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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I didn't like the romance between Kate and John. The crime aspect of the book was good, but it seemed a little overshadowed by the romance aspect. I was more interested in Kovac and wanted to know more about him.
It was good and well written but I guessed the killer half way through. Never a good thing.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Tami Hoag and this book was great! The only complaint is that there are parts with Quinn and Kate that get super cheesy, but nothing unbearable.
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There's a serial killer loose in Minneapolis and now he's broken pattern and abducted and presumably killed someone other than a prostitute. Now he's got the attention of the community, law enforcement and the press, and a new moniker...The Cremator, because of what he does to his victims after he's killed them. The atmosphere is now so politically charged the top guns are being assigned. Kate Conlan, a former DC FBI agent, now victim/witness advocate for the city, is assigned to work with the killer's one witness. John Quinn, the country's renowned top profiler for the bureau has been called in to work with the local police and he and Kate have a history.
This is a gritty story with a plethera of flawed people who are tasked with finding this killer and solving the case. Kate escaped to Minneapolis following a scandal only to have it show up in the form of John Quinn. Their struggle to resist picking up where they left off has a bearing on the case as it causes some distraction. The detectives assigned to the case are doing their jobs pretty well in spite of political interference from top brass because of the high profile of the last victim's father (he's a billionaire). And, the one witness to the last crime is more than reluctant to cooperate and is a pain in the neck.
There are so many layers to each of the characters and the story that it kept me engaged throughout. However, it does get bogged down a bit with too many ruminations by Quinn and Kate about their individual tragedies, past and present. The reiterations felt like overkill, pardon the pun, but they were important to knowing these two people. The twists and turns and red herrings were pleasantly distracting and by the end, I wasn't quite sure if I had identified the right person as the killer. I got there but not easily so but the clues were there.
It's a great start to the series, even though Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska weren't at the forefront of the story. However, we know enough about them because they were extremely well developed as characters and I'm looking forward to seeing them in action. This a good mystery and the suspense was killing me.
This is a gritty story with a plethera of flawed people who are tasked with finding this killer and solving the case. Kate escaped to Minneapolis following a scandal only to have it show up in the form of John Quinn. Their struggle to resist picking up where they left off has a bearing on the case as it causes some distraction. The detectives assigned to the case are doing their jobs pretty well in spite of political interference from top brass because of the high profile of the last victim's father (he's a billionaire). And, the one witness to the last crime is more than reluctant to cooperate and is a pain in the neck.
There are so many layers to each of the characters and the story that it kept me engaged throughout. However, it does get bogged down a bit with too many ruminations by Quinn and Kate about their individual tragedies, past and present. The reiterations felt like overkill, pardon the pun, but they were important to knowing these two people. The twists and turns and red herrings were pleasantly distracting and by the end, I wasn't quite sure if I had identified the right person as the killer. I got there but not easily so but the clues were there.
It's a great start to the series, even though Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska weren't at the forefront of the story. However, we know enough about them because they were extremely well developed as characters and I'm looking forward to seeing them in action. This a good mystery and the suspense was killing me.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's not Hoag's best book. The series got a lot better when Kovac and Liska became the focus. Still, it does have enough going on for it to make for a gripping (if not particularly remarkable) mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Incest, Self harm, Toxic relationship
Graphic descriptions of violence and sex. Scenes of self harm are included but are not explicit.