Little Comfort by Edwin Hill

On leave from her job as a librarian at Harvard, Hester Thursby agrees to help Lila Blaine find her brother, Sam. Sam and his friend, Gabe, ran away as teenagers more than twelve years ago. Lila periodically has gotten postcards from all over the country, so she believes Sam is still alive. It doesn't take long for Hester to find Sam and Gabe, but they really want to be left alone. Sam thrives on assuming new identities wherever he goes, finding wealthy marks to live off of, but leaving violence in his wake when things don't work out. Gabe has been a willing partner to Sam all these years, but something happens to Gabe to make him possibly question his loyalty to Sam. What will Sam and Gabe do when their plans and secret identities unravel once again? Little Comfort is a debut novel that is leisurely-paced at the beginning (hence the set-up), but soon you are immersed in the characters and the story and can't wait to see what happens next. A great read-alike for Peter Swanson.