Title: Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
From the celebrated and bestselling author of The Banker’s Wife, worlds collide when an FBI agent investigates a string of grisly murders on Long Island that raises the impossible question: What happens when the primary suspect is your father?
FBI Agent Nell Flynn hasn’t been home in ten years. Nell and her father, Homicide Detective Martin Flynn, have never had much of a relationship. And Suffolk County will always be awash in memories of her mother, Marisol, who was brutally murdered when Nell was just seven.
When Martin Flynn dies in a motorcycle accident, Nell returns to the house she grew up in so that she can spread her father’s ashes and close his estate. At the behest of her father’s partner, Detective Lee Davis, Nell becomes involved in an investigation into the murders of two young women in Suffolk County. The further Nell digs, the more likely it seems to her that her father should be the prime suspect–and that his friends on the police force are covering his tracks. Plagued by doubts about her mother’s murder–and her own role in exonerating her father in that case–Nell can’t help but ask questions about who killed Ria Ruiz and Adriana Marques and why. But she may not like the answers she finds–not just about those she loves, but about herself.
Review:
Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger is a gripping, suspenseful mystery that shines a much needed light on human trafficking.
FBI Agent Nell Flynn has returned home after a ten year absence to deal with the aftermath of her father’s death. Homicide Detective Martin Flynn died in a motorcycle accident and after scattering his ashes with his close friends, Chief of Detectives Glenn Dorsey, Detective Ron Anastas, and his first partner Vince DeSilva, Nell plans to settle his estate then leave. However, she readily acquiesces when Martin’s current partner, Detective Lee Davis, requests her help with the investigation into the murder of Adriana Marques. Adriana’s death bears an uncanny resemblance to the still unsolved murder of another young woman from a year earlier. As she and Lee investigate Adriana’s case, Nell becomes uncomfortably aware the evidence is pointing to her father. Could Martin have murdered these two young women? And if he is not the killer, who is?
Nell is not on the best terms with Martin at the time of his death and she is eager to wrap up his estate and return to her regular life. Currently recovering from an injury from her previous case, she is uncertain what will come next for her with her career in the BAU. Her boss is pushing her to comply with the FBI ordered counseling but Nell is not at all eager to talk about herself or her past. Helping Lee with the murder investigation is a welcome distraction, but could her suspicions about her father be true?
Nell is shocked and dismayed at the discovery the young women appear to be victims of human trafficking. Even more stunning is the information she receives from Martin’s lawyer. Despite her strained relationship with her father, Nell is having trouble believing he could have been involved in such heinous acts. She soon realizes other members of the police force might be involved and she does not know whom she can trust. As the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place, Nell begins to wonder how far the people involved in the case will go to keep their secrets hidden.
Girls Like Us is a fast-paced and absorbing mystery with a bit of a dark storyline. Nell is a likable lead protagonist who fully believes in justice for the victims. She will do anything to protect the witnesses she encounters no matter the cost to herself or her career. Cristina Alger cleverly builds the tension to a fever pitch as this phenomenal mystery hurtles to a twist-filled conclusion. An absolutely brilliant mystery that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.
