Book Review: Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!

   Being a child of the 80s, I always enjoy a story set in that decade. When I read Deeper Than the Dead I appreciated the research that Tami Hoag had put into the novel. She also introduced a new cast of characters that had me invested in her story. The romance between FBI agent Vince Leone and school teacher, Anne Navarre. The hard-edged Frank Farman and his wife, Sharon, and their troubled son, Dennis. Anne's school children who unfortunately were Dennis' targets and discoverers of a dead body in the park. And Detective Tony Mendez, a bright man with an eye on the future of law enforcement. All of these characters lived in the sleepy Californian town of Oak Knoll. A place with secrets so horrific that Hoag decided to write a trilogy. And with book one closed, I head back to the 1980s and Oak Knoll in Secrets to the Grave.

 

  Secrets to the Grave is written by Tami Hoag, and it is published by Penguin Random House under their Signet Books imprint.  It is the year 1986 and one year has passed since Anne Navarre was abducted by the See-No-Evil killer. After surviving her ordeal she is now married to former FBI agent Vince Leone, and has since quit her teaching job to work with the state as a child advocate. Her first charge is Dennis Farman, currently in a state mental facility after attempting to murder his classmates the year prior. With the trial of the See-No-Evil killer about to begin and dealing with Dennis, Anne is filled with nightmares every evening she sleeps. But she forges on with the hope that her post-traumatic stress does not impede her mission to help children.

  Cal Dixon's sheriff's department is relatively quiet after a year. With the See-No-Evil case still open, they seem to be at a lull. Then the body of Marissa Fordham is discovered brutally mutilated alongside her four year old daughter, Haley. The child is barely alive, having been strangled after her mother was murdered. Vince Leone and Detective Tony Mendez begin to work the case, and the sheriff's department soon realizes that they do not have a shortage of those with a motive to commit murder. But what sinister new killer has arrived in Oak Knoll? Can Anne and Vince care for Haley Fordham without being a target for the killer? And what devious plan does the deranged Dennis Farman have planned for Anne Leone?

   In a town like Oak Knoll people tend to take their secrets to the grave.

  This novel is a masterful sequel to its predecessor. It carries on stories from Deeper Than the Dead, while introducing new and dynamic elements to the town that I fell in love with in book one. The mystery is a winding road of bumps and twisted turns that set up a story that is one part prime time soap and one part horror movie. It grabbed me from the first chapter and never let me go. I was engrossed in the crazy tale of small town intrigue. And I read on into the early morning hours trying to solve this mystery. This novel was addicting and the five hundred-plus pages seemed to fly by. I was a huge fan of this series' character development that progressed forward from book one with surprising and unexpected events.

  Each chapter was a maze of intricately laid plot points that had me guessing who the killer was only to be proven wrong. Tami Hoag set out to play mind games with me, and I loved every minute of it. Her narrative sizzled along like a spark running the length of rope to a stick of dynamite. When I was done with the last chapter I was shocked, relieved, and excited all at once.    

  I read Secrets to the Grave in part with the narration of Kirsten Potter. After having read several novels with her performances, I have become a huge fan of her work. Potter has a way with the dramatic, which gives a new dimension to Hoag's characters. Even when I was reading without narration I could hear her voice delivering the characters' lines. Potter is a gem in the audio book community's crown of talent. I hope that she reads more suspense novels in the future.       

  I gave Secrets to the Grave four out of five stars. I was thrilled throughout this novel and I loved its ending. It was high stakes suspense that will have me recommending this book for years to come.

Have fun reading this week. Let me know in the comments below what you are reading.

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  Because there is always time to read,
   Xepherus3 



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