DEEPER THAN THE DEAD by Tami Hoag
Tami Hoag is one of America's favorite crime thriller writers, and she has the best sellers to back up that claim. Her latest novel DEEPER THAN THE DEAD shows why she is so beloved. It is a fast-paced, action packed thriller that is filled with interesting characters both good and evil.
The time is 1985 and the location is Oak Knoll, California. Three children on their way home from school stumble over a dead body buried in a park. The town is thrown into panic as rumors of a serial killer circulate. Particularly impacted is Anne Navarre, the fifth grade teacher who has the three children as students in her class.
The local police contact Vince Leone, an FBI Agent recovering from a head wound who works in Washington in an underground office. It is located beyond six feet which means it is "deeper than the dead." Vince is interested in the case, so much so that he flies to California and helps with the investigation in an unofficial capacity.
A study of police records in the area show there might have been other women mutilated and murdered in the same manner as the woman whose body was buried in the park. Then there comes word another woman is missing and it is feared the killer has her in his/her clutches.
Added to the intensity of this investigation is a budding romance between the school teacher and the FBI Agent. It is an attraction that neither expects, but it also one made more fragile by the chance that Anne could become the killer's newest target.
Hoag keeps the excitement building as she moves her story along. She gives just enough detail to the events to keep them gripping but she never lets them fall over into horror for horror's sake. She also manages to bring up the fact that in 1985 some of the techniques and procedures we take for granted today were not then invented.
The characters in this story are some of the most finely drawn of Hoag's career. As the story progresses more facts about who and what these characters are emerge. Then when they are put in dangerous situations you care intensely about what will happen to them. That is the secret of success in writing a novel and Hoag knows expertly how to do it.
If you are in the mood for a mystery that will hold you spellbound from beginning to end then this novel is the one you should start immediately. But make sure you have time to read it from cover to cover because once started you will not want to put it down. Tami Hoag has always been a good writer but DEEPER THAN THE DEAD is one of her best in a long time.
DEEPER THAN THE DEAD is published by Dutton. It contains 432 pages and sells for $26.95.