Customer Reviews

Dark Paradise

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I've been a fan of Tami Hoag's since her Loveswept romance days, and have read nearly everything she has written. Still Waters (a personal favorite of mine) was Ms. Hoag's first foray into romantic suspense. Dark Paradise followed, and with each successive novel, she stepped further away from romance and further into the pschological thrillers she is most known for today. This is important to know if you're considering buying a book by Tami Hoag for the first time. It's easy to be disappointed by making a book selection that isn't your cup of tea, b/c she has written the gamut.

Dark Paradise is primarily a romance with elements of suspense and a mystery at the heart of it. It is, in my opinion, a terrific book. I have recommended it to friends who read romance, mysteries and horror -- all have liked it without exception.

Marilee, the heroine has arrived in Montana to visit a friend on vacation and take stock of her life. She arrives to find the friend dead, under mysterious circumstances that no one besides her seems to care about. This is the mystery: who really killed Lucy and was it truly an accident? Marilee is a great heroine, smart and plucky and creative without being the slightest bit perfect. You can imagine knowing someone just like her. Her run-ins with the reluctant rancher hero JD (who knew Lucy and doesn't care what happened to her as long as it doesn't affect his ranch or way of life) are classic romance-type exchanges, but they're never pat. That's one hallmark of Ms. Hoag's, no matter what genre she's writing for - the characters rarely take the easy way out. They're too real for that.

If you enjoy Ms. Hoag's more edgy and psychological-horror books (ie. Ashes to Ashes), then you may still enjoy Dark Paradise as a precursor, stylistically. If you were a fan of books like Magic and Sarah's Sin, this one will take you down a darker path moving away from romance.

I highly recommend this book to most anyone who asks me. It's one of my all-time favorites. Give it a try.

"Dark Paradise" is the first Tami Hoag book I ever read. I bought it because of the attractive, moody front cover, plus the synopsis on the back didn't sound too bad. Basically, it said Marilee Jennings, an ex-court reporter, left California for New Eden, Montana, to visit her friend (Lucy MacAdam) and remained to uncover the truth of her friend's death. But you wouldn't have guessed that was the plot after reading the book. However, before I start criticizing, let me introduce the main characters.

Marilee is the protagonist in "Dark Paradise"; J. D. Rafferty is the rugged cowboy who had shared the late Lucy MacAdam's bed before jumping to Marilee's. It's a common formula Tami Hoag uses in her books: outwardly strong leading lady falls for tough, macho guy. Although I'm not much into romance novels, I'm sure a lot of Hoag's fans enjoy her books for this common thread.

Then there's J. D.'s brother Will who's constantly having problems with monogamy, which compels his wife to associate with the Hollywood crowd that has invaded Montana. Among this group is Evan Bryce, a well-to-do man who's interested in Lucy's land and has one unusual relationship with his female cousin (who I kept expecting to be a man because of the repeated references to her manly looks). There are several other nonexistent characters--such as J. D.'s crazy uncle who is a suspect in Lucy's death--, but most of them are easily forgotten and insignificant in the end.

"Dark Paradise" is more of a romance book than a mystery. It's almost pointless to try and guess the killer because there's hardly any real suspense. Also, Lucy barely seems important to the story since she's rarely brought up. Several times I forgot why Marilee was remaining in Montana (besides J. D., of course). However, it is well-written and pretty entertaining.

Only attempt this book if you like Tami Hoag's romantic suspense and verbosity (500+ pages). If you're looking for a good scare, you might try her other mystery books (Night Sins, Ashes to Ashes).

Tami Hoag has written another thriller, murder mystery that I couldn't put down. The story begins as the main character, Marilee Jennings, is driving to Montana after she has quit her job as a court stenographer and decided to go to Montana where her friend Lucy MacAdam moved the year before. When she arrives, she discovers Lucy's cabin torn apart and that Lucy has been dead for over a week, the apparent victim of an accidental shooting.

Marilee decides to stay so she might learn what really happened to her friend Lucy. J.D. Rafferty, Lucy's neighbor makes her feel most unwelcome in the town and there seems to be a division in the town about the many rich California people who are buying property in New Eden. Marilee finds out that she is Lucy's heir and that she has inherited her small farm. Tami Hoag has, once again, created a rich story set in an attractive town. The tension and developing relationship between Marilee and J.D. Rafferty is intriguing and adds to the mystery of the book.

I loved Tami Hoag's Ashes to Ashes and a Thin Dark Line, but this book was nothing like those two. This one is all about sex and romance with a tiny bit of murder. I read this book just so I could finish it, now I can get onto reading better mystery/crime novels. If you like crime, suspense and mystery (Cornwell, Reichs, Hoag after 1997) then give this a big MISS!

I have really enjoyed every Tami Hoag novel I have read and I've read quite a few. Well, I've enjoyed every one of them up to this one. This was just goofy. I could not even enjoy a plot with possibilities because the characters were so absolutely ridiculous. Instead of a love affair, Marilee should have had grounds for a lawsuit. I only hoped that maybe the hero would turn out to be a psycho killer so he could be eliminated. This, I guess, is one of Tami Hoag's earlier works when she was in transition mode from romance writer to mystery/thriller writer. I am glad she progressed from this trash. I could not recommend this even to fans of Tami Hoag. And now, I am about to begin reading Guilty as Sin, the sequel to Night Sins. I'm still a Tami Hoagfan.

I bought this book because I enjoyed "Kill The Messenger" so much, but 230 pages into it, I finally had to quit before I threw up.

I was really disappointed with this book. It took me almost two weeks to read it, which is a good indication it wasn't an enthralling read (I read the Da Vinci Code in 3 days). Is this a murder mystery or a cheap novel about romance? I guess it's neither...

This book is disappointing, especially after many of Hoag's other books. It goes on and on, and on and on, and nothing happens. I must admit I haven't finished the book yet; I'm on p.329, and nothing has happened, except that Lucy has been killed, which we found out on p.11.

First off I want to say that if you are a total mystery buff and not into romance, do not read this book! I read this title after finishing my first Tami Hoag book, Ashes to Ashes. Dark Paradise is nothing like it. This book is mainly a romance between J.D. and Marilee. Marilee comes into a small town to visit her best friend Lucy, only to find that Lucy is dead. The longer she is there she starts to believe it wasn't a hunting accident, as the town has said, that killed Lucy. Determined to find the truth, she starts doing some investigating on her own. While in the meantime she fills her free time with J.D., where, of course, a love blossoms. I enjoy romances, but for some reason Dark Paradise didn't really hit me like I felt it should. I went and bought most of Tami Hoag's earlier releases, I just hope I enjoy them more that this one.

I am a fan of Tami Hoag and find myself very disappointed with this effort. It could use some editing and trimming, at least 150 pages worth! It seemed to me as if the two central romantic characters said and did the same things over and over again. And most of it was focused on the sex and sexual tension between them, which quite frankly got stale after a while. Focus on the mystery, the thriller...if I want romance, I'll read a Harlequin. Oh, and the thing that really bugged me? She referred to Samantha's car at least 4 times as a red "Camero." Is that a new car or does she mean the Chevy CamAro?