Series
Genres
Publication
Doubleday (2018), 320 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Thriller. HTML:"Opening this book is like arming a bomb�??the suspense is relentless and the payoff is spectacular. Lead character Alice Vega is sensational�??I want to see lots more of her."�??Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher series As addictive, cinematic, and binge-worthy a narrative as The Wire and The Killing, Two Girls Down introduces Louisa Luna as a thriller writer of immense talent and verve. 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… (more)
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member techeditor
Many reviews of TWO GIRLS DOWN compare its female main character, Alice Vega, to Jack Reacher (the main character in a series by Lee Child). Therefore, I was expecting an unreal superwoman who could accomplish almost anything even with one hand tied behind her back. But I was pleasantly surprised.
Vega is a private investigator out of California with a reputation for locating missing persons, mostly children . When she is hired to find two little girls in Pennsylvania, she offers Max Caplan, a former policeman there, a job as her partner in this pursuit. Together, Vega and “Cap” visit a lot of lowlife and unravel the mystery.
Vega’s superpowers , unlike Jack Reacher’s, are limited to her online contacts with a person who has superabilities to find addresses and to hack into banking records. Yes, she does always win fights but not unscathed. Vega didn’t turn me off, as I had expected.
So I was surprised to find that I enjoyed this book. Vega and Cap are logical as, step by step, they attempt to solve the mystery. I expected silly, but it isn’t.
I won this book from Penguin Random House through First Look Book Club.
Show More
Vega is a private investigator out of California with a reputation for locating missing persons, mostly children . When she is hired to find two little girls in Pennsylvania, she offers Max Caplan, a former policeman there, a job as her partner in this pursuit. Together, Vega and “Cap” visit a lot of lowlife and unravel the mystery.
Vega’s superpowers , unlike Jack Reacher’s, are limited to her online contacts with a person who has superabilities to find addresses and to hack into banking records. Yes, she does always win fights but not unscathed. Vega didn’t turn me off, as I had expected.
So I was surprised to find that I enjoyed this book. Vega and Cap are logical as, step by step, they attempt to solve the mystery. I expected silly, but it isn’t.
I won this book from Penguin Random House through First Look Book Club.
Show Less
LibraryThing member grumpydan
This is one suspenseful thriller that I couldn’t put down. Well written, colorful characters and a lot of tense moments. Jamie Brandt is a single mom who lives her two young daughters in the car while she make a quick trip to a store. Girls being girls, they leave the car and are soon abducted.
Show More
Jamie’s aunt hires a private detective, Alice Vega, from California who has been successful in finding missing children. Vega is one serious player with a lot of tricks up her sleeve. With the help of a local PD, and then the cops, they go tracking down every possible lead. They have no idea where the leads are going and whether the girls are still alive. I really enjoyed this story, not only the thrill of the ride, but the characters are well developed and I hope to see Vega in another one soon! Show Less
LibraryThing member PattyLouise
Two Girls Down
By
Louisa Luna
What it's all about...
Who do you turn to if both of your young daughters have suddenly disappeared? If you are able...you hire Alice Vega...PI and she links up with Cap...an ex police officer. Alice is tough...really tough but her record for finding kids is unblemished.
Why I wanted to read it...
This book took place in a small Pennsylvania town...lots of poverty, drugs, and dealers. The two little girls taken...this time...were daughters of a single mom...a single mom who perhaps didn’t watch her daughters closely all of the time. But only because a person can never believe something like this can ever happen.
What made me truly enjoy this book...
The twists and turns in this book were what kept my pages turning. I had no idea where the story would end. I had no idea who took these girls as well as the others. I had no idea how this book would end. All I know is that whenever Alice Vega got mad...I was scared...very very scared.
Why you should read it, too...
Readers who love fast paced intense dramas...will love this book. It’s not a book that can be put down easily.
I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher and Netflix to be read on my Kindle Oasis in exchange for an honest review.O
By
Louisa Luna
What it's all about...
Who do you turn to if both of your young daughters have suddenly disappeared? If you are able...you hire Alice Vega...PI and she links up with Cap...an ex police officer. Alice is tough...really tough but her record for finding kids is unblemished.
Show More
She is damaged...of course...doesn’t eat much nor does she sleep much and she does what she has to do to get the job done. She finds the perfect match or perhaps an unmatched in Cap...but they become an unbeatable team. Why I wanted to read it...
This book took place in a small Pennsylvania town...lots of poverty, drugs, and dealers. The two little girls taken...this time...were daughters of a single mom...a single mom who perhaps didn’t watch her daughters closely all of the time. But only because a person can never believe something like this can ever happen.
What made me truly enjoy this book...
The twists and turns in this book were what kept my pages turning. I had no idea where the story would end. I had no idea who took these girls as well as the others. I had no idea how this book would end. All I know is that whenever Alice Vega got mad...I was scared...very very scared.
Why you should read it, too...
Readers who love fast paced intense dramas...will love this book. It’s not a book that can be put down easily.
I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher and Netflix to be read on my Kindle Oasis in exchange for an honest review.O
Show Less
LibraryThing member susan.h.schofield
I really enjoyed this suspenseful, psychological thriller. It was fast paced and I couldn't put it down. There were a lot of surprising twists and turns. The characters of Alice Vega and Max Caplan were interesting and well written and am hoping this is the first book in series. I received an ARC
Show More
of this book from FirstToRead. Show Less
LibraryThing member Carolesrandomlife
This was really good! I went into this book rather blindly having never read the author before and not seeing much about the book. I thought it looked like a rather good mystery so I jumped in and started reading. I didn't stop reading until I had reached the end of the book. It has been a long
This book grabbed me right away. You know from the very start that something bad is going to happen to Jamie's kids. When they disappear in the parking of the local Kmart, there aren't a lot of clues as to where they might may be. Jamie's aunt hires a private investigator who has a reputation for finding lost people, Alice Vega.
Vega is determined to find the girls and will do what it takes to find them quickly. She enlists the help of a former cop turned private investigator, Cap. Vega and Cap have very different styles of investigating but they soon form a great team. Together they sort through clues and piece a trail back to the girls.
I liked the characters in this story. Vega and Cap were both really interesting characters that ended up in their jobs for very different reasons. Vega was more than willing to cross over the line if that is what is was going to take to bring the girls home. She was tough and worked tirelessly. Cap seemed more like your normal good guy. He is a really good guy who puts his teen daughter first in his life. They were both really smart and have a lot of great instincts.
There was a lot of excitement in this story. I was actually pretty nervous about what would happen a time or two in this story. I couldn't figure out how things would work out and just had to go along with Vega and Cap to find out. I didn't expect to have an emotional reaction to this story but as I read to the end of the story, I found myself with a broken heart.
I would recommend this book to others. This was a very fast paced novel that was almost impossible to put down. I will definitely be reading more for this talented author in the future.
I received an advanced reader edition of this book from Doubleday Books via First to Read.
Show More
time since I wanted to read a whole book in a single sitting but that is exactly what I ended up doing with this story. I am so happy to have stumbled upon this wonderfully written mystery.This book grabbed me right away. You know from the very start that something bad is going to happen to Jamie's kids. When they disappear in the parking of the local Kmart, there aren't a lot of clues as to where they might may be. Jamie's aunt hires a private investigator who has a reputation for finding lost people, Alice Vega.
Vega is determined to find the girls and will do what it takes to find them quickly. She enlists the help of a former cop turned private investigator, Cap. Vega and Cap have very different styles of investigating but they soon form a great team. Together they sort through clues and piece a trail back to the girls.
I liked the characters in this story. Vega and Cap were both really interesting characters that ended up in their jobs for very different reasons. Vega was more than willing to cross over the line if that is what is was going to take to bring the girls home. She was tough and worked tirelessly. Cap seemed more like your normal good guy. He is a really good guy who puts his teen daughter first in his life. They were both really smart and have a lot of great instincts.
There was a lot of excitement in this story. I was actually pretty nervous about what would happen a time or two in this story. I couldn't figure out how things would work out and just had to go along with Vega and Cap to find out. I didn't expect to have an emotional reaction to this story but as I read to the end of the story, I found myself with a broken heart.
I would recommend this book to others. This was a very fast paced novel that was almost impossible to put down. I will definitely be reading more for this talented author in the future.
I received an advanced reader edition of this book from Doubleday Books via First to Read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
A small town in Pennsylvania, a town considered safe, a mother makes a mistake with horrific results.A single mom in a hurry, she leaves her you get daughter's in her vehicle and runs into Walmart to grab a last minute birthday gift. When she returns to her vehicle, she experiences a parents worst
The grandmother hires Alice Vega, a bounty Hunter who specializes in finding missing children. When she gets into town she hires Cap, an ex policeman who has a storied past with the department. I enjoyed both these characters, Vega is a take no holds, follow no rules kind of woman. Her only goal is to find these two young girls, preferable alive. She is a match for any man, tough, trained and deadly. Cap, divorced, finds her intriguing, and he is equally committed to their goal. They compliment each other wonderfully. Cap, the more tender of the two, not that he isn't her match in toughness, but because his teenage daughter Nell, keeps him grounded. She is an amazing in young woman, with a sharp insight of her own. The relationship between Nell and Cap is warm and so endearing.
I'm expecting great things from this series which is off to a prodigious start. It is perfectly balanced, between personal and case, which I admit has been difficult to find in my recent reading. The characters are fully fleshed, intriguing and I look forward to what I hopefully expect will be their further partnership.
ARC from Edelweiss.
Show More
nightmare. Her girls are gone.The grandmother hires Alice Vega, a bounty Hunter who specializes in finding missing children. When she gets into town she hires Cap, an ex policeman who has a storied past with the department. I enjoyed both these characters, Vega is a take no holds, follow no rules kind of woman. Her only goal is to find these two young girls, preferable alive. She is a match for any man, tough, trained and deadly. Cap, divorced, finds her intriguing, and he is equally committed to their goal. They compliment each other wonderfully. Cap, the more tender of the two, not that he isn't her match in toughness, but because his teenage daughter Nell, keeps him grounded. She is an amazing in young woman, with a sharp insight of her own. The relationship between Nell and Cap is warm and so endearing.
I'm expecting great things from this series which is off to a prodigious start. It is perfectly balanced, between personal and case, which I admit has been difficult to find in my recent reading. The characters are fully fleshed, intriguing and I look forward to what I hopefully expect will be their further partnership.
ARC from Edelweiss.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kalky
In TWO GIRLS DOWN by Louisa Luna, Bailey and Kylie Brandt, ages 8 and 10, disappeared when their mom dashed into a store to pick up a birthday gift for the party of one of Kylie's friends. The local police in Denville, PA are short staffed and unable to cope with the level of manpower needed to
Alice Vega and Max "Cap" Caplan are fantastic characters. Alice is a complete badass, and although she isn't good at dealing with people, she has trained herself in how to behave in social situations. She also has a sharp mind, is incredibly resourceful, and she can kick anyone's heinie if she can catch them by surprise. Cap is a pretty typical ex-cop. He drinks a little too much, but most people really like him, they want to talk to him and tell him their secrets, and he's good at piecing puzzles together. I really liked both of them, and Vega's shadowy assistant, The Bastard, is so intriguing that I'd love for him to get a book of his own.
Louisa Luna is a good writer who writes tight action scenes while stringing words together in a sometimes lyrical manner. Her characters are well constructed, and the mystery surrounding the missing girls is a good one. The ending was actually a surprise to me!
I really hope that Cap and Vega team up in future novels, because now that I've spent some time with them, I don't want to let them go. Plus, it's rare that a thriller keeps me guessing until the end, but TWO GIRLS DOWN did! My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Show More
track down leads, so the great-aunt of the two missing girls hires a private investigator to find them. Alice Vega is ridiculously successful at finding missing kids: she's had 18 cases, and she has found all of them--and most of them have been alive. Working in an unknown town means that Vega decides to tap into the resources and connections of a local private investigator. Max Caplan resigned in disgrace from the Denville police department a few years ago, and he's been making his living by collecting information on cheating spouses. When Vega approaches him to help her locate the girls, he initially shies away from the case; however, his precocious sixteen-year-old daughter, Nell, talks him into it.Alice Vega and Max "Cap" Caplan are fantastic characters. Alice is a complete badass, and although she isn't good at dealing with people, she has trained herself in how to behave in social situations. She also has a sharp mind, is incredibly resourceful, and she can kick anyone's heinie if she can catch them by surprise. Cap is a pretty typical ex-cop. He drinks a little too much, but most people really like him, they want to talk to him and tell him their secrets, and he's good at piecing puzzles together. I really liked both of them, and Vega's shadowy assistant, The Bastard, is so intriguing that I'd love for him to get a book of his own.
Louisa Luna is a good writer who writes tight action scenes while stringing words together in a sometimes lyrical manner. Her characters are well constructed, and the mystery surrounding the missing girls is a good one. The ending was actually a surprise to me!
I really hope that Cap and Vega team up in future novels, because now that I've spent some time with them, I don't want to let them go. Plus, it's rare that a thriller keeps me guessing until the end, but TWO GIRLS DOWN did! My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Susan.Macura
This is a well-written and evenly paced story of the kidnapping and investigation of two girls. True to the real world, Kylie and Bailey Brandt were abducted from a mall parking lot. Their single mother was wracked with grief, questioning every decision she ever made. Enter private investigator
Show More
Alice Vega and Max Caplan, the ex-cop with a past she hires to help her. This is a wonderful look at how investigations are conducted from both the police and private sector views with some interesting twists and turns. It is also totally believable. Show Less
LibraryThing member mfbarry
Well plotted procedural that provides strong insights into all of the characters. A very good read!
LibraryThing member debkrenzer
This was a decent read. The main character, Alice Vega, was very strange. Intelligent and tough, but weird.
There was something that kept niggling at my brain while reading this. Then it hit me. This was a YA book. I guess I should have figured that out way before the end with all the "duh's" I said
Not that being a YA is bad, it was just that it was a surprise to me that I didn't figure out until the end.
A good read that I enjoyed.
Thanks to Doubleday Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
There was something that kept niggling at my brain while reading this. Then it hit me. This was a YA book. I guess I should have figured that out way before the end with all the "duh's" I said
Show More
to myself when the book was way over explaining things.Not that being a YA is bad, it was just that it was a surprise to me that I didn't figure out until the end.
A good read that I enjoyed.
Thanks to Doubleday Books and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ecataldi
Pretty solid thriller, kept me guessing until the end. My only major beef with it, is that you have a hard time telling who is the narrator. It switches constantly; mainly between Vega and Cap (two private investigators), sometimes the mother, and sometimes it inexplicably switches to third person.
Show More
It was a little odd to say the least. The two private investigators are trying to find two little girls who were abducted out of a parking lot. For Alice Vega, finding missing children is her specialty (although more often than not they're dead by the time she finds them); she flies out from California to help assist in the investigation. Cap on the other-hand, is a local. He used to work with the cops but after a scandal that resulted in a man overdosing and dying in his cell, he resigned and has been working as a private investigator; catching cheating husbands and skips. When Vega enlists him to help with the missing girls, he isn't thrilled, but quickly he gets back into his element and they start putting pieces together and start catching leads that the police aren't. Are the girls alive? Why would anyone abduct them? Are there more missing girls? Overall it was a fast paced read. Show Less
LibraryThing member TiffanyAK
This was a captivating read, and kept me hooked from the very start. The moment the girls disappear, you know the book is obviously going somewhere intense, but there's no way that I could have predicted the ending. It's pretty twisted, and definitely could be triggering for some people with
Show More
certain events in their past, but at the same time it's undeniably realistic and believable. This is stuff that does happen, and it's crafted together into a gripping thriller here. Show Less
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
A perfectly decent thriller with good pacing, a solid plot with a nice twist, and pretty good characters - the only problem is that I never, but *never*, want to read a book about a badass traumatized female bounty hunter learning to soften up and fall in love with the divorced ex-cop. Getting rid
Show More
of that romance would have gone a long way toward bringing this book from good to great. Show Less
LibraryThing member theeclecticreview
Alice Vega is a bounty hunter who finds missing persons. She keeps her emotions close to her vest, but inside she is in turmoil. When she was contacted by the missing girls' family to work on the case, she expected that the police would be threatened and wouldn't work with her, so who better to
"Never assume you’re gonna find who you’re looking for. Assume you’re gonna find the other thing. Which will generally be someone who wants to kill you. Sometimes they’re the same."
Cap agrees to help Vega with her unorthodox ways of interrogation and subduing perps and her trans-formative personality going from serious to flirtatious to vulnerable in a matter of minutes. Will he be able to work on this case without it becoming personal?
See my complete review at The Eclectic Review
Show More
help her than local Private Investigator Max "Cap" Caplan who resigned from the police department under disagreeable terms. But will this cool-headed man and "goofy" dad of a bright teenage daughter see through her and find out her secrets? Will she be able to find the girls in time?"Never assume you’re gonna find who you’re looking for. Assume you’re gonna find the other thing. Which will generally be someone who wants to kill you. Sometimes they’re the same."
Cap agrees to help Vega with her unorthodox ways of interrogation and subduing perps and her trans-formative personality going from serious to flirtatious to vulnerable in a matter of minutes. Will he be able to work on this case without it becoming personal?
See my complete review at The Eclectic Review
Show Less
LibraryThing member Darcia
Two Girls Down has the pacing of the best police procedural the intensity of a thriller, and the gut punch of a dark crime novel.
Alice Vega is my new hero. I'm putting her right up there beside Jack Reacher.
All the characters are exceptionally well developed, multi-dimensional people. They're
The plot is complex, unfolding slowly, pulling us in and twisting around us before we suddenly realize we're caught in a maelstrom.
The content is striking in its realism.
And did I mention that Alice Vega is a badass? What more could you ask for in a crime novel?
Brilliant start to a new series!
Alice Vega is my new hero. I'm putting her right up there beside Jack Reacher.
All the characters are exceptionally well developed, multi-dimensional people. They're
Show More
interesting and dynamic, and I would've been content just to sit back and get to know them.The plot is complex, unfolding slowly, pulling us in and twisting around us before we suddenly realize we're caught in a maelstrom.
The content is striking in its realism.
And did I mention that Alice Vega is a badass? What more could you ask for in a crime novel?
Brilliant start to a new series!
Show Less
LibraryThing member ML923
This was a real page-turner! A very fast-paced story that was riveting and twisty from beginning to end. A wonderful beginning to a new series!
LibraryThing member gpangel
Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna is a 2018 Doubleday publication.
Taut Suspense- Impossible to put down!
Two young girls go missing from a local mall. However, the small-town police force is overwhelmed and ill equipped to handle the case, so the family hires bounty hunter, Alice Vega to find the
From there, Alice hires a local guy, Max Caplan, a former member of law enforcement, who left the force under dubious circumstances.
In a taut race against the clock, Alice and Max forge a partnership, each bringing their own special skills to the investigation. Although the pair are not traditional detectives, the story works a lot like a procedural, but the plot is complex, dark, gritty, murky, fast-paced, and very smart.
Anytime I read a book with the missing child trope, it seems to have a sharper edge to it. But this story has two missing girls, a distraught single mother, and not much to go on, which creates a greater feeling of doom.
Vega and Caplan each had a unique style, and initially they had to make a few adjustments, but their partnership developed nicely. They both had a fierce drive, focus, and determination to bring those two little girls back to their mother.
I found myself immersed in the story, which held my rapt attention from start to finish. I can’t believe I forgot I had this book on my Kindle! Thanks to my GR friend, Betsy, for reminding me of this book, which also led to the realization that this author has already released the second book in the series! I can’t wait to read it!
Overall, this is a superb thriller, very well done!
Taut Suspense- Impossible to put down!
Two young girls go missing from a local mall. However, the small-town police force is overwhelmed and ill equipped to handle the case, so the family hires bounty hunter, Alice Vega to find the
Show More
missing girls.From there, Alice hires a local guy, Max Caplan, a former member of law enforcement, who left the force under dubious circumstances.
In a taut race against the clock, Alice and Max forge a partnership, each bringing their own special skills to the investigation. Although the pair are not traditional detectives, the story works a lot like a procedural, but the plot is complex, dark, gritty, murky, fast-paced, and very smart.
Anytime I read a book with the missing child trope, it seems to have a sharper edge to it. But this story has two missing girls, a distraught single mother, and not much to go on, which creates a greater feeling of doom.
Vega and Caplan each had a unique style, and initially they had to make a few adjustments, but their partnership developed nicely. They both had a fierce drive, focus, and determination to bring those two little girls back to their mother.
I found myself immersed in the story, which held my rapt attention from start to finish. I can’t believe I forgot I had this book on my Kindle! Thanks to my GR friend, Betsy, for reminding me of this book, which also led to the realization that this author has already released the second book in the series! I can’t wait to read it!
Overall, this is a superb thriller, very well done!
Show Less
LibraryThing member maneekuhi
“Two Girls Down” by Louisa Luna (304 pages and 1st in the Alice Vega series) is currently rated about 4-4.5 stars based on 150 or so reviews. Interestingly, it appears Kindle readers like it better than hard cover readers! Anyway, the storyline is two preteen girls, sisters, are kidnapped and
There are other plot elements that also felt a bit unreal, even amateurish. Early on, Vega teams up with a local forced-to-retire cop, and the two soon cross paths with local police detectives over sharing information, yada, yada, yada. The police chief enters the fray and welcomes the “assistance” of the privates, due to his limited manpower, etc. Now, I’ve read hundreds of police procedurals and that is an eyebrow raising first, and it feels like a quick and lazy way to get around the who knows what of crime investigations. Another example, Vega and Cap, her new partner, are on the case a few days when they come upon the cabin in the woods where victims and kidnappers may be holed-up. They debate a few seconds and decide against calling for backup….instead they’re going to sneak up and get the drop on them….but first, Vega feels compelled to give Cal a lip crushing, knee-buckling kiss out of absolutely nowhere. C’mon!
So who exactly is this Vega character anyway? I don’t know, I don’t think the author knows yet either. Early on, she comes across super-tough, super smart, with all kinds of resources at her beck and call including some character who can find anything about anybody on the web almost instantaneously. But then a minute later she ‘s just a girl who’s met this boy….no, no that’s from a Julia Roberts movie. Forget that. Let’s just say that she’s still under development, a work in progress, and so what if some of her behaviors seem a bit inconsistent.
What else? The first 200 pages were really slow, like almost no tension whatever. I just wanted it to be over. The last 100 pages or so were very good, but every character you had met in the first 200 pops up again and it’s a bit of a challenge to keep track of who’s on first. But I do give it an 8 out of 10 for climaxes, and I suspect that is why this book has it’s rather high (over-rated) score. I think too many reader reviews reflect only the last 100 pages, and not the book as a whole. As one last example – back to the motive. For me, it was not real; the final moments, the explanation of the case, I just couldn’t believe it. Maybe the author can cite a real live example upon which the story is based, but until then, no, the book just doesn’t work for me. And I apologize for the vague wording here, but I did not want to leave you with a spoiler. Not recommended.
Show More
the family calls in super-kidnap-recovery expert Vega to crack the case. There are no ransom demands, and as I think back about the story I don’t recall any cop nor PI commenting about that (non custody related) motive oddity.There are other plot elements that also felt a bit unreal, even amateurish. Early on, Vega teams up with a local forced-to-retire cop, and the two soon cross paths with local police detectives over sharing information, yada, yada, yada. The police chief enters the fray and welcomes the “assistance” of the privates, due to his limited manpower, etc. Now, I’ve read hundreds of police procedurals and that is an eyebrow raising first, and it feels like a quick and lazy way to get around the who knows what of crime investigations. Another example, Vega and Cap, her new partner, are on the case a few days when they come upon the cabin in the woods where victims and kidnappers may be holed-up. They debate a few seconds and decide against calling for backup….instead they’re going to sneak up and get the drop on them….but first, Vega feels compelled to give Cal a lip crushing, knee-buckling kiss out of absolutely nowhere. C’mon!
So who exactly is this Vega character anyway? I don’t know, I don’t think the author knows yet either. Early on, she comes across super-tough, super smart, with all kinds of resources at her beck and call including some character who can find anything about anybody on the web almost instantaneously. But then a minute later she ‘s just a girl who’s met this boy….no, no that’s from a Julia Roberts movie. Forget that. Let’s just say that she’s still under development, a work in progress, and so what if some of her behaviors seem a bit inconsistent.
What else? The first 200 pages were really slow, like almost no tension whatever. I just wanted it to be over. The last 100 pages or so were very good, but every character you had met in the first 200 pops up again and it’s a bit of a challenge to keep track of who’s on first. But I do give it an 8 out of 10 for climaxes, and I suspect that is why this book has it’s rather high (over-rated) score. I think too many reader reviews reflect only the last 100 pages, and not the book as a whole. As one last example – back to the motive. For me, it was not real; the final moments, the explanation of the case, I just couldn’t believe it. Maybe the author can cite a real live example upon which the story is based, but until then, no, the book just doesn’t work for me. And I apologize for the vague wording here, but I did not want to leave you with a spoiler. Not recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Carol420
I really liked the characters of Vega and Cap. Vaga is a more than competent young woman that has a talent for finding missing persons. She takes no grief or attitude from anybody but is always willing to listen. Max Caplan (Cap) is a former police officer turned, what some might term “bounty
Show More
hunter” that finds he has more than met his match…but in a good way…when he teams up with Vega to find the missing 10 and 8 year old girls that disappeared from their mother’s car in a K-Mart parking lot. The author is very good at creating drama and high tension but she strays here from her main topic and what the story had started very well to be built on…the children that had been either kidnapped…vanished… or stolen. If I had to come up with a word to describe this book I would have to say “predictable”. To its credit it’s an entertaining 300 pages well worth the time to read. Show Less
LibraryThing member siri51
Kidnapping mystery, personal investigators working with police- Alice Vega has rather violent tendencies
LibraryThing member rmarcin
Wow, wow, wow!!! Well done, Louisa Luna! This book is a thrill ride from start to finish. It begins when 2 young girls, Kylie and Bailey Brandt, are kidnapped in PA. The family calls in Alice Vega from CA to find them. Alice has been successful in finding missing kids. She recruits Max Caplan, a
#TwoGirlsDown #LouisaLuna
Show More
former cop, to help her. Together, they track down leads, get into dangerous situations, and learn a bit about each other in the process. This book races to its satisfyingly conclusion. I can’t wait to read more from this author!#TwoGirlsDown #LouisaLuna
Show Less
LibraryThing member smik
This novel is the first in the Alice Vega series and covers Vega's back ground, and the creation of her partnership with former cop Max Caplan. We also learn about Vega's relationship with her "researcher" (The Bastard) and also the beginnings of the relationship between the private investigators
Two young girls go missing from the car park while their mother is in a shopping centre. With the police, Vega and Caplan discover that the missing girls are the most recent in a number of cases. As Vega and Caplan come to terms with creating their own set of rules, between them they bring fresh eyes and strategies to following up leads.
This is a real page turner. Recommended.
Show More
and the police. We learn quite a lot of background about both Vega and Caplan.Two young girls go missing from the car park while their mother is in a shopping centre. With the police, Vega and Caplan discover that the missing girls are the most recent in a number of cases. As Vega and Caplan come to terms with creating their own set of rules, between them they bring fresh eyes and strategies to following up leads.
This is a real page turner. Recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nicolewbrown
Normally this isn't my type of book: where kids get kidnapped and people try to figure out what happened and where the kids are. But this book surprised me and I found myself caught up in the characters and the storyline. Julia is a single mother who does her best by her two daughters Kylie,
The cops are looking with little success, so her sister Maggie hires a private investigator from California, Alice Vega who has a perfect track record in finding the people she goes looking for both children and adults. Though they don't always wind up alive, or if alive, all there. Vega seeks out the help of local private investigator Max "Cap" Caplan. He took the fall for one of the guys on the police force when a teen died in custody of a drug overdose and resigned. He's divorced with a smart teenage daughter that he has a special relationship with. He is able to provide her with the witness statements after a while and some convincing of Em the man he covered for who doesn't want to lose his job even if he does owe Cap.
Junior, the Captain of the police, provides them trouble until the Chief of Police finds out and insists that he work with them as they are getting things done. It turns out that Kyle kept a diary at her friend Cole's house. They go over there to get it and run into resistance with Cole's father who doesn't want them to have it. He wants to give it to the cops. The guy is an *ssh*l* lawyer and someone who knows who Cap is. They assure him that they are working with the cops and that it will be going to the cops. They barely make it out of there without a physical altercation.
Also, someone emailed them that the girl's case is connected to the disappearance of Nolan Marsh a twenty-five-year-old schizophrenic who went missing three years ago. They talk to his mother but don't get very far. She's dying. So Vega goes and talks to his younger brother, Evan, who is likely doing drugs but is still looking for his brother. When they crack Kyle's diary they find out who the mysterious guy is that she is in love with and it's not who you expect.
The camera angles from the stores indicate that Kylie knew and hugged the guy that she got in the car with. But there was more than one person involved. Jaime, her mother has no idea who it could be and they are depending on her diary to unveil his identity. But who is the other guy? Also, the FBI has gotten involved and they have two missing girls in the state of Pennsylvania with similar looks that both took ballet classes just like Kylie. So is there a connection?
This book turned out to far exceed my expectations. It was a real page-turner. The more I read the more I got sucked into the story and the characters. Vega is a tough woman who has been through a lot and refuses to lose or be treated like a second class citizen. Cap is a loveable guy who sees right through Vega's bullshit and calls her on it. This was a fantastic book that took me by surprise by how great it was. It got better and better the farther along you got into the book. I give it five out of five stars.
Quotes
Perry would have said that if someone crosses you on the wrong day, you grab the nearest pint glass and shove it in their teeth. Don’t stew in your juices, don’t let anything sink in. Don’t wait, don’t bide your time, don’t dave your breath, don’t sleep on it. You don’t have the weight, kid, but you got the fire, so bur the motherfuckers to the bone.
-Louise Luna (Two Girls Down p 139)
It felt like a first date. Vega had never been on a first date. She could not remember sleeping with someone she hadn’t been in a fistfight with first.
-Louise Luna (Two Girls Down p 153)
Show More
ten-years-old and eight-year-old Bailey. One day in March Kylie has been invited to a party so Julie stops by K-Mart to get something for the girl, but leaves her daughters in the car knowing that she can accomplish this task quicker with them in the car not asking for something for themselves when she didn't have much money to spend and was hoping to have some left over to buy her aunt a gift. When she returns back to her car her kids are gone. She finds out that they had gotten out to use the bathroom at the ice cream shop, but after that, they disappeared.The cops are looking with little success, so her sister Maggie hires a private investigator from California, Alice Vega who has a perfect track record in finding the people she goes looking for both children and adults. Though they don't always wind up alive, or if alive, all there. Vega seeks out the help of local private investigator Max "Cap" Caplan. He took the fall for one of the guys on the police force when a teen died in custody of a drug overdose and resigned. He's divorced with a smart teenage daughter that he has a special relationship with. He is able to provide her with the witness statements after a while and some convincing of Em the man he covered for who doesn't want to lose his job even if he does owe Cap.
Junior, the Captain of the police, provides them trouble until the Chief of Police finds out and insists that he work with them as they are getting things done. It turns out that Kyle kept a diary at her friend Cole's house. They go over there to get it and run into resistance with Cole's father who doesn't want them to have it. He wants to give it to the cops. The guy is an *ssh*l* lawyer and someone who knows who Cap is. They assure him that they are working with the cops and that it will be going to the cops. They barely make it out of there without a physical altercation.
Also, someone emailed them that the girl's case is connected to the disappearance of Nolan Marsh a twenty-five-year-old schizophrenic who went missing three years ago. They talk to his mother but don't get very far. She's dying. So Vega goes and talks to his younger brother, Evan, who is likely doing drugs but is still looking for his brother. When they crack Kyle's diary they find out who the mysterious guy is that she is in love with and it's not who you expect.
The camera angles from the stores indicate that Kylie knew and hugged the guy that she got in the car with. But there was more than one person involved. Jaime, her mother has no idea who it could be and they are depending on her diary to unveil his identity. But who is the other guy? Also, the FBI has gotten involved and they have two missing girls in the state of Pennsylvania with similar looks that both took ballet classes just like Kylie. So is there a connection?
This book turned out to far exceed my expectations. It was a real page-turner. The more I read the more I got sucked into the story and the characters. Vega is a tough woman who has been through a lot and refuses to lose or be treated like a second class citizen. Cap is a loveable guy who sees right through Vega's bullshit and calls her on it. This was a fantastic book that took me by surprise by how great it was. It got better and better the farther along you got into the book. I give it five out of five stars.
Quotes
Perry would have said that if someone crosses you on the wrong day, you grab the nearest pint glass and shove it in their teeth. Don’t stew in your juices, don’t let anything sink in. Don’t wait, don’t bide your time, don’t dave your breath, don’t sleep on it. You don’t have the weight, kid, but you got the fire, so bur the motherfuckers to the bone.
-Louise Luna (Two Girls Down p 139)
It felt like a first date. Vega had never been on a first date. She could not remember sleeping with someone she hadn’t been in a fistfight with first.
-Louise Luna (Two Girls Down p 153)
Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
Alice Vega, a PI who specializes in missing persons cases, teams up with ex-police officer Cap to look for two missing girls. I found this fast-paced and gripping, and I enjoyed the interactions between Cap and Vega. It got a bit overcomplicated by the end and could perhaps have been shorter, and
Show More
Alice could have been bit less prone to violence, but I am keen to read the others in this series Show Less
ISBN
0385542496 / 9780385542494