Helpful Score: 2
If you're the type of reader who has to have at least one completely likable character in the books you read, think twice before you pick up Loyalty. The Ludlow clan puts the diss in dysfunctional. Carl Ludlow and his wife are the stuff of nightmares and psychiatrists' bank accounts. They have all their children under their thumbs with the exception of Fina, who's able to crawl out from under on a regular basis.
Fina delights in being a hard-nosed, wisecracking maverick who lives on junk food and the desire to annoy her father. She knows the damage her parents have inflicted on all their children, but she still feels loyalty to the clan. After all, they're family, and there aren't that many people around who would understand anyway (even if she did feel like explaining).
Her sense of loyalty is the impetus for her investigation into her sister-in-law's disappearance. Melanie is one of the very few family members Fina likes, and with Melanie's teenage daughter Haley going off the rails, Fina knows her niece needs her mother now more than ever. So in her abrasive and sometimes combative manner, she starts looking.
Although I thought the book needed some tightening and I guessed the crucial fact very early on, I enjoyed this debut novel. I wanted to see just what sort of character Fina Ludlow was... what she would do when she was faced with some very difficult decisions. Fina answered each of my questions in no uncertain terms. I'm now looking forward to reading the second book in this series, Identity. Even though I wouldn't want to spend much time in Fina's company, I like her.
Fina delights in being a hard-nosed, wisecracking maverick who lives on junk food and the desire to annoy her father. She knows the damage her parents have inflicted on all their children, but she still feels loyalty to the clan. After all, they're family, and there aren't that many people around who would understand anyway (even if she did feel like explaining).
Her sense of loyalty is the impetus for her investigation into her sister-in-law's disappearance. Melanie is one of the very few family members Fina likes, and with Melanie's teenage daughter Haley going off the rails, Fina knows her niece needs her mother now more than ever. So in her abrasive and sometimes combative manner, she starts looking.
Although I thought the book needed some tightening and I guessed the crucial fact very early on, I enjoyed this debut novel. I wanted to see just what sort of character Fina Ludlow was... what she would do when she was faced with some very difficult decisions. Fina answered each of my questions in no uncertain terms. I'm now looking forward to reading the second book in this series, Identity. Even though I wouldn't want to spend much time in Fina's company, I like her.
When I received this book in the mail, I had forgotten that I had put it on my "Wish List"! But I am glad I did! In my humble opinion, Ingrid Thoft writes a story as well as James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, or Michael Connelly, just to compare her to a few authors I've read. The story kept me involved and had me rooting for Fina, the main character. The Ludlow family is the epitome of dysfunction, as the reader will find out. Fina is the only family member who dares to go against Carl, the patriarch which made me root all the more for her.
A great read; I look forward to reading "Identity", the next novel by Ms. Thoft!
A great read; I look forward to reading "Identity", the next novel by Ms. Thoft!
"The Ludlows are a family of fast-talking Boston lawyers, and patriarch Carl Ludlow treats his offspring like employeeswhich they are. Black-sheep daughter, Fina, dropped out of law school, but her father keeps her in the fold as the firms private investigator, working alongside her brothers.
Juggling family, business, cops and crooks is no problem for Fina. But when her sister-in-law disappears, shes caught up in a case unlike any shes encountered before.
Carl wants things resolved without police, but the deeper Fina digs, the more impossible that seems. As she unearths more dirt, the demands of family loyalty intensify. But she is after the truthno matter where it lies"
By the time the book was finished I enjoyed Fina but the book was so very long and mostly boring. If I had bought the book I would have never finished it --- but as I won a copy I felt obligated to finish it. It's so very one sided, in the end you know what's going on but all through the story there's just so many people involved and you have no idea why. I often fell asleep through it also....was extremely hard to finish.
Juggling family, business, cops and crooks is no problem for Fina. But when her sister-in-law disappears, shes caught up in a case unlike any shes encountered before.
Carl wants things resolved without police, but the deeper Fina digs, the more impossible that seems. As she unearths more dirt, the demands of family loyalty intensify. But she is after the truthno matter where it lies"
By the time the book was finished I enjoyed Fina but the book was so very long and mostly boring. If I had bought the book I would have never finished it --- but as I won a copy I felt obligated to finish it. It's so very one sided, in the end you know what's going on but all through the story there's just so many people involved and you have no idea why. I often fell asleep through it also....was extremely hard to finish.
This is not really my kind of story. I read it as a 'book club' selection. All of the characters were sleazy characters. There were a couple of them that had some redeeming traits. The main character was not a particularly likable. She gave a front of being a tough PI in a tough world, but certainly didn't stand up for herself with her father. She also seemed to have only symbiotic relationships with the men in her life. In fact, to me she was a user not a giver. That being said, there are 12 people in our book club. The 'likes' far outnumbered the 'dislikes'-9 to 3. I will not be reading any more of the series. However, nine people in the club are reading or have read the next books.
Book had too many characters to keep track of and I found it repetitive when the main character kept getting beaten up over and over again. Not sure if I will try this author again.
