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Kovac and Liska #3
Prior Bad Acts
New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag returns with a thriller that begins with a shocking crime scene you’ll never forget and follows two relentless detectives on a manhunt that ends in a chilling confrontation with the essence of human evil.
It was a crime so brutal, it changed the lives of even the most hardened homicide cops. The Haas family murders left a scar on the community nothing can erase, but everyone agrees that convicting the killer, Karl Dahl, is a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl’s prior criminal record is inadmissible raises a public outcry—and puts the judge in grave danger.
When an unknown assailant attacks Judge Moore in a parking garage, two of Minneapolis’s top cops are called upon to solve the crime and keep the judge from further harm. Detective Sam Kovac is as hard-boiled as they come, and his wisecracking partner, Nikki Liska, isn’t far behind. Neither one wants to be on this case, but when Karl Dahl escapes from custody, everything changes, and a seemingly straightforward case cartwheels out of control.
The stakes go even higher when the judge is kidnapped—snatched out of her own bed even as the police sit outside, watching her house. Now Kovac and Liska must navigate through a maze of suspects that includes the stepson of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge where the justice system failed.
With no time to spare, the detectives are pulled down a strange dark trail of smoke and mirrors, where no one is who they seem and everyone is guilty of Prior Bad Acts .
It was a crime so brutal, it changed the lives of even the most hardened homicide cops. The Haas family murders left a scar on the community nothing can erase, but everyone agrees that convicting the killer, Karl Dahl, is a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl’s prior criminal record is inadmissible raises a public outcry—and puts the judge in grave danger.
When an unknown assailant attacks Judge Moore in a parking garage, two of Minneapolis’s top cops are called upon to solve the crime and keep the judge from further harm. Detective Sam Kovac is as hard-boiled as they come, and his wisecracking partner, Nikki Liska, isn’t far behind. Neither one wants to be on this case, but when Karl Dahl escapes from custody, everything changes, and a seemingly straightforward case cartwheels out of control.
The stakes go even higher when the judge is kidnapped—snatched out of her own bed even as the police sit outside, watching her house. Now Kovac and Liska must navigate through a maze of suspects that includes the stepson of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge where the justice system failed.
With no time to spare, the detectives are pulled down a strange dark trail of smoke and mirrors, where no one is who they seem and everyone is guilty of Prior Bad Acts .
592 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
1134 people are currently reading
6521 people want to read
About the author
Tami Hoag
100 books6,137 followersTami Hoag is the #1 internationally bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers—BITTER SEASON, COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller.
She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.
Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag
She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.
Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 759 reviews
April 13, 2020
do you know how long it takes to listen to audio books?? this one is eleven hours and thirty-nine minutes! and i am not one of you cyborg kids who have all manner of machines strapped to you and dangling off of your tool belts like a williamsburg batman. i can only listen to this in my house, doing the dishes or cooking etc. but - jesus - eleven hours!! of this guy's voice!! as he raises the pitch to make lady-voices or baby-talks through a five-year-old character or slaps this comical minnesotan accent on for one cop, or gets gruff, or creepy, or MAKES THUNDER NOISES as the narrative requires. it's like listening to a grown man play with dolls (and i have used that expression privately, to one of you goodreaders, and if you are reading this review, the association is intentional)
this is only my second audio book.* i have dfw reading "brief interviews", which is wonderful because it is his voice, and he knows how to read his own stuff, but i have great difficulty paying attention to the aural. in class, i pretty much write down everything teacher says because otherwise i will drift off and not remember anything but when i read my notes, i can remember it. hearing shit? i tune out, i daydream, it is not ideal for me. (i actually watch all my netflix with the subtitles on, because i find it helps me remember what happened) i had to start several chapters over because i had been having little dreamthoughts in my head that were entirely separate from the cd. audio must be great for you commuters who have to pay attention to the road and all. because i am chauffeured daily by the mta, i can read guaranteed a couple of hours a day, and not have to resort to this medium which limits my involvement by telling me where the inflections are. maybe as a reaction to the imaginative limitations, i misheard several lines and conjured up mental pictures different than intended:
"He let his gaze wander around the room"
"I've got a unit on the house"
"You're a target"
"bucking wildly"
"see Kyle"
"She could feel his gaze on her"
"Headlights washed over them"
it is important to enunciate.
as for the book itself -what can i say? it is a perfectly serviceable thriller; it's got a dead lady with flowers stuffed in a slit down her chest, some red herrings, an oddly schoolmarmish attitude towards pornography, and a bunch of dead bodies. it would have taken me far less time to read it than it did to listen to it, but the syllabus wants what the syllabus wants. sieg heil, indeed.
* except, of course, for this: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49...
come to my blog!
this is only my second audio book.* i have dfw reading "brief interviews", which is wonderful because it is his voice, and he knows how to read his own stuff, but i have great difficulty paying attention to the aural. in class, i pretty much write down everything teacher says because otherwise i will drift off and not remember anything but when i read my notes, i can remember it. hearing shit? i tune out, i daydream, it is not ideal for me. (i actually watch all my netflix with the subtitles on, because i find it helps me remember what happened) i had to start several chapters over because i had been having little dreamthoughts in my head that were entirely separate from the cd. audio must be great for you commuters who have to pay attention to the road and all. because i am chauffeured daily by the mta, i can read guaranteed a couple of hours a day, and not have to resort to this medium which limits my involvement by telling me where the inflections are. maybe as a reaction to the imaginative limitations, i misheard several lines and conjured up mental pictures different than intended:
"He let his gaze wander around the room"
"I've got a unit on the house"
"You're a target"
"bucking wildly"
"see Kyle"
"She could feel his gaze on her"
"Headlights washed over them"
it is important to enunciate.
as for the book itself -what can i say? it is a perfectly serviceable thriller; it's got a dead lady with flowers stuffed in a slit down her chest, some red herrings, an oddly schoolmarmish attitude towards pornography, and a bunch of dead bodies. it would have taken me far less time to read it than it did to listen to it, but the syllabus wants what the syllabus wants. sieg heil, indeed.
* except, of course, for this: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49...
come to my blog!
July 23, 2017
Making my way through the Kovac and Liska series. I like the series and I like the characters of Kovac and Liska and their immediate team. I really enjoyed this suspense murder - maybe one of my favorites in the series.
When a judge makes an unpopular decision on the admission of prior bad acts, she is attacked and her life is endangered. A little digging into who may have attacked her leads to multiple options. Some people don't look as innocent as they should.
I think I would have liked it more if I could have seen more of the judge's husband's downfall in the epilogue. His character was definitely easy to dislike.
When a judge makes an unpopular decision on the admission of prior bad acts, she is attacked and her life is endangered. A little digging into who may have attacked her leads to multiple options. Some people don't look as innocent as they should.
I think I would have liked it more if I could have seen more of the judge's husband's downfall in the epilogue. His character was definitely easy to dislike.
May 7, 2018
I really enjoyed the third book in the Kovac and Liska series. We have Kovac and Liska involved in a case that involves a judge (Judge Carey Moore) that is attacked after giving out a controversial ruling related to a defendant's prior bad acts not being allowed to be introduced to a jury when he goes on trial for the murder of woman and her two foster kids.
Kovac is at first not looking forward to the assignment. He doesn't care for Judge Moore now that she is a judge. When she was a prosecutor many in the police force liked her. They thought they had a shoo-in now when they brought defendants to appear before her. She quickly disabused them of that notion by not showing favoritism to the prosecutor or defendant. I do love how for Kovac that is a betrayal. He ends up liking Carey though when he sees how she is with her daughter and he realizes that something is up with her marriage.
Liska is still dealing with juggling her job and her personal life. Being a mother to two boys with an absent ex, Liska keeps wondering is it fair to still do homicides and not switch to something that will keep her at home more.
Honestly the partnership between Kovac and Liska is what keeps me reading this series. They get each other and the other detectives in homicide run together like a very well tuned machine.
For the first time ever though we get to see a slightly out of control Kovac in this one. He is very focused on Judge Moore's husband and you start to see that Kovac may be dealing with a bit of a "crush" for her despite how he first felt about her.
I do think that the secondary characters were developed very well. We have the man that many want to see dead for murder (Karl Dahl) we also have Kovac unraveling key players involved with Moore's husband. And we have a detective who had to walk through the house and find three dead people who now haunt him who is focused on getting justice. And we also get a very quick appearance by Kate Quinn (formerly Conlan) who we now assume is married to John Quinn based on what Kovac reveals.
The writing was great and so was the flow.
The main reason why I didn't give this five stars though is that there was still the unanswered question related to Judge Moore's husband. It is just left dangling. I purposely re-read "The 9th Girl" after this and it does reference this book/case and Judge Moore so that was nice. I just wish that Hoag had wrapped up all loose ends in this one.
Kovac is at first not looking forward to the assignment. He doesn't care for Judge Moore now that she is a judge. When she was a prosecutor many in the police force liked her. They thought they had a shoo-in now when they brought defendants to appear before her. She quickly disabused them of that notion by not showing favoritism to the prosecutor or defendant. I do love how for Kovac that is a betrayal. He ends up liking Carey though when he sees how she is with her daughter and he realizes that something is up with her marriage.
Liska is still dealing with juggling her job and her personal life. Being a mother to two boys with an absent ex, Liska keeps wondering is it fair to still do homicides and not switch to something that will keep her at home more.
Honestly the partnership between Kovac and Liska is what keeps me reading this series. They get each other and the other detectives in homicide run together like a very well tuned machine.
For the first time ever though we get to see a slightly out of control Kovac in this one. He is very focused on Judge Moore's husband and you start to see that Kovac may be dealing with a bit of a "crush" for her despite how he first felt about her.
I do think that the secondary characters were developed very well. We have the man that many want to see dead for murder (Karl Dahl) we also have Kovac unraveling key players involved with Moore's husband. And we have a detective who had to walk through the house and find three dead people who now haunt him who is focused on getting justice. And we also get a very quick appearance by Kate Quinn (formerly Conlan) who we now assume is married to John Quinn based on what Kovac reveals.
The writing was great and so was the flow.
The main reason why I didn't give this five stars though is that there was still the unanswered question related to Judge Moore's husband. It is just left dangling. I purposely re-read "The 9th Girl" after this and it does reference this book/case and Judge Moore so that was nice. I just wish that Hoag had wrapped up all loose ends in this one.
March 14, 2014
So far out of the Kovak and Liska series, this has been my favorite. Tami Hoag is fast becoming one of my favorite authors for this year. Her skills with writing mystery are phenomenal along with her characters. She makes them so realistic and believable. There were so many great elements included in this book. Those that I always look for in a good suspense/mystery. I found it hard to put it down. It was such a fluid read and easy to follow even with multiple mysteries running simultaneously. Another element I enjoy in mystery.
The main plot to the story is very gruesome and terrifying, because we know there are killers in our world today that are this vile. We have the Haas family. And on a frightful, stormy night a detective, Stan Dempsey, finds the body of the mother and 2 children brutally tortured then killed. He can only imagine the terror that that these three had endured, and was scarred for life. They have a suspect Karl Dahl who they know had to be the victims tormentor, so the case pursues forward. The Judge can't allow this to go to trial based on 'prior bad acts' of the suspect. She can only rule that a jury decides the outcome of this case. Now making herself a target in this twisted, demented affair, the judge Carey Moore has her life threatened. Sam Kovak, and Nikki Liska are called to the forefront to crack the case and help bring a madman to justice.
The more I read Hoag's books the more I love Sam Kovak. He is one of those detectives that has had a pretty screwed up existence but he refuses to succumb to it. He keeps moving forward. He uses his anger to bring in the bad guys. He is gallant, yet he is rough and touch as well. The bad guys, they don't get away without a little bit of Kovak in their faces.
Nikki Liska, Kovak's main sidekick, often referred to Tinks, is another great detective. I love her loyalty to their friendship and partnership. She is one tough cookie who has also led a somewhat rough existence. But she makes the best of it and her kiddos are her life. She relies on Kovak and he does the same.
These two keep each other sane for the most post and they help control each other from going over the edge. I love the way that Hoag has them work together, always making wisecracks to one another, that only the two of them can understand. They are almost perfect for each other, and they have to be two of my favorite detectives.
There are several 'villains' in this story and Hoag wrote them well. She allows her readers to get inside there heads where they can become a part of the insanity that is whirling around there. The book as a whole is quite disturbing especially when details about these people come to the forefront. Some nice twists as well surrounding these bad guys!
I recommend this series to anyone who loves a disturbing twisted mystery. My head was spinning trying to figure out whodunit. And as always, just when I thought I knew, I realized I did not because the author would take it in another direction. Truly a great novel of Suspense!
The main plot to the story is very gruesome and terrifying, because we know there are killers in our world today that are this vile. We have the Haas family. And on a frightful, stormy night a detective, Stan Dempsey, finds the body of the mother and 2 children brutally tortured then killed. He can only imagine the terror that that these three had endured, and was scarred for life. They have a suspect Karl Dahl who they know had to be the victims tormentor, so the case pursues forward. The Judge can't allow this to go to trial based on 'prior bad acts' of the suspect. She can only rule that a jury decides the outcome of this case. Now making herself a target in this twisted, demented affair, the judge Carey Moore has her life threatened. Sam Kovak, and Nikki Liska are called to the forefront to crack the case and help bring a madman to justice.
The more I read Hoag's books the more I love Sam Kovak. He is one of those detectives that has had a pretty screwed up existence but he refuses to succumb to it. He keeps moving forward. He uses his anger to bring in the bad guys. He is gallant, yet he is rough and touch as well. The bad guys, they don't get away without a little bit of Kovak in their faces.
Nikki Liska, Kovak's main sidekick, often referred to Tinks, is another great detective. I love her loyalty to their friendship and partnership. She is one tough cookie who has also led a somewhat rough existence. But she makes the best of it and her kiddos are her life. She relies on Kovak and he does the same.
These two keep each other sane for the most post and they help control each other from going over the edge. I love the way that Hoag has them work together, always making wisecracks to one another, that only the two of them can understand. They are almost perfect for each other, and they have to be two of my favorite detectives.
There are several 'villains' in this story and Hoag wrote them well. She allows her readers to get inside there heads where they can become a part of the insanity that is whirling around there. The book as a whole is quite disturbing especially when details about these people come to the forefront. Some nice twists as well surrounding these bad guys!
I recommend this series to anyone who loves a disturbing twisted mystery. My head was spinning trying to figure out whodunit. And as always, just when I thought I knew, I realized I did not because the author would take it in another direction. Truly a great novel of Suspense!
October 26, 2022
This book abounded with suspects with diverse motives and how the plot finally resolved kept me awake into the night. Definitely don't start the last third of this book close to bedtime, you might not get any sleep.
The police and prosecutors all believed that as a former prosecutor Judge Carey Moore would be a good friend to law enforcement when she took the bench. What they got was a judge who was determined that her rulings were fair and judicially sound. When she rules against the prosecution, ruling that the defendant's prior bad acts were inadmissible, and for the defense in a murder case that has horrified the community, she paid back by being physically attacked and almost killed.
Nikki Liska and Sam Kovac catch the case and are none too happy about trying to find the perp who would have done the community a favor if he had succeeded. Then the accused killer, Karl Dahl escapes and disappears. With her life turned upside down, Carey has no one to turn to and Sam Kovac is drawn to this strong, principled woman a lot more than he should be, and that is before she is kidnapped from her own bed. The suspects abound and include the stepson of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge.
The police and prosecutors all believed that as a former prosecutor Judge Carey Moore would be a good friend to law enforcement when she took the bench. What they got was a judge who was determined that her rulings were fair and judicially sound. When she rules against the prosecution, ruling that the defendant's prior bad acts were inadmissible, and for the defense in a murder case that has horrified the community, she paid back by being physically attacked and almost killed.
Nikki Liska and Sam Kovac catch the case and are none too happy about trying to find the perp who would have done the community a favor if he had succeeded. Then the accused killer, Karl Dahl escapes and disappears. With her life turned upside down, Carey has no one to turn to and Sam Kovac is drawn to this strong, principled woman a lot more than he should be, and that is before she is kidnapped from her own bed. The suspects abound and include the stepson of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge.
May 15, 2023
3.5 ⭐ Detective story with layers & depths
Triggers: Sexual Assault, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Kidnapping, Crimes Against Children, Women & Men, Mental Health Distress leading to Violent Acts, Infidelity, Mentions of Pornography & Emotional Rollercoaster (Apologies if I miss any, read @ yor)
Wow. This is a fast paced, multi-perspective, half-cop half-legal system thriller. All the colors of the emotional rainbow are mentioned & you are immersed into the deep depths of human depravity and violence. Lots of conflicting feels towards & against alleged criminals and apparent victims. The story starts with the gruesome and horrific murder of a woman & two children discovered after a tornado hit, the Haas family. Then the arrest & indictment of alleged killer, Karl Dahl. What gets the ball rolling, is the massive smackdown beating of Judge Carey Moore - presiding over Dahl's case of course. There's a lot of pointing fingers and he said/she said, snooping into every aspect of each potential suspect. Lives are placed under many microscopes & no one can come out looking good that close up. A plethora of discoveries are made amidst a lot of independent violent acts. This should really be a TV show. I highly recommend giving this a read even if you don't like detective stories simply because the detective "stuff" is not prominently in your face.
Triggers: Sexual Assault, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Kidnapping, Crimes Against Children, Women & Men, Mental Health Distress leading to Violent Acts, Infidelity, Mentions of Pornography & Emotional Rollercoaster (Apologies if I miss any, read @ yor)
Wow. This is a fast paced, multi-perspective, half-cop half-legal system thriller. All the colors of the emotional rainbow are mentioned & you are immersed into the deep depths of human depravity and violence. Lots of conflicting feels towards & against alleged criminals and apparent victims. The story starts with the gruesome and horrific murder of a woman & two children discovered after a tornado hit, the Haas family. Then the arrest & indictment of alleged killer, Karl Dahl. What gets the ball rolling, is the massive smackdown beating of Judge Carey Moore - presiding over Dahl's case of course. There's a lot of pointing fingers and he said/she said, snooping into every aspect of each potential suspect. Lives are placed under many microscopes & no one can come out looking good that close up. A plethora of discoveries are made amidst a lot of independent violent acts. This should really be a TV show. I highly recommend giving this a read even if you don't like detective stories simply because the detective "stuff" is not prominently in your face.
December 3, 2016
Rating: 4.5
This book was not perfect, but I think this was Hoag's best book that I've read so far. I enjoyed it enough to keep it.
I even liked the endgame romance at the end.
I spent most of the book wondering who was the Big Baddie™, and it was a lot more complicated than just one. I was actually surprised one of them was not as involved as I thought.
This book had a lot more depth and layers than I was expecting. Hurrah.
This book was not perfect, but I think this was Hoag's best book that I've read so far. I enjoyed it enough to keep it.
I even liked the endgame romance at the end.
I spent most of the book wondering who was the Big Baddie™, and it was a lot more complicated than just one. I was actually surprised one of them was not as involved as I thought.
This book had a lot more depth and layers than I was expecting. Hurrah.
June 17, 2019
Stayed up way too late to finish, because I never found a spot where I could’ve stopped and gone to sleep without actually knowing immediately what happened next. Really well done cop/crime thriller. The two main characters are interesting, believable, and likable; the bad guys are really horrible guys, just awful; and the writing gets better with each successive book. There were lots of twists and turns, and a satisfying ending, with enough unresolved storylines to keep you coming back for more. Will definitely continue with the series and the author’s other books.
Four stars.
Four stars.
May 29, 2020
Another great crime drama in this series! Kovac and Liska are great characters. This story is complex and there are a number of possible suspects. Finding the truth is difficult as there are several paths to investigate. Kovac has trouble keeping his temper in check. The interplay between the two detectives is sometimes humorous. This story could be read as a stand alone, even though it's good to know the background it is not necessary to follow the plot. If you like crime dramas you will enjoy this one.
August 13, 2007
PRIOR BAD ACTS (Police Proc-Minneapolis, MN-Cont) – VG
Hoag, Tami – 3rd in series
Bantam, 2006- Amer Hardcover
*** When Judge Carey Moore refuses to allow the prior bad acts of Karl Dahl, accused of committing the brutal murder of a mother and two young children, she is vilified by the police and newspapers as being soft on killers. But someone is even more angry and severely beats her and later threatens her. Detective Sam Kovac is assigned to the case along with his partner Nikki Liska. They, too, think the judge’s ruling was wrong but the more they investigate the attack, the more layers to both Carey’s beating and the original murder.
*** Ms. Hoag really knows how to create great characters. They are fully dimensional, interesting and realistic. She also knows how to write effective, real sounding dialogue. She effectively balances suspense, human tragedy on all levels and humor. The plot was a bit obvious, although it did have some complexity and good twists, as was the building relationship, but it was a good enough read not to mind. This, as are all Ms. Hoag’s books, was solid, enjoyable, page-turning reading.
Hoag, Tami – 3rd in series
Bantam, 2006- Amer Hardcover
*** When Judge Carey Moore refuses to allow the prior bad acts of Karl Dahl, accused of committing the brutal murder of a mother and two young children, she is vilified by the police and newspapers as being soft on killers. But someone is even more angry and severely beats her and later threatens her. Detective Sam Kovac is assigned to the case along with his partner Nikki Liska. They, too, think the judge’s ruling was wrong but the more they investigate the attack, the more layers to both Carey’s beating and the original murder.
*** Ms. Hoag really knows how to create great characters. They are fully dimensional, interesting and realistic. She also knows how to write effective, real sounding dialogue. She effectively balances suspense, human tragedy on all levels and humor. The plot was a bit obvious, although it did have some complexity and good twists, as was the building relationship, but it was a good enough read not to mind. This, as are all Ms. Hoag’s books, was solid, enjoyable, page-turning reading.
March 9, 2017
This series just keeps getting better and better!!! Loved it.
June 8, 2022
Easily one of the best books I have ever read. Each page had me reading faster and flipping the page harder. The suspense was so intense that you could not possibly just read one chapter, I finished this book in two days and will definitely read it again. The twists and turns that Hoag brings through the chapters had so many different emotions going through me for those characters. Highly recommend!!!!
January 6, 2020
This story was pretty good and quite intense in moments. There was several times in the story when murders or violent situations were described in graphic detail. I found it disturbing, but I also found the story telling to be realistic. Part of me appreciated that the story wasn’t sugar coated. I think it added to the suspense and fear when reading the book. This wasn’t one of my favorite books, but I think it’s worth reading if you’re looking for a suspenseful book to read.
May 22, 2023
I think Tami Hoag writes really good thrillers. They're very three dimensional, which I really appreciate. This is the 3rd of the series and I have read the first 3. All were solid 4 star reads. I love the Kovac and Liska characters. From what I've read so far, I would recommend the series for all thriller fans.
March 11, 2012
I really liked this book, and it was a good ending for the Kovac/Liska series. As with the previous books, I like the multiple character narration, and it lends itself naturally to good suspense building as it cuts away from a suspenseful point in one character's storyline to the simultaneous (I assume) story of someone else in the book.
There were a few loose threads that made me give this a 3-star rating:
1. Who was the very first character in the book that found the bodies? I would have liked to have him at least mentioned as a witness or something. I read pretty quickly so maybe I missed that somewhere. Also, wasn't the house pretty much destroyed in the tornado? It sounded pretty bad, but then the family is living there 15 months later...
2. I know he's crazy and murderous, but why did Karl Dahl confess to those murders? I was expecting some sort of tie-in between the kid - Bobby Haas- and Karl that never came. Like that they were father/son or brothers or something since the kid was adopted.
3. I would have liked to see more of Karl Dahl as Karla Dahl- interacting with people. There was some -albeit dark- comic release in Karla roaming around town dressed as a middle aged woman while the entire city was hunting for him. All Karla did really was buy lunch and sit on a bench stalking the judge.
4. The Porn industry makes big big money- why was the judge's idiot husband paying for porn business expenses out of his home money. Makes no sense. That was laziness in the writing, it would have been more likely and interesting to find a ton of extra money rather than the hotel charges.
5. The detective gone awry, Stan Dempsey, was a kind of weird unbelievable character. The fact that this case set him over the edge was OK, but the fact that none of the other detectives knew anything about him is strange. He wasn't a uniformed officer- he was a detective who had to have been promoted on merit at some point in time, and would have had to work long stressful cases with all the other detectives. He simply couldn't have blended in to the wallpaper while working on murder cases, some variety of personality would have come through. So I didn't like his subplot. I wish he was written as more of a bad-ass Steven Seagal supercop that went off the deep end.
I like the way that the author progressed Kovac's character- after the tragedy he saw in the last book, he developed in a very real and human way. Liska, too, through the series made for a really believable and likable character.
You don't have to have read the previous two books in the series, as each book is a stand-alone story, but the progression and development of the characters is stitched through all three books. I would recommend to anyone who likes mystery/crime thrillers.
There were a few loose threads that made me give this a 3-star rating:
1. Who was the very first character in the book that found the bodies? I would have liked to have him at least mentioned as a witness or something. I read pretty quickly so maybe I missed that somewhere. Also, wasn't the house pretty much destroyed in the tornado? It sounded pretty bad, but then the family is living there 15 months later...
2. I know he's crazy and murderous, but why did Karl Dahl confess to those murders? I was expecting some sort of tie-in between the kid - Bobby Haas- and Karl that never came. Like that they were father/son or brothers or something since the kid was adopted.
3. I would have liked to see more of Karl Dahl as Karla Dahl- interacting with people. There was some -albeit dark- comic release in Karla roaming around town dressed as a middle aged woman while the entire city was hunting for him. All Karla did really was buy lunch and sit on a bench stalking the judge.
4. The Porn industry makes big big money- why was the judge's idiot husband paying for porn business expenses out of his home money. Makes no sense. That was laziness in the writing, it would have been more likely and interesting to find a ton of extra money rather than the hotel charges.
5. The detective gone awry, Stan Dempsey, was a kind of weird unbelievable character. The fact that this case set him over the edge was OK, but the fact that none of the other detectives knew anything about him is strange. He wasn't a uniformed officer- he was a detective who had to have been promoted on merit at some point in time, and would have had to work long stressful cases with all the other detectives. He simply couldn't have blended in to the wallpaper while working on murder cases, some variety of personality would have come through. So I didn't like his subplot. I wish he was written as more of a bad-ass Steven Seagal supercop that went off the deep end.
I like the way that the author progressed Kovac's character- after the tragedy he saw in the last book, he developed in a very real and human way. Liska, too, through the series made for a really believable and likable character.
You don't have to have read the previous two books in the series, as each book is a stand-alone story, but the progression and development of the characters is stitched through all three books. I would recommend to anyone who likes mystery/crime thrillers.
July 14, 2012
I picked up this book at a library sale. Now when I added it to do my review, I find out that it is the third in a series, and I hate to read books out of order, but I think I can manage this one.
I have read a few Tami Hoag books before and I have always enjoyed the way she writes and how she spins a story.
This was amazing, it was a well written story with lots of twists and turns that kept you guessing the whole time. The murders were intense and might be hard to handle for some, but the details and well written and give you just enough information to understand the crime without being overly gory or too intense.
The emotions of the people in the story are so easy to relate to you, and you find yourself understanding and feeling for all the people in the story, not just the good guys. Even the emotions or lack of emotions in the bad guys are understandable.
This is a hard book to review in that you don't want to tell to much about the story for fear of giving awsay too many things and spoiling the book for the next person, but at the same time you want to get enough information to spur someone into reading it.
The story follows two main detectives and other minor detectives as they try to make a case in the brutal murder or a woman and her two children. Everyone in the case, including the town, blames a drifter. The story opens with the judge in the case having to make a hard decision about the drifters past, weather it is admissable in court or not. The thing is the writer really dealves into the judges mind in making the decision, you understand her conflict and her reasoning for making the ruling, even though it makes her unpopular in a minute in town, she does what she feels she has to based on the laws.
The story goes from there and tells what happens after the ruling, how it effects certain people in the case and the unhinging of minds.
I would encourage anyone who loves a mystery to read this. It will keep you guessing and make you respect and understand the work of the police, the lawyers and the judges more too.
I have read a few Tami Hoag books before and I have always enjoyed the way she writes and how she spins a story.
This was amazing, it was a well written story with lots of twists and turns that kept you guessing the whole time. The murders were intense and might be hard to handle for some, but the details and well written and give you just enough information to understand the crime without being overly gory or too intense.
The emotions of the people in the story are so easy to relate to you, and you find yourself understanding and feeling for all the people in the story, not just the good guys. Even the emotions or lack of emotions in the bad guys are understandable.
This is a hard book to review in that you don't want to tell to much about the story for fear of giving awsay too many things and spoiling the book for the next person, but at the same time you want to get enough information to spur someone into reading it.
The story follows two main detectives and other minor detectives as they try to make a case in the brutal murder or a woman and her two children. Everyone in the case, including the town, blames a drifter. The story opens with the judge in the case having to make a hard decision about the drifters past, weather it is admissable in court or not. The thing is the writer really dealves into the judges mind in making the decision, you understand her conflict and her reasoning for making the ruling, even though it makes her unpopular in a minute in town, she does what she feels she has to based on the laws.
The story goes from there and tells what happens after the ruling, how it effects certain people in the case and the unhinging of minds.
I would encourage anyone who loves a mystery to read this. It will keep you guessing and make you respect and understand the work of the police, the lawyers and the judges more too.
March 28, 2014
Last time I read a Tami Hoag novel, I remember feeling a bit flat; the book in question, Kill the Messenger, hadn't done much for me. Now, though, I've finally gotten around to reading her paperback from last year--Prior Bad Acts--and I'm pleased to report that Ms. Hoag definitely still has it in her.
This book goes back to revisit a couple of characters she's written about before: Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, the cops previously appearing in Dust to Dust. I've seen the formula of a pair of mixed-gender cops who aren't romantically involved in a few different places at this point, so it's not as rare to me as it used to be. However, it's still unusual enough that it's quite a pleasure to read about. It helps too that Kovac and Liska are very strong characters in general, with a genuine camaraderie that doesn't need to be muddied by sex.
Which is not to say that Prior Bad Acts doesn't have a romantic undercurrent in it; it does, albeit one very much tempered and sobered by the horrific events of the main plot, as Kovac finds himself drawn to Judge Carey Moore. Moore has issued a ruling that's put her under fire from all directions, pronouncing that the prior bad acts of a convicted killer are not admissible in court for a newer crime--and now, Moore's become the victim of a brutal assault. I definitely appreciated the few gentle notes of attraction between Kovac and Moore, which stood out in sweet contrast to the horrors past and present they're having to fight.
And make no mistake, the main plot is as gripping as anything Hoag's ever penned. The murders of a mother and two young children, the event that triggers this entire story, resonate out to destroy several lives. Along the way, although it's telegraphed enough that I knew what was finally coming, the discovery of the true perpetrator is chilling indeed. Good gripping read all around. Four stars.
This book goes back to revisit a couple of characters she's written about before: Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, the cops previously appearing in Dust to Dust. I've seen the formula of a pair of mixed-gender cops who aren't romantically involved in a few different places at this point, so it's not as rare to me as it used to be. However, it's still unusual enough that it's quite a pleasure to read about. It helps too that Kovac and Liska are very strong characters in general, with a genuine camaraderie that doesn't need to be muddied by sex.
Which is not to say that Prior Bad Acts doesn't have a romantic undercurrent in it; it does, albeit one very much tempered and sobered by the horrific events of the main plot, as Kovac finds himself drawn to Judge Carey Moore. Moore has issued a ruling that's put her under fire from all directions, pronouncing that the prior bad acts of a convicted killer are not admissible in court for a newer crime--and now, Moore's become the victim of a brutal assault. I definitely appreciated the few gentle notes of attraction between Kovac and Moore, which stood out in sweet contrast to the horrors past and present they're having to fight.
And make no mistake, the main plot is as gripping as anything Hoag's ever penned. The murders of a mother and two young children, the event that triggers this entire story, resonate out to destroy several lives. Along the way, although it's telegraphed enough that I knew what was finally coming, the discovery of the true perpetrator is chilling indeed. Good gripping read all around. Four stars.
October 23, 2013
Five years ago I read this book for the first time, and since I was in a Kovac & Liska mood, a team of detectives I really like, I decided to re-read Prior Bad Acts. Well, it didn’t impress as much this time around, which in itself is a normal phenomenon re-reading an action-packed thriller. I’ve come to the conclusion that what I mostly dislike in murder mysteries these days is the abundance of violent acts, and the long pages of being inside a killer’s mind. I’m so NOT interested in being inside a psycho deranged mind. I like my mysteries to be full of solid police procedurals. I prefer being in the mind of the investigating protagonist (think Harry Bosch mysteries! They are the best!).
Here, the author has more than one psycho running loose and it sometimes felt gratuitous, all that rage, all that violence. Of course you have to go through these pages not to miss a key element of the story’s progression.
At the center of this story is Judge Carey Moore, who decides to rule Karl Dahl’s prior bad acts as inadmissible during his trial for brutally killing a woman and her two small foster children. The same day as the ruling Judge Moore is attacked in the parking garage and finds herself in the hospital. Sam Kovac and his partner Nikki Liska are called in to investigate the Judge’s attack, while at the same time, the detained Karl Dahl is able to escape from the country sheriffs.
Admittedly for me, the most thrilling part of this book are the last 100 or so pages. All I really want is more of those two great detectives Kovac & Liska : they have such great personalities. The author did a fantastic job creating them. I hope that they both, respectively, find happiness outside their jobs too.
Here, the author has more than one psycho running loose and it sometimes felt gratuitous, all that rage, all that violence. Of course you have to go through these pages not to miss a key element of the story’s progression.
At the center of this story is Judge Carey Moore, who decides to rule Karl Dahl’s prior bad acts as inadmissible during his trial for brutally killing a woman and her two small foster children. The same day as the ruling Judge Moore is attacked in the parking garage and finds herself in the hospital. Sam Kovac and his partner Nikki Liska are called in to investigate the Judge’s attack, while at the same time, the detained Karl Dahl is able to escape from the country sheriffs.
Admittedly for me, the most thrilling part of this book are the last 100 or so pages. All I really want is more of those two great detectives Kovac & Liska : they have such great personalities. The author did a fantastic job creating them. I hope that they both, respectively, find happiness outside their jobs too.
October 26, 2014
PRIOR BAD ACTS, the 3rd book in the Sam Kovak & Nikki Liska series and opens with the horrific murder of a mother and her two foster children.
Detective Sam Kovac, and his partner Nikki Liska are pulled into a case where nothing seems to be what you think.
A cast of interesting and realistic characters that you engage with, in particular Kovak & Liska. I enjoy the connection between the two.
A well written, fast paced plot that includes kidnapping, murder, torture, secrets, rogue cops, pornography and a lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end.
When the identity of the real villain was revealed – okay I had a vague idea…..but damn….if I was not totally surprised!!!!
Detective Sam Kovac, and his partner Nikki Liska are pulled into a case where nothing seems to be what you think.
A cast of interesting and realistic characters that you engage with, in particular Kovak & Liska. I enjoy the connection between the two.
A well written, fast paced plot that includes kidnapping, murder, torture, secrets, rogue cops, pornography and a lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end.
When the identity of the real villain was revealed – okay I had a vague idea…..but damn….if I was not totally surprised!!!!
July 12, 2017
This was a great book! The third installment of the Kovac/Liska series, this has been the best one so far. A gripping storyline, the continued friendship/work partners of Kovac and Liska, and a few new characters to add to the mix. I'm looking forward the next one in the series. A fine thriller and I definitely recommend this series.
March 27, 2020
4.5 stars of I Love it!
After feeling quite disappointed with Ashes to Ashes I reluctantly pick Prior Bad Acts because the review.....purely. And I’m not disappointed!!!
I always like Kovac and Liska and their team and in this book they are very entertaining. The investigation was average but the whole story and plot were hard to put down.
After feeling quite disappointed with Ashes to Ashes I reluctantly pick Prior Bad Acts because the review.....purely. And I’m not disappointed!!!
I always like Kovac and Liska and their team and in this book they are very entertaining. The investigation was average but the whole story and plot were hard to put down.
December 3, 2019
•Μια φοβερή θύελλα
•Μια αποτρόπαιη δολοφονία
•Ένας αιμοσταγής δολοφόνος
•Μια ξεκληρισμένη οικογένεια
•Μια δικαστής που προσπαθεί να δικάσει δίκαια,αρνούμενη να παρασυρθεί από το κοινό περί δικαίου αίσθημα
•Ένας επιθεωρητής που αισθάνθηκε προδομένος από το δικαστικό σύστημα
•Και ο Κόβακ με την Λίσκα-ένα ζευγάρι επιθεωρητών,ό,τι πρέπει για υιοθεσία!
Μια ιστορία με φρίκη,αγωνία,ένταση,χιούμορ και αγαπουλίτσες,τηρουμένων των αναλογιών και χωρίς να έχουμε γυναίκες που λιποθυμούν μπροστά σε σκληροτράχηλα αγόρια.
Η γνωστή γραφή της Hoag είναι εγγύηση,και είμαι ήδη στην αναζήτηση των δυο προηγούμενων της σειράς.5⭐
•Μια αποτρόπαιη δολοφονία
•Ένας αιμοσταγής δολοφόνος
•Μια ξεκληρισμένη οικογένεια
•Μια δικαστής που προσπαθεί να δικάσει δίκαια,αρνούμενη να παρασυρθεί από το κοινό περί δικαίου αίσθημα
•Ένας επιθεωρητής που αισθάνθηκε προδομένος από το δικαστικό σύστημα
•Και ο Κόβακ με την Λίσκα-ένα ζευγάρι επιθεωρητών,ό,τι πρέπει για υιοθεσία!
Μια ιστορία με φρίκη,αγωνία,ένταση,χιούμορ και αγαπουλίτσες,τηρουμένων των αναλογιών και χωρίς να έχουμε γυναίκες που λιποθυμούν μπροστά σε σκληροτράχηλα αγόρια.
Η γνωστή γραφή της Hoag είναι εγγύηση,και είμαι ήδη στην αναζήτηση των δυο προηγούμενων της σειράς.5⭐
June 16, 2021
PRIOR BAD ACTS [2006] By Tami Hoag
My Review Three Stars***
This third installment of the author’s Sam Novak and Nikki Liska book series was just okay. It starts off with a bang, the horrifying torture and slaughter of three victims of the Haas family. The Prologue recounts the discovery of a shocking crime scene in the moments before a tornado touches down. The mutilated corpse of a woman is found in the house, and then the ravaged bodies of her two foster daughters found hanged in the storm cellar. The husband Wayne Haas and 17-year-old foster son Booby are left to pick up the pieces of their lives.
The story fast forwards to 15 months down the road when the DA and Public Defender are going toe-to-toe with Judge Carey Moore about the admissibility of “prior bad acts” of the deranged derelict Karl Dahl who had been arrested and indicted by a Grand Jury to stand trial for the triple homicides. It is an almost universally lamented fact of law that juries are not made privy to a defendant’s prior history of bad behavior and his/her arrests, convictions. There is an “exception to the rule” but it only applies when the DA can convincingly argue that the past actions of the accused can go to establish a “pattern of behavior”. In this fictional tale of murder and mayhem, Dahl’s past history with the criminal justice system failed to serve up any violent crimes against persons. The judge ruled accordingly that all information about Dahl’s perverse actions in the past were inadmissible. The plot of the novel is triggered by this point of law that serves to prevent juries from hearing what a sleazeball the defendant happens to be which would naturally bias most honest law-abiding citizens. I would add that the very horror of the multiple homicides also fuels the flames of the plot. The rape, torture, mutilation and degradation of the mother and her two daughters adversely affected even the most seasoned detectives. Specifically, one suffered a fatal heart attack and a second veteran homicide detective suffered a psychotic break. The latter character Stan Dempsey plays a significant role in the unfolding drama.
Judge Carey Moore becomes an instant pariah in the eyes of the police department, the citizens of the community, and certainly Wayne and his teenaged son Bobby, the surviving members of the Haas family. An aborted murder attempt on the Judge follows her decision from the bench. Activating her car alarm in an isolated parking garage saves her from being bludgeoned to death by an unknown assailant. Sam and Nikki are assigned to protect the battered judge from any further attacks. Then Karl Dahl the suspect in custody for the triple homicide somehow gets away following a prison riot. He mysteriously disappears like Houdini amidst the chaos of shackled prisoners getting treated at the hospital. Subsequently the story contains a few more perfunctory murders and then the shocking abduction of Carey Moore while her home is being guarded by the police.
There are many suspects to choose from to include Carey’s philandering husband who is into more than the family’s funds and another woman’s bed, such as torture-porn and an unexplained expenditure of $25,000. Did the alibied low life scumbag of a husband hire a hit man in the person of the book’s iteration of legendary porn king Johnny Wadd? Then there is the veteran detective Stan Dempsey whose psyche has fragmented and unleashed a detached cold-blooded vigilante. Sam and Nikki are even looking at the grieving father and son for the attack on Carey. No one is thinking that the missing nut case Karl Dahl is behind the attempted murder of the judge, but he is crazy after all. So, who knows?
I had high expectations for this third installment of the series, and I was generally very disappointed. It was interesting enough to read and to finish it, but it felt like a “mish-mash” or a pot of stew that the author just cobbled together using unrelated ingredients she found in the cupboard. Yes, it started out with a nauseating multiple homicide. But from that point on there was no cohesive, believable plot in my opinion. It didn’t help that for the second time Sam Novak saw a “damsel in distress” and went off the deep end. This “romantic note” as the critic’s phrase it was just a “redo” of Kovac and Amanda Savard in the prior installment DUST TO DUST. It worked for me the first time, but not this time around with Judge Carey Moore.
It wasn’t difficult to figure out the killer, speaking of the original triple torture-murder of Marlene Haas and the two foster daughters. I was fairly sure that the same character was responsible for the murder attempt on Carey in the parking structure, which turned out to be correct. To be fair, the author provides the necessary bread crumbs to be able to solve the puzzle. The plot twist at the end of the book could not be predicted and perhaps more importantly it was unsatisfactory because it was so implausible. I thought to myself, “Really?”
The snappy dialogue I enjoy with Kovac, Nikki, and their fellow detectives was there but was insufficient to break the overall lack of interest in the “all over the place” story line. I would opine that this was the weakest of the three installments thus far. I have purchased the next couple of installments already. This book was published 15 years ago, thus perhaps the remarkable talent of Hoag today will begin to shine through on the final chapters featuring Kovac and Liska.
My Review Three Stars***
This third installment of the author’s Sam Novak and Nikki Liska book series was just okay. It starts off with a bang, the horrifying torture and slaughter of three victims of the Haas family. The Prologue recounts the discovery of a shocking crime scene in the moments before a tornado touches down. The mutilated corpse of a woman is found in the house, and then the ravaged bodies of her two foster daughters found hanged in the storm cellar. The husband Wayne Haas and 17-year-old foster son Booby are left to pick up the pieces of their lives.
The story fast forwards to 15 months down the road when the DA and Public Defender are going toe-to-toe with Judge Carey Moore about the admissibility of “prior bad acts” of the deranged derelict Karl Dahl who had been arrested and indicted by a Grand Jury to stand trial for the triple homicides. It is an almost universally lamented fact of law that juries are not made privy to a defendant’s prior history of bad behavior and his/her arrests, convictions. There is an “exception to the rule” but it only applies when the DA can convincingly argue that the past actions of the accused can go to establish a “pattern of behavior”. In this fictional tale of murder and mayhem, Dahl’s past history with the criminal justice system failed to serve up any violent crimes against persons. The judge ruled accordingly that all information about Dahl’s perverse actions in the past were inadmissible. The plot of the novel is triggered by this point of law that serves to prevent juries from hearing what a sleazeball the defendant happens to be which would naturally bias most honest law-abiding citizens. I would add that the very horror of the multiple homicides also fuels the flames of the plot. The rape, torture, mutilation and degradation of the mother and her two daughters adversely affected even the most seasoned detectives. Specifically, one suffered a fatal heart attack and a second veteran homicide detective suffered a psychotic break. The latter character Stan Dempsey plays a significant role in the unfolding drama.
Judge Carey Moore becomes an instant pariah in the eyes of the police department, the citizens of the community, and certainly Wayne and his teenaged son Bobby, the surviving members of the Haas family. An aborted murder attempt on the Judge follows her decision from the bench. Activating her car alarm in an isolated parking garage saves her from being bludgeoned to death by an unknown assailant. Sam and Nikki are assigned to protect the battered judge from any further attacks. Then Karl Dahl the suspect in custody for the triple homicide somehow gets away following a prison riot. He mysteriously disappears like Houdini amidst the chaos of shackled prisoners getting treated at the hospital. Subsequently the story contains a few more perfunctory murders and then the shocking abduction of Carey Moore while her home is being guarded by the police.
There are many suspects to choose from to include Carey’s philandering husband who is into more than the family’s funds and another woman’s bed, such as torture-porn and an unexplained expenditure of $25,000. Did the alibied low life scumbag of a husband hire a hit man in the person of the book’s iteration of legendary porn king Johnny Wadd? Then there is the veteran detective Stan Dempsey whose psyche has fragmented and unleashed a detached cold-blooded vigilante. Sam and Nikki are even looking at the grieving father and son for the attack on Carey. No one is thinking that the missing nut case Karl Dahl is behind the attempted murder of the judge, but he is crazy after all. So, who knows?
I had high expectations for this third installment of the series, and I was generally very disappointed. It was interesting enough to read and to finish it, but it felt like a “mish-mash” or a pot of stew that the author just cobbled together using unrelated ingredients she found in the cupboard. Yes, it started out with a nauseating multiple homicide. But from that point on there was no cohesive, believable plot in my opinion. It didn’t help that for the second time Sam Novak saw a “damsel in distress” and went off the deep end. This “romantic note” as the critic’s phrase it was just a “redo” of Kovac and Amanda Savard in the prior installment DUST TO DUST. It worked for me the first time, but not this time around with Judge Carey Moore.
It wasn’t difficult to figure out the killer, speaking of the original triple torture-murder of Marlene Haas and the two foster daughters. I was fairly sure that the same character was responsible for the murder attempt on Carey in the parking structure, which turned out to be correct. To be fair, the author provides the necessary bread crumbs to be able to solve the puzzle. The plot twist at the end of the book could not be predicted and perhaps more importantly it was unsatisfactory because it was so implausible. I thought to myself, “Really?”
The snappy dialogue I enjoy with Kovac, Nikki, and their fellow detectives was there but was insufficient to break the overall lack of interest in the “all over the place” story line. I would opine that this was the weakest of the three installments thus far. I have purchased the next couple of installments already. This book was published 15 years ago, thus perhaps the remarkable talent of Hoag today will begin to shine through on the final chapters featuring Kovac and Liska.
April 15, 2025
Tami Hoag until I die, honestly.
I so often spend my time putting whatever Hoag book I'm reading down to scream at my roommate about, "It's this. Or maybe it's this. It could be this but that's be so simple...It couldn't be that. BUT WHAT IF IT IS?" I have a running docket of possibilities and I love being able to scratch off my choices the further in the story gets.
There's a section in Kovac's pov where he thinks something along the lines of, "Crimes are often as direct as one can imagine. Stories of conspiracy and super complex affairs are for books and movies." It was a clever touch and, well. Without spoiling anything, this line was a lot more apt and relevant than I gave it credit for.
While I felt the writing in this book didn't feel as elevated throughout as the rest of the works I've read (there seemed to be several instances of repetition of specific character insight/facts/details during the story), nonetheless, her style is gorgeous.
Hoag's particular theme of choice this go around focused heavily on department biases and loyalties, as well as how terribly media and public perception can affect police procedure. I don't want to say more than that, but I do hope more of my friends give Hoag a try.
Also, waiting for the day Kovac and Liska can be happy either separately or together. Let my babies LIVE. THRIVE.
I so often spend my time putting whatever Hoag book I'm reading down to scream at my roommate about, "It's this. Or maybe it's this. It could be this but that's be so simple...It couldn't be that. BUT WHAT IF IT IS?" I have a running docket of possibilities and I love being able to scratch off my choices the further in the story gets.
There's a section in Kovac's pov where he thinks something along the lines of, "Crimes are often as direct as one can imagine. Stories of conspiracy and super complex affairs are for books and movies." It was a clever touch and, well. Without spoiling anything, this line was a lot more apt and relevant than I gave it credit for.
While I felt the writing in this book didn't feel as elevated throughout as the rest of the works I've read (there seemed to be several instances of repetition of specific character insight/facts/details during the story), nonetheless, her style is gorgeous.
Hoag's particular theme of choice this go around focused heavily on department biases and loyalties, as well as how terribly media and public perception can affect police procedure. I don't want to say more than that, but I do hope more of my friends give Hoag a try.
Also, waiting for the day Kovac and Liska can be happy either separately or together. Let my babies LIVE. THRIVE.
December 1, 2023
I'd give this book 6 stars if possible. By far the best book of the series.
It's a sad story with a horrible chain of events, in which people who shouldn't have gotten hurt, got hurt!!
It's a sad story with a horrible chain of events, in which people who shouldn't have gotten hurt, got hurt!!
October 30, 2017
Tami Hoag is one of those authors who, every time I read one of her books, I wonder why I don't read her more often. And I'm still wondering that. Prior Bad Acts is probably, by a hair, my least favorite of the Hoag novels I've read, yet it's still pretty damn' fine. In particular, I liked the way that she turned the tables on my false preconceptions as to the point she was trying to make.
All the evidence points toward Karl Dahl as the perpetrator of the horrific torture-murder of a mother and her two young foster children. To the widespread fury of the public and especially the Minneapolis PD, the judge hearing the case, Carey Moore, refuses (perfectly correctly) to permit the prosecution to admit as evidence the fact that Dahl has a history of prior bad acts -- voyeurism, exposure, etc. -- which would seem to make him fit the bill for the slaying. When Moore is viciously attacked in an underground parking lot, it seems clear this is connected to her decision in the court case; and when Dahl escapes from custody the whole city is terrified.
Hoag's series cops, Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, are at the forefront of an investigation that has to be swift on its feet to keep up with events . . .
For much of the book I was harrumphing because it seemed to me that Hoag -- like Kovac and Liska -- was maintaining that Moore should never have prohibited the prior bad acts from court consideration. My hats off to her, though: By the end of the book, we -- and the cops -- realize that the introduction of that evidence would almost certainly have led to a false conviction and allowed a particularly nasty multiple murderer to walk free. Moreover, another sadistically violent criminal involved in the plot has no prior bad acts on his record sheet at all.
As I say, I really enjoyed the way that Hoag played with my preconceptions and the plot itself is meticulously executed. There's the occasional piece of childish behavior on the part of the cops that seems wholly out of character, and I do wish I liked Kovac and Liska a bit more (I don't dislike them; I just don't warm to them), but those are very minor considerations overall. So far as my own experience goes, the Novac and Liska books comprise one of the best police-procedural series around, and this is a good solid entry in it.
All the evidence points toward Karl Dahl as the perpetrator of the horrific torture-murder of a mother and her two young foster children. To the widespread fury of the public and especially the Minneapolis PD, the judge hearing the case, Carey Moore, refuses (perfectly correctly) to permit the prosecution to admit as evidence the fact that Dahl has a history of prior bad acts -- voyeurism, exposure, etc. -- which would seem to make him fit the bill for the slaying. When Moore is viciously attacked in an underground parking lot, it seems clear this is connected to her decision in the court case; and when Dahl escapes from custody the whole city is terrified.
Hoag's series cops, Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, are at the forefront of an investigation that has to be swift on its feet to keep up with events . . .
For much of the book I was harrumphing because it seemed to me that Hoag -- like Kovac and Liska -- was maintaining that Moore should never have prohibited the prior bad acts from court consideration. My hats off to her, though: By the end of the book, we -- and the cops -- realize that the introduction of that evidence would almost certainly have led to a false conviction and allowed a particularly nasty multiple murderer to walk free. Moreover, another sadistically violent criminal involved in the plot has no prior bad acts on his record sheet at all.
As I say, I really enjoyed the way that Hoag played with my preconceptions and the plot itself is meticulously executed. There's the occasional piece of childish behavior on the part of the cops that seems wholly out of character, and I do wish I liked Kovac and Liska a bit more (I don't dislike them; I just don't warm to them), but those are very minor considerations overall. So far as my own experience goes, the Novac and Liska books comprise one of the best police-procedural series around, and this is a good solid entry in it.
October 9, 2019
This one hooked me on the two main characters - Detective Sam Kovac and his ‘wisecracking partner’ Nikki Liska so, of course, I had to find MORE of the Kovac/Liska pairing to read. Thankfully, there were a few.
This is gritty, pretty graphic in violence, but a fascinating read as far as the criminal mind and the at times slow wheels of justice. Liska is a fantastic character who takes no prisoners when up against the ‘good ole boy’ systems in the police fraternity. Kovac is as hard boiled and cynical as they come, but the beauty of this little jewel is the relationship - a true partnership - between Kovac and Liska. There is tons of mutual respect between these two as well as genuine liking for each other. They are each other’s shoulders to cry on when needed, the boost to bolster each other’s spirits, and equals in every way. I believe there is true chemistry between these two and one or both would act on it given the right circumstances. At least that is my hope. Haha! I can totally see these two making a successful personal relationship through the lens of their professional relationship.
More Kovac and Liska, please.
This is gritty, pretty graphic in violence, but a fascinating read as far as the criminal mind and the at times slow wheels of justice. Liska is a fantastic character who takes no prisoners when up against the ‘good ole boy’ systems in the police fraternity. Kovac is as hard boiled and cynical as they come, but the beauty of this little jewel is the relationship - a true partnership - between Kovac and Liska. There is tons of mutual respect between these two as well as genuine liking for each other. They are each other’s shoulders to cry on when needed, the boost to bolster each other’s spirits, and equals in every way. I believe there is true chemistry between these two and one or both would act on it given the right circumstances. At least that is my hope. Haha! I can totally see these two making a successful personal relationship through the lens of their professional relationship.
More Kovac and Liska, please.
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