Rating: 
Summary: Spellbinding!
Review: In the mystery genre, and especially when it comes to serial killer fiction, phrases such as "page-turner," and "up-all-night-thriller" are frequently over-used and cliched. However, both of them pefectly describe this very impressively written novel by Tami Hoag. Comparisons with the early novels of Thomas Harris are deserved, especially when she writes from the perspective of the killer. Above all, it is complex, rich, and rewarding, filled with great lines, and insights into the dark side of human nature, territory she's not afraid to explore, even in her main chracters. This gives the novel real complexity and moral dimensions. The plot is intriguing, the dialogue is snappy, and the discriptions are evocative. I can almost gurantee that readers will not see all the twists that are coming, no matter how carefully they read; the storytelling is original and in no way predictable. A movie version is probably inevitable, but do yourself a favor and read the real thing first--you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: A great suspensful read!
Review: I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a good old fashioned suspense thriller. The ending is somewhat predictable, but you can't really figure out who the bad guy is until very near the end. The character development is fabulous! You feel like you have known Kate and John all your life. The cop humor is a bit tacky, and could be considered to be offensive, but if you keep humor in mind you will enjoy it. Tami Hoag has a great talent for description, and this comes through in the characters, as well as in the madness of the serial killings. Pick this one up - you will enjoy it!
Rating: 
Summary: Good read, but predictable....
Review: Well this book has been a best seller, and it's a good read, but you may not find it as scary as the cover hype indicates -- probably because it's relatively formulaic. (The newspapers are filled with far worse stories which are too real and to which the author alludes -- the Toronto murders, Jeffery Dahmer in Wisconsin, Ted Bundy for example). I read mysteries sporadically, but avoid the more frightening ones (I scare easily). I got hold of this one accidentally but read it anyway. The first third was pretty awful (scary) and the killer is a disgusting pig. It's possible the book was so scary I just went into the ZONE--a place one of the frightened young victims of this killer uses as an escape mechanism. The main characters Kate, a victim's advocate, and John Quincy an FBI profiler are well developed, likeable and believeable -- well almost. She's supposed to resemble Rene Russo and he's supposed to look like George Clooney. The book is a psychological thriller and there's lots of familiar cop work and banter as the police hunt the killer the press calls "The Cremator" and the cops call "Smokey Joe." I recognized elements of other mystery stories --fires to disquise corpses, serial killers, tape recorded torture (of women of course), victims trapped at home, and a helpless heroine in need of rescue. As I say, the book is entertaining if you want to "zone out", but now I gotta go read something to repair my intelligence quota.
Rating:
Summary: Any unanswered question
Review: As usual Ms.Hoag have lived up to all my expectations. She is one of the best romance thriller writers on the market today. This book grabbed me on the first page and never let go. The plot was great and I agonized alone with her detectives over the identity of the killer. I must say I never guessed or came close to relizing his true identity. The finale had me biting my nails, but I feel that there was one question that was not answered. What happened to Thor?
Rating: 
Summary: NOT A THRILLER
Review: The little tuturial on the back of the book seemed a little deciving along with many of the customer reviews. I was under the impression that this was going to be a serial killer "THRILLER". Much to my surprise it was a drawn out love story with a tlittle bit of murder. Ever time you thought yoou were going to get in to the mind of the villian it stopped and went back to the love story. The only reason I gave this book two stars is cause it did have a good insite to the police works into a murder investigation. And there was some good humor in a few af the characters. For all you who thought this was a good thriller, and to those of you who agree with me on what a good serial killer novel should be about I recomend "COLD COLD HEART" BY JAMES ELLIOT.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for fans of thrillers
Review: Tami Hoag delivers a fine thriller in Ashes to Ashes. Victim Advocate Kate Conlin and FBI agent John Quinn are thrown back together again to catch 'The Cremator', a particularly nasty villian who kills and burns his victims. Conlin and Quinn are no strangers to each other as they have been involved with each other in the past. Now they must set their differences aside and work together to catch a killer. Fast paced and heart-stopping, I could not put down this book. Hoag, primarily a romance writer, has succeeded in crossing over to the thriller genre, and I for one welcome her whole heartedly! **Pandora
Rating:
Summary: this book is a thriller not a romance
Review: My wife bought me this book as a gift, I have never read any Hoag books before so I am just finding out she is a romance writer. This book is a terrific thriller!! I will be buying the follow up, Dust to Dust.
Rating: 
Summary: Wish I could give it no stars...
Review: Yet another book in the long line of romance novelists who are trying to branch out - but still fail. I've read three or four Tami Hoag novels and they all amount to the same thing - a fractured novel that tries to be both romance and thriller but does not blend together in a cohesive unit. This one was the worst, mostly due to dialogue that is so cliched and stilted that the author should be embarassed. Ms. Hoag should select a genre and stick to it, either romance ot thriller.
Rating:
Summary: Can You Scream - Bloodcurdling ?
Review: Ever walk through a park alone late at night? Feel the eeriness creep inward? Shadows shaping into sinister sights? Each innocent noise becoming louder as you race to find your escape? In "Ashes To Ashes", Ms. Hoag begins her bloodcurdler best seller with a displaced teen, walking through such a park, and witnessing the burning of a body by a serial killer. Caution, this novel is EXTREMELY graphic. "I saw him through the flames", Angie whispers to Kate Conlan, a victim's advocate. Yet, a full description cannot be bought or pulled out of this troubled teen. Kate has her hands full, with Angie, her own demons, political mayhem within her own career and with a lost love, FBI profiler extrordinaire--handsomely rugged, John Quinn. After some snappy dialouge and bantering, these two team up to solve the case of what the press is calling this disturbed killer--"The Cremator". The insiders refer to him as "Smoky Joe". Either way, this is one psycho you just know his mother skipped the usual parental advice--do not run with scissors and do not play with matches! I have watched Ms. Hoag rise from a simplistic romance writer to a diva in the bloodcurdling thriller genre. Elaborately woven characters, plots, sub-plots, and yes, even graphic details of the murders make "Ashes To Ashes" ascend. A staggeringly good book of disturbing violence mixed with romance and dabs of humor. other reading suggestions: "A Maidens Grave" by Jeffrey Deaver, "The Woman Who Rode To The Moon" by Bett Reece Johnson, and "Messiah" by Boris Starling Thanks for your interest & comment votes--CDS
Rating:
Summary: Impossible to put down!
Review: This book was definitely not for the faint of heart. It was a heart-pounding, spine-tingling thriller from page one until the very end. I can usually figure out who the killer is before the ending, and let me tell you, this ending is a shocker! I loved the insights into the different characters' minds, as it allowed me to get a better sense for who they were outside of their job. The insight into the mind of the killer was frightening, but I couldn't put it down. This book is one of the best I've read in a long time, and I recommend it to anyone who likes to read thrillers or anything with the FBI or law enforcement.
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