Jamie 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 or 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.
Ah, good. I've seen this book around and wondered if it would be a good one. Putting it on my list now. Thanks for the review!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I put it aside twice before finally coming back to it and liking it so much!
DeleteOh I love it when a good goes from meh to great! Glad this one turned around and it was one to recommend. Will have to look for this one!
ReplyDeleteIt ended up keeping completely involved with the characters. :)
DeleteI'm definitely intrigued by Alice Vega, Bounty Hunter. She sounds like a great character! I'm glad this mystery didn't disappoint. :)
ReplyDeleteAlice is part bad-ass and part enigma!
DeleteIt was a good thing you decided to read it to the end, wasn't it? I hate to miss a good book just because it has a meh opening or a slower pace. Sometimes it definitely pays to be patient (to me anyway, ha.)
ReplyDeleteYep, I am glad that I kept coming back to this one!
DeleteI am glad this one turned out better than you expected, Jenclair. It sounds like something I would like.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the characters and the way they worked together together, not always agreeably. :)
DeleteJust finished this a few days ago. Loved it!!! So glad I discovered your review for The Janes, which led me to this book.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it, Les! Vega and Cap are great characters, aren't they?
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