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Having really enjoyed this author’s The Banker’s Wife, Jan and I were quite anxious to read this new book of hers. We enjoyed our foray, and felt this book had some fine story telling and a story that concluded well.

Jan’s review

If you like smart, strong female leads then you will find much to like in this book. FBI agent Nell is on medical leave from her job and travels to her hometown for her estranged father’s funeral. As she reconnects with her father’s coworkers in the police department, Nell gets pulled into the investigation of the murders of two undocumented sex workers.  What follows is a complicated tale that uncovers a dark underbelly in her hometown that may involve her father.  An underbelly that anyone who follows the news will find familiar.

I appreciated the respect the author gave the young women who died, despite their status as undocumented sex workers. They are ‘girls like us’, even though the authorities saw them as less than deserving of a full-blown investigation. I also loved Nell’s determination and persistence to find justice for them despite all the dangers and roadblocks. 

Marialyce and I both enjoyed the author’s previous book, The Banker‘s Wife and looked forward to this one. If I had to choose between the two I’d say I enjoyed The Banker’s Wife a bit more, but this is a well-plotted, easy read that I would recommend for fans of straight up police procedurals with no crazy out-of-left-field twists or eye-rolling moments. I wouldn’t mind seeing Nell’s character developed further in future books, but either way, I’ll anxiously await the author’s next book.

*I received an e-galley of this book from edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Marialyce’s review

It’s been a very hard ten years for Nell Flynn. She is estranged from her father, her memories of home are not pleasant, and now that her father, a former police detective, has passed, Nell needs to return to the place where her memories haunt her.

The place she goes to is on Long Island. (I always enjoy a book that features my old hometown area.) She is not only confronted by memories but also by the murders of two young woman. As Nell steps into the investigation, brought along by her father’s partner, Lee Davis, she begins to uncover a world of human trafficking, sex workers, and a bevy of men, both those in high positions and places of authority that have been a part of the ominous goings on. There were shades of Jeffrey Epstein in the story as an extremely wealthy man seems to revel in underage parties, and provide sex partners for the high and mighty.

Adding to Nell’s dilemma is her continual wonder about the brutal murder of her mother, and with her feelings towards her father, Nell believes he might have had a hand in all the nefarious happenings in her old hometown.

Nell discovers a world of underhanded dealings, a world where money can buy you anything you want, a world where young women are commodities traded and bought by the highest bidder, a world where one might find themselves dead.

This was a fine story that was very straight forward in its writing and story telling. There were some moments that the reader might have anticipated, but the flow of the story was such that the events kept one moving along the timeline of the book.

As Jan mentioned above, I, too, was more partial to The Banker’s Wife. However for those who like a strong female protagonist and the ways in which some are drawn to the dark side of living, this book might just be one to pick up.

and here’s the author

Cristina Alger is the New York Times bestselling author of of Girls Like Us, The Banker’s Wife, The Darlings, and This Was Not the Plan. A graduate of Harvard College and NYU Law School, she worked as a financial analyst and a corporate attorney before becoming a writer. She lives in New York with her husband and children.