people. She'said like a slightly more socially adept Lisbeth Salander. Great character development, strong female characters and well paced story. Highly recommended.

Two Girls Down Louisa Luna

One of the best things about e-readers, and the various sites from which you can download books, is that I have discovered authors that I would never have encountered in the bookshops of the UK.

Various holidays over the years have resulted in me finding authors, and then have the frustration of not being able to buy their books here.

Today’s review highlights how good it is to find a good book by a great author, who is published in the UK, but on a small scale, and who I would probably never found.

Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna is a gem of a book.

When two very young girls go missing from a Mall in Pennsylvania their single mother is left distraught. Jamie Brandt is a single mom and her two girls, Kylie (10) and Bailey (8) are her life. The small-town Police Department are understaffed and over worked and, as much as they want to find the find the girls, it seems an impossible task.

Jamie’s Aunt contacts a Private Investigator in California with a history of recovering missing children.

A bit like a Female Jack Reacher 33 (but a lot more realistic) year old Alice Vega arrives in town and starts her own investigation.

Realising she need local help, and restricted by the Police, she reaches out for former cop Max (Cap) Capland, a single father with a very forthright 16-year-old daughter.

The investigation into the disappearance of the two girls leads Vega and Cap through the underworld of small town USA. Whilst battling with the underworld they butt heads with the Local Police.

There is the inevitable will-they-won’t-they element to the relationship but it definitely adds to the story.

The twists and turns come fast in the case and it is not a book where you will easily guess what the ending is going to be, but it’s a great ride getting there.

For those of you, like me, who have never read a Louisa Luna book before, I would compare her stories, and writing style, to Marnie Riches. If you like the Girl Who….. series and Born Bad, you are going to love this book.

Pages: 320

Wow! I hadn't heard of this author before, I believe she's mostly written YA books. And for a debut thriller novel, this is outstanding!

The story is about two young sisters who going missing from a mall parking lot in Denville, NJ. The family hires bad ass bounty hunter Alice Vega, who enlists the help of local former cop Max Caplan. Together they stay 3 steps ahead of the already overworked police force.

All characters were well developed, the story was engrossing and a very well written who-done-it. I could easily see (and hope for) a series with Vega.

I very much enjoyed and recommend reading as soon as it comes out January 9, 2018.

Thanks to NetGalley, Doubleday and Louisa Luna for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! Suspenseful thriller, interesting characters. Never leave your kids in the car alone!

“Two Girls Down” by Louisa Luna starts with bang. Jamie Brandt is not a bad mother, but perhaps not the best either. She struggles with everyday life; stress and anxiety reign supreme. She has trouble coping with anything and everything. She takes her two daughters shopping; letting them stay in the car and play does not seem like a bad idea to her, but when she returns to her car, the girls are gone. Bang!
Other players are slowly introduced, one by one. Max Caplan is an ex-husband, private investigator, disgraced cop, and dad. He spends his day chasing unfaithful spouses and people who run out on their debts, bails, or other obligations. Alice Vega is a girl who does handstands while she thinks. At thirty-three, she is too old to be called a girl, but she still feels like one. After a traumatic past, she now spends her time finding missing persons. She is unconventional, and secretive, but she has special skills, and she has her SOURCES.
The police are unable to make progress on finding the girls, so the family seeks outside help. Alice and Cap, two seemingly incompatible people, are drawn into the search for the missing Brandt girls. Cap and Alice are unconventional in their search methods to say the least. What starts as a search for just two girls, morphs into something much more. Information is revealed that was previously secret. Events that seem to be unrelated are suddenly connected, but why? People are connected in unexpected ways, but how are they connected to the Brandt girls? What about three other people who disappeared in the past few years? There are abundant questions, but no answers. Time is ticking away and the girls are still missing.
“Two Girls Down” gathers speed as the pages go by. This is a compelling tale, and I was “on the edge of my seat” while I read. Unconventional search and interrogation methods are used because, after all, Alice and Cap are not cops, and two girls are missing.
I received a copy of “Two Girls Down” from Double Day Books, NetGalley, and Louisa Luna for my impartial review. I loved the book, and recommend it to all fans of mysteries and thrillers.

This review is based on the ARC provided by the author and/or publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For me its 4 mystery ⭐⭐⭐⭐.
I really enjoyed this mystery thriller, never saw that twist coming though. I literally devoured in one sitting. Vega is one damn hard woman. Coupled with Caplan, they make a mean team after being shunned down by local police department. They leave no stone unturned in finding the sisters. And once again I'm saying, never saw that twist comin.

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I loved this book, for the most part because of the main character, Alice Vega. This is a 100% "real" character, one who experiences (and handles) situations and emotions that inspire empathy... because we've all experienced some or all of them ourselves. She's tough, with lots of demons she battles every day. And yet, she stays focused on her investigation and doggedly pursues every lead. I was drawn to her as an intelligent, intuitive woman, and enjoyed her interaction with all the other characters, good guys and bad. Intricate, well-written plot and satisfying ending. Highly recommended.

Review based on an ARC from NetGalley. Thanks!
I’ve read this book with interest although sometimes it was hard to see where and how exactly Alice Vega and Max Caplan got their leads. There are very many people named in the book and it is difficult t oremember all those names when you haven’t got a clue whether they are important tot he story or not.
At the start of the book, it appeared that the kidnapped girls’ mother would be the main character. I’m happy she was not because I did not like her very much. Cap and Vega make an interesting couple though, and right from the beginning there is more between them than they want to admit to themselves.
The plot of the book is fine, with some unexpected (sometimes very unexpected) twists and turns. I for me hope there will be more books with Cap and Vega as main characters.

2 Girls Down is the story of two PI's searching for 2 missing girls. The two PI's come from very different backgrounds and have very different views on how to approach the missing persons and how to get the necessary information from suspects to track down the actual kidnappers. There are a few subplots regarding the mother's mental fitness, several unreliable (at best) witnesses, and a police force that is more than happy to let the lead detective's ego get in the way of the investigation.
I liked the characters, particularly the PI's - Alice Vega seems almost autistic and Max Caplan is a comfortable father figure/mentor for her. A good first novel.

Showed Promised But A Few Issues

The first chapter introduces all the central players. There is the harried mother, Jamie Brant, taking her two young daughters, Kylie and Bailey, to a birthday party. The daughters disappear when she leaves them in her car in a shopping mall parking lot as she goes in to buy a present. The second is Max Caplan, an ex-police detective, who had to quit the force after a death in custody incident. He currently shares custody of his daughter, Nell, and works documenting cheating spouses and returning “skips” — people who skip on their bail. Lastly, there is Alice Vega, who is introduced standing on her hands. She has a fugitive recovery background that has had recent success in recovering kidnapped children.

Vega is contracted by Brant’s aunt to find the two girls. Vega tries to convince Caplan to work for her to help with the local police. After clearing his plate, they start working together. The police detective in charge of the investigation does not want any outside help especially from a outsider and a disgraced cop, so they start on their own. The storyline has steady paced with more than I expected in twists and turns all the way up to the end. This storyline captured my attention and kept me riveted to my Kindle reading it.

This novel has a signature feature in that the first sentence of each chapter and two major sections within chapters. They all started in lower case and generally appeared to be entirely all lower case. I found this to be a distractor right from the start because it took my thought process away from the flow of the storyline.

I had an issue with the B-story with respect to the main heroine, Alice Vega. The author provided some insight into her character is the short section in the first chapter, but then for almost half of the novel, she was a one dimensional as Sgt. Joe Friday in the 50s Dragnet TV show. Finally, her character opens up and you can start to see her as a person. This aspect made it challenging to bond with the main character for almost half of the novel. The B-story was well developed for Max Caplan with his daughter. Even the numerous other characters were adequately developed and supported their actions in the storyline very well.

Vulgar words occurred fairly regularly in this novel. These words did fit the characters and circumstances at the time of their use. This aspect of the novel did not bother me while reading it, and, in fact, I had to go back and count the instances. I have read many reviews complaining about language, so readers beware.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this work. It captured my attention, and many times I could not put it down. With a few rough edges, I rate this novel with four stars. I do recommend reading this novel as I believe that you will find it enjoyable and entertaining also.

I have received a free Uncorrected Proof/Advanced Reading Copy of this novel through NetGalley from Doubleday Books with a request for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read this novel early.

A good story. Not great but very good.
Amazingly written. The writing style alone will keep your reading.
Two kids are left alone in the car while their mother runs into the store to pick up a last minute gift. First of all, don't leave your kids in the car!
(I know it's so cliché.) The entire story is like that.
But there are two characters, a “retired” cop and a PI who are dope. Separately they are awesome at what they do, together they are unstoppable.
You think you know who kidnapped these girls? Well I'm sorry you don't. Plot twist. Exciting!
I'm new to this writer and I glad to be apart of the readership.

Great book, easy read… Held my attention and was sad to see it end. Thanks for the opportunity to read it!

Two Girls Down was a bit of a slow burn for me - it took me a while to get interested in the main characters and I often found myself wanting more from them. By the end, I was happy with the book. I didn't LOVE it or stay up all night reading it, but it was well written, witty, and kept me guessing. I could see this turning into a series, as there are many storylines that could be developed and many main characters that could be developed further. I rate this 3.5/5 stars.

I would recommend this read to others who are into mysteries or detective stories and want to try something new. This would be an easy book to recommend to a parent or friend who wants their books fairly PG13.

I Think two girls down is a good book.
It kept me interested in the story from the first pages and didn't see the ending coming which is good too!
It was a fast paced story and I like that from this thriller type book.
On the other hand, I'm not quite sure I believe the story that a PI and an ex police officer could untangle the cases better and faster than the police/FBI. But in the end, it didn't matter...I think is a good book if you are into stories about child abduction and disappearances.

Psychological thriller...two sisters are missing from their mother's car, Who did they see and did they leave willingly? Cap and Vega join forces to find the girls and to bring them home safely. Just when you think you've figured it out, the story takes a surprising turn. Definitely a must read!

This fast paced book grabs you from the beginning, pulling you headlong into the search for the missing girls, and hoping they're not too late. I found myself so engrossed, I read it in one sitting. The more the detectives put together leads and suspects, the more suspenseful the search becomes, when other missing girls are linked to the kidnapper, and turns out killer. This book would be the perfect read sitting by the fire, or on the beach.

Interesting characters. I would definitely read a sequel. Good, satisfying mystery.

TWO GIRLS DOWN BY LOUISE LUNA

Two young girls are left in the car while their mother goes into Kmart to buy a birthday present from her daughters as they are on their way to a birthday party. The mother returns to the car to her horror her two daughters are gone. She goes into each store in the strip mall asking the occupants if they have seen two girls. They had stopped in an ice cream parlor and consumed all of the free tasting servings that was allowed and then they left.

The police are not helping with their budget cuts and the mother's aunt hires Alice Vega who is a bounty hunter and private investigator from California. Alice is tough, smart, a no nonsense character with a record of finding lost children. Rebuffed by the police captain more or less telling her that they don't want her help, she enlist's retired policeman Max Caplin for help. Max Caplin is a nice, ethical easy going private investigator who has a sixteen year old daughter that persuades him to join forces with Alice Vega.

Max took the fall for a younger police officer with a wife and two young children. The contrast in personalities couldn't be more opposite between Max and Alice Vega. The two of them work well together and there is a maze of false leads and dead ends trying to find the missing girls. This was full of action and an addictive read with a unique blend of storytelling for this kind of novel. Although there was a complex amount of suspects the more I read the more things would start to make sense. I agree with other reviewers that at times this could get confusing. But a little further reading would get me back on track. I gave this five stars because this is not the typical writing style of many stories that I have read before in this genre with a similar subject matter.

The ending was well worth the journey to get there. The perpetrator of this crime was the furthest most unlikely suspect of all. I never figured out who took the girls until the author reveals it at the very end. There were many more likely character's and suspects giving this story plenty of twists and turns. I will say that it was a realistic and a very sad reason that the girls were taken. I really loved being surprised by the ending. I love the character's of Max Caplin and Alice Vega and the way they worked together to solve this case. I hope to see them again. These two character's would make an excellent series.

Thank you to Net Galley, Louisa Luna and Random House Publishing for my digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'm still very much unsure as to how I actually feel about this story. On one hand it was interesting, and felt very realistic (in the steps and false leads that typically go into these kinds of cases), on the other hand... there was just so much going on that at times it became over-whelming.

The author definitely is a solid writer. She knows how to weave a story and how to draw the reader in, the problem becomes when there is so much going on that the story seems to drag on and the reader gets bored. I feel there are some elements of this that could be eliminated altogether, or changed up that would bump this story up in terms of enjoyment.

Due to the fact that this story doesn't come out until January of 2018, I will definitely keep an eye out for a more "updated" version and gladly edit my review to reflect any changes that I see.

Overall, I am sure this story my still appeal to those who enjoy a good thriller novel.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

I generally will not read books about children. I can't handle children abductions,death, etc. I made an exception for this book and I am SO glad I did!! It was wonderful and I truly loved it. It was one of those read as fast as you can, so you can hurry up and find out the ending, kind of books. I was also so happy that there were no gory, upsetting details of what happened to the girls. The ending was a little odd to me and I would've preferred a more concrete, solid end but I still was thrilled with the overall read. I hope that there will be more books to come about Alice. Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for the ARC!!