Thank you to the publisher for this ARC copy. This book was a quick read as I just wanted to know who was responsible for the missing 20 million dollars. The characters were believable and there were enough possible suspects to make this interesting. The dynamic between Logan and Gregg was interesting and all of this drama happening on a major world stage sporting event added to the intensity. To add to the mystery, is a former employee's alleged suicide on work premises. The wrap-up of who committed the crime was worthwhile, however, I felt a little disappointed by what felt like the easy way out for who was going to be the new face of Strike. Overall, it is a fun read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a thriller/mystery to read.

Honestly, when I first heard this was about forensic accounting and kickboxing, I almost didn't read it. Neither of those things sounded interesting to me.
But, I ended up enjoying this book so much, it really was well told and intriguing!
Nora Trier is a forensic accountant whose firm is hired by Gregg Abbott of Strike, to track down twenty million dollars in missing prize money.
The company was created by Gregg and turned into an athletic empire. He is married to renowned kickboxer Logan Russo whose superstar aura helped build it.
Nora was against taking the case because of a surreptitious link she has to Gregg, but her partners outvoted her.
Strike is about to begin a huge kickboxing contest with the twenty million prize money and a chance to become the new face of the business to the winner.
Time is short and there are many secrets to uncover before they can trace the money.
This was a suspenseful thriller with plenty of twists.
Nora was a fascinating character, I wish Logan was as appealing, but her supposed charisma wasn't there for me.
Overall a very entertaining read.
Thank you Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I absolutely loved this authors previous books, so was very excited to receive this one. This was quite different from the first two. While I enjoyed the writing style, I was not quite connected to the story line. This is not my typical read and I found myself drifting in and out of focus. Although not my favorite, can’t wait to read the next read by this author. I’d rate it 3.5/5, but rounding up.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

I've been a fan of Mindy Mejia's writing ever since reading Everything You Wanted Me To Be. I even got to meet Mindy this past fall at Bouchercon and she is just delightful. I always love getting to meet authors and tell them how much I love their writing and books!

This book was so unique in a number of ways and pulled me in right from the start. I loved that it dealt with forensic accounting and a kick-boxing circuit. On top of that, our major characters were strong female leads...I love a good thriller that puts not only one but two strong females in each other's path. You know there's going to be some good backstory there and that nothing is what you think when it comes to either one.

I love a good cat and mouse game and when you put a time limit on that, it just ups the stakes. This was such a good financial thriller and usually, I'm not one for that, but again, it was the author and the unique premise that really sold me on this and I loved every minute of it. This is such a good entertaining, thrilling read - perfect to escape into with all that is going on right now in the world. It's high-stakes and high energy and has an ending I was definitely not expecting. I absolutely recommend picking this one up - you won't be sorry!

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I had the pleasure of meeting Mindy Mejia at Bouchercon and getting to tell her in person how much I enjoyed Everything You Want Me To Be. So when I saw she had a new book, Strike Me Down, I requested it and crossed my fingers.

There is a lot going on in this book- and yet, I don’t want to spoil things for you.

Nora Trier is an interesting character- independent and out for the truth. Downfalls, hurt feelings, etc are not her problem- her problem is finding where the money went. But this case is different- it pushes and tests Nora in ways that she’s not accustomed to.



What I Liked:

The cover! ❤

The missing money angle. 20 million dollars gone? Oh boy!

How I was never quite sure who I could trust in the book.



Bottom line: Give it a try- it’s not your typical thriller- but it is good!

Another great read by Mejia! Perfect for mystery lovers and those who enjoy Laura McHugh, Lisa Jewell, or Ruth Ware.

3.5 stars

I enjoy Mindy Mejia's books - she has an easy, free way of writing. This one wasn't quite up to it for me though. Maybe because the fighting aspect of the storyline didn't resonate at all, I'm not sure. It was a good book, don't get me wrong. But I didn't really connect with the characters as much as I would have liked - Nora and her relationship with her family did nothing for me, and I couldn't pull up any sympathy for Logan or Gregg. And while I enjoy a good, twisty mystery, this one almost had a few too many twists and turns to keep my interest. I feel dumb saying it was "too complicated," but I reached a point where I just wanted to know already what the eventual end was. But, despite all the complaints, I did like the book overall; it just wasn't what I had hoped it would be based on my experience with this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for review based upon my honest opinion.

Nora Trier, a forensic accountant, gets a new case, it’s not only for a company that is familiar to her but a client whom she recognizes. Millions of dollars missing, multiple suspects, a company, the reputation of its owners at stake; but will Nora be able to track the funds and discover the culprit or will she find her self too wrapped up in the case to find her way out.

I enjoyed this book, I have read a few of this authors books and always enjoyed them. It’s not my favourite of her books but it was a good read.

I didn't think I would enjoy a book about a forensic accountant, but Mindy Mejia proved me wrong. If anyone could make a book about corporate fraud interesting, it would be her. Her books are engaging with unique plots, and her characters are complex and compelling. My favorite book of hers is still the first one I read, Everything You Want Me to Be, but Strike Me Down was highly enjoyable too.

This story fell flat for me. I really wanted to love this one, especially since I have read and loved other books by this author. ⁣
⁣
What I loved:⁣
-This story was unique⁣
-I didn’t predict the ending⁣
⁣
What I didn’t love:⁣
-I didn’t like any of the characters⁣
-The story was difficult to follow at times⁣
-I felt like it plateaued early on⁣

Nora Trier is a forensic accountant. She prides herself on her lack of bias and her ability to stay completely independent in her cases. As such, she's able to catch a lot of criminals. That all changes when Strike, a large athletic and kickboxing company hires Nora's firm. They are headed by Logan Russo, a bold famous athlete and hero to the world, and her husband, Greg Abbott, who runs the marketing side of the company. Strike is ready to launch their biggest event yet--a kickboxing tournament, Strike Down, with fighters all over the world competing for twenty million dollars in prize money. But there's a small problem: the money is missing. Greg suspects his wife has taken it, sabotaging her own company. Nora's firm places her in charge of finding the missing funds--just days before Strike Down--and are unaware of own her ties to Strike. As the clock ticks down, Nora begins to unravel a web of secrets that threatens her independence--and her life.

"Numbers, like people, have no inherent quality. Their value lies only in their relation to others and what they represent. Good. Bad. Strong. Weak. These are descriptions given by the counter. The counter weaves a story into the number, a narrative combining quantity and quality, fact and fiction. Numbers by themselves are invisible, much like the counters."

This was certainly an intriguing book with an interesting premise. Nora and her firm are given only a few days to find the money missing from Strike's coffers. Strike is run and controlled solely by Logan and Greg, without outside influence from shareholders. As such, they are self-made. But that's also made them vulnerable to such a theft. I honestly would have liked to see more of the forensic accounting pieces--I'm a big dork. For instance, Nora's company has a computer named Inga who searches emails for clues and patterns. I would have been fine seeing and learning more about Inga at work.

"Five days. Twenty million dollars. The pressure was indisputably on."

The book, however, was focused more on personalities, with much of the story told via Nora and Greg's eyes. This would have been fine, but I never really felt much of a connection with either of these characters. Or Logan Russo, either, despite her portrayal as a dynamic, forceful heroine who has impacted a generation of kickboxers and athletes. Nora makes a series of bad decisions and seems oddly obsessed with Logan for no real reason--a weird focus that is never really explained. She has a past that has led her to her role in forensic accounting, but it never really leads to much in the end. Greg is a focused businessman on the outs with his wife, and I never felt much sympathy with him. And Logan, as mentioned, who is supposed to be the core of this book, just falls flat until nearly the end of the novel.

"For forty years she'd been invisible, a quality she'd not only taken for granted, but turned into her greatest asset. She was the unseen eye, the counter nobody counted, who wove numbers into dark and avaricious stories."

Overall, the book is just weird. I feel bad putting that in a review without much further explanation, but I don't want to put spoilers. It's strange. Yes, it's compelling, in some ways, but I never felt like I needed to get back to reading it. I was interested about what happened to the money, but also had a good inkling early on about what really went down (and was proved right). Maybe if you connect more with the characters, this will be a true page-turner. It's still a tense read and different, for sure. I did enjoy the ending, and I actually felt something for the characters there. Therefore, this one squeaks by at 3 stars.

It was a struggle for me to connect with this book, and to delve deeper into it. I found myself constantly putting it down. It is so loved in the reading community, that I know this was just a case of the wrong reader for the book. However, I will say that Mejia's debut novel, is one of my favorite books. I just couldn't jive with this one.

Though I do have one of Mejia's earlier novels in my daunting TBR pile, this is the first one of hers that I have picked up. Unfortunately, I am having a hard time connecting with any of the characters here which makes this plot of a missing twenty million dollars of prize money not all that interesting to read. The two main narrators are just unlikable - from forensic accountant Nora, who eschews any emotional contacts and Gregg, who despite his intimate past with Nora, just seems rather shady and unreachable. The superstar kickboxing champ is supposed to have enough charisma to counterbalance those that are drawn to her, but I just never felt like I understand the obsession with her... And with both Gregg and Nora being so drawn to Logan, it makes their voices indistinct, though they are both in the first person. The Minneapolis setting is perhaps the only winner here, as the intriguing backdrop of the city and its structure are more fascinating than any of these odd people. I guess I just don't care enough about forensic accounting or the world of celebrity gyms. I really should have set this one aside - I never felt like I understood any of the characters and while parts of the plot are unexpected and somewhat interesting, because I didn't care about these unrealistic characters, I just didn't care what happened to them or their money. It was just totally not my kind of book at all.

Raise Me Up. In some ways, this is your stereotypical whodunit, straight down to most of the action happening in some remarkable-yet-unremarkable Midwestern town with a coda in the Caribbean. In others, it takes some fun risks, even if most of them are off screen. All in all, this is arguably to CPAs what John Grisham’s books – particularly his earlier ones- are to lawyers. And considering that Grisham’s early books were perennially best selling books of the year through the 90s and even early 00s… I’m pretty sure Mejia won’t exactly mind the comparison. 😉 I had the ultimate culprit pegged somewhere between 50 and 66% through, though the endgame was a bit shocking and the epilogue even moreso. Excellent book, again, particularly for Grisham fans, and very much recommended.

I liked this book a lot and am grateful for the ARC. This was an intelligent thriller, both a relationship story, a who did what and why and a personal growth story. Set in an almost detached fashion, which fit with the characters but brimming with feelings underneath, it was intriguing.

I think one of things that makes a good mystery thriller a GREAT one is the connection readers make with the characters. Mindy Mejia writes characters that connect people connect with and that’s THE BEST.

Strike Me Down had me at this quote:

“‘The event is sold out, but we’ve sunk that revenue—‘ ‘Cash, not revenue,’ Nora corrected.’”

Why did I love this quote? Because no one ever cares enough about accounting to even bother fact-checking it. Nora is a forensic accountant hired to find the money. The money isn’t revenue until after the event is held. I am irrationally happy, as a CPA, to see the author, also a CPA, get the accounting correct. However, non-accountant readers will also enjoy this high-octane read of missing money, missing people, and more than one troubled marriage.

Logan is the face and the fighter in Strike, a popular urban kickboxing gym. Gregg, her husband, is the money guy. Their marriage is losing steam. But the company is going full-speed ahead. 50-year-old Logan announces in the press a $20 million prize for Strike Down, a kickboxing tournament. Then the prize money goes missing. Gregg thinks Logan took it just to spite him. Nora and her firm investigate his allegation. But first, the firm must decide, as required by accounting standards, if Nora’s past one-night stand with Gregg impairs her independence. (BTW, it does, says my latent CPA brain but that would make this book a truly short story.)

With a thrilling and unexpected conclusion, Strike Me Down is an enthralling read. If you like romantic suspense or domestic thrillers, you will really enjoy this fast-paced book. Plus you’ll learn about kickboxing and forensic accounting. 4 stars!

Thanks to Emily Bestler Books, Atria Books, and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sometimes you have such a great experience with an author that they are up on a sort of pedestal. When you later read a book by said author that doesn’t live up to your expectations it’s hard to decide if your expectations were just set too high or if there is something lacking in the story. That’s what happened with this book for me. I’ve read two other of stories by this author that I absolutely adore. It’s been almost two years since I read Leave No Trace and I still think of it often. It’s a story that really stuck with me. So is it this book or my perception of the book that is at fault?

One thing I can say for certain, this story is a unique. In fact, that’s something common among the books of Mindy Mejia that I’ve read; they are all stories that are fresh and different than the other stories I’ve read. I really appreciate that fact and know it takes a lot of research and time for authors to put so much information into their stories.

At first I thought I’d like Nora, the main character. As the story progressed I had a hard time having any sympathy for her. It’s not that she does anything terrible or unforgivable, she’s just not very likable. And that may well be by design. It’s not always bad when the protagonist is unlikable, but most of the other characters quickly become unsympathetic as well. And that did become a problem for me. I had nobody to latch onto, to root for, to invest my time and energy in as I progressed through this book.

Even with this disconnect from the characters, I still found myself with some investment in the story. Like I said earlier, it’s a unique tale. There were things I though I knew and didn’t, things I thought I knew and did, and things I didn’t think of at all. Those are all good things when it comes to a mystery book.

If nothing else, this story made me want to visit Minneapolis. This author truly has a knack for describing her settings. I never thought a book would give me the urge to visit big Midwestern city when I already live in a big Midwestern city. But here we are, with me wondering when/if I can visit Minneapolis soon.

To sum up, I found this story to be okay, but I could be judging it too harshly due to my previous experiences with this author. I will definitely never pass up an opportunity to read another of her stories.

Logan Russo, co-owner and front man – or woman – of Strike, is a charismatic leader, a strong and tenacious fighter who never gives up, has designed a huge tournament in order to choose the next face of Strike. She had high hopes for her protégé, Aaden Warsame, but his apparent suicide in the locker room at the Strike gym changed Logan’s plans permanently. Soon Gregg Abbott, Logan’s husband and co-owner of Strike, realized that the company was missing the twenty million dollar prize money, and he engaged an accounting firm that specialized in forensic accounting in order to locate the missing money within the week.

Nora Trier’s ability to find even the smallest hidden detail on a balance sheet made her the obvious choice to head the Strike investigation. Working closely with Gregg made Nora feel a bit uncomfortable about the night they had spent together in Atlanta, but she shoved those feelings aside and dove into the search for the twenty million dollars. Nora’s admiration of Logan also threatened to intrude on the investigation, and surprisingly, that’s what the embezzler had counted on.

There’s a lot to admire here – two strong female leads, a mystery, conflicts, fighting (literally), and the ever present battle between good and evil. I enjoyed the story, found it to be an easy read, and appreciated that Logan and Nora both were successful in their chosen fields, were determined and driven, and were able to stand up for their beliefs. As I have come to expect, Mindy Mejia has built a good, solid storyline with interesting twists and something unexpected at the end of the story.

Nothing makes me happier than a new book by Mindy Mejia because you know you're in for the treat of your life. Her books are an absolute must for me and I will read them blind without reading the plot because they're just that good and even as I try slowing down my reading so that I can savor her flawless writing I still zoom along the pages because I have to know what's going on now. Absolutely a must read. Happy reading!