Rating: 
Summary: TAMI HOAG CAN WRITE A DAMN GOOD NOVEL!
Review: You would be shocked to know that Tami Hoag used to write romance novels only, not suspense. Later, in about 1995, Tami did a transaction from romance novels to suspense novels, and boy does she write good ones. Dust to Dust is kind of a sequel/ follow up to Ashes to Ashes that came out in March 1999 and is now in paperback. I enjoyed Ashes to Ashes a lot. On August 1, I ran out to the store and bought Dust to Dust and was hooked to reading it on the first day. This book had great characters, Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska from Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust was another success by Mrs. Hoag that left you hooked to the novel page by page. Dust to Dust had a very surprising ending, which left me in shock. It seems like all the authors surprise me in the end. A gay cop, Andy Fallon, is killed after hanging himself in his own house, which is believed as suicide, but it is not and the story leads to his father, to rich and famous Ace Wyatt, cops in the Minneapolis Police Department, and even to the chief of the Internal Affairs. You could trust no one in this novel at anytime because everyone had a motive leading from prejudice against gays to a disturbing case twenty years that involved Andy Fallon's father, Mike. If you are a fan of Iris Johansen, Erica Spindler, and Wendy Corsi Staub then Tami Hoag is the one for you and Dust to Dust tops the list of her best novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark suspense-thriller - definitely not romantic suspense!
Review: I will start by saying this book is very well written and very suspensful. Lots of good plot twists and a great trail of clues to follow. However, it was very dark. It was difficult at times to deal with the unrelenting darkness of both of the primary characters lives...borderline depressing. I have read Tami Hoag for many years and have really enjoyed her romantic suspense novels. However, this is definitely a step away from her previous writing. I enjoy the reality and the conflict, however there is very little redemption or relief for Sam or Nikki. I felt depressed at the end of the book. To me the appeal of the Romantic Suspense novel is the hope, and even joy, you feel for the characters in a sometimes hopeless and difficult situation. I also did not feel like I got to know the characters of Amanda or Speed very well. While I understand that real life does not always have a neat or tidy ending, perhaps that is part of the appeal of reading in the first place. For me it is a form of relaxation and escape. I have enough reality to deal with in my own life already. When I finish a book, I like to have a feeling of satisfaction for the characters. Unfortunately, I did not experience that with this book. In the future, I will probably wait for the paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: Very solid effort
Review: I hate to admit it but I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to reading suspenseful cop dramas written by women. However, Ms. Hoag was very effective at presenting the reader with a good suspense tale with many different plot twists. Her description of Det. Kovak, for example, was so descriptive that I could actually smell old stale cigarettes on him whenever his name was mentioned. My only complaint is that she gave us a bit too much of the cliffhanger in the middle of the book instead of saving the best for last. All in all, it was a very good read and can't wait to read her next novel.
Rating:
Summary: More from Liska and Kovac is a good thing...
Review: I listened to this on four cassettes to and fro my work over the last few days, and I must say, this was quite a bit better than 'Ashes to Ashes.' The characters of Detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska return - Nikki was definitely a high point of 'Ashes to Ashes,' - and get hit by a pair of very confusing deaths. One, a "cold-case" of the beating-death of a cop, and the other, an apparent suicide of an IA cop. But is it suicide? Is the criminal charged in the cold-case beating death really the one who killed the cop? Why was the IA man looking into the night his father, a legend cop, was shot and paralyzed, and what does it have to do with all the other things going on?
Honestly, the mystery in this one had me turning - I couldn't decide who to look at as the villain in the piece, and I was very well rewarded for my efforts - I got about a third of it right, enough to make me feel all clever, and yet enough to be outsmarted and enjoy the ride. I'm definitely going to look into more Tami Hoag.
The voice actor in this one was also way above the level of 'Ashes to Ashes,' which is always a good thing. His voices for Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, especially, were well performed, and his pacing was perfect. Well done!
'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: Average fare from a good writer
Review: I sought this book out a day after devouring "Ashes to Ashes" which is a pre-quel of sorts (has some of the same characters in an earlier case). I was excited to follow some of the characters I'd so enjoyed into another case... and I have to admit that I was mildly disappointed in this book. The plot of "Dust to Dust" has more promise than it delivers. I saw some twists coming too early on, and I thought there were opportunities missed by Hoag. There were certain characters that were too stereotypical for my tastes, especially in the homosexual sub-culture of the novel. I agree with what's been said in other reviews of the darkness of this novel -- there's not much light or joy for any of our characters here. Still, I was glad to spend more time with Sam and Nikki - getting to 'know' the characters better after thier introduction in "Ashes to Ashes". I wouldn't mind more adventures with them, in the least, especially if they could find a little happiness down the road! Tami Hoag is capable of better writing and storytelling, but this isn't a bad choice if you've read most of her others already. However, if you haven't read "Ashes to Ashes", I'd recommend it before this one!
Rating:
Summary: Hanging Around the Rafters
Review: I enjoyed this book the way one enjoys a great dessert. It goes down fast & is very sweet. The female officer Liska was a snappy wisecracking woman. My mind kept picturing Frances MacDormand with the witty repartee. Her relationship with her good looking but not dependable ex-husband Speed and her great kids gave fullness to the character as she handled the murders. Kovacs seemed a bit more of a stereotyped gumshoe for me. My mind kept picturing Jerry Orbach of TV's "Law & Order" with the sardonic viewpoint and loaded quips. Most interesting to me was the IA lieutenant Amanda Savard, an ice queen quivering with emotions that lay just beneath the surface. The relationship between she and Kovacs was fascinating to track. All three of the Fallon family characters were specific and rang true for me: The bitterness of police legend Mike in his wheelchair, his son Neil who could never measure up, and the posthumous rendering of Andy who seems like the all-American boy, except for the fact that he prefers boys to girls. The dysfunctional dynamics of that family and how they fit into the story was superb. More cardboard were the stock characters of Ace Wyatt, the policeman turned reality TV star and his assistant "Slick" Gaines, as Kovacs refers to him. Hoag certainly has created a page-burner, one that keeps you flipping to see what will happen next. The title never connected well to the story for me. I thought "Hanging Around the Rafters" might have been a more clever title. "Dust to Dust" is a good book that holds your attention and ends with a bang. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Twists and Turns all through out the book
Review: I started reading this book and no one could get me to put it down. Usually it would take me about 2 weeks to read a book, but this time it took about 7 days. I would read it at work, before bed, before school, and after school. I was so stuck by all the action and the twists of the story. I had to know how it ended and the suspense was nerve racking. I had to read this book for a Minnesota Author Report for school and I couldn't have picked a better novel. My favorite character in the book is Nikki Liska, she reminds me a lot of myself, she is tough and sweet at the same time. She ain't afraid of nothing though. I would totally recommend reading this book to anyone, a few of my friends have read my copy and I have some more that want to read the book. Highly recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: On the Hunt for a Cop Killer
Review: When Minneapolis cops Sam Kovak and his partner Nikki Liska get called to a crime scene where the victim is found hanging naked in his bedroom, the nightmare begins. The victim is Internal affairs cop Andy Fallon, son of a hero cop who used to be Sam's mentor. There are those that say suicide, but Sam isn't buying it Lines are quickly drawn in the department. Some wonder if Andy was working a case against cops that got him killed, others think he was a kinky homosexual who was out for an autoerotic kick and accidentally killed himself. But accident, murder or suicide, Kovak and Liska want to know. However it appears they are alone in their quest for that knowledge. And curiously enough, I.A. doesn't seem to want to know either. Everyone wants the case to just go away, but our heroes persevere and the closer they get to the truth, the closer they get to a killer who is willing to kill again to stop them. Tami Hoag has never disappointed me and DUST TO DUST is one of her best. She's always spot on with her characters, making you feel what they feel, care what they care about and she's a master at suspense, but then everybody knows that, don't they? Sara "Babe" Hackett, Girlfriend from the Darkside
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great
Review: This was my first book by Tami Hoag, but I heard she was a great author so I decided to give it a shot. Having read James Patterson, I am very much into cop vs serial killer murders with suspense. Unfortunately, this book disappointed me. The book seemed to be very dry for the first few hundred pages, and the suspense level never really got that high. The plot just seemed to go round and around who might have done it, never zooming in for sure on any one person. So, a lot of doors were opened in the search for suspects, but not everything was wrapped up in the end. The characters would ponder a certain lead but they didn't follow up on everything that seemed questionable. The characters themselves weren't, in my opinion, that deep or complex. Actually, I didn't really like either of the two "good guys." Kovac got on my nerves with his cold-heartedness and his "lonely me" fixation. I disliked Liska and Savard's "nobody can touch me" feelings. THe characters just seemed to be too extreme. Lastly, there was a sideplot going on about an assault that had nothing to do with the actual plot. I kept waiting for them to be somehow connected, but they never did. Hoag has great talent as a writer, but I just didn't feel the suspense. The only reason I finished the book as fast as I did was because I wanted to start on another book I'd just bought by a favorite author of mine. If the plot was just made more suspenseful or the characters had added depth, I think this book would've been great. So, although this was a good book, I would recommend any of James Patterson's books in place of this for suspense.
Rating:
Summary: Police procedural; fine "sequel" to Ashes to Ashes
Review: Tami Hoag's Dust to Dust follows the pursuits of the same Minneapolis Homicide detectives we met in Ashes to Ashes, which I recommend you read before this book. There's no serial murderer this time, but two suspicious suicides involving one family catch the attention of Sgt. Kovac and his partner, "Tinks." Hoag broadens her canvas to include a sub-plot concerning police reality shows and the plight of gay cops, which complement the main story well. Meanwhile we are immersed in a classic and well-done procedural. Hoag's characters and settings are vivid and in this book she has toned down the gore, as compared to Ashes to Ashes. I highly recommend it.
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