The title itself just gives you chills, add that very sinister line on the cover and everything just got real. My eyes were immediately drawn to the very gloomy and mysterious cover and the line underneath the author's name: The scream heard by no one is the deadliest. How chilling is that? Before getting into the review, this book is definitely not one you'd want to read before sleeping so don't make the same mistake that I did because this definitely gave me nightmares.As a lot of suspense/murder thrillers start, the first chapter or prologue gives you an insiders view of just what kind of killer you are dealing with. This is usually the part I hate the most because before you even start the book, you're scared to the point of shaking. This book did an exceptional job in really freaking the reader out before getting into the story. Just to scare you, a line:A face, ghostly pale, cheeks rouged clownishly, lipstick smeared, mouth slack, eyes open and staring, unseeing up at the heavens. Looking for mercy, looking for deliverance. Too late for either.......Too cunning, too clever, beyond the laws of man, outside the realm of suspicion, this predator stalks.That really got me shaking. Then Chapter One starts with "I'll kill him." I don't know why, but it just got me laughing so hard. But anyway, back on track. This book screams creepy, maybe not as much as other books, but it just has this whole vibe. There are characters, countless numbers of them that you just want to call them the killer. Since you'll probably have the same idea if you read this book, I'll just list them: Ross, Stephen Danjermond, Jimmy Lee Baldwin, and the main man of the book, Jack Boudreaux. Any guesses?Why did I include the main man? Isn't he the one who goes saving everyone? Well here's the catch, Jack happens to be a horror writer with very graphic ideas who also was suspected years ago of murdering his wife Evie. How's that for shivers? On top of that, he's been spending a lot of time with our girl Laurel, who seems to be the one current murders are revolving around and the killer's leaving hints that come directly out of Jack's novels. Laurel was once denied the chance for justice when she faced her first prosecuting case against some well respected townies. The denial pretty much ruined her life. Now, she's determined to find the killer, but odds are once again not in her favor. I really admire her for her backbone and determination. Things do get pretty out of hand and she still manages to keep at least 1% of her sanity. And that's while having a thing with a suspected killer.
I am a Tami Hoag fan, but Cry Wolf didn't do much for me. I saw through the entire plot way early on, so there wasn't much suspense. I felt like Hoag wore different hats when writing this book, but didn't necessarily smooth out the bumps between the writing styles: murder/mystery, adult romance, horror. It was jarring.Hoag gives you a reluctant heroine (Laurel) and a reluctant hero (Jack) who are messed up from crappy pasts, but (surprise, surprise) perfectly messed up for each other. The two spend an AWFUL LOT OF TIME waxing poetic about each other, and Hoag seems content to waste approximately 150 pages trying to find different ways to describe their crappy childhoods and how it made them who they are (and how they feel about themselves) today. It's a bit mind-numbing, and at some point you want to shake the book and say, "I've GOT IT ALREADY!"I wasn't sure if Hoag would have the balls to kill off Savannah, Laurel's sister. The answer didn't surprise me, though. I never believed that any of the potential killers were in fact, potential killers: I zeroed in on the real nasty guy right away.Cry Wolf, for me, was a bit of a disappointment. It felt like a book you crank out because you owe your publisher another set of pages, not one that pours out from the soul, a story demanding to be told.
Do You like book Cry Wolf (1994)?
Laurel Chandler, a lawyer returning home in disgrace, meets a local man, Jack Boudreaux, also a lawyer though disbarred, and falls in love. Most of the story is Laurel's healing from a mental breakdown and dealings with Jack while all along she is determined that the last thing she needs is a relationship. Her bad childhood and his draw them together like white on rice. When the local serial killer strikes close to home, things heat up and Laurel finally gets her feet under her and gets back in the game. UNBELIEVABLE! I honestly couldn't put it down. I started it today and other than a dinner break, read it in one shot. What a fabulous story! This is the first Tami Hoag book I've read but it certainly will not be the last. The plot was convoluted and the murders where really in the background until they hit home and then wow in your face action and suspense.
—Barbara ★
I really wish I lived in a book. If I did, I could not only be anything I wanted, but also EVERYTHING. And in the course of a few years.Jack Boudreaux came from a poverty stricken, abusive childhood in the swamps of Louisiana, during which he killed his father and buried him in the swamp, and at the age of 36 has been a high-flying lawyer - in his words, a "corporate shark" - for an international oil company, blown the whistle on said company and himself, been disbarred, and become a best-selling writer of many horror novels. That's some fast moving! The last thing alone is not likely. Becoming a best-selling author does not come overnight, even if getting to the big leagues in the practice of law does. Laurel is also a big-time lawyer, but on the other side. She was a county prosecutor - now also disgraced and mentally screwed up, and reluctantly drawn into both a defamation claim and a murder case.These things alone ruined the book for me.
—Miki
I enjoyed this story but I was a bit disappointed with it as it turned out to be more of a love story then a thriller. Having said that, the characters were likeable enough despite the fact Laurel and Jack both had horrible histories so they probably deserved each other! Laurel returns home to the deep south after suffering a nervous breakdown from losing her job as a public prosecutor. Jack is a womaniser and writes horror stories. A serial killer is on the loose killing girls of ill repute in a horrific manner but when Laurel's sister Savannah is murdered she takes it upon herself to find the murderer. I found the story to be an easy read but there was a lot of repetition of both characters feeling sorry for themselves. I would have preferred less romantic scenes and more sleuthing.
—Wendy
