Emotionally intuitive PIs help an overworked small town investigate the sudden disappearance of two young girls from a parking lot. Fast-paced plot with unexpected twists and turns. 

This book was read by Meredith Lewis, the [mostly] Orange County Campus Librarian.

Title: Two Girls Down

Author: Louisa Luna

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, PI Crime Novel

#ReadGreatThings2020 Category: A book that is part of a series [The Janes— the second book in the Alex Vega series–is also available at the Orange County Campus]; A book suggested by a Durham Tech librarian

Why did you choose to read this book?

Samantha Irby , whose book of essays I enjoyed and who I follow on Instagram, my favorite social media app (all the animal photos!), recommends books pretty regularly, and she kept mentioning Louisa Luna because The Janes [the second book in the series] was released in January 2020. I’ve been in the mood for a thriller or a mystery, but didn’t want to get started on a huge, overwhelming series, so I decided to give this one a try. And I’m glad I did! This book was great!

What did you like about it?

There are two things that either make or break a mystery series for me– the main characters and the plotting. I need the main characters to be flawed, but not so unlikable that I wonder how anyone works with them. I really enjoyed how emotionally intelligent both Alex Vega and Max Caplan, our two PIs, are in talking to people involved in the case, but how that doesn’t entirely translate into their everyday life (except when Cap is interacting with his delightful teenage daughter). The characters in this story are all well-written and developed; I really felt like I could see and understand then, even if they were just a side character.

The story itself is the second thing that I look for when deciding if I’m going to read more than one book in a series; if the twists and turns are too stupid or ridiculous, I’m not likely to read another book by that author, but this one had just the right number of “is this the kidnapper?” characters without being ridiculous. The resolution was surprising, too, which is always a plus for me.

Who would you recommend the book to?

Anyone who likes contemporary thrillers and mysteries!

Book friends (related reading recommendations):

For people who are looking for interesting, contemporary PI-type protagonists, IQ by Joe Ide (which is also the beginning of a currently shorter series) is gritty, character-driven, and has a smart and resourceful main character.

Available at the Main Campus Library, 
PS 3609 .D356 I66 2017