by Ingrid Thoft
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed through Amazon Vine program
Ingrid Thoft’s latest in her Fina Ludlow series, ‘Brutality’, is superb. It’s the story of Liz Barone, aging college soccer star who suffers from migraines and other mental problems stemming from her hard-charging days as a collegiate sports super star. Before she can get her lawsuit against her alma mater launched, she is murdered. Private Investigator Fina Ludlow is brought in to bring the guilty party to justice. It doesn’t take long for Fina to find out there’s a lot more behind this brutal murder than appears.
I’ve never read this author before, but several characteristics grabbed my attention immediately. First was Thoft’s syntax. At first, the awkwardness of the tightly structured sentences that overflowed with lots of information but little emotion pushed me away from Fina Ludlow. It didn’t take long before I realized this was a true reflection of Fina–tight and controlled, but chock full of so much more. She’s the only daughter of a controlling highly-successful lawyer father and the sibling to two brothers who dutifully followed in Daddy’s footsteps. Rather than become yet another lawyer in the family empire–what her father expected–this gorgeous, sexy woman applies her razor-sharp intellect to unravel evidence as an investigator. Don’t expect the hard-charging, tough-as-nails investigator that so often people thrillers. Fina is classy, cultivated, calm, empathetic, and human in both her thoughts and actions.
The story provides lots of procedural insights into criminal investigations from the PI side. Here’s an early line:
“Family members were always prime suspects and had the most information about a victim’s other relationships. Many times it was what family members failed to discuss that was most critical; unanswered questions or tactful evasions often pointed Fina in the right direction.”
Another thing I like about Fina–though it makes me wince at times–is she has incredibly thick skin. I enjoyed reading how she invariably parried rudeness with humor. Here’s one example as a security guy manning the entrance to a scientific lab ignores Fina’s repeated efforts to question him:
“Through the metal detector, take the elevator to the eighth floor,” he gestured [after ignoring all of Fina’s questions].
“Let’s stay in touch, Louis,” Fina said…:
Because the story is predominantly told through Fina’s eyes, we the reader get to know her quite well–what she eats, her repressed emotions and subconscious reactions, why she does pretty much everything, how she makes decisions and choices. The more I know, the more I liked this moral, kind-but-tough woman who despite everything finds it’s important to be true to her word and protect those unable to do that for themselves. In so many ways, Fina reminds me of Taylor Stevens’ Vanessa Michael Munroe. Both are unusual female protagonists who dominate their novels.
That’s it. If you like strong female action-oriented protagonists, don’t miss this novel.
More strong female protagonists in thrillers:
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, monthly contributor to Today’s Author and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. You can find her book at her publisher’s website, Structured Learning.
I’m intrigued!! I like the idea of a strong female character. Fabulous review!!
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It took me a while–25% of the book maybe–to fall in love with this female protagonist. Then I did. I am so sad NetGalley turned me down for the sequel. I suppose I’ll have to buy it!
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What?!? Turned you down? They’re crazy! I’d love to see your book shelf. Are the books crammed in sideways and vertically? I love designing bookcases. I arrange according to book cover, size, genre…if I could do it professionally I would.
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I know take armloads of books to the library store–just donate them. I can’t keep them around. And, my Kindle is chock full. If Amazon every goes out of business, I’m in trouble.
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Great review. Fina sounds like a fresh take on the main character. You convinced me to add it to my list 🙂
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She is definitely fresh. I love that the author didn’t reveal everything in one book (like I am prone to do in my writing). She tantalized me–and it worked!
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Jacqui, this sounds like a breath of fresh air to the many tough thrillers with the cold-heartened investigators/police. Interesting how the syntax reflects the character, nice touch. Definitely one to look at. I just read a little bit about Ingrid and see she completed a certificate in private investigation to enhance her knowledge of the subject! That’s dedication and obviously paid off in her books.
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I didn’t know that–about getting her PI certificate to write more authentically. Thanks for sharing that. That’s probably why the story seems so authentic.
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Fabulous review and a it’s refreshing to learn this investigator is not the usual bad girl. Hmm. Thanks, Jacqui. 🙂
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Or a spoiled rich girl. I started feeling pretty standoffish and came away really liking her. Good read.
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This novel appeals to me already. 🙂
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Great review. Fina sounds like a fantastic main character.
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I find myself drawn to accomplished confident female characters. Not like Wonder Woman. Just real life problem solvers.
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Jacqui, you made my week! Thank you for such an amazing review! It’s a thrill when I hear from happy readers, and it will propel me through the final editing push on book #4!
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You have made MY week too Ingrid. And what a mini staycation it was to get lost in Fiona’s world. I will be the first in line to purchase your next installment!
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Fina sounds like my kind of gal – or at least, the kind of gal I admire. Great review, Jacqui. You make this book seem like it must be read.
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Well for us thriller mystery aficionados who love strong female leads, it is a must-read. There’s a bit of the strong g silent type in her that is unusual in a female character.
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This looks really good. I see it’s the third in a series. I added the first in the series to my Goodreads to-read list. There are so many books I want to get to and then I forget about them, so I made sure to add this one where I’ll see it. Thanks!
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Me too. I tried to check it out of my library but no joy. I’m saving my pennies for the digital copy.
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Love your reviews.
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It took me a while to get into Ingrid, and then I loved her strength, passion, quietness as she did what she had to do.
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Thanks for another great review, Jacqui. You’re contributing to my ever-growing TBR stack…but that’s okay. 🙂
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If you like strong, independent women, Ingrid’s your gal.
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