This is the fictional account of a small Minnesota town and the abduction of a young boy—the son of a highly respected physician and her accountant husband.Hoag skillfully presents a two-week torturous ordeal for the family, the community, and the law enforcement people. In fact, Agent Megan O’Malley is experiencing a baptism of fire, since her first day on the job as a field agent is also the day the boy was taken. This will hold your interest as the winding path of the plotline takes you inside the mind of a killer and into the heart of a Catholic zealot. You’ll watch as cracks become chasms in a community full of secrets.Here’s the thing: I figured out who would ultimately get arrested for this way, way, way early in the book. When it finally happened after hours and hours of slogging through it, I actually found myself yawning and saying something like, “yeah, ok, what’s next?”I wasn’t a big fan of the police chief, and the state field agent, O’Malley, absolutely turned me off beyond belief. Her ultra-extreme uber-feminism shtick was pretty threadbare by page three and went from there to frustratingly tiresome and silly. It almost felt like a caricature in a few places. Granted, Hoag seems to want to sharply contrast O'malley's super-independence with a vulnerable side discovered by the police chief, and Hoag gives you believable reasons for all that sharp-edged Stiletto repeatedly slammed into some guy's crotch kind of behavior, but something about its ongoing shrillness somehow exhausted me.I don’t mean to be so uncharitable. I’ve read other things by this author that captivated me and impressed me. I’ll definitely read the sequel to this book, a title called Guilty As Sin, because so many things went unfinished in this one. What I hope to communicate here is that I’m not criticizing Hoag’s writing style or belittling her obvious talent. There are scores of compelling reasons her books sell so well and win awards, and it’s not my intent to slap down any of those reasons or minimize them. Nor should you consider this review some kind of steely-eyed pronouncement of never again, as in never again will I read Hoag’s books. I’ll indeed read them, and I’m sure I’ll thoroughly enjoy them. But for whatever reason, this one left me cold and feeling rather anticlimactic.
When I began reading this book I was not aware that it was a three part series (?) and even with that in mind I still did not like it. I'm disappointed because at the start and a good quarter of the way through I was quite into the story and how it was unfolding. It was suspenseful and all along every suspect you thought was the kidnapper is proven not to be. Good cat and mouse and kept you guessing...Then you get to the last few chapters and it just gets dumb. (view spoiler)[ I guess it was supposed to be this huge shock that this smart professor was the one behind this mastermind but it really wasn't. The only thing slightly surprising about it was why he did it. It would of made more sense to me that he'd found out about his wife having an affair and it was some kind of twisted pay back to torture the cheating man and his family, but no. Then the only explanation you get as to why, is I guess he is crazy? He wanted to prove to everyone that he was smarter than them and that he'd never get caught. Yet, he does get caught and I was supposed to assume there were more books because... he alludes to others involved by saying "we" and the kid being returned to his home while he's in lock up. I don't know, even with it being a series that's a terrible way to end it. It should still be a stand alone book in and of itself in my opinion. The author is pushing the reader to get the next book in hopes that there might be an actual explanation to this mans madness, no thank you. I felt the book had true potential to be a good shocking twist ending suspense novel but it failed to hit that marker. Cliff hangers, were never very appealing to me. (hide spoiler)]
Do You like book Night Sins (1996)?
I loved this book strictly for the cat and mouse chase. The everyday pursuit and what police and agents must do to wade through the clues was where the games began for me. I had two sets of whodunit and with the explosive writing of Tami Hoag they changed continuously. I knew the moment only one was in jail that "We" would be dropping off the kid. I could feel the sequel was coming and I was thrilled!!!! Tami had me turning the pages faster towards the end with the thrill of the hunt. The clues, the notes left behind were tantalizing! What do we really know about our neighbors should be the theme of this book. What lurks behind the doors that we are unaware about? That is the question. Will this town ever be the same? Could your own town come back after a church zealot nut and a pedophile carried so many secrets? Wow! Great story! 5 Stars!
—Magpie67
Bloody awful book full of stereotype characters and ad nauseam tropes. How did this make it to the best seller list?I was handed this book while waiting at an airport. The person had just finished it and said that the book wasn't a bad read. Maybe I misunderstood and the person said it was a bad read? I was bored so I read it on a long flight. Wish I hadn't.All the stock characters are here. The strong female cop with daddy issues trying to make it in a man's world, who falls for the local police chief who hasn't loved anyone since his wife and only son died (and he blames himself....blah, blah, blah). A madman (or men) kidnap a child and all the wrong people are suspected and arrested. Meanwhile lots of dirty secrets in the town are exposed, including affairs. And the kidnappers think they are better than anyone else leaving clues along the way that maybe the cops could figure out if the main characters weren't busy have sex (badly, badly written scenes) or yelling sexist remarks at each other, or sleeping with the wanna be star reporter. Then there is the priest who is trying to help out, but questions his faith and is in love with the mother of the kidnapped child. I would spoil the ending, but there is no point. Save yourself and read anything else.
—BookCrazy
Not a bad book. However, when I bought the book, I didn't know that the story didn't end with this book but continues onto the next book. on other reviews, some people made it sound like the two main characters; Megan and Mitch; were constantly getting into bed with one another. Which is not the case. You have an FBI female agent l, who is the first female FBI agent in the Minnesota town, trying to fight her attraction to Mitch, knowing that if she gave in, will end her career before it even begins. Mitch is the chief of police in this Minnesota town who has his own demons he is trying to fight through. He is just as attracted to Megan as well. A young boy naned Josh has been kidnapped and they are trying to find him and his psycho-kidnapper. the kidnapper feels that he/she/they are smarter than everyone else. Hannah, Josh's mother is a doctor, who is going through her private hell b/c she feels responsible for Josh's abduction. Paul, Josh's father, acts like the concerned, distraught father looking for his son for the public. But behind closed doors, he is anything but the caring, devoted husband/father he pretends to be. I gave this book 3 stars b/c when I read the preview on the back of the book, the preview made no mention that this is book one of two. So I thought the book begins and ends with "Night Sins". I think this continues with "Guilty as Sin". Not sure.....
—Lauren
