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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
I like this one slightly better than the first one, but not by much. This one felt more fast-paced, but like the first one, a whole lot of nothing happened in the middle. When I read a mystery thriller I like piecing the clues together along with the characters and in this duology we weren't really given any pieces to put together. The big reveal in the end didn't really build up--it was more like dropped towards the end, and then the final fight scene happened, and then it was concluding and was done. All the action happened in the last several chapters.
I am disappointed in this duology because I've read a number of Tami Hoag's books before and the mystery in those books were so much better. I'd skip Night Sins and Guilty as Sin, and pick up her Oak Knoll series instead.
I am disappointed in this duology because I've read a number of Tami Hoag's books before and the mystery in those books were so much better. I'd skip Night Sins and Guilty as Sin, and pick up her Oak Knoll series instead.
Could not put this book down, read it in 2 days. This is the follow up to Night Sins. The book follows the kidnapping of 2 8 y.o. boys in a rural Minnesota county. Lots of twists and suspense.
rather than try putting books in a 'not interested' folder, I'm going to claim I read them and give a low rating. Putting in not interested, the algorithm seems to think I like the book.
I liked the first book Night Sins better but the story kept me reading and the end was okay even tho I had guessed pretty early who the accomplice was.
I liked the first book Night Sins better but the story kept me reading and the end was okay even tho I had guessed pretty early who the accomplice was.
This was my first Tami Hoag book. It was pretty good.
Having read, and loved, two of Tami Hoag's other books (Kill the Messenger and Dust to Dust), I had high hopes for this one, and it didn't disappoint. It did, however, read like an earlier effort -- perhaps slightly less polished than the other two. But that's a minor nitpick. The story held my interest. I genuinely liked Ellen (even though her constant leap to think the worst of people, especially Brooks, grated on my nerves a little). I also liked some of the secondary characters, and got teary eyed during the final scene between "Father" Tom and Hannah. There were a few loose ends that didn't quite wrap up well enough for my liking (like why was Josh so terrified of his father?), but otherwise I enjoyed the way the plot developed and its conclusion. I'd been craving a good legal thriller, and the courtroom scenes fit the bill here. All in all, Guilty as Sin gave me another good reason to add more of Tami Hoag's books to my ever-growing TBR pile.
tense
medium-paced
This is the sequel to Hoag's earlier book, Night Sins. It's essential that you read that one first. This doesn't stand alone well at all.
The college professor is widely respected in the small Minnesota town despite his capture and being charged with kidnapping a child and assaulting a cop. There are many in the community, including many of his students, who believe him innocent.
It's up to prosecutor Ellen North to prove that he is indeed guilty, and it isn't long before she realizes that somewhere, he has an accomplice. But the psychology professor is a master at mind control, and even from his cell, it seems he is manipulating justice and the entire community to meet his needs and ensure his freedom.
Not long after he is incarcerated, and only weeks before his formal trial, things get even more interesting for the professor when he hires the best defense money can buy--a lawyer who once had a relationship with Ellen North.
Early into the book, Josh, the boy who was kidnapped in the first book in the series, is released to his parents. But the boy is badly damaged; his mind is a shell of its former self, and although he is home, he is very much a prisoner subject to the ongoing influence of "the taker," Josh's name for the man who took him. Indeed, when another little boy is kidnapped, it is Josh who comes out of his semi-locked-in state long enough to somberly pronounce, "he's a goner."
Hoag is the grand master of what I call the creep factor in a book. Yes, I know, that's saying a lot, since there are other authors out there who can creep out even the most unimaginative among us. But Hoag's creep factor is at times almost chilling to the point of being nauseating. There are the late-night phone calls which Ellen North gets where the caller breathes ominously into the phone and whispers threats. There is the mysterious lawyer turned writer who has his own sketchy past. Is he trying just to get information for his next book? His next in-the-sack score with Ellen North? Or is he indeed one of the good guys on the right side?
My only quibble with this book is that Hoag may have used the creep factor a bit too much. The threats of the almost-silent late-night caller that run through Ellen North's head seem to be repeated a bit too often. It's a bit like listening to someone over use some vulgarity or another. Eventually, the shock value wears off, and you simply see the verbosity as evidence of a weak mind.
But you'll be well and thoroughly creeped out by the mental manipulations of the college professor, his tragic twisted wife, and so much more. Hoag masterfully tears the small community down to its sheetrock and studs, and the exposed nastiness is ugly indeed.
The college professor is widely respected in the small Minnesota town despite his capture and being charged with kidnapping a child and assaulting a cop. There are many in the community, including many of his students, who believe him innocent.
It's up to prosecutor Ellen North to prove that he is indeed guilty, and it isn't long before she realizes that somewhere, he has an accomplice. But the psychology professor is a master at mind control, and even from his cell, it seems he is manipulating justice and the entire community to meet his needs and ensure his freedom.
Not long after he is incarcerated, and only weeks before his formal trial, things get even more interesting for the professor when he hires the best defense money can buy--a lawyer who once had a relationship with Ellen North.
Early into the book, Josh, the boy who was kidnapped in the first book in the series, is released to his parents. But the boy is badly damaged; his mind is a shell of its former self, and although he is home, he is very much a prisoner subject to the ongoing influence of "the taker," Josh's name for the man who took him. Indeed, when another little boy is kidnapped, it is Josh who comes out of his semi-locked-in state long enough to somberly pronounce, "he's a goner."
Hoag is the grand master of what I call the creep factor in a book. Yes, I know, that's saying a lot, since there are other authors out there who can creep out even the most unimaginative among us. But Hoag's creep factor is at times almost chilling to the point of being nauseating. There are the late-night phone calls which Ellen North gets where the caller breathes ominously into the phone and whispers threats. There is the mysterious lawyer turned writer who has his own sketchy past. Is he trying just to get information for his next book? His next in-the-sack score with Ellen North? Or is he indeed one of the good guys on the right side?
My only quibble with this book is that Hoag may have used the creep factor a bit too much. The threats of the almost-silent late-night caller that run through Ellen North's head seem to be repeated a bit too often. It's a bit like listening to someone over use some vulgarity or another. Eventually, the shock value wears off, and you simply see the verbosity as evidence of a weak mind.
But you'll be well and thoroughly creeped out by the mental manipulations of the college professor, his tragic twisted wife, and so much more. Hoag masterfully tears the small community down to its sheetrock and studs, and the exposed nastiness is ugly indeed.
This is the follow up to the first book in the Deer Lake series. I’ll start off by saying I’m not a fan of having to read two books to figure out the resolution to a mystery. However, I liked the book even though it had some issues.
The story continues with the State’s Assistant City Attorney Ellen North at the forefront. She’s been handed the case involving Garrett Wright who Mitch Holt arrested for the assault of Megan O’Malley and the abduction of Josh Kirkwood. What seems to be an open and shut case turns into anything but. She’s pitted against a hot shot attorney from Minneapolis with whom she has personal history and a judge who has a super sized ego. To top it off, a Hollywood true crime writer has come to cover the story and he has designs on Ellen.
Here’s what worked. The characters (there are quite a few) are well developed and complicated people. There are no perfect individuals here even though some may seem so on the surface. And, they can’t help being themselves in spite of circumstances that call for them to behave differently. I like when a story stays true to character no matter how unpopular or uncomfortable that may seem. I also liked that the story is complex, which is essential in a suspense tale or mystery. Finally, the last 100 pages seemed to zoom! There were rapid-paced courtroom scenes and the climactic segments leapt from the pages. My heart rate accelerated and I couldn’t read fast enough.
Here’s what didn’t work. This was too long, especially since the mystery began in another book. The ending should have started about 100 pages earlier. There was too much emphasis on the bad guys winning, to the point where I was in despair. It was astounding to me that Paul’s affair with Karen wasn’t discovered in the first book and it took forever to come out in this one. Finally, while there was a payoff for the relationships at the end, they all felt rushed. I know I’ve complained about the length but 10 more pages to resolve the relationships more definitively were in order.
This is a really good story. Don’t give up on it because about the time you’re ready to skim to the end, it takes off.
The story continues with the State’s Assistant City Attorney Ellen North at the forefront. She’s been handed the case involving Garrett Wright who Mitch Holt arrested for the assault of Megan O’Malley and the abduction of Josh Kirkwood. What seems to be an open and shut case turns into anything but. She’s pitted against a hot shot attorney from Minneapolis with whom she has personal history and a judge who has a super sized ego. To top it off, a Hollywood true crime writer has come to cover the story and he has designs on Ellen.
Here’s what worked. The characters (there are quite a few) are well developed and complicated people. There are no perfect individuals here even though some may seem so on the surface. And, they can’t help being themselves in spite of circumstances that call for them to behave differently. I like when a story stays true to character no matter how unpopular or uncomfortable that may seem. I also liked that the story is complex, which is essential in a suspense tale or mystery. Finally, the last 100 pages seemed to zoom! There were rapid-paced courtroom scenes and the climactic segments leapt from the pages. My heart rate accelerated and I couldn’t read fast enough.
Here’s what didn’t work. This was too long, especially since the mystery began in another book. The ending should have started about 100 pages earlier. There was too much emphasis on the bad guys winning, to the point where I was in despair. It was astounding to me that Paul’s affair with Karen wasn’t discovered in the first book and it took forever to come out in this one. Finally, while there was a payoff for the relationships at the end, they all felt rushed. I know I’ve complained about the length but 10 more pages to resolve the relationships more definitively were in order.
This is a really good story. Don’t give up on it because about the time you’re ready to skim to the end, it takes off.