Reviews with content warning for Trafficking - Girls Like Us

Reviews tagging 'Trafficking'

Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger

17 reviews

gabriela_carolinacf's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book was a great mystery, it was full of twists and turns that constantly kept me guessing till the very end loved it.

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vicrine's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

5/10 - Americans are weird how they refer to places where they live. Why is it constantly Suffolk county? Why not the town where she lives? I wouldn't say oh I can't wait to return to the region of Peel LOL

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leebeeloves's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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iirissr's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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arychaaa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Loved how this book kept me interested from beginning to end. So many twists and turns that had me trying to figure out the mystery myself ! Dark topic but not gory which i liked

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aeoliandeductress's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

6/2/2020: I like Nell. I want more characters like Nell. This book has pacing issues and an answer that is too easy in the end. More later.

1/1/2025: Damn it I don’t remember enough to review. May have to re-listen.

1/6/2025: Have re-listened.

Synopsis: Nell Flynn has returned home after her dad’s death from a motorcycle accident. Nell is an FBI agent and hasn’t been home in 10 years. Her father and her had a falling out before she left and while they’ve spoken occasionally over the last few years, she hadn’t wanted to return to Suffolk County on Long Island. His death, initially thought to be due to drunk driving, forces her to confront past demons. Nell’s mother had been murdered when she was very young and while a man was arrested and convicted, there was definitely some suspicion of her father.

The day after scattering his remains with his small cohort of old-timer cop buddies, her dad’s most recent partner, Lee, asks for her help with a homicide scene that looks to be part of a serial case. Nell is supposed to be on leave due to a shoulder injury in a shooting involving a very bad Russian dude. But she ends up going with Lee anyhow. They find the body of a Latina girl, dismembered, wrapped in burlap. Lee and Dorsey (Nell’s dad’s best friend and head of the department) are both convinced another Latino (undocumented) named Morales did it. But Nell quickly realizes the profile doesn’t fit… and worse, it fits her father more.

Nell meets with a lawyer about her father’s estate. She learns he was keeping an apartment for a woman named Maria and that he had an off-shore account. Determined once and for all to figure out if her father is the man behind these murders (as well as possibly her mother’s), Nell starts investigating. She learns that a rich, powerful man named Meechum (sp?) has parties with escorts for other rich and powerful men. Both girls that have been found dead worked those parties. Nell eventually learns that the department her dad worked for his rife with corruption and they are getting kickbacks from the pimp and Meechum. She later uncovers that her dad was not part of it, but rather investigating to try to take down the whole ring and had collected a bunch of evidence. Before they are able to take down the ring with Nell’s FBI buddies (Sarah- head of a human trafficking task force- and Lightman- her boss), Lee is killed with a car bomb. (He had actually been DEA undercover as they were also trafficking drugs.) They take down the department but Meechum gets off with just a year.

Nell figures out that the actual murder is a socialite named Grace (who found the second body) who killed the girls because her husband was having affairs with them. Grace attacks Nell and is killed. Nell meets Maria and learns that she is her half-sister, the product of a fling her father had several years prior. He had not known about her until her mother got very sick and died, sending him word just before her passing. Nell and Maria make plans to move together to Florida so they can have a fresh start away from Suffolk County.

Thoughts: After listening to this a second time, I think this book is solid but not amazing. The characters are great- some of the best character writing I’ve seen honestly. Nell feels very real- tough but also caring- I want more characters like her. Sarah is similar, with just enough rebel streak. Lee has boy scout feel without being flat. This was all good. The plot… it started off good but it feels like there either wasn’t a planned end game OR the author was told to jazz it up.

I’m not anti killing off Lee- sad as it was, it was an excellent twist. But the part with Grace felt like an afterthought. It felt like we just kept closing old tabs at the end. Also, the idea that Sarah would have let Nell talk to Grace alone is ludicrous given her recent physical trauma especially. I know what they were going for but there was a better way to do it.

I think this is a book where theme was so prevalent that it got in the way of plot, which is better than the reverse but can still hurt overall flow. Still, a good and meaningful thrilled with an excellent lead character. It is in present tense- which sometimes drives me batty but worked okay here.

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ryendnae's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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bookishchaos's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It had a slow start, but around 50%, I was hooked! The story moved at a steady pace that kept me entertained and the twists were WILD. I also loved Nell, Lee and Sarah as characters. And the ending was a beautiful conclusion to the story. This would honestly be a great movie.

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e_freda's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

really entertaining and somewhat easy read. it’s fast paced. topic is a bit dark but never skews gory

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enlamont's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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