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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I am disappointed. The book started off full of promise. Megan O'Malley has too big a chip on her shoulder. The sex scenes I could do without. The ending was "bleh" to say the least.
This is the fictional account of a small Minnesota town and the abduction of a young boy—the son of a highly respected physician and her accountant husband.
Hoag skillfully presents a two-week torturous ordeal for the family, the community, and the law enforcement people. In fact, Agent Megan O’Malley is experiencing a baptism of fire, since her first day on the job as a field agent is also the day the boy was taken. This will hold your interest as the winding path of the plotline takes you inside the mind of a killer and into the heart of a Catholic zealot. You’ll watch as cracks become chasms in a community full of secrets.
Here’s the thing: I figured out who would ultimately get arrested for this way, way, way early in the book. When it finally happened after hours and hours of slogging through it, I actually found myself yawning and saying something like, “yeah, ok, what’s next?”
I wasn’t a big fan of the police chief, and the state field agent, O’Malley, absolutely turned me off beyond belief. Her ultra-extreme uber-feminism shtick was pretty threadbare by page three and went from there to frustratingly tiresome and silly. It almost felt like a caricature in a few places. Granted, Hoag seems to want to sharply contrast O'malley's super-independence with a vulnerable side discovered by the police chief, and Hoag gives you believable reasons for all that sharp-edged Stiletto repeatedly slammed into some guy's crotch kind of behavior, but something about its ongoing shrillness somehow exhausted me.
I don’t mean to be so uncharitable. I’ve read other things by this author that captivated me and impressed me. I’ll definitely read the sequel to this book, a title called Guilty As Sin, because so many things went unfinished in this one. What I hope to communicate here is that I’m not criticizing Hoag’s writing style or belittling her obvious talent. There are scores of compelling reasons her books sell so well and win awards, and it’s not my intent to slap down any of those reasons or minimize them. Nor should you consider this review some kind of steely-eyed pronouncement of never again, as in never again will I read Hoag’s books. I’ll indeed read them, and I’m sure I’ll thoroughly enjoy them. But for whatever reason, this one left me cold and feeling rather anticlimactic.
Hoag skillfully presents a two-week torturous ordeal for the family, the community, and the law enforcement people. In fact, Agent Megan O’Malley is experiencing a baptism of fire, since her first day on the job as a field agent is also the day the boy was taken. This will hold your interest as the winding path of the plotline takes you inside the mind of a killer and into the heart of a Catholic zealot. You’ll watch as cracks become chasms in a community full of secrets.
Here’s the thing: I figured out who would ultimately get arrested for this way, way, way early in the book. When it finally happened after hours and hours of slogging through it, I actually found myself yawning and saying something like, “yeah, ok, what’s next?”
I wasn’t a big fan of the police chief, and the state field agent, O’Malley, absolutely turned me off beyond belief. Her ultra-extreme uber-feminism shtick was pretty threadbare by page three and went from there to frustratingly tiresome and silly. It almost felt like a caricature in a few places. Granted, Hoag seems to want to sharply contrast O'malley's super-independence with a vulnerable side discovered by the police chief, and Hoag gives you believable reasons for all that sharp-edged Stiletto repeatedly slammed into some guy's crotch kind of behavior, but something about its ongoing shrillness somehow exhausted me.
I don’t mean to be so uncharitable. I’ve read other things by this author that captivated me and impressed me. I’ll definitely read the sequel to this book, a title called Guilty As Sin, because so many things went unfinished in this one. What I hope to communicate here is that I’m not criticizing Hoag’s writing style or belittling her obvious talent. There are scores of compelling reasons her books sell so well and win awards, and it’s not my intent to slap down any of those reasons or minimize them. Nor should you consider this review some kind of steely-eyed pronouncement of never again, as in never again will I read Hoag’s books. I’ll indeed read them, and I’m sure I’ll thoroughly enjoy them. But for whatever reason, this one left me cold and feeling rather anticlimactic.
I could not put this book down! I was on the end of my seat going round and round in my head trying to figure out who did it. Both books in this duo are amazing and a must read for anyone who loves a good whodunit mystery.
When an eight-year old boy goes missing from a small Minnesota town in the dead of winter, Special Agent Megan Malloy works to assist Mitch Holt, the town's chief of police, in locating him. She's newly promoted to the position as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's (BCA) regional agent and as the first woman in that role, she's also got a lot to prove.
There was a lot going on in this story in addition to solving the abduction. Megan has a fast and firm rule against dating cops and with sexism running rampant, she can ill afford a relationship with Mitch but they can't deny their attraction. He comes with quite a bit of baggage as well so this makes for a relationship already weighed down at the onset. Megan also has a huge boulder on her shoulder, borne from her own isolated childhood and career ambition. The parents of the abducted child are also at each other's throats as their precarious relationship starts tearing at the frayed seams. The local media has a separate agenda that interferes with the case and jeopardizes Megan's job. The town goes viral after one suspect after another is scrutinized.
The notion that Deer Lake is a sleepy, safe little town is also turned on its end. Secrets abound and the town has to face its vulnerabilities while the abductor remains at large. This story isn't just about the case but the human condition and its inherent frailties. Many relationships are examined and there are no perfect people in this story and there are many surprises. It's intriguing and I had a tough time putting it down.
Be forewarned that this is a two-book commitment as all is not resolved by the end of the story, which is a bit unfair. However, I had planned to read the second book, [b:Guilty as Sin|84844|Guilty as Sin (Deer Lake, #2)|Tami Hoag|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1340516937s/84844.jpg|4648325] but not necessarily right away. Now, curiosity demands that I do so. Still, this book is worth it if you're interested in mystery, suspense, romance and a somewhat literary approach to the very many characters in this story.
There was a lot going on in this story in addition to solving the abduction. Megan has a fast and firm rule against dating cops and with sexism running rampant, she can ill afford a relationship with Mitch but they can't deny their attraction. He comes with quite a bit of baggage as well so this makes for a relationship already weighed down at the onset. Megan also has a huge boulder on her shoulder, borne from her own isolated childhood and career ambition. The parents of the abducted child are also at each other's throats as their precarious relationship starts tearing at the frayed seams. The local media has a separate agenda that interferes with the case and jeopardizes Megan's job. The town goes viral after one suspect after another is scrutinized.
The notion that Deer Lake is a sleepy, safe little town is also turned on its end. Secrets abound and the town has to face its vulnerabilities while the abductor remains at large. This story isn't just about the case but the human condition and its inherent frailties. Many relationships are examined and there are no perfect people in this story and there are many surprises. It's intriguing and I had a tough time putting it down.
Be forewarned that this is a two-book commitment as all is not resolved by the end of the story, which is a bit unfair. However, I had planned to read the second book, [b:Guilty as Sin|84844|Guilty as Sin (Deer Lake, #2)|Tami Hoag|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1340516937s/84844.jpg|4648325] but not necessarily right away. Now, curiosity demands that I do so. Still, this book is worth it if you're interested in mystery, suspense, romance and a somewhat literary approach to the very many characters in this story.
I didn't really like this book and I wouldn't recommend it. I've read two books by Tami Hoag before (Cold Cold Heart and Kill the Messenger) and since I enjoyed those books I thought I'd enjoy this one as well - I was wrong. This book describes itself as a gripping tale and is about a serial killer so you'd think it would be suspenseful and perhaps even a thriller. Instead it's really more like a romance novel with characters that are really hard to like and a little bit of a mystery in it - which involves a kidnapping and then hardly anything else ever happens. Bad words are thrown in throughout and the sex scenes are more descriptive than they need to be (like I mentioned, it's really more of a romance novel than a gripping tale). There is hardly anything that actually happens which is only made worse by the fact that this book is so long.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Bloody awful book full of stereotype characters and ad nauseam tropes. How did this make it to the best seller list?
I was handed this book while waiting at an airport. The person had just finished it and said that the book wasn't a bad read. Maybe I misunderstood and the person said it was a bad read? I was bored so I read it on a long flight. Wish I hadn't.
All the stock characters are here. The strong female cop with daddy issues trying to make it in a man's world, who falls for the local police chief who hasn't loved anyone since his wife and only son died (and he blames himself....blah, blah, blah).
A madman (or men) kidnap a child and all the wrong people are suspected and arrested. Meanwhile lots of dirty secrets in the town are exposed, including affairs. And the kidnappers think they are better than anyone else leaving clues along the way that maybe the cops could figure out if the main characters weren't busy have sex (badly, badly written scenes) or yelling sexist remarks at each other, or sleeping with the wanna be star reporter. Then there is the priest who is trying to help out, but questions his faith and is in love with the mother of the kidnapped child.
I would spoil the ending, but there is no point. Save yourself and read anything else.
I was handed this book while waiting at an airport. The person had just finished it and said that the book wasn't a bad read. Maybe I misunderstood and the person said it was a bad read? I was bored so I read it on a long flight. Wish I hadn't.
All the stock characters are here. The strong female cop with daddy issues trying to make it in a man's world, who falls for the local police chief who hasn't loved anyone since his wife and only son died (and he blames himself....blah, blah, blah).
A madman (or men) kidnap a child and all the wrong people are suspected and arrested. Meanwhile lots of dirty secrets in the town are exposed, including affairs. And the kidnappers think they are better than anyone else leaving clues along the way that maybe the cops could figure out if the main characters weren't busy have sex (badly, badly written scenes) or yelling sexist remarks at each other, or sleeping with the wanna be star reporter. Then there is the priest who is trying to help out, but questions his faith and is in love with the mother of the kidnapped child.
I would spoil the ending, but there is no point. Save yourself and read anything else.
I loved this because of the characters, Mitch and Megan. The story was pretty good too, but the end was very unsatisfying.
Book #18 read in 2005
This book was not as good as Hoag's others that I have read. It was very slow at times and I didn't care for a lot of the characters.
This book was not as good as Hoag's others that I have read. It was very slow at times and I didn't care for a lot of the characters.
Hardcover, no dust jacket. This was actually a book club selection and not bad for a quick read. (not the greatest for a book club though)