Ingrid Thoft

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 show more 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. show less

Whew! I've been so bogged down and scatterbrained that I forgot to update this! I actually finished this about a week and a half ago. This book did not suffer the sophomore slump at all. If anything she made the second outing with Fina even more exciting. I know we've all read books with feisty heroines who save the day, but what I enjoy about Fina is her relate ability. She's not obsessed with trying to look cute, or her love life, or apparently what she eats(and she eats everything). She show more gets knocked around and sometimes she gets in over her head, but she doesn't give up or give into her fears. Her life is messy and realistic. Her dialogue is sassy. She is by far one of my new favorites and I cannot wait for more! show less

A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to nab the ARC of Ingrid Thofts' first Fina Ludlow mystery. Today I finished the latest (#3) in the series, and it's only getting better. I thoroughly enjoy the way Fina unravels the mystery. She's such an incredible creation, tough, funny, extremely competent, as well as being compassionate and fierce. All these qualities shine through in Ms. Thofts' writing. My only caveat would be, this particular story had alot going on and, consequently, took a show more bit longer to wrap up towards the end. I was, luckily, enjoying it, so it wasn't a huge setback. However, it was a bit of a bummer that I didn't get to see everyone get their due, or figure out, truly, how the lawsuit was going to ruin so many people that everything unfolded just so. Small small complaint to an otherwise sparkling story! show less

This debut novel is a surprisingly good PI novel. The investigator in question is Fina Ludlow, the black-sheep daughter of a family of ambulance-chasing lawyers, the kind that advertise on cable TV. Since she flunked out of law school, she has become the family firm's investigator. Fina is tough, sarcastic, and a bundle of suppressed emotions, which is an interesting combination in a private eye.
Ingrid Thoft handles the plot well, cutting back and forth between different characters, putting show more the reader in the same place as the detective: how do all these pieces fit together? Just as Fina must struggle to see clearly what has happened, so too the reader must try to solve the mystery. Thoft is scrupulously fair in outlining the clues. Readers looking for a satisfying puzzle to solve will enjoy this book.
As will anyone who likes a good private eye story. Fina comes across as skilled, passionate, angry. She spars with the police as often as she spars with her parents and many brothers. The tone of the book is hard, rather than brooding or dark. In the end the puzzle is solved and the some degree of justice prevails in a very realistic manner.
Although Thoft is a first-time novelist, she seems very skilled. She occasionally will tell the reader something the reader should pick in a bit of dialog; Thoft otherwise acquits herself very well in this debut novel. show less