Two girls down : a novel

Title:

Author:

Luna, Louisa, author.

Personal Author:

Luna, Louisa, author.

ISBN:

9780385542494

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

x, 304 pages ; 25 cm

Abstract:

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.

Subject Term:

Missing children -- Fiction.

Sisters -- Fiction.

Women bounty hunters -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Pennsylvania -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery fiction.

Suspense fiction.

Thrillers (Fiction)

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Broad Rock	Book	FICTION LUNA	Searching... Unknown
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Searching... Main Library	Book	FICTION LUNA	Searching... Unknown
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Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"I'm always looking for a good thriller, and this just was perfect." --Nancy Pearl, NPR's Morning Edition
"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
"Sensational." Wall Street Journal
"A must-read for fans of strong female protagonists.' --Booklist (starred review)

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 forever.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A young female bounty hunter partners with a disgraced former cop to find a pair of missing girls.Single mother Jamie Brandt is late delivering her daughters to a birthday party, so she leaves 10-year-old Kylie and 8-year-old Bailey in the car while she runs into Kmart to buy a present. When she returns, the sisters are gone. Forty-eight hours pass without any leads, so Jamie's wealthy aunt hires renowned California bounty hunter Alice Vega to assist with the search. Vega hops the next plane to Denville, Pennsylvania, only to be frostily received by local law enforcement. Enter Max "Cap" Caplan, a private investigator who was forced to resign from the Denville PD three years prior but still has friends on the force. Vega agrees to share her fee with Cap if he'll call in some favors, and together they launch an investigation that shines a light on the darkest corners of rural Pennsylvania. Luna (Serious as a Heart Attack, 2005, etc.) excels at creating drama and sustaining tension, but her story relies too heavily on coincidence to fully satisfy, and the final plot twist goes unearned. Cap is an engaging and realistically flawed character, but the same can't be said for Vega, who is almost comically hard-bitten. The chapters told from her perspective are overwrought, and the attraction between her and Cap feels manufactured.What starts as a harrowing children-in-peril tale falls prey to clich and melodrama. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.