When Melanie had a tiff with her husband Rand, she occasionally took off and disappeared. She usually goes to a spa or a new vacation spot, so when she went missing again, Fina thought she would soon be able to find her sister-in-law. After all, people leave their trails through credit cards and highway transponders and Fina certainly knows her tools of the trade.

Josefina's father, Carl Ludlow, had built up over time a very lucrative business helping people with personal injury lawsuits and now is the king of his attorney empire in Boston along with his three sons. Rand, Scotty and Matthew are all powerful lawyers in Ludlow & Associates. Fina was slated to do the same, but after losing interest in the finer points of law and flunking out of Boston University axed that option, she is slated as the go-to scapegoat by her very rich, but quite dysfunctional family. For her part, Fina is happy not to be part of the family firm as it frees her up to follow her true calling as a Private Investigator, yet she still gets treated as an employee of sorts as she does contract work for them. Despite the putdowns at home, they know she is an exceptionally talented PI and they want her on the case.

With time ticking by and no action on Melanie's credit cards, Fina starts to worry that something much more serious is at play. As new evidence emerges, the police suspect that Rand, Melanie's husband, may be involved and the pressure is on Fina to help stop her brother from being arrested. He says he is innocent, but clues point towards him and Detective Pitney is on his case. Can she believe him?

With the help of Milloy, her best friend and masseur since Boston University days, and Christian Menendez, her special friend in the Boston Police, Fina starts fitting some small clues together and ends up in danger. As she gets a little too close for comfort for someone, suddenly the hunter is the hunted. Will she be able to get to the bottom of this before even more people, including her, get hurt? As Fina works tirelessly and ruthlessly to uncover the truth, where will her loyalties lie?

It is hard to believe that LOYALTY is a debut novel as Ingrid Thoft has so masterfully crafted a very intriguing and well written story with an exciting plot from start to finish!

Thoft has done extensive research, including doing a college certificate program in private investigation, which has paid off in spades as her diverse characters are authentic in their actions, motivations and circumstances. Fina Ludlow is a strong and fearless protagonist and is willing to take on almost any challenge. She is smart, strong and pretty, full of caustic wit, has a caring and loyal heart, and is willing to use any tools of her trade to get the info she seeks. I particularly enjoyed the highly charged interactions between Fina and her family members, her old mentor Frank Gillis, and balancing the tension between the men in her life.

While LOYALTY is easily read as a stand-alone book, I sure hope it is the start of a new series with this intrepid and gutsy kick ass PI. I definitely want to read more! Full of nonstop action, dysfunctional and complex family dynamics and an unusual mystery, LOYALTY is a very hard book to put down! Enjoy!