Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Bantam (1998), Edition: Reprint, 592 pages
Description
Terror stalks the streets of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana. A suspected murderer is free on a technicality, and the cop accused of planting evidence against him is ordered off the case. But Detective Nick Fourcade refuses to walk away. He's stepped over the line before. This case threatens to push him over the edge. He's not the only one. Deputy Annie Broussard found the woman's mutilated body. She still hears the phantom echoes of dying screams. She wants justice. But pursuing the investigation will mean forming an alliance with a man she doesn't trust and making enemies of the men she works with. It will mean being drawn into the confidence of a killer. For Annie Broussard, finding justice will mean risking everything--including her life. The search for the truth has begun--one that will lead down a twisted trail through the steamy bayous of Louisiana, and deep into the darkest reaches of the human heart.… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
Very readable, once you get past the first few pages, and it drags you in with very little effort and had me guessing right to the end. Good read.
LibraryThing member Jthierer
This one was just OK. I don't know if it was the Cajun dialect or the slightly over-complicated plot line, but I didn't feel connected to the story or the plot. It would probably have only been 2 stars, but I gave it an extra half for a solid ending.
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
Spoilers ahoy!
This was a very long book. Too long, I think. Although it did keep moving, the action was trivial and not fully explained afterwards. I mean the “practical jokes” played on Broussard. The snake in her car, the skinned animal in her locker room and the pig intestines draped on her
I thought it was the assistant DA & Broussards ex-boyfriend but it turned out to be the mother of the guy who went free. In the end, he was killed though by the father of the last victim. Now the father ends up on trial. I didn’t figure for the mother at all. Not with the rapes that started up when the suspected killer went free. That plot element did its job. It made me think of only male suspects since I reasoned the crimes had to be related. I never seriously considered the husband of the dead woman. He had less to gain by her death – she was more valuable to him alive.
This was a very long book. Too long, I think. Although it did keep moving, the action was trivial and not fully explained afterwards. I mean the “practical jokes” played on Broussard. The snake in her car, the skinned animal in her locker room and the pig intestines draped on her
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porch were interesting, but there were too many of them and the perpetrator was never revealed. Because she busted Forcade for trying to kill the now free accused murder, her fellow cops hate her even more (than for just being female) and it could have been them. And because the killer had left grisly remains at his victim’s home, it could have been him.I thought it was the assistant DA & Broussards ex-boyfriend but it turned out to be the mother of the guy who went free. In the end, he was killed though by the father of the last victim. Now the father ends up on trial. I didn’t figure for the mother at all. Not with the rapes that started up when the suspected killer went free. That plot element did its job. It made me think of only male suspects since I reasoned the crimes had to be related. I never seriously considered the husband of the dead woman. He had less to gain by her death – she was more valuable to him alive.
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LibraryThing member joyfiction
A lovely suspense story. Read the book in one night. It was fun to read and I would read it again.
LibraryThing member Carol420
The plot was a bit creepy in the sense that I found myself checking the locks on the doors as I read late into the night. It did not help that the story line is about a serial rapist/killer who sneaks into women's homes at night when they are in bed and alone, which I was when I read this book. All
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in all, I would have to say that for a suspense/thriller it was fairly decent. Show Less
LibraryThing member Iambookish
A great little mystery novel, that reads like a cozy with a very dark center. I liked the surprise of that! While I love a good cozy, for their comforting predictability, it's good to shake things up a bit and put a little zing in the formula.
Eloise Carmichael is a 30 something librarian, living
Idyllic it would seem, until Dogwood's own ex-con, Cormac O'Malley strolls back into town to a less than enthusiastic welcome.
Eloise hires Cormac to be a handyman at the library and that's when the bedlam begins.
Mystery, romance and murder, this story has it all and while it got a bit sappy at moments (I'm not a big romance reader), the author moved the story along quickly and made it very difficult to put down.
Eloise Carmichael is a 30 something librarian, living
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in a guest house in the backyard of her best friend Jane in the small town of Dogwood, Ohio . Jane is pregnant, married to Ben and has two adorable little boys that love their Aunt Weez. Idyllic it would seem, until Dogwood's own ex-con, Cormac O'Malley strolls back into town to a less than enthusiastic welcome.
Eloise hires Cormac to be a handyman at the library and that's when the bedlam begins.
Mystery, romance and murder, this story has it all and while it got a bit sappy at moments (I'm not a big romance reader), the author moved the story along quickly and made it very difficult to put down.
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LibraryThing member FerneMysteryReader
I was totally engrossed in this suspense novel which I read as a stand-alone. The intensity of the suspense was riveting.
By Chapter 40 I anticipated giving a rating of 5 stars. However, at this point in the novel a key character visits the Andrew Carnegie Library for research and the description
By Chapter 40 I anticipated giving a rating of 5 stars. However, at this point in the novel a key character visits the Andrew Carnegie Library for research and the description
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of the "old" library disappointed me as per my italics of quoted material."The computers had been a gift to the library from a well-known local author, Conroy Cooper. A new library would have been a better gift. The Carnegie had been old when Christ was in short pants. Dank and dimly lit, the place had always given Annie the creeps. The air was musty with the smell of moldering paper. Every wooden surface had either turned black with age or been worn pale from use. Even the librarian, Miss Stitch, seemed slightly mildewed." Show Less
LibraryThing member busyreadin
Really good story but didn’t think the Cajun/bayou language was very believable
LibraryThing member Lauren2013
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
Series note: Book #4 in the Doucet series and book #1 in the 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.
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
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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 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.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1997
Physical description
592 p.; 6.9 inches
ISBN
0553571885 / 9780553571882