In this “whip-smart thriller featuring a brilliant female protagonist, a finely-tuned plot, and some truly spectacular writing” (Cristina Alger, USA TODAY bestselling author) from the author of Leave No Trace, a high stakes crime triggers a woman’s complicated and potentially deadly search for the truth. Nora Trier catches thieves. As a forensic accountant, she’s unearthed millions in every … unearthed millions in every corner of the world. She prides herself on her independence, the most essential currency of accounting, until her firm is hired by Strike.
An anti-corporate, feminist athletic empire, Strike is owned by Logan Russo, a brash and legendary kickboxer, and her marketing genius husband, Gregg Abbott. They’re about to host a major tournament with twenty million dollars in prize money, and the chance for the champion to become the new face of the company. But Gregg suspects his wife already has a new face in mind in the form of a young trainer.
When the prize money goes missing days before the tournament begins, Gregg hires Nora’s firm to find both the thief and the money–but Nora has a secret connection to Strike. Her partner pressures her into taking the case anyway, hinting he has information that could change the course of the investigation in a shocking and deadly way.
A tense and unpredictable thriller, Strike Me Down “crackles with obsession, greed, lust, and plenty of ambition, and it’s loaded with more twists and turns than a spy novel” (Kirkus Reviews).
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Whip-smart, expertly plotted and entirely unpredictable, STRIKE ME DOWN is unlike anything I’ve ever read. A must read!
Normally, a book about forensic accounting and kickboxing wouldn’t be for me. I’m the least athletic person on earth and accounting is…accounting. But since Mindy Mejia is the author of said book, I knew I was in for a thrilling time, no matter the subject. In STRIKE ME DOWN, Nora Trier’s firm has been hired to track down missing money (twenty million dollars, to be exact) that has been allocated for winners of Strike Down, an epic kickboxing tournament hosted by athletic empire Strike. Nora, already drawn to Logan Russo, one of Strike’s owners, fears she won’t be able to remain impartial during the investigation, but as she delves deeper into tracing the money, she finds herself more invested in the outcome than she ever could have imagined. Despite my initial judgement of both forensic accounting and kickboxing, I found myself completely intrigued by both of these worlds, which Mejia brings to vivid life. I also loved that the glass-encased Minneapolis skyway was used as a central image in the book, one that, to me, served as a potent metaphor for several of the story’s themes and plot lines. This book is unlike any thriller I’ve ever read, and at times, the search for the money (and what its disappearance might signify) was as riveting as any missing person investigation. Mejia has created an empowering, unique story with complex and alluring characters. Being a suspense writer myself, I often have a hunch as to where a thriller might be going, but with this one, I had no idea, and it was such a fun and fascinating ride from beginning to end.
This book was not at all what I expected. It’s a true whodunit from start to finish but there’s so many twists and turns it’s hard to keep track of, particularly considering all the intense details added in about kickboxing and accounting (two subjects I would be fine hearing nothing about ever again to be honest). Here are the things I really enjoyed about the book: the modern polyamerous couple with an open relationship which is definitely something you don’t see much, the bisexuality that thrummed beneath a couple characters as well was refreshing however both were revealed as “twists” or ah-ha moments snd I felt like they’d have been better served to be acknowledged openly from the start. I also really enjoyed the actual mystery of who was lying and who had stolen the money. The rest was just a lot of details that I didn’t need. It’s a good book, so I’m still recommending it for those that like this kind of mystery with a 3.5 star rating.
This book had a complicated plot that included a lot of details about accounting and kickboxing. Parts of it were boring to me because of the details. I did like the character of accountant Nora because she was doggedly determined to find the missing money that she had been hired to track down. There is murder, mayhem and a lot of twists here, so fans of mystery and suspense will probably enjoy it. I had looked forward to the new book by Mindy Mejia so I was a little disappointed at how slowly it moved at times.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I checked out a copy of this book from the library on my Overdrive App. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.
20 million dollars missing….
What did I like? This is a certifiable who done it… Nora Trier is an accountant that handles white collar crime…criminals that hide money. The stage is set and the crime already committed as the analyst tries to solve the case. Motive…means…money as the corporation Strike lead by Gregg Abbott has a massive payday coming up but the money has disappeared.
Would I buy or recommend? The author doesn’t disappoint as the stage is set. Nora has an open marriage and she knows Gregg from a one night stand. Does that add to the cause or take away. So many clues but only one ending and it is amazing. A stunning read.
Thoughts for the author? Brilliant… this is my second book by this author and no less brilliant than the five star first. I’m officially a fan! Thanks so much to Netgalley and your publisher for an ARC to read and give my honest opinion. It was fabulous!
I didn’t think I would enjoy a book about a forensic accountant, but Mindy Mejia proved me wrong. If anyone could make a book about corporate fraud interesting, it would be her. Her books are engaging with unique plots, and her characters are complex and compelling. My favorite book of hers is still the first one I read, Everything You Want Me to Be, but Strike Me Down was highly enjoyable too.
Mejia does it again, drawing us into a world of corruption set against a fresh setting: the martial arts world, specifically a chain of urban kickboxing gyms run by a husband-wife team where the wife is the charismatic face of their global brand and a decorated kickboxer. All characters are gloriously realized, and the heroism of unlikeable women is front and center. In Mejia’s world, ambition meets danger, and we’re drawn into a mystery where cooking the books can lead an entire company down a deadly path. Part procedural, part domestic, this thriller has something for everyone.
A whip-smart thriller featuring a brilliant female protagonist, a finely-tuned plot and some truly spectacular writing. STRIKE ME DOWN delivers on every level.
Raise Me Up. In some ways, this is your stereotypical whodunit, straight down to most of the action happening in some remarkable-yet-unremarkable Midwestern town with a coda in the Caribbean. In others, it takes some fun risks, even if most of them are off screen. All in all, this is arguably to CPAs what John Grisham’s books – particularly his earlier ones- are to lawyers. And considering that Grisham’s early books were perennially best selling books of the year through the 90s and even early 00s… I’m pretty sure Mejia won’t exactly mind the comparison. 😉 I had the ultimate culprit pegged somewhere between 50 and 66% through, though the endgame was a bit shocking and the epilogue even moreso. Excellent book, again, particularly for Grisham fans, and very much recommended.
Sometimes you have such a great experience with an author that they are up on a sort of pedestal. When you later read a book by said author that doesn’t live up to your expectations it’s hard to decide if your expectations were just set too high or if there is something lacking in the story. That’s what happened with this book for me. I’ve read two other of stories by this author that I absolutely adore. It’s been almost two years since I read Leave No Trace and I still think of it often. It’s a story that really stuck with me. So is it this book or my perception of the book that is at fault?
One thing I can say for certain, this story is a unique. In fact, that’s something common among the books of Mindy Mejia that I’ve read; they are all stories that are fresh and different than the other stories I’ve read. I really appreciate that fact and know it takes a lot of research and time for authors to put so much information into their stories.
At first I thought I’d like Nora, the main character. As the story progressed I had a hard time having any sympathy for her. It’s not that she does anything terrible or unforgivable, she’s just not very likable. And that may well be by design. It’s not always bad when the protagonist is unlikable, but most of the other characters quickly become unsympathetic as well. And that did become a problem for me. I had nobody to latch onto, to root for, to invest my time and energy in as I progressed through this book.
Even with this disconnect from the characters, I still found myself with some investment in the story. Like I said earlier, it’s a unique tale. There were things I though I knew and didn’t, things I thought I knew and did, and things I didn’t think of at all. Those are all good things when it comes to a mystery book.
If nothing else, this story made me want to visit Minneapolis. This author truly has a knack for describing her settings. I never thought a book would give me the urge to visit big Midwestern city when I already live in a big Midwestern city. But here we are, with me wondering when/if I can visit Minneapolis soon.
To sum up, I found this story to be okay, but I could be judging it too harshly due to my previous experiences with this author. I will definitely never pass up an opportunity to read another of her stories.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own and given freely.**
Another great read by Mindy Mejia. A fast paced, page turner about an accountant searching for missing money from a husband and wife business. With lots of twists and turns the outcome was a surprise. When Mindy writes a story about an accountant it is thrilling.
Who said numbers are boring? Take a kick-boxing tournament, $20 million of missing prize money, a tenacious forensic accountant…and you’ve got yourself one heck of a spectacular, original thriller. Mindy Mejia’s STRIKE ME DOWN is fast-paced, masterfully woven and wholly unexpected, with an ending that’ll make your jaw drop. An absolute must read.