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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Ashes to Ashes
2 Stars
Synopsis
A killer known only as The Cremator tortures his victims and sets them on fire. Victims advocate Kate Conlon is called in to help a reluctant witness to the latest murder. However, things are not at they seem and Kate, together with FBI profiler John Quinn ,must get to the truth before Kate becomes the next victim.
Review
The book is 200 pages too long.
The serial killer plot has potential but becomes bogged down with the characters internal dialogue that is repetitious and tedious.
It is difficult to warm up to the main characters and their romance lacks chemistry - by the time they get over their angst, you don't care anymore. Kate comes across as cold and distant and John's burn out symptoms overshadow his profiling abilities.
There is too much focus on the various characters' emotional baggage and their constant internal ruminations really detract from the murder mystery and investigation.
No more for me in this series but will give the author another chance.
2 Stars
Synopsis
A killer known only as The Cremator tortures his victims and sets them on fire. Victims advocate Kate Conlon is called in to help a reluctant witness to the latest murder. However, things are not at they seem and Kate, together with FBI profiler John Quinn ,must get to the truth before Kate becomes the next victim.
Review
The book is 200 pages too long.
The serial killer plot has potential but becomes bogged down with the characters internal dialogue that is repetitious and tedious.
It is difficult to warm up to the main characters and their romance lacks chemistry - by the time they get over their angst, you don't care anymore. Kate comes across as cold and distant and John's burn out symptoms overshadow his profiling abilities.
There is too much focus on the various characters' emotional baggage and their constant internal ruminations really detract from the murder mystery and investigation.
No more for me in this series but will give the author another chance.
This was a really good book but it could have stood to be about 100-200 pages shorter.
Somehow, I feel like at the same time, this book deserves both a higher and a lower rating than what I've given it.
While it was a fairly engaging crime/mystery/law enforcement novel with an interesting premise (and outcome), overall it was... long. It just dragged on and on and on.
While this makes it abundantly clear as to how Hoag has grown as a writer since, it also means that though interesting, I don't know that I necessarily enjoyed the experience of reading Ashes to Ashes (as is evidenced by how long it took me to get through it, I suppose). The characters were a bit flat and dull for me, and as I said, there were long unnecessary patches of this book that just wasted both words and time. It could've been a lot cleaner and more streamlined with a few rounds of vicious, red-pen editing.
Maybe not the best decision for this to be the first crime-y book I've read since rereading my much returned to Kay Hooper 'Bishop' series late last year, but oh well. Can't win 'em all...
While it was a fairly engaging crime/mystery/law enforcement novel with an interesting premise (and outcome), overall it was... long. It just dragged on and on and on.
While this makes it abundantly clear as to how Hoag has grown as a writer since, it also means that though interesting, I don't know that I necessarily enjoyed the experience of reading Ashes to Ashes (as is evidenced by how long it took me to get through it, I suppose). The characters were a bit flat and dull for me, and as I said, there were long unnecessary patches of this book that just wasted both words and time. It could've been a lot cleaner and more streamlined with a few rounds of vicious, red-pen editing.
Maybe not the best decision for this to be the first crime-y book I've read since rereading my much returned to Kay Hooper 'Bishop' series late last year, but oh well. Can't win 'em all...
I don't know where Tami Hoag comes up with the ideas for her books. They are the stuff of nightmares, this one was no exception in the search for a serial killer in Minneapolis.
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.
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was picking through my stacks at home and found this. Whew, this is an old one. Old, but damn good. I always forget how much I like Tami Hoag until I pick up one of her books.
I honestly didn't figure out the killer until near the end and one word was spoken. Then I started yelling at the book "OH NO IT'S NOT OH NOOOO IT'S NOT ARE YOUSHITTINGME?!?"
Good stuff.
In Minneapolis, a serial killer is hard at work, killing women and setting their bodies on fire in a park. The first two victims are sex workers (considered a "high risk" job so the cops don't spend too much time one it). The third victim appears to be the daughter of a billionaire. While setting this corpse on fire, The Cremator has a witness to his act. The Cremator is clearly a loser, who believes he's a god. Torturing and killing women because of mommy issues. He's disgusting.
The witness is just a kid and she ends up with Kate Colan, a witness advocate. Angie, the witness, is a tough nut to crack, and why not, the kid just witnessed some horrible shit. The billionaire, see above, brings in the legendary John Quinn, FBI profiler, to catch the killer.
Did I mention Kate and John have a past? Oh yes, complete with smoldering looks and everything.
We get really good background on the key players and then things get really twisted, like knickers twisted, really fast. I was impressed with the story and the twists and turns. Another great Hoag book!
I honestly didn't figure out the killer until near the end and one word was spoken. Then I started yelling at the book "OH NO IT'S NOT OH NOOOO IT'S NOT ARE YOUSHITTINGME?!?"
Good stuff.
In Minneapolis, a serial killer is hard at work, killing women and setting their bodies on fire in a park. The first two victims are sex workers (considered a "high risk" job so the cops don't spend too much time one it). The third victim appears to be the daughter of a billionaire. While setting this corpse on fire, The Cremator has a witness to his act. The Cremator is clearly a loser, who believes he's a god. Torturing and killing women because of mommy issues. He's disgusting.
The witness is just a kid and she ends up with Kate Colan, a witness advocate. Angie, the witness, is a tough nut to crack, and why not, the kid just witnessed some horrible shit. The billionaire, see above, brings in the legendary John Quinn, FBI profiler, to catch the killer.
Did I mention Kate and John have a past? Oh yes, complete with smoldering looks and everything.
We get really good background on the key players and then things get really twisted, like knickers twisted, really fast. I was impressed with the story and the twists and turns. Another great Hoag book!
Holy shit. Tami Hoag's books in this series take me on such a roller coaster. First there's suspense, mystery and then there's some short romance to give you some relief and low suspense but then she gets into it and you start to read about the characters uncovering the pieces and wow I love this series. It made me so anxious just reading it and the writing is so suspenseful you can feel the strain. Great mystery/crime/with little romance book.