Tami Hoag

Tami Hoag suspense novels are like champagne truffles dipped in crack. One sensuous nibble and you're gone. Whatever else you thought you were going to get accomplished today, forget it.

This one pushes several hot-buttons -- the loss of a child to a predator; the destruction of a family due to loss; the feeling that the system is stacked to prevent the apprehension of the prime suspect; the threat to the remaining child. How can you not get suckered in by this?

Hoag keeps things moving well, show more though the reader may sometimes get a bit impatient with the pages and pages and pages when one character or another is dissolving in grief and closing themselves away from any comfort. And some of the details about the activities of The Bad Guy are a bit too graphic for comfort.

But when push comes to shove -- and you know it will -- the climax is bloody and violent. And final, unlike some of Hoag's other works, when she sets a tickler in the final paragraph that makes the reader question every conclusion reached up to that point.

The novel is listed as "Oak Knoll #3", but stands well alone. However, if one is set on reading them all, they should probably be read in order, as "Down the Darkest Road" not only brings back some characters from the first two books, but casually mentions the identity of The Bad Guy in those novels and specifies who lived and who died.

Overall, it's a compelling read. show less

A Thin Dark Line
3.5 Stars

When a suspected killer is released on a technicality, Detective Nick Fourcade is removed from the case. Not one to give up, Nick forges an unlikely alliance with Deputy Annie Broussard. Known for playing by the book even to her own detriment, Annie is determined to seek justice for the victim even if it means putting herself at risk. But who is the real threat - the killer or those sworn to uphold the law?

Series note: Book #4 in the Doucet series and book #1 in the show more Broussard and Fourcade series. Despite these associations, this can be read as a standalone as the characters and the mystery are unrelated to the previous Doucet books.

This is my second foray into Tami Hoag's writing. The first was not all that successful as my expectations were for romantic suspense when Hoag's style is more thriller with romantic elements. Being aware of this made the current reading experience more satisfying.

The Louisiana bayou setting is very atmospheric and Hoag depicts some of the more uncomfortable nuances of a small town in the South with aplomb. She also does not shy away from realistic portrayals of law enforcement and the treatment of women in the profession. As recent cases in the US and the UK have illustrated, not much has changed since 1997.

Nick and Annie's chemistry is off the charts and their interactions are breathtaking. Nick is a compelling character whose actions are morally and ethically questionable. He skirts around the rule of law yet never completely crosses the line between hero and villain. Annie is the complete opposite. Although her strong sense of justice would seem to put her at odds with Nick, she is actually the perfect complement to him, and they bring out the best in each other.

The case itself is compelling with some excellent twists that keep the reader guessing throughout. The pacing is good although the book could have been shorter with less repetition of characters' internal musings and fewer overly descriptive paragraphs of settings.

Overall, an excellent mystery with strong characters and an engaging romance. show less

The horrible, brutal murder of a mother and her two foster children is the centerpiece of this thriller. Drifter and petty criminal Karl Dahl is assumed to be the perpetrator. After all, he has a history of smaller sexual crimes from peeping to exposing himself in public. But Judge Cary Moore isn't going to let those past Prior Bad Acts be presented in the current case.

This decision infuriates Detective Stan Dempsey who found his life changed by the crime. He's a loner who lived for the job show more but his obsession with this case has him on desk duty and on his way out the door of the police force short of the time needed for his thirty year pension.

When Judge Moore is assaulted in the parking garage where she keeps her car outside the court building, Kovac and Liska get the case despite the fact that neither of them are fond of the judge's rulings which seem to bend too much to the criminal's side. As Kovac gets closer to the judge and her five-year-old daughter, Liska is looking into the family of the murdered woman and coming up with troubling things.

Kovac begins to suspect that the Judge's husband might have hired someone to attack his wife. Their marriage is hanging on by a thread and he has been supporting a girlfriend. His career as a film producer never took off and he feels overshadowed by his wife, the judge.

Then Karl Dahl escapes from prison and focuses on Judge Moore who he sees as an angel who is on his side.

This thriller had a wide assortment of probable villains and I was led astray by a number of red herrings before the case finally came to its thrilling conclusion. I liked the banter between Kovac and Liska and the other police detectives. I'm glad that there are five other thrillers starring Kovac and Liska. show less

What a thrill of a book! I had this on audiobook and found myself taking lunch breaks in my car and sitting in the car after work to listen. After things got really dicey I had to run out to buy a CD player to finish it in one fell swoop. It's a great police procedural and I loved Annie and Nick. Hopefully there will be more. This book has it all (besides murder); there was a great deal of compassion and heartache and wisdom. I'm a bit at sea right now since finishing it. I hated for it to end.