About the Book(s):
Deeper Than The Dead:California, 1985. Three children, running in the woods behind their school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre, shocked by this discovery and heartbroken as she witnesses the end of their innocence. What she doesn’t yet realize is that this will mark the end of innocence for an entire community, as the ties that bind families and friends are tested by secrets uncovered in the wake of a serial killer’s escalating activity.
Vince Leone, a pioneering FBI investigator called in from Washington to consult on the case, is charged with interpreting those now-revealed secrets. He’s using a new technique, profiling, to develop a theory of the murders, a strategy that pushes him ever deeper into the lives of the three children, and closer to the young teacher whose interest in recent events becomes as intense as his own.
As new victims are found and the media scrutiny of the investigation bears down on them, both Vince and Anne are unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves—or the family and friends of the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very close to them is a brutal, calculating psychopath.
Secrets To The Grave:Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her.
When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother’s bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See- No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child’s voice saying, “My daddy hurt my mommy.”
Sheriff’s detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won’t fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne’s life is hectic enough-she’s a newlywed and a part- time student in child psychology, and she’s the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne’s heart is stolen.
As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham’s life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed.
About the Author:
Tami Hoag is the #1 bestselling author of thirty novels. Since 1995′s Night Sins, each succeeding book has been a New York Timesbestseller. She lives in Southern California and Florida.
For more information on Tami:
My Review:
Having only read 1 other book by Tami Hoag a year or so ago, and loving it, I knew I had to jump on this book to review. Others who had read this book, told me nothing but good things about her book and her writing style, so when I sat down to read it, I went into the book with the mind frame of ‘this is going to be good’. And, happily, I was not disappointed! I opened to the first page and was instantly transported to 1985 Oak Knoll, California.
Can you imagine having a 10 year old child come home telling you that he fell and landed on a dead body? I certainly can’t. But that is just what Tami Hoag uses in this gripping plot line. Four children and their teacher discover a young dead woman’s body and the thrills of suspense begin in the search for the serial killer. Now, in this book it’s in the 80’s so trying to hunt down a killer wasn’t all that easy, simply because there wasn’t all the technology used in todays searches. Tami’s research to how an investigation of a murder in the 80s took place was fantastic. It really helped to make the story real.
The superb suspense was out of this world. As I walked along beside Tommy, Wendy, Cody, Dennis, and their teacher Anne, I felt each and every twist of the case. I gasped when they gasped, I shook when they shook….all of it was so intense! It was outstanding.
This is most definitely a 5 star novel and one that I highly recommend to all suspense lovers. You’ll be on the edge of your seat as you reach each new turn and twist in this roller coaster ride of murder and thrilling suspense.
SECRETS TO THE GRAVE:
Wow! Another masterpiece by Tami Hoag! Secrets to the Grave, picks up a year after where Deeper Than The Dead left off. Once again, Hoag’s readers are instantly transported to Oak Knoll, California where another murder has once again occurred. Tami Hoag brings us another roller coaster suspense novel.
Secrets to the Grave is written in a wonderfully detailed style that brings the readers up to date on the murders happening in Oak Know, leaving the story perfect as a stand alone title, or a perfect continuation to Deep Than The Dead. Hoag brings back characters we met in book 1, along with some new characters that really grip the readers’ souls.
Secrets to the Grave is just as intense with the crime of murder as Deeper Than The Dead was, if not more so. Hoag’s ability to create these stories so life like is absolutely powerful. I felt as if I, myself, was trying to escape the “bad daddy” killer. And when I wasn’t felling the out-of-breath fear of running from a killer, I was feeling the deep, spine-tingling thrill of trying to figure out the cliff hangers and who-dun-its of this awesome novel.
Yet another novel that deserves 5 stars. If you’re an edge-of-your seat, always looking over your shoulder, white knuckle, gasping breath suspense lover, then look no further than Tami Hoag’s work. She has a brilliant, masterful skill for writing heart stopping, blood pumping, murderous suspense that will leave you DYING for more! I can’t wait until her next release!
You can purchase your copy of Secrets To The Grave here and Deeper Than The Dead here.
