Ashes to Ashes: A Novel

Kovac and Liska #1

by Tami Hoag

She writes the kind of thrillers that keep readers and critics awake all night.

She grabs you with a story as frightening as your worst fears, as chilling as your unspoken secrets.

She is New York Times bestselling writer Tami Hoag, today's most exciting master of suspense.   Ashes to Ashes is her most terrifying novel yet...read on...

Some killers are born.

Some are made.

For him, the question is irrelevant.  The taste for murder has always been present, prowling the edge of his consciousness like a hungry wolf.  In a wooded Minneapolis park, he performs his profane ceremony.  He arranges the body to his satisfaction.  He pours the accelerant, anointing the dead.  Then he lights the match.

"Ashes to ashes."

The newspapers have dubbed him the Cremator.  He has already claimed three lives.  And he won't stop there.  He has a plan for greatness.  Only this time there is a witness.  A teenage runaway with a dubious identity and a murky past, Angie DiMarco has seen the face of the killer in the flickering light of the funeral pyre.  Now the police have Angie, but Angie isn't talking.  

Enter Kate Conlan.  She knows all too well the dark side of the human heart.  Once an up-and-coming FBI agent, she left the Bureau under a cloud of scandal.  Now, instead of catching criminals, she helps their victims and protects witnesses.  The job of advocate suits her just fine--until she's assigned to Angie.

Not even Kate can tell if the troubled youth is a reluctant witness, a potential victim, or something more troubling still.  Her superiors are interested only in badgering Angie for a lead, because the Cremator's latest victim may be the daughter of Peter Bondurant--an enigmatic billionaire businessman with power to influence the way the case is handled.

Bondurant pulls strings and gets Special Agent John Quinn brought to the case.  The FBI's ace profiler of serial killers, Quinn shares a painful past with Kate and hides a secret that is driving him toward madness.  He is a man on a ragged edge, and yet his insatiable need to do justice drives him to catch the Cremator--no matter what the cost to himself.

Amid a frenzy of public hysteria, politics, and media attention, Kate is confronted with the most difficult role of her career--and her life.  For she is the one woman who has what it takes to stop the Cremator...and the one woman he wants next.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Romantic Suspense

560 pages, Paperback

First published March 2, 1999

About the author

Tami 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

Reviews

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 wish it could have been better stars.

I wish I could have given this book a higher rating. I think I have been spoiled by SB and her suspense books. This was well written but, to me, it could have been about 30% shorter. Way too long, way too many details in the first half of the book. Not enough time with Quinn and Kate.

Some killers are born. Some are made.

I will try more from this author. Maybe check out a shorter book the next time.


The series is called "Kovac/Liska" - based on two police Sergeants in the novel. I liked both of those characters and would be interested in following up on their story ... if there is one.

He turned the water off, climbed out of the shower, and toweled himself dry. He had an athlete's body, solid, roped with muscle, leaner that it used to be. The reverse of most men in their mid-forties.

Liked that Quinn was a bit older.

"I need a drink", she said.

[Melissa (Mel’s Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

FINALLY!! Back to reviewing following a long absence due to a difficult pregnancy and a huge bout of newborn induced sleep deprivation! I haven't had much of a chance to do anything except rock a screaming baby lately, so its so nice to be able to read a book. Or I should say, listen to an audiobook. Finding time to sit and read is still a little bit beyond me at the moment. But hopefully soon!

I had listened to another book by Tami Hoag last year, and I always wanted to read another. So when I wanted something that would hold my interest in the endless hours of feeding my baby, I immediately thought of her and randomly picked and downloaded Ashes to Ashes.

Ashes to Ashes is the story of a serial killer, and the joint effort to find them. "The Cremator" is what the media have dubbed this killer, because of the people that he is setting alight. But he gets sloppy, and there is a witness to one of his crimes. Kate, the crime victim advocate, attempts to look after the witness, Angie. Kate's past comes back to haunt her when an FBI agent Quinn is called in to investigate the case. In the meantime, more of Kate's clients begin to disappear, she thinks that the killer may have a vendetta against her.

This was a great audiobook. I really enjoyed the narrator and the exciting story. One thing I really enjoy about Hoag's books (so far) is that she introduces different complex characters, and any of them could be the killer. It isn't blatantly obvious like so many other books, and that is really important to me. I love the surprise aspect, and because I read so many thrillers, I'm getting really good at figuring who the killer is!

Enjoyed the cute love lost, love found again romance aspect of this book. And I enjoyed how it was set amongst the murder mystery, but didn't take anything away from it.

Would I recommend Ashes to Ashes?

Absolutely! To any thriller fan! Really liked the audio version, and I am looking forward to reading more by Tami Hoag!

I listened to this audiobook through Audible, at my own expense.

[Brian Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

My co-worker and I were always baffled by this book. Running a small used bookstore, we never understood why we had seven copies of this title - and no other Tami Hoag. When an eight one rolled in, I decided I had to know. It was either a horrible disappointment or was go good that it had been issued to every mystery fan in the area.

I read it. It was the latter.

A vicious serial killer, wonderfully realized characters, city-level political intrigue, and one of those introspective romances. I can be critical of mystery novels, but this immediately went on my Manager's Pick shelf.

["Avonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com

ASHES TO ASHES (Kovac and Liska Book #1) by Tami Hoag is the start of a new series featuring a former FBI agent who is now a local law enforcement victim advocate and a high-profile FBI serial killer profiler who share a personal past. This book does have graphic scenes of violence and torture, but it is expected when I read a serial killer suspense by this author and she adeptly mixes the gruesome with a humanizing empathy for the victims, witty dialogue, and a subplot second chance romance that will carry on through the series.

The Minneapolis papers have named him “The Cremator” after his killing of two prostitutes who he tortured and then left burning is public parks. His third victim is a billionaire’s daughter and that has the police and politicians scrambling.

Former FBI agent now victim advocate Kate Conlan is assigned to a teenage witness who claims to have witnessed “The Cremator” setting the latest victim on fire and FBI profiler John Quinn is called in by the billionaire’s father to assist the Minneapolis authorities. As they work together to catch a sadistic killer who continually taunts the police, they are also dealing with a complicated past from when Kate left the FBI five years previously.

As Kate and John get closer to catching the killer, the killer still has some twisted surprises in store for Kate. Will she survive the attention of “The Cremator”?

I enjoyed this serial killer thriller/police procedural/romantic suspense mash-up from start to finish. There are graphic scenes of torture against women, but this is a serial killer thriller story, so I expected them, and Ms. Hoag is adept at giving me the chills without making the scenes seem gratuitous. The story is more suspense/thriller than romance, but there are two seriously hot sex scenes as Kate and John work through their complicated pasts and come together for the future books in the series. I will say that the revelations surrounding the killer’s identity surprised me and made for a tense and exciting conclusion. As you may have noticed, Conlan and Quinn are not Kovac and Liska which is why I did not give this book more stars. Kovac and Liska are the Minneapolis detectives in this story and while they are important players and had great wise-cracking dialogue, I did not feel they were the focus like Kate and John.

Not for the faint of heart, but I enjoyed the start to this series and I am looking forward to continuing the series.

[Paula Brandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Hey, there's a serial killer running around setting women on fire! But who cares! We have an unresolved relationship to discuss!"

I really liked Dust To Dust, which I had read before this, so when I went back to read the first book in the popular Kovac and Liska series, I was surprised to find our main characters were actually Kate Conlan and John Quinn.

And all they did was bicker about their past.

This was much more in the vein of Hoag's romance work before she moved into outright thriller/suspense. The story has gory elements (much more gruesome than a standard romance tale), but it takes a definite back seat to Kate and John sorting out their tiresome bullshit. Along with an obvious red herring character that we spend far too much time concentrating on, this trundled along listlessly for well over 500 (!) pages.

I think it says a lot that it was Kovac and Liska who went on to headline the series, and we never really heard from boring nitwits Kate and John again.

[Janice · Rating 1 out of 5]

never underestimate the taste of the American public for pure garbage. The writing sucks, the characters suck, but somehow.....they keep buying it.

This may be one of the most horribly written books I've had the displeasure to read. I really tried to give it a chance since a friend told me how much she enjoyed it.....needless to say, I won't follow her advice re what to read again!!!!!

I was trapped at home while out on disability and had nothing else to read--that is the only thing that made me stick it out til the painful bitter end.

[CD {Boulder Blvd} · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up....

A little long winded in some places where they are reviewing and reviewing their profiles and the witnesses. Sometimes it felt as though I had already read the analysis and did do some skimming. The plot has a lot of moving parts (characters) but it was fun trying to second guess who the serial killer was. I had identified one twist, but missed another as I really wanted someone else to be guilty. I liked Kovac and Liska and how their characters were portrayed. I liked Kate and her role as victim advocate, but I didn't like Quinn (FBI guy to the rescue). Quinn had to grow on me as I think he handled his past with Kate poorly. She was the damaged one, not him.

I didn't like that the serial killer's viewpoint was written in present tense; I don't like present tense or the back and forth of changing tense. And as an armchair editor, I just have to repeat that it's long winded and I think I would have edited it down a bit.

[Halcyon (sadly in hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I pulled this old book off my shelf on a whim, hoping for something to snap my concerningly fried brain back into some semblance of functioning, and a mystery seemed like the perfect fix—secrets to uncover, tension to keep me hooked. Instead, Ashes to Ashes delivered a slow burn that never quite caught fire.

The pacing dragged well past the halfway mark, and even when things did start moving, there was no real momentum to it. The writing was solid, the crime gruesome and a premise with the perfect mix of intrigue and promise but it lacked that ... spark, the urgency or unpredictability that makes a thriller, well, thrilling.

I know mysteries don't necessarily hinge on emotional depth in characters but when the central characters come with a lot of baggage that hangs likes a dark cloud over the whole 'whodunnit', when it leans quite heavily on past trauma to shape its leads, I expect more than vague hints and half-buried backstories. Instead, the novel skirts around them, as if it’s aware they should matter but doesn’t know how to make them feel meaningful. I would've at least liked to be in the know, especially if we are getting a five-hundred-page thriller, but things were brushed off, and the big reveal failed to pack that punch I was eagerly looking forward to.

Ultimately, it was fine—not bad enough to rage about, not good enough to remember. Just another book to pass time.

[Paul Weiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

“ Sighing, he rubbed at the dull headache that had taken up semipermanent residence in his frontal lobes”

From a purely literary point of view, ASHES TO ASHES has a great many positive things to say for itself. No doubt about it!

Ms Hoag offers her readers a very compelling, gut-churning peek behind the curtain at the minutiae and the importance of victimology and psychological profiling in the process of the investigation of a serial murder. She has deftly and quite graphically peeled back the gruesome mental weight which a forensic psychologist must bear as the evil onion of a multiple murderer’s thought processes are peeled back and laid bare.

“He flipped farther into the murder book, to the fresh photographs from Melanie Hessler’s autopsy. As with the third victim, the wounds inflicted both before and after death had been brutal, unspeakably cruel, worse than with the first two victims. As he looked at the photographs he could hear the echo of the tape recording in his head. Scream after scream after scream … And all the while he stared at the autopsy photographs, at the charred, mutilated things that had once been a woman, and he thought of the kind of rage it took to do that to another person.”

Then, of course, there is romance and any number of torrid sexual interludes – a requisite component of a modern thriller, I dare say! But, to my deep surprise, I found those interludes interesting, meaningful, credible, and even heartwarming without being the least bit prurient or, god forbid, cheesy or smarmy!

And speaking of dialogue, ASHES TO ASHES is replete with clever (and again entirely credible under the circumstances) dialogue plus any number of wry, tongue-in-cheek, and earthy one liners that one might expect from a task force of weary police officers and investigators looking to relieve the horror of the job of running that serial murderer to ground!

“Assholes, … they’re worse than assholes. They’re the bacteria that gather in assholes.”

But the reality is this – no matter how cleverly it is written, no matter the vast quantity of literary merit that one can point to between the covers of what is ostensibly a police procedural or a suspense thriller, all of it goes for nought without a plot! And that is assuredly a problem for ASHES TO ASHES. Its plot, such as it is (sigh!) is so byzantine, so tortuous, so twisted, so non-linear, so complex and near impossible to puzzle out that, by the end of what by typical thriller standards approaches door-stopper length, I had long since stopped caring and didn’t even understand what exactly was going on!

Enough said.

[Shaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 bumped up. Good stuff. Believable cast of characters, lots of tension and suspense. Nice details. Very competently written. The only criticism is I thought the killer turned out to be too much of a cliche. Also thought the sex scenes were a little over the top. You know, where both characters climax together and the world moves and fireworks explode in the sky kind of sex...

[Obsidian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though this is called the first Kovac and Liska book it's really not. The book focuses on Kate Conlan who is a former FBI agent and her former lover Special Agent John Quinn. These two do appear in "Ashes to Ashes" but after that, I can't even remember if we see them again. This is a pretty good start to the series that stars Kovac and Liska. not everything is going to involve serial killers though, some of it just involves terrible people doing horrible things to someone else. I did love the dialogue in this one and the ending was really good.

So I finally finished "Mindhunter" the other day and started going back through my Hoag backlist. She did a really good job with the mystery/thriller aspect of this, while also including profiling in this.

Kate Conlan is now a crime victim's right advocate. Living in Minneapolis now, she hopes to recover from her broken marriage. When she is called in to deal with a young woman who may be a potential target of a serial killer due to what she saw. The FBI is called in, and there enters John Quinn who is a profiler. Due to their past with each other there's some friction. Quinn is also dealing with the fact the local police are not exactly welcoming at first. Or let's say Kovac is not at first. Liska weirdly keeps hitting/flirting with him or whatever that was. You realize that in the next book, Kovac had a thing for Kate Conlan who he often says resembles Rene Russo. I do wonder what would have happened if Hoag pushed things along more in that line.

I did like Kate a lot and wish she show up in future books. She's great at her job and has an overbearing and gross boss. John annoyed me a bit here and there with regards to Kate.

I did like the team aspect when we get down into the local police. Kovac and Liksa complement each other and I can see why Hoag kept writing about them. They may not be in this story as much, but what we do see makes you yearn for more.

We also get into the "mind" of the serial killer in this book called "The Cremator".

The writing was really good and the flow works from beginning to end.

The setting of Minneapolis seems bigger than what I always thought it would look like if I ever went there in real life. We get a lot of local politics happening in this one too.

I did love the ending in this one and have to say that the reveal was very well done.

[Terri ♥ (aka Mrs. Christian Grey) · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I really liked this book. I was captivated and taken on a journey. My guesses for who done it were all wrong. However, which is part of my 4 star rating is that it was too easy for the author to chose The Who done it. I've seen it be that way so many times, at least one aspect, I didn't think a seasoned writer would go there. Anyway, my other problem was with technology and pop culture references which dated the book.

Everyone had pagers including Cate who used a pay phone to return a page. Not a problem as this is an older book. But a few chapters later, Care says she has a cell phone? So why did she use a pay phone? It seemed like someone went through to try and update the technology in the book and forgot a few places because the rest of the book pagers and pay phones weren't mentioned.

Then the pop culture references. I caution all my beta authors about this. The authors uses references to actors in her day as resembling certain characters. Bad for two reasons, one not everyone finds the same men attractive. George Clooney and Kurt Russell were never my cup of tea and took away visually from the supposed hot guys they were tied to in the book. But more importantly, these references date a book. Those guys are not the it guys of today and only remind the reader that the book is old.

And for those reasons it's not a five star book but it's a really good read.

[Teresa mcgaha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wish I could rate this book higher, knowing this author wrote a better book in later years. This one was just painful to read and need some serious editing help. Cut two hundred pages, change the route to the killer and it would of been a better read for me. Many people recommend this writer, but this book didn't support the recommendations. We have a killer called the Creamator by the media, but his third choice of the victim is what brings this case to the forefront of the homicide division and calls in the FBI. Add in a witness who is not cooperative and gives the advocate assigned to her a headache. This book had great potential but fell flat quickly. I had to skim the book, or I just couldn't finish it. Towards the end when the identity of the killer becomes clear, the author gains focus and draws me in as a reader. But by then, I didn't really care what happened in the story and was glad it was over. I will try this author again since Kill the Messengeris very suspensful, well researched and good reading material.

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more a case of I don't care for the pace and language than it being a poor mystery copper read.

It's her style of writing (long worded and redundant) and the fact that all of that gets doubled down by the subject matter.

VERBOSE! And for me, when I am reading I find the pattern of quips in the constant dialog just annoying as hell.

Take a usual TV sit. com. You know how they have the line and then the laugh track. Then the straight line, then the quip. Then the laugh track. Then the insult and the self put down. Then the laugh track.

Well, I'm super, super picky on situation comedy. And despise the laugh track pattern overall.

This seems to me, almost exactly as in that flip pattern of a sit. com. Ridiculous most of the time.

Yes, some of the copy is modern and with it and hip. I would guess? And like Minneapolis? Not the one I know.

But the style of writing is the prime factor for this 2. These particular characters and a nasty case perp? This all adds up to just too many pages and not enough reality outside of the mucky gross parts.

She (Hoag) makes a good living. More power to her. But this kind of fare is just not for me.

[Janie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been buying Tami Hoag books for awhile and just have never gotten around to reading them. So I finally chose a book and got to it. Ashes to Ashes is book 1 in the Kovak and Liska series, and I am so glad that I finally decided to pick one up and read. Tami Hoag is a brilliant writer.

I loved the characters in the book. I also loved the premise of the story. I also loved the twists in this book. The premise of the story, to catch the Cremator. A serial killer so twisted he puts the best villains to shame. A team of experts getting the run around, false leads, so much mystery in this book I loved it. Only one thing that I wished, was that we could have gotten more of a story in our villains POV. To read his thoughts was so disturbing to me. I would like to have known more about what made him tick, what made him do what he did.

The characters were so very real to me. They were so believable. My favorites were Kate Conlan, and John Quinn. Something kind of odd with this though it that they were more like the main characters than the main characters were. The main characters of the series are Sam Kovak and Nikki Liska, but they were more on the back burner. And it saddens me to know that Kate and John will probably not be in future books of this series.

Kate is a tough girl, been through a lot in her life, closed herself and her heart off a lot and then comes face to face with matters of the heart. She does not let anyone get the better of her and she stands her ground very well. John is also a tough guy who has made mistakes in the past. He is your normal good ole boy pretty much and he is relentless when it comes to solving the mystery.

So for my first experience with Tami Hoag, I would say it was pretty darn good, and I look forward to continuing with this series and other series or standalones that she has.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ashes to Ashes
2 Stars

Synopsis
A killer known only as The Cremator tortures his victims and sets them on fire. Victims advocate Kate Conlon is called in to help a reluctant witness to the latest murder. However, things are not at they seem and Kate, together with FBI profiler John Quinn ,must get to the truth before Kate becomes the next victim.

Review
The book is 200 pages too long.

The serial killer plot has potential but becomes bogged down with the characters internal dialogue that is repetitious and tedious.

It is difficult to warm up to the main characters and their romance lacks chemistry - by the time they get over their angst, you don't care anymore. Kate comes across as cold and distant and John's burn out symptoms overshadow his profiling abilities.

There is too much focus on the various characters' emotional baggage and their constant internal ruminations really detract from the murder mystery and investigation.

No more for me in this series but will give the author another chance.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This serial killer thriller is full of tension and I really didn't know who the serial killer was until the author wanted me to know. Well written Tami Hoag! This is the first book I've read by this author and I will look forward to the next one. Besides the thriller aspect I enjoyed the interplay between the police detectives and the relationship between FBI specialist Quinn and Kate the victim advocate.

[Jonetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a serial killer loose in Minneapolis and now he's broken pattern and abducted and presumably killed someone other than a prostitute. Now he's got the attention of the community, law enforcement and the press, and a new moniker...The Cremator, because of what he does to his victims after he's killed them. The atmosphere is now so politically charged the top guns are being assigned. Kate Conlan, a former DC FBI agent, now victim/witness advocate for the city, is assigned to work with the killer's one witness. John Quinn, the country's renowned top profiler for the bureau has been called in to work with the local police and he and Kate have a history.

This is a gritty story with a plethera of flawed people who are tasked with finding this killer and solving the case. Kate escaped to Minneapolis following a scandal only to have it show up in the form of John Quinn. Their struggle to resist picking up where they left off has a bearing on the case as it causes some distraction. The detectives assigned to the case are doing their jobs pretty well in spite of political interference from top brass because of the high profile of the last victim's father (he's a billionaire). And, the one witness to the last crime is more than reluctant to cooperate and is a pain in the neck.

There are so many layers to each of the characters and the story that it kept me engaged throughout. However, it does get bogged down a bit with too many ruminations by Quinn and Kate about their individual tragedies, past and present. The reiterations felt like overkill, pardon the pun, but they were important to knowing these two people. The twists and turns and red herrings were pleasantly distracting and by the end, I wasn't quite sure if I had identified the right person as the killer. I got there but not easily so but the clues were there.

It's a great start to the series, even though Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska weren't at the forefront of the story. However, we know enough about them because they were extremely well developed as characters and I'm looking forward to seeing them in action. This a good mystery and the suspense was killing me.

[Faith From Jersey · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great opening line "Some Killers Are Born. Some Killers Are Made"

this is one of my top favrite books!

the descriptions of the "Cremator's" work will have you smelling the stench.

this is for sure a "grab you by the throat" suspense thriller that will keep you guessing till the end!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I’ve read more complicated books with a great many characters and lots going on at once but for some reason the various characters in this book and the story itself is keeping me rather confused or maybe I should say bored. It's actually a pretty good story, but I lost interest in it. Too much romance, gruesome at times, and the story drags on and on.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hoag continues to exploit the theme of mutilated women (A Thin Dark Line, 1997, etc.) in a romance thriller about the hunt for a serial killer. Someone in Minneapolis is tying down women, then raping, torturing, and killing them. While they're still alive, the attacker sticks knives into the soles of their feet, then cuts off their nipples and aureoles. After they die, he stabs them in a ritual pattern, slices off their tattoos, and burns their bodies beyond recognition; to relive his moments of triumph, he audiotapes their screams for mercy and death. He's the "Cremator": just another "sadistic sexual serial killer" with low self-esteem and an abused childhood behind him. His first two victims are prostitutes, but when he turns his hand to Jillian Bondurant, the daughter of a billionaire, Minnesota calls in FBI agent John Quinn, world-famous expert on serial killers and related ilk. In the Twin Cities, Quinn is reunited with his ex-lover Kate Conlan, a former FBI expert in violent crime and the only woman he could ever really love. After the death of her daughter and a bitter divorce, Kate has moved to Minnesota and become a victim- and witness-advocate. In that capacity, she's assigned to watch over Angle DiMarco, a runaway teenager who spied the Cremator while she was turning a trick in the park. As lots of tawdry details are dug up about Jillian (incest, etc.), the killer tortures and murders another woman, kills a small dog (in romance, always a sign of irredeemable evil), then begins to plot against Kate herself. Hoag's strong dose of S&M resolves in fire, blood, stabbings, and Kate spread-eagled on a table. Though Hoag grows more and more adept at juggling a complex plot, her sort of violent entertainment isn't for everyone.

***Spoilers Here***
Kate Conlan and John Quinn are our heros/romantic interest. Angie DiMarco is the witness and we find out, also, assistant to The Cremator. The Cremator is none other than the man who helps "lost" girls and is the boss of Kate Conland, Rob _____. Well that just goes to show how much character development there was. I can't remember his last name. Kovac and Liska were supporting characters that helped the story. Michelle was the sister of Angie, Rob's lover, and Jillian's best friends (with friends like these). In the end, Rob takes Kate to her basement and begins torturing her, stabs her in the foot, etc. Michelle is shot when she tries to blackmail Bondurant. Angie is now holding the knife, poised about Kate's breast. She stabs Rob. He dies. She slices her wrist and falls to the ground. A fire breaks out but Kate is rescued by Quinn. Quinn and Kate continue to see each other. The story was fine but not great. I enjoy Gerritsen's serial killer stories more. There was some heat between Kate and John but not enough. Hoag also tells us who the characters look like (compared to movie stars, George Clooney, etc.) I hate that. I'll picture who I want. Just give me the description.

[Bruno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mais um cartucho da Tami Hoag explodido, sendo este o melhor que já li, apesar de me ter custado a avançar mais depressa do que o esperado, por motivos que já vou explicar mais à frente.

Trata-se de um policial de elevada qualidade e inteligente, muito bem estruturado, com uma variedade de fortes suspeitos a fim de nos baralhar e dar volta.

Tudo começa com uma adolescente a fugir de pânico... Ela tinha testemunhado um homem a fazer um ritual matando uma mulher com fogo. Foi o que esta testemunha relatou à Polícia. O corpo carbonizado foi encontrado sem cabeça, o que não permitia a identificação da vítima, mas o assassino deixou perto do corpo, uma carta de condução da Jillian, filha de um conhecido milionário. Os melhores agentes, com maior destaque o agente especial Quinn do FBI, foram convocados para investigar a fundo este homicídio, sob a pressão e a influência da Presidente da Camara Municipal. O marido desta era advogado e amigo do pai da Jillian. Os agentes associaram este homicídio com os dois anteriormente ocorridos, cujas vitimas eram as prostitutas.

Quem foi exactamente Jillian? Quem era a testemunha? O que é que todos escondiam? Quem era o assassino apelidado de Cremador?

Ao longo do enredo, fui fazendo deduções, desconfiando ser aquele suspeito ou o outro, e afinal fui totalmente surpreendido com o final.

Eu teria classificado este cartucho de Ouro, se não fossem o excesso e a repetição das descrições psicológicas da Kate e do Quinn e do romance entre os dois, e também as metáforas que chegaram a entorpecer a acção policial.

Apesar dos pontos negativos, vou continuar a ser um leitor constante dos livros da Tami Hoag.

Tiro opinitivo - aqui

[Patrick · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am sorry but I had to stop reading this book. Gruesome and way too graphic. Decapitations. Torture. Live cremations. Excessive swearing and just silly language by the police officers involved. I won't repeat it here but highly inappropriate language. And the book is too long. I hope she goes well in the future with her writing. I have read others by her and they were a lot better.

[Lorrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dialogue between Liska, Kovak & their coworkers is always worth the read.

[Bernadette Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in the Kovac/Liska series. I read the third in this series some time ago and am reading the books out of sequence.

I enjoyed the story, at 570 pages it's by no means a short novel but for me it was a page turner. With plenty of twists and turns I was pretty certain I knew who the Cremator was but I was wrong.

I found the novel well written and felt that the characters were very believable. With a good mix between the narrative and the dialogue driven parts.

I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series before long.

[Patrice Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. This book isn't her typical Lifetime Movie/Book. It reads like a suspense novel with a hint of romance. Romance is way in the background in this book which makes it so much more enjoyable. I'm a sucker for a good romantic movie/book but... I want more suspense than romance or else I get really bored. Luckily this book was fast paced enough and didn't have the characters every move about some long lost love. Long story short I really enjoyed this book.

[Kate prefers books to people · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 re-read.

Police procedural. Flashy serial killer, victim's wealthy family, a street kid, a burned out FBI agent turned victim's advocate, the still-FBI ex-husband of the advocate, plus local police. Oh, and the killer is called the "cremator" because he sets the victims on fire. If you like police procedurals, this one is pretty solid. The main plot is good, but the overall book isn't as good as the rest of the series. This series is readable pretty much anytime, but I mentally associate it with travel because I've picked up a bunch of these at USOs and airports.

When I originally read this, I didn't realize it was the first Liska and Kovac book. I LOVE Liska and Kovac. Nikki Liska is a single mom with two boys and a cop ex-husband. Kovac...is Kovac (if you read Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta books, Kovac is who I wanted Marino to be. He can be a mess, but he cares about people and he's respected). Detectives Liska and Kovac are partners. I like the way they work together... but that didn't come through much in this book. I thought they were just guest starring in a book that focused on the Quinns (Kate, the advocate, and her ex, the FBI agent). Honestly, I'm not that into the romance angle in this book. Basically, Kate got mistreated at the FBI and ran afoul of a powerful superior... and her husband had professional pressure applied to him. Instead of standing by her, he threw himself into work and they ended up divorced. She went to Minnesota to work with survivors of violent/sexual crimes. FBI-guy Quinn is a romance novel cut out. The dude "won't allow himself" to smoke or drink... he only has room for regret and an impressive workout routine. Ok. Spoiler: once the case is resolved, they end up back together. Sorry, but I can't imagine spending 5 years apart and not growing and developing past someone who you let that down that much, but Kate Quinn just walks right back.

The Liska and Kovac books were my introduction to Hoag as an author. What I didn't know is that she also wrote romances... and like Tess Gerritsen (Rizzoli and Isles) transitioned into police procedurals/ crime fiction. Hoag made the switch better, but this particular book has a lot more of the romance genre influence than the rest. (Although tbh, if you didn't know she was a romance author, this book wouldn't be a dead giveaway).

The majority of the page time goes to the Quinns. Liska seems like a different person... she does get frustrated and have a rough edge at times in later books, but in this book, she seems to be sharpening the rough edges on purpose. Kovac was still Kovac, but duller.

The actual case was a fun read. The profile says one thing, but things don't add up... eventually it turns out the killer is using female accomplices.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5 stars
This was super fucked up. Just disturbing as hell. I realy don't enjoy getting the bad guy's perspective, but it worked here as far as building both paranoia and just general...ew. I didn't see all of this coming, so that's always good. I have read like the 9th of this series, so this was kinda like...oh, maybe I should have started at the beginning. Lots of people and political shit to keep track of. I enjoyed Quinn. And Kate. And Kovack. And even Liska. Will continue reading this series and more from this author.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mais um livro excepcional de Tami Hoag!
https://momentosdemagia.wordpress.com...

[Connie Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great thriller. Tami Hoag's characters are complex and intriguing no one is quite as they seems. This one will keep you guessing.