Hideout by Louisa Luna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Alice Vega, still kicking butt and taking names.
Hideout is the third book in Louisa Luna’s gritty Crime Thriller series, Alice Vega, featuring the badass people-finder of the same name.
In my opinion, the books in this series do not necessarily need to be read in order. In fact, I would argue they can also be read as standalones, however, you will be missing out on the gorgeous build-up of the relationship between Alice and her partner-from-afar, disgraced former cop, Max Caplan.
So, while they can be read any way you like, I would highly recommend starting at the beginning and proceeding from there. They’re all really good, so you should have a fantastic time catching up, at any rate.
After the conclusion of The Janes, which was set on the West Coast of the U.S., Max returns home to the East Coast battered and bruised. That was an extremely dangerous case for him and Vega both.
The two of them begin to settle back into their regular lives, Alice working missing persons cases and Max, most importantly fathering his daughter Nell, as well as performing his private investigative work.
Vega gets bored easy though, so when she is propositioned with an unusual case, finding a missing college football player last seen 30-years ago, she jumps on it.
Normally, Vega’s cases are very current and she’s battling a ticking clock, so this one is quite unusual. She begins her search where the man in question, Zeb Williams, was last seen. A small town in Oregon called Ilona.
As she begins to get to know some of the locals, Vega starts to understand this town may not be as sweet and pristine as it first appears. There’s a lot of dirty secrets and vicious inclinations hiding just under the surface; including an active branch of a white supremacist group.
Vega knows people are not being honest with her. She believes someone, maybe multiple someones, know what happened to Zeb. Additionally, she has a feeling the most powerful players in town may be involved.
Naturally, she calls Cap to bounce some ideas off of him. Well, really she wants his help, but Cap isn’t ready.
He has a lot going on in his own life, particularly struggling with the fact that his baby girl is almost a grown-up. He can’t drop everything and risk his life again just because Vega called.
I was really anticipating this release and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t vibe with this one quite as much as I did with the earlier books.
If you have read this, you may be able to predict what I am going to say, but for me, part of the magic of this series is the partnership between Alice and Max. Their personalities, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, compliment each other very well. It’s a solid investigative duo.
In this book, the vast majority of their interactions are long distance. This one is much more, Alice living her life on the West Coast and Max, living his life on the East.
Max is helping her only in minor ways. The case turns out to be extremely dangerous, and Alice, seemingly uncaring to risks, puts herself in incredibly nerve-wrenching circumstances. This woman seriously has a gut of steel. She’s not afraid of anything.
I do love Alice as a character for that very reason. She is extremely confident, but it’s because she works hard at it. She trains herself in body and mind and she knows she is prepared for anything. She knows she can perform even with her life on the line.
I also love Max. He has so many incredible qualities. I actually did really enjoy reading about his relationship with his daughter, Nell, in this one. She is a lot like him, which I think makes him really nervous!
My one hope is that in the next book of the series, which I am assuming there will be more, Max and Alice actually physically work the case together.
I feel like I am well and fully attached to these characters now. I definitely want to read more in this series. This one is really interesting. It’s a lot, but it’s intriguing.
I did like the backdrop of having the college football element. As a huge football fan, that was really fun. Something I don’t think I have ever read before in an Adult Mystery/Thriller.
Thank you to the publisher, Doubleday Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
I really appreciate it and will be keeping my fingers crossed that we get more of Vega and Cap!!!
