Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna
This is the first book I have read bu Louisa Luna. This story is gritty but I found it difficult to connect with Vega. She was very robotic with very little compassion. The story starts to stall out with the endless pages of conversations and dialog. Which caused this reader to flip pages to find out the end of the story.

When two sisters go missing their family calls in Alice Vega. She's had success finding missing kids. While working this case she hires ex cop local private investigator Max Caplan. Alice was very rough around the edges but going through some personal losses. She's someone that doesn't stop until the job is done. No matter the cost.

By the end of the book my jaw was dragging the floor. I never saw it coming! Smh. I dont think this is a series but it should be. Cap and Vega are good together. Nell was the glue that held all of Caplans relationships together. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends and family.

When there are no leads on missing persons, the first person you should call is Alice Vega, a PI who seems to do the impossible. Like a dog with a bone, Vega is tenacious in digging for the seemingly smallest clue and finding missing children.

After two young sisters had disappeared from a strip mall parking lot in a small town, the devastated mother fearing that the police were doing nothing, hires an enigmatic bounty hunter. The police in this small town are stretched to the limit fighting a drug epidemic so they aren’t about to give Vega any leads (not that they had any). Needing some tie-in with the police, Vega hires a disgraced ex-cop, Max Caplan who only wants to put the scandal of his past behind him. But Vega needs the help and bulldogs him into helping her.

*** Wow, with very little to go on and practically no clues whatsoever, Vega proves she is the best! She was like a bloodhound to untangle what few clues she had to go on. One thing for sure is that she was a very private individual and as she and Max followed all the threads that sprung up now and then I was hoping that these two lonely souls would get something personal going on. One thing for sure they did form a wonderful working relationship!

The story was brisk and it was a fast read, with lots of twists and turns which made the finale a real edge-of -the-seat- thrill ride. Whether we see Max show up in future Vega books is something I hope the author considers. I really like Vega even though you never get to ‘know’ her. Determined and someone you want in your corner if the need ever arose! Great story!

Marilyn Rondeau

Engrossing, well written story of two girls that go missing. It's up to Vega and Caplan to save the day! This kept me engaged, and surprised me along the way. The end is the shocker and one I just didn't see coming. I give it 4 stars!!

A thrilling mystery book that feels familiar yet has its own twists and turns as you continue on through the story. The two main characters, Max Caplan and Alice Vega have somewhat cliche characterizations and a romance that feels forced, but it didn't make them unlikable. Max reads very "Harry Bosch" to me. The unraveling at the end was a bit slow for me, but I think it wasn't as predictable as I was assuming it would be.

4.5 Stars! After starting this read, I knew immediately that I wanted to stop and get the audiobook because I was immediately engrossed and drawn in to the story. I am an auditory learner, so when a book has a lot of interesting details, I can pick up more when I listen. I was so excited to see that Tavia Gilbert was the narrator- I LOVED her narration of Flat Out Celeste! Gilbert did an amazing job with Two Girls Down- she has such a great expressive voice. I am addicted to the character of Alice Vega- she's such a badass and I hope hope hope that Luna gives her another story. Her partnership was Cap was fabulous- what a great pair. Luna crafted such a layered story with so many plot twists. I also enjoyed Cap's relationship with his teenage daughter- it was so realistic and believable. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, it's so well done. I am looking forward to reading more from Luna.

Cap, single father and private detective, and Alice Vega, a mysterious woman from the other side of the country who just happens to be very successful in tracking down missing persons, are called on to join forces when two young sisters disappear. At odds with local law enforcement, they initially experience resistance as the girls' mother desperately tries to think of anyone who would want to kidnap her children. The connection between Cap and Vega deepens as they get closer to finding the answer and discover that two prior disappearances may be connected. Deadbeat dads and drug dealers pale in comparison to the real perpetrators and to their reasons for these young girls, all connected by dance class. A disturbing realization but fascinating read.

This character based procedural mystery introduces us to some well rounded protagonists who approach the case, and the story, from different procedures and perspectives. Vega is hardened and a bit enigmatic, a bounty hunter who is no nonsense and almost obsessive when pursuing the missing girls. Cap is a bit more sensitive and empathy driven, which is emphasized by the choice he made to resign from the force to protect a cop who did wrong but had a family to support. It was kind of neat to see the usually so gendered personality traits switch between these two, and I liked following them. That said, the mystery itself was pretty generic and middle of the road for me. While I certainly wanted to know what happened to the girls, I was much more fascinated with Vega and Cap.

This was not a page-turner for me, but I enjoyed the character development and the mystery was fairly interesting. Luna does a good job of balancing many different characters' points of view and giving the subcharacters enough life to be believable. There were some turns to the plot that I did not see coming, but the author was also not overly preoccupied with adding in plot twists, so overall it was a nicely developed mystery.

So, maybe Jamie won’t be getting the “Mother of the Year” award but she’s not a bad mom. Really, she’ll tell you that. A quick run into Kmart to grab a gift so she could drop her two girls off at a birthday party, and then she can have herself a break from being a single parent. That’s where Jamie makes the biggest mistake – she’s too tired to deal with the hassle of bringing Kylie 10, and Bailey 8, into the store. It will be so much quicker to just have them wait in the car for the 5 minutes it will take to run in and out by herself.

When Jamie comes out, the car is empty – both girls are gone!

Jamie’s family seems to know the police in their town aren’t doing a crack investigation, so they hire Alice Vega, a controversial P.I. who gets results. Vega is a tough, enigmatic investigator who doesn’t pull punches. She needs help while working this case, and the person she wants is disgraced former police officer Max “Cap” Caplan. Cap’s been running his own P.I. service, but following cheating spouses around doesn’t seem to be quite fulfilling enough, no matter how much he tries to convince himself. As they search for the two girls, there is plenty of twists and turns to leave you guessing until the end.

The characters were well developed, and kept fairly realistic. I appreciate that the author didn’t have a “romance” between Vega and Cap, yet also included some bits of emotional connection between them.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, in exchange I am providing my personal opinion about the book.

This is a new book that hit shelves last week telling the story of two girls who go missing after their mom runs into the store for a quick errand. The author spins a tale that makes you wonder how big of a situation this is and how many people are involved. You mainly are following Alice Vega, a PI who specializes in missing people and her enlisted partner, Caplan. The characters were very well developed and the story kept you guessing right up until the end. I found the beginning to be a little slow to suck me in, but once it did I barely put the book down. Let me know what your thoughts are on this one below.

Absolutely amazing ! High praise to the author for a wonderfully written novel. Excellent plot twist and turns that kept me reading the whole night thru

A couple hours ago I saw that I'd read 88 percent of Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna, and I thought, Oh crap. It will be over soon. I wanted the story to go on forever. It seemed too short because it is so good.

This is a book populated by believable characters--as earthy and honest as Vera Stanhope, as fearless as lisbeth Salander. Alice Vega is my Wonder Woman. Her sidekick Cap isn't bad either. His daughter Nell is the best. These are good people with lots of baggage. Vega is a slow reveal, delicious in her secrecy, and strong. Interwoven in the story is the underlying theme of institutionalized misogyny--never over done--and Vega's fight against it as she struggles to stay alive and find the missing girls. There are no guarantees for anyone.

This is simply a great read. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

In their small Pennsylvania town Jamie believes her children are safe. When she goes in to shop at the strip mall and they disappear she believes differently. This book had me on the edge of my seat from the first page until the last.
Characters were wonderful and each had perfect qualities to bring into the story. Thank you Doubleday and NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.

A crime whodunit that does keep you guessing until the last minute. While I really did enjoy the twist and turns, parts of it (including the main detective, Alex Vega) just seemed to unbelievable. With that said, I am curious to read any more crime thrillers that Louisa Luna puts out.

I received an advanced reader's copy of this, and really enjoyed it. The first couple of pages were a bit scattered, but once I started reading, I had trouble doing anything else but read the book.

Interesting story line, lots of plot twists, interesting characters. And I loved that it took place in Pennsylvania. Would definitely recommend to friends to read.

If you're looking for a thrill ride, you've found it. The beginning seemed a little slow to me, although it still had a lot going on besides the character building that's needed as the novel progresses. For me, once I got to the halfway point, I couldn't put the book down. I was too invested. I really liked the way that Vega and Cap played off of each other and I hope the author decides to turn this into a series. I'd love to see more of them. That all being said, this is an author known for young adult works who is branching out into adult literature. This is definitely an adult book, not young adult. There's a decent amount of swearing throughout, some fairly graphic (but not gross-out, just clinical gore) violence, and while there's no actual sex scenes, there are a few times where sexual things are discussed, including sexual abuse and pedophilia. Those can be really hard for some people, even though they are not described in any detail on the book, only discussed. So while the relationships between characters and the movement of the plot does feel a bit like a young adult novel, this is definitely an adult one. In my opinion, it did work out pretty well and I definitely enjoyed the read.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the characters, This is what makes this book stand out from others. Simply superb in every way. Can't wait for the next book by this author!

She left her daughters in the car to pick up a present on the way to a birthday party. Now Jamie's daughters are missing, gone. Two people are on the case, Max Caplin, and Alice Vega. With their combined backgrounds they make a very strong team for this book. Many leads and lots of suspects have to be sorted through. In strong British style, this isn't an instant who-done-it. Instead, it's a complexed and thorough examination, right up to solving the crime. It has plenty of action, and so much more. I would very much like to read more of this series.

My copy came from Net Galley. My review, thoughts, and opinions are my own and have been left of my own free will.