A review by darice
The Janes by Louisa Luna

3.0

The second book in the series of Alice Vega starts much slower than the first one. Where in Two Girls Down you are immediately on the edge of your seat, the second book only gets exciting about the second half. For that, I give the book 3.5 stars.

The crime-fighting duo, Alice Vega and Max Caplan are back. This time Vega gets hired to investigate the murder of two teenage Jane Does. It's been months since the Brandt girls' case and Vega asks Max to help her out again.

While these two are perfect crime-fighting partners, I could do without the romantic interest between the two of them. I like Vega because she's a no-nonsense strong intelligent woman. But she's also a loner and lives by her own moral code. Max is a straight mostly by the book guy and lovable dad to his teenage daughter Nell. And it grinds me a bit that Max is like a worried puppy dog sometimes around Vega, while he knows exactly who she is. Like Max, the woman just beat up a guy twice her size with a bolt cutter, I think she can handle herself.

SpoilerAm I the only one who doubted Vega's decision to help the girl disappear? Vega concluded she murdered the other girls to save them from worse. It seems to me starting life like that she won't have a problem murdering again later in life. Although considering it was the Bastard aka Joy who created the new identity, I assume they'll keep an eye on her.


The plot of The Janes is based on the grim reality of the human trafficking of young girls and all the illegality on the border going on from both sides. I'm currently binge-watching Criminal Minds and to know all this gruesome fiction I'm watching and reading is actually going on daily..makes these stories a bit harder to process.

Looking forward to book #3 of Alice Vega