| Product: |
Ashes to Ashes - Tami Hoag |
| Date: |
24/03/06 (270 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Great plot, climatic ending
Disadvantages: Cheesy romantic sideline, gory descriptions
Introduction
Tami Hoag is an author I would probably have never come across if I hadn't lived overseas and suffered from a shortage of books in English. However, I did get to read quite a few, ranging from the frankly dreadful to the really very good. This particular book and its sequel, 'Dust to Dust' are two of the best and are incomparable with most of her other books, in particular the dreadful 'Lucky's Lady'. This is not a book for the faint-hearted, the descriptions of some of the murders are very graphic and probably unnecessary, although they do help to build up the suspense. An excellent book, one that I would thoroughly recommend.
The author
Tami Hoag's books have been appearing in US bestseller lists since the publication of her first book in 1988. Her books tend towards crime fiction with a generous dollop of romance. Most feature a career-minded, strong woman struggling against the odds. 'Ashes to Ashes' and 'Dust to Dust' are police procedurals.
The plot
A serial killer is torturing and murdering women, then setting them on fire in public places. To date, the police investigation has been lax; until the daughter of a well-known entrepreneur, Peter Bondurant, goes missing, followed by the discovery of a headless burnt corpse in the middle of a park with Jillian's ID nearby. There was a witness to the crime; a young girl Angie DiMarco, who refuses to give her real identity and is reluctant to cooperate with the police and the witness advocate that is assigned to her, Kate Conlan.
FBI criminal profiles specialist, John Quinn, with whom Kate has previously had an affair is brought in to help with the investigation. Sam Kovac and his sidekick, Liska are police officers leading the investigation. Despite Bondurant's insistence that the murderer of his daughter is found as soon as possible, there are few clues to go on and the investigation looks doomed to failure.
Then Angie goes missing from the safehouse she has been assigned to, despite being guarded by a police officer. The fear is that she has been kidnapped by the perpetrator of the crimes so that she cannot give away any information. Then another body is found, also burnt. However, it is not that of Angie, it is the body of another of Kate's witnesses, Melanie Hessler. It seems clear that the murders are turning into a personal attack on Kate, particularly as information the perpetrator has received on the witness' whereabouts can only be the result of an internal leak of information.
The story continues at an amazing pace until literally the last few pages when we finally find out who the totally unexpected killer is.
The characters
Kate and John: Kate seems almost to be an afterthought - I felt that her role wasn't particularly necessary and that she was thought up because this role is what Tami Hoag would like to be - a strong-minded woman who gets her way despite the odds. Her romance with John is also unnecessary and I can't help but feel that the book would have been stronger without the cheesiness that the relationship brought - comments such as 'You have my heart', 'Well I'm not giving it back' sort of thing. Yuk. John is also slightly irritating; a man at the pinnacle of his career but without the love of a good woman…cliché and unnecessary to the excellent plot.
Kovac and Liska: an excellent pair. Tami Hoag must have thought so because they feature in her next book, 'Dust to Dust'. Kovac is a typical American detective a la Pete Marino - he has been divorced twice and is cynical, but still manages to do his job well. Liska, as a woman, refuses to be put down by her colleagues and so has earned their respect. Also divorced, she can be foul-mouthed, but great fun.
Conclusion
I really enjoyed this book. It is about 600 pages long, so not a short read, but at no point did I get bored with the plot. It is fast-moving in the extreme and I found it hard to put it down. The ending is spectacular - very unexpected and thrilling. The weaker characters, Kate and John, and their irritating romance did not take away from the storyline, although were unnecessary. This contrasted with the gory descriptions of the murder victims - avoid this book if you don't like gory descriptions. Highly recommended to fans of crime fiction and thrillers.
Available from Amazon for £5.59. Can be purchased with 'Dust to Dust' for £11.18. Published by Orion, 576 pages. ISBN: 0752826913
Summary: A gripping read
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