Dust to Dust

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: I had just finished Tami Hoag's "Ashes to Ashes" (which I loved) and was about to read "Dust to Dust", but was interrupted when someone gave me "Still Waters". After reading SW, I wasn't sure I wanted to read another Hoag book. It wasn't very good. Fortunately, I did pick up "Dust to Dust" and much to my surprise and delight, I couldn't put it down. I should have known. I've enjoyed all of Hoag's suspense books, and shouldn't have been led astray by one blip on the screen. "Dust to Dust" is an unpredictable page turner which begs to be finished. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: ...a worthwhile read...
Review: When I was first introduced to Tami Hoag's novels, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I mistakenly believed that they were of the romance genre, but once I started reading her many novels, I realized just how wrong I was to have made that assumption. Dust To Dust, her newest effort, reads like a sandstorm with more twists than a country back road. She brings back familiar favorites, Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, and the dynamics are as wonderful as ever. The book is brimming with diverse characters who have more than their fair share of deep dark secrets that they wish to keep hidden. Tami Hoag is able to deliver a novel that deals with what some may see as a controversial issue, the death of a gay cop, without becoming mired in sterotypes; but that is just the beginning as Hoag expertly weaves this seemingly cut and dried case of suicide into something much deeper and darker than anyone could have possibly imagined. If you want a novel that will keep you guessing from beginning to end, this is definitely a worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Great Police Procedural
Review: What if you had to try and make sense of the hanging of a young cop? What if that cop was an Internal Affairs investigator? And what if that IA detective was gay? And what if he was the son of a legend of the department? Tami Hoag does just this and more in DUST TO DUST, a follow up to her previous book ASHES TO ASHES.

Minneapolis Police Department Sergeant Sam Kovac and his partner Nikki Liska are the detectives on the scene of the death of Andy Fallon, favored son of legend Iron Mike Fallon. His nude body hanging in his bedroom. Suicide? Murder? Accidental death? Kovac feels he owes it to Fallon's father, a legend in the department now confined to a wheelchair because of a bullet that hit his spine while on the job twenty years ago, to find out. No questions are easy, and each answer leads to another avenue to investigate.

Tami Hoag spares nothing in describing the homicide detectives and their all-too-real lives. Her portrayal of the workaholic Sam Kovac is realistic and honest. Single mother Nikki Liska juggles issues like bedtimes and an ex-husband while worrying about polaroids sent of her sons. I especially thought the dialogue was very authentic. Not one to mince words, one scene included a suspect's reaction to questioning: "By the time he was able to join Neil Fallon on the back steps, any gastrointestinal pyrotechnics had subsided."

If you enjoy a fast-paced police procedural full of twists and turns with a real surprise at the end, you'll enjoy following Sam Kovac and Nikki Liksa as they track down a killer in DUST TO DUST.

Rating:
Summary: Good suspense--Left me hanging in the romance dept.
Review: I have read every one of Tami Hoag's novels. She is my favorite author. I loved her romance novels and I have loved her books since she crossed over to a slightly different style i.e. suspense. But even as she left the romance genre behind, she always left "glimmers" of her old style in her books. Although we did not get her wonderful hot and heavy love scenes, she still handled relationships in her books with some of her old flair. I always knew there would be a happy ending. Dust to Dust was a wonderful novel. I enjoyed it completely. But, I was left somewhat depressed after I finished, because I expected the book to have a "feel good" ending. I wish she had at least resolved one of the two characters life. Please Tami, give your readers some closure on these two fantastic characters, Sam and Tinks, and put them in an upcoming novel. I also hope Tami continues to create great suspense novels, but I hope she does not completely forget her roots in romance.

Rating:
Summary: Ok Suspense Novel, Lousy Romantic Novel...
Review: Usually Tami Hoag writes a great romantic suspense novel. Not the case here. I found the lead characters interesting but not as well "fleshed out" as they could have been. But I didn't guess the murderer, which is always the sign of a good murder mystery.

But having just finished it, I'm left feeling down and disappointed. The romantic part is lousy, can't get much worse than Sam and Tink in that department. Don't want to say too much and ruin it for you.

If you are looking for good romantic suspense, try one of Ms. Hoag's other books first. This one is in the "good, not great" category in my opinion.

Rating:
Summary: kept me hanging
Review: the characters in this book were slightly introduced to us in "ashes to ashes" which of course should be read before "dust to dust". this story is more intriguing and original in comparison. it took me a long time to get thru this book, but it could be because i enjoy hoag's books so much, i couldn't wait for it to come out in paperback (hardback books are more awkward) and i'm glad i didn't wait. something in this story just isn't quite right and it's hard to figure out what it is. the reader is led in many different directions, through many different relationships and until you reach the end, you just don't know what happened. there are so many people who could be the villan you are hooked to read to the end to find out. the worst part was finishing the book and not having more to read - the characters become your friends and then you have to put the book away.

Rating:
Summary: She's Got Another Winner!!!
Review: The more Tami Hoag writes the better she gets as evidenced by Dust to Dust. Having been a police officer in Dallas, I identify strongly with many of the details in Hoag's books, and her newest is no exception. Partners Liska and Kovac share a wonderful intimacy that only law enforcement personnel can understand, and they work well off each other. Details and happenings can be penned by anyone, but it's the abstract and the descriptions of what is in the minds of the characters in this book that makes it a cut above. Hoag is able to keep the reader (or listener) aware of how the tiniest detail can either make the reader certain as to how the crime was committed, or make the reader aware of how nothing looks the same to two individuals. This is her best book to date, and I eagerly anticipate the next one.

Rating:
Summary: Tammy Hoag is excellent!
Review: Tammy Hoag never lets me down! Time and time again I'm never dissapointed with any of her novels. This book held my attention and everytime I thought I nailed the identity of the killer I was wrong. It was suspenseful and not at all predictable. I wish it had ended differently for Liska and her partner but the book was awesome!!! Great read, pick it up!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Some friends just cost you money...
Review: I've never read any of Tami Hoag's crime stories before, and a friend gave me a copy of this book.

Damn.

Now I'm going to have to go and buy another Tami Hoag book. then another.

This lady is good. Read her.

Rating:
Summary: A Mystery for Real Mystery Lovers
Review: Tami Hoag writes one of the best mystery novels in contemporary literature today. You will find yourself thinking about the book and trying to puzzle out the murder while you're doing other things...like driving, or working! Dust to Dust continued with some of the characters from Ms. Hoag's last book, Ashes to Ashes. The detectives, Sam Kovac and his partner Nikki Liska, add depth, intensity and strength to the police work involved in solving the murders in Dust to Dust. A definite must read for those who have read Tami Hoag's other mystery novels, and a definite must read for those who haven't yet discovered Ms. Hoag's talents.