Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Ashes to Ashes
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Tami Hoag
Class/Genre: Mystery Serial Killer Thriller
Series: Sam Kovac & Nikki Liska # 1
Bantam, Mar 1999, $24.95, 496 pp.
A serial killer, the Cremator, has terrorized Minneapolis with his brutal, ritual murders. The third victim appears to be the daughter of influential billionaire Peter Bondurant. However, she is decapitated with only her burned torso left at the scene. Peter calls in a favor from the chief of the FBI, who assigns agent John Quinn, the department's top profiler to the case.
John works closely with the local task force, headed up by Minneapolis police officer Sam Kovac. When a witness, runaway teenager Angie DeMarco surfaces, witness advocate Kate Conlan, who had an affair with John five years ago, is added to the team. The investigation is complicated because Peter refuses to provide insight into his daughter and her relationships. As the killer plays cat and mouse with the task force, the attraction between John and Kate remains as strong as it did when they worked together at the bureau. If they can prevent a fourth death by capturing the maniac, John and Kate will have time to explore their feelings.
New York Times best selling author Tami Hoag has written an exciting romantic suspense that has bestseller stamped all over it. Ms. Hoag does a great job of providing readers with relevant red herrings while hiding the identity of the serial killer even as she presents, looking back in hindsight, clues to who he is. The love between John and Kate is well designed and makes for an added bonus to a crisp (pun intended) story line. Ms. Hoag remains one of the prime forces of the romantic suspense sub-genre.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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