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 characters require. 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...
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.
What do You think about Prior Bad Acts (2007)?
The brutal murder of a mother and her two young foster children leads to the arrest of Karl Dahl. When Judge Carey Moore rules against the inclusion of Dahl's prior criminal record, prosecutors and police are enraged. Then Dahl escapes, and Judge Moore finds her life in danger, even as she must deal with the scathing comments and threats from everyone who believes Dahl is guilty. Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, assigned to protect the judge, now need to apprehend Dahl.In the meantime, Judge Moore is coming to some unpleasant realizations about her husband, and one of the cops on the original case goes rogue, determined to get the man he believes responsible for the gruesome murders. The sub-plots tie together, sometimes in unexpected ways.Another exciting and fast-paced installment in Hoag's series featuring Kovac and Liska.I've now read all the books in this series, although I did have to go back and pick up these first three after reading the two more recent entries. Hoag switches back and forth between featuring the detectives and letting them slide into the background while other characters receive the focus. However, whether or not Sam and Nikki take precedence or make token appearances, this is a great series.Library copy. Read in Dec. A Garden Carried in the PocketCrime/Police Procedural. 2006. 570 pages.
—Jen
I am a huge fan of the Thriller genre and this book did not disappoint. This is my book by Tami Hoag and I found it to be a well-written, fast-paced page turner. Usually with Thrillers, when not well written, you know already half-way through who's guilty and who's not, which of course deflates your enthusiasm for the book. But this book kept me guessing right until the end, which even then had a twist. When I thought it was all done and dusted, it turned out there was one more surprise left in the hat.I found her characters to be well written, with a lot of depth to them given and a good balance of character to hate and characters to like.The plot-line was great. Something that kept me turning the pages and second guessing myself.Looking forward to my next read from this author.
—Joanna
Tami Hoag’s books just seem to get better and better. Her characters even seem to get better and better. Prior Bad Acts is no exception. Liska and Kovac are two of my favorite Hoag characters. They are Minneapolis cops.A lady has been brutally murdered. There is immediately a suspect who is no stranger to the law. The dragnet begins. The suspect is brought in but is released during the trial by a compassionate judge. The judge is brutally beaten and her dirtbag husband is suspected of hiring the work done. However, there is still the original suspect on the loose whom the Minneapolis police just can’t seem to locate, let alone apprehend. So, the dirtbag husband is being investigated and the police are looking for the original suspect. Then to add salt to the wound, a policeman goes off the deep end and believes that justice cannot be delivered appropriately anymore. That is, unless he delivers it himself. And he has bones to pick with the judge and the original suspect whom he worked hard to bring in the first time only to have the judge let him out where he could slip free of the net that was being cast over him.So, now, the list of suspects is growing and each are looking more and more desirable for the crimes. Liska and Kovac are in deep in this one. It’s a stress bag and it seems that nothing but dead ends and mistaken suspicions keep arising. This is my favorite Tami Hoag book that I have read to date. I would have no problem recommending this book to a friend who reads. I will be reading more Tami Hoag books. She takes just a little to get into at first, but once you take the hook, look out.Cam
—Cameron Wiggins
