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Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag
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Secrets to the Grave (edition 2010)

by Tami Hoag

Series: Oak Knoll (2)

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1,3064314,472 (3.89)18
Four-year-old Marissa Fordham, brutally slashed and mutilated, witnessed the murder of her mother. To protect their fragile witness, the police call in Anne Leone, child advocate. But when one loose thread begins to unravel the shroud of lies behind the case, a truth more terrible than anyone could have imagined is revealed--a truth that will put Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer.… (more)
Member:BookSmart23
Title:Secrets to the Grave
Authors:Tami Hoag
Info:Dutton Adult (2010), Edition: First Edition, Hardcover, 464 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:None

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Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag

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» See also 18 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 43 (next | show all)
Suspense
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
My first book by this author & I enjoyed it. There was a little too much repetition of the elements of the murder for me. But I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys police procedurals with suspense. ( )
  Gifford_MacShane | Apr 23, 2023 |
I very much enjoyed reconnecting with the characters from the first novel and the main story line of this book. I think the loose ends of the first book could have been tied up in a quick paragraph and the whole Dennis Farman bit left out. Still, a good read and strong characters, especially Vince and Mendez. ( )
  HellyStiletto | Jul 31, 2022 |
A little girl witness her mother being murdered. She was strangled by the killer, but survived. Investigation went in circles with little progress while the girl was too traumatized to speak about the crime besides she's just 4 years old. Sounds like an interesting plot, but for some strange reason I couldn't keep my attention to the story. ( )
  xKayx | Dec 14, 2020 |
I can honestly say that this book creeped me out a lot. With Hoag setting the first scene with a graphic description of the murder victim, and how our bodies break down after death, I may have been off food for several hours while I finished this book.

It seems this days I am destined to read book series out of order. I read book #3 last year, and finally went and bought book #2. I will so just go buy book #1 just so I can complete the "Oak Knoll" series eventually though.

Unlike with book #1, the town of Oak Knoll is not dealing with another serial killer. Instead, a single mother (Marissa Fordham) is found hacked to pieces. Marissa's four year old daughter is also found and it's apparent whoever killed her mother, thought they killed her too. When the sheriff is called into investigate, they find themselves trying to figure out who hated Marissa enough to end her life. This leads several characters down a long winding path of trying to figure out who Marissa is, why did she move to Oak Knoll, and who could have hated her enough to kill her.

I have read enough of Tami Hoag's books to be familiar with how her book flow will go. She tends to have several POVs in the book. In this one she has detective Tony Mendez, child advocate Anne Leone, retired FBI agent, Vince Leone. We also have a woman who is dealing with the fact that her marriage is over, her daughter, a troubled young boy that Anne is trying to be there for, Marissa's best friend who also lives in Oak Knoll, etc. At times the book felt a bit too messy with trying to follow the main plot and the sub-plots that popped up.

I did think though that the final reveal of the main plot didn't make a lot of sense to me. I think due to the dozens of red herrings we get while reading, still had me going huh at the end. And of course I maybe got a little bit tired of the Anne is in danger again thing that kept happening. At one point I wondered if it would be better if she was just had police protection wherever she went.

I didn't really jibe with any one character. Probably because for except for Tony, the other characters don't pop up in book #3. I heard from a friend that if I read book #1, that maybe I will like everyone in this book more. Hope so. My main thoughts are that Anne and Tony were unprofessional throughout. And the whole what will happen to Marissa's daughter thing didn't sit well at all with me when we find out about her beginnings as well.

The writing is typical Hoag, though I have to say I hated the whole jump scare thing she had going on at the end of certain chapters. We would have Vince staring at a door and thinking someone is inside and the book would do "And Vince would wish that he was faster" and the book would skip into another chapter.

Probably the best thing about these books is that it is set in the early 1980s. So this is before you had a lot of tools that police and forensic scientists have available today. So you can test blood type, but not DNA at a scene. This leads to a lot of old fashioned leg work and interviewing.
( )
  ObsidianBlue | Jul 1, 2020 |
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» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Tami Hoagprimary authorall editionscalculated
Potter, KirstenNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stumpf, AndreaÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Van Bree, Corrysecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Werbeck, GabrieleÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Four-year-old Marissa Fordham, brutally slashed and mutilated, witnessed the murder of her mother. To protect their fragile witness, the police call in Anne Leone, child advocate. But when one loose thread begins to unravel the shroud of lies behind the case, a truth more terrible than anyone could have imagined is revealed--a truth that will put Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer.

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Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her.

When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother's bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See-No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child's voice saying, My daddy hurt my mommy.

Sheriff's detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won't fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne's life is hectic enough-she's a newlywed and a part- time student in child psychology, and she's the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne's heart is stolen.

As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham's life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed.
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