Two Girls Down

By Louisa Luna

Rating: 4/5 Stairs

Expected publication: 9 January 2018

A fast paced thriller, Two Girls Down doesn’t waste time getting the mystery started. Two young sisters go missing from a strip mall parking lot, and time is of the essence – the longer the girls are missing, the less chance they have to find them alive.

With the police releasing little information, the family calls in an expert — bounty hunter Alice Vega, who has a reputation for finding missing children. The local police won’t share information with Vega, so she partners with local private investigator (and ex-cop) Max Caplan in the hope that he can get a little inside information from his old partner.

The mystery pulls the reader in — who took the girls and where did they go? Are they still alive? Vega pushes Cap almost around the clock following up leads in their race against time. The story is engaging and the pace to find the girls relentless. The mystery has a few good turns as clues are uncovered.

As always, my favorite part about this story is the characters. Vega is an interesting, strong female lead  — she’s a loner, tough as nails, and doesn’t let anything deter her focus to find the missing girls and bring them home. As she and Cap continue to follow clues to the girls disappearance, we get glimpses into Vega’s past.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cap is a divorced father who would do anything for his sixteen-year-old daughter. Cap’s family man is a nice contrast to Vega’s solitude. Together they make the book much more engaging than a typical missing persons story.

I hope that this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Alice Vega. I’d love to see her team up with Cap again, but (don’t worry I’m keeping it spoiler free) I don’t know if I see that happening. Cap is a family man, rooted in his town, while Vega has no ties, and moves where the cases take her. Vega (and Cap) or not, I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from Ms. Luna.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.