Deeper Than the Dead

October 19, 2009
Bestseller Hoag (Kill the Messenger
) ventures into serial killer territory with results sure to please her many fans, though unresolved plot threads, both intentional and inadvertent, may put off veteran readers of the genre. One fall day in 1985 in Oak Knoll, Calif., fifth-grader Tommy Crane and his sidekick, Wendy Morgan, are fleeing the class bully, Dennis Farman, through a local park when Tommy stumbles over the head of a dead woman buried up to her neck. Two hours from Los Angeles, Oak Knoll is not the sort of town where major crime is a problem, but a serial killer is on the loose who's already murdered and tortured several women and has another on deck in his secret lair. Fifth-grade teacher Anne Navarre, who counsels Tommy and Wendy, is soon at the center of the investigation being led by a hunky FBI agent, Vince Leone. This is serial killer lite with Hoag's romance roots dictating both the prose style and the unveiling of the killer. 8-city author tour.

Starred review from November 15, 2009
Nail-biting thriller about a vicious serial killer with a particularly creepy MO.

On their way home from school, three fifth-graders take a detour through a neighboring woods and oh, how they'll wish they hadn't. It's a fateful detour with agonizing consequences that will render their lives nightmarish. They stumble on the corpse of a young woman, insanely mistreated, and yet there is method to the madness:"Eyes glued shut. Mouth glued shut. See no evil. Speak no evil." A message certainly, but exactly how to interpret it? The badly shaken ten-year-olds are all pupils in a class taught by Anne Navarre, who comes upon the crime scene a few minutes later. Anne is a young woman with her own firsthand experience of childhood trauma, sufficiently hurtful to make her instantly empathic. She cares deeply about her students, senses the possibility of long-term damage and, wanting only to help, finds herself contending with entrenched parental obtuseness. Enter Vince Leone, an FBI profiler dispatched from Washington who soon enough will also be caring deeply—for Anne. Meanwhile, the local cops plus Vince have come to realize that whatever fixed idea the"See-No-Evil Killer" is possessed by, he has now proclaimed it at least three times. Clearly, they have a sociopath on their hands, one of the self-anointed brilliant kind who gets off on playing catch-me-if-you-can with slow-witted, outclassed cops. The investigation intensifies, the suspect list narrows, but fear grips the quiet California community of Oak Knoll, 20,000 people no longer convinced that"things like this don't happen here."

Once again, bestselling Hoag (The Alibi Man, 2007, etc.) plots craftily and creates characters readers root for.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

December 15, 2009
In Hoag's newest thriller (after "The Alibi Man"), the year is 1985; DNA evidence and the Internet are distant glimmers on the horizon. In a sleepy California suburb, four children stumble across the body of a dead woman in the park. Young hotshot detective Tony Mendez is convinced the woman is the third victim of a serial killer and solicits the FBI. His call reaches the ears of Vince Leone, a pioneer in profiling, just returning from medical leave. The children's discovery also draws teacher Anne Navarre into the mystery. Once the team is in place, the race is on to find the killer before he strikes again. VERDICT Though it has all the elements of a serial killer thriller, Hoag's latest is really a "family thriller." Intertwining the effects of the crime on her characters, the attempt is satisfactory. Also recommended for those who enjoyed Tana French's "In the Woods".Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
Theres a truly terrifying serial killer at the heart of Hoags new page-turner: a man who abducts women, glues their eyes and mouths shut, and pierces their ear drums, essentially locking them in their own minds while he tortures and kills them. Set in the peaceful California town of Oak Knoll in 1985, the story opens with four fifth-graders discovering the body of a woman buried in the woods. Their teacher, Anne, is horrified and tries to shield shy Tommy, spitfire Wendy, bully Dennis, and nerdy Cody from the ensuing media and law-enforcement attention. Though many of the local cops are reluctant to bring in outside help, FBI profiler Vince Leone, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, is summoned. He turns to Anne for help, in part because of her knowledge of the children and their parents and in part because of his immediate attraction to her. As Vince and Anne grow closer, it becomes increasingly clear that the killer is a pillar of the community. The chilling premise and exciting twists make Hoags latest a thriller in every sense of the word. Guaranteed to be in high demand.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)