Hideout is the third book in the Alice Vega series by American author, Louisa Luna. Cold cases are not PI Alice Vega’s usual remit; missing persons or minors in distress are what she typically delves into. But now she’s looking for the famous 1984 Cal kicker, Zeb Williams, at the request of his one-time girlfriend’s husband.

Max Caplan declines her offer to include him: in the five months since she almost got him killed three times, he has found steady investigative work for a local public interest lawyer, and he wants to see as much of Nell as possible before she goes off to Princeton. Vega heads to small-town Southern Oregon on her own.

Ilona is the last place anyone saw Zeb, so Vega is chatting to anyone who met him over thirty years earlier, which isn’t providing a lot of intel: it’s not looking promising for closing this case. But she quickly intuits that some people are afraid, and a white nationalist/alt-right group, Liberty Pure, is responsible. Young men are vandalising property, poisoning pets and threatening the children of certain targets. Can Vega leave that alone?

Alice Vega is clever, capable and confident in her own skills, and has access to fantastic IT resources, but that slight arrogance sees her misjudging the danger these young men present, to her detriment, and that of her father. A time of recouperation is required but, rather than being deterred, Vega is now even more determined to administer admonitions and issue warnings or threats as necessary. Tracking down the vandals who have targeted her family is not all that difficult when you have Vega’s contacts…

Meanwhile, in Denville, Philadelphia, Nell Caplan’s possessions are also the target of vandals; could this be due to Cap’s association with Vega? Or is this a separate set of disaffected youths. Nell has no intention of taking it lying down, but Cap vetoes any personal involvement by Nell for this investigation: keeping his daughter safe is still always his first priority.

There’s plenty of action in this instalment, some of it quite violent. In the course of her inquiries, Vega has occasion to purchase a baseball bat and some cans of blue spray paint, both of which she later puts to good use. She poses as a potential Pure recruit to learn more about those in charge. There’s target practice on pears with an ageing TV star, a siege situation with a sniper, and a sheriff’s badge prop plays an important role.

It's not always clear to readers exactly why Vega takes certain actions, and perhaps they are not alone: “She hadn’t planned this. In truth, on a lot of the cases she worked, she didn’t actually plan much of anything. Her job was like staggering blindfolded through the woods, holding your arms out to graze the trees with your fingertips before you ran into them.” But she seems to get there in the end.

Is the story poorer for the absence of the Vega/Caplan dynamic when questioning suspects? Probably, although their text messages are entertaining. Does Vega’s (often laugh-out-loud funny) audacity, when on her game, compensate? Maybe, but more of them working in tandem in future books would be welcome, and fans will be pleased that they seem to have acknowledged their strong feelings and accepted a deep connection. The dynamic between Nell and Cap is still fun, even as this incredibly mature teen grows up. Once again, gripping crime fiction with a final twist that is sure to elicit a smile. Highly recommended!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Text Publishing.