Customer Reviews

Guilty As Sin

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book but I agree that some expansion could have been done regarding the "kidnappers" and what led them to their crime. My main complaint is that I had picked up both Guilty as Sin and Night Sins and had no idea Guilty as Sin was the sequel and read it first. There was no indication of that anywhere in the book. Should have visited amazon.com first!

I read both Night Sins and Guilty as Sin in the order they were written. Ms. Hoag spins an intricate web of mystery with twists and turns littering the path to the truth about who kidnapped a little boy in a Minnesota town. She also injects into the storyline romance fraught with secrets and obstacles for the main characters. Unfortunately Ms. Hoag does not answer all the questions that the plot poses. While the identity of the perpetrator of the crime is revealed, the books never delve into the whys and the hows. Instead, the reasons for masterminding a kidnapping and performing mind control on a child are summarized in a few vague pages. Since Ms. Hoag spent almost 1200 pages leading up the resolution she could have written a few more which explained the motives of the kidnappers.

In Guilty as Sin the story centers on the child abduction that began in Night Sins. The story surrounds the perpetrator of the abduction of eight-year-old Josh Kirkwood. Ellen North, County Prosecutor and Mitch Holt, Police Chief for Deer Lake, Minnesota investigate. Ellen North must build a case against a suspect most people don't believe to be guilty. This book is as dynamic and riveting as the first and kept me enthralled as the mystery was first built into a more devious story and then slowly unraveled to a climatic end. A great story spread across these two novels. Highly recommended.

When I read "Night Sins" it ended practically in the middle of a thought - very obviously (thank goodness) a sequel was planned. "Guilty" continues the story developed in the first book and does a good job of following through on the mystery. While I liked the first book better (personal preference, not quality of writing) "Guilty" keeps the suspense going and wraps up the storyline with a totally unexpected ending.

Don't try reading this book on it's own - you'd be missing the intensity & mystery developed in the first book.

Guilty as Sin is the conclusion to Tami Hoag's Night Sins but could also be considered a stand-alone type novel.

In Night Sins we learn about the kidnapping of Josh Kirkwood a nine-year-old boy living in a small town in Minnesota. The horrible crime rocks the peaceful feeling and security of those that live there, but none so much as the parents of this child. At the end of Night Sins a villain is captured - Dr. Garrett Wright, a local college professor, and neighbor and friend to the Kirkwoods.

Guilty as Sin picks up right where Night Sins leaves off. However, instead of continuing the focus on the Kirkwood family and the law enforcement officers trying to find the child, Guilty as Sin focuses on Ellen North, an Assistant County Prosecutor who is trying to put Dr. Garrett Wright away for this heinous crime.

Along the way, we learn that Dr. Wright isn't working alone and has an accomplice, but the identity of that second villain is lost in a slew of subplots and support characters.

Tami Hoag floods the reader with a cast of support characters to the point of confusion:

Jay Butler Brooks - author of true crime novels, comes to Minnesota to research the kidnapping and trial for a new book.

Dennis Enberg - the defense attorney, originally representing Wright who commits suicide after he's removed from the case - or was it suicide?

Hannah Garrison - mother to Josh Kirkwood, ER doctor, and all around nice person who embodies the perfect mother/wife/career woman.

Paul Kirkwood - father to Josh Kirkwood, husband to Hannah, who is so self absorbed that he can't feel for anyone but himself.

Tom McCoy - local Catholic priest who starts to doubt his faith and wonders at his calling.

Christopher Priest - professor at Harris College, co-worker with Garrett Wright

Sci-Fi Cowboys - a group of juvenile delinquents that are brought to Harris College to make something respectable out of their lives and are under the guidance of Garrett Wright and Christopher Priest.

Phoebe - Ellen North's secretary and right-hand assistant who is a little on the eccentric side

Todd Childs - student and protege of Garrett Wright and Christopher Priest

Adam Slater - reporter from a small town mid-western newspaper who has his eyes on Phoebe

Tony Costello - sleezebag defense attorney who gets called in to represent Garrett Wright and who just happens to have a past with Ellen North.

With so many subplots going on, it is difficult at times to follow the story line and left me wishing more could be devoted to the subplots I enjoyed and less to those that I didn't. For example, Todd Childs being a stoner and working in a thrift store left me shrugging and wondering why he was even included in the story for more than a mention in passing. On the other hand, Ellen North's previous involvement with Tony Costello could have been expanded with a possible flashback to the actual events that led to their breakup instead of a few words mentioned here and there so the reader will eventually get the drift.

The overall story was a good one, but long - over 600 pages. Ellen North is feisty, interesting, clever, and impassioned. She's an excellent protagonist. The accomplice (no I won't tell you his/her identity) is indistinct because of so many characters that this identity is convoluted. This is one of the few mysteries that I didn't figure out the "other" villain but I wasn't surprised either.

The ending is a page-turner and the last 50 pages will be read quickly. You'll hold your breath hoping you've sensed the outcome correctly. And you won't be disappointed. Overall I'd recommend reading it, but there are other books that I'd read first!

"Guilty As Sin" is the sequel to "Night Sins". It still takes place in Deer Lake, Minnesota, but the female protagonist has changed. Instead of Agent Megan O'Malley leading the investigation into the abduction of 8-year-old Josh Kirkwood, it's now up to 35-year-old Ellen North, the prosecuting attorney, to prove Dr. Garrett Wright guilty of kidnapping. Because Dr. Wright is such an influential member of the community, Ellen is faced with some fierce opposition from his colleagues and supporters (like the Space Cowboys), but especially from Wright's defense attorney, Anthony Costello (Ellen's old-time flame who has a malicious way of practicing law).

Now although Josh has mysteriously been returned to his family without being physically harmed (emotionally and psychologically he's a mess), the young boy refuses to speak for fear of all the evil things the Taker could do to him and his family. Without Josh's assistance, Dr. Wright just might walk free. However, he might just be proved innocent anyways when--while still in custody--another 8-year-old boy is kidnapped from a neighboring town. Ellen begins to speculate that Dr. Wright might have an accomplice who is trying to divert attention from Wright by committing various crimes he obviously couldn't have committed. But when Ellen goes after Wright's closest friends, she gains a high-rising number of enemies, all of whom could be suspects in the kidnappings and would like nothing more than to stop Ellen's investigation for good.

"Guilty As Sin" began with a strangely out-of-place prologue that left me a little baffled. It wasn't until I was nearing the end of the book that I realized it had been taken from an attack scene between the kidnapper and Ellen. In my opinion, the excerpt should have been kept at the end of the book where the event actually occurred, not as a senseless hook. I'm sure I wasn't the only one confused by it.

As usual, my main complaint with any Tami Hoag book is the budding romance between the leading lady and the dark, brooding hunk she's pitted against. Well, in this case, Ellen has two men to juggle, but one (Jay Butler Brooks, a Southern bestselling crime novelist) takes precedence over the other (Anthony). In my opinion, the entire relationship between Ellen and Jay should have been removed, or at least edited. There had already been one troublesome relationship before with Megan and Mitch in "Night Sins", so why follow the same formula with similar-acting characters who are only varied by their occupations? (Megan was a tough-minded BCA agent; Ellen is a tough-minded attorney; Mitch is a relentless police chief; Jay is a relentless writer. In the end, they all shed their emotional armor, inhibitions, and clothes in the heat of passion. It's all very predictable and boring.)

Don't get me wrong; this book isn't all that bad. The action and drama--plus the final climax--were all great and shocking. However, I thought it was much too long, complex, and occasionally too romantic to be a mystery. Plus, was it really necessary to stretch the plot into a second book? If given a major editing overhaul, the entire story could have fit into one medium-sized book instead of two behemoths and made plenty of readers far more happier. I mean, who really wants to read 1145 pages about a kidnapping? I know I already did, but I would have preferred reading about half of that.

Still if you've finished "Night Sins" and want to find out how this case ends, then you should definitely read "Guilty As Sin". It's worth reading 605 more pages to find out who abducted Josh Kirkwood. (...)

I did not read the prequel to this book, but I did feel that the author gave enough information for me to understand the plot. Ellen North is given the thankless job of prosecuting a popular college professor who is accused of kidnapping a young boy in the community and then beating up a police woman. He is caught by the police chief, but his slick lawyer, who had betrayed Ellen romantically, works hard to prove him innocent. The characters in this book are painted as either good or evil and the plot winds and twists through about twice as many pages as is necessary. After reading this entry, I had no desire to go back and read another 600 pages to see what came before.

What a disappointment! I began reading mysteries only recently--Patricia Cornwell and P.D. James--but I ran out of their titles, so I picked up "Night Sins". It was adequate, but clever Tami hooks you into buying the "second volume", "Guilty as Sin". It is a transparent replay of the former, especially in male-female relationships...what a mess...Is it just me, or are all the females who dare to have careers punished in some terrifying way?

Guilty as Sin is a magnificently written follow-up novel to Night Sins, but unlike some sequels this one could stand alone. I would recommend to anyone interested that Night SIns should be read first, because it would give the reader a lot of background and history regarding what ahppens in the second novel, but Ms. Hoag covers her bases well enough that if Night SIns wasn't read first the reader would still be able to follow along and enjoy.

Ms. Hoag's charater development is amazing in this novel as it is in all of her works. Guilty as Sin focuses on Ellen, the assistant district attorney prosecuting a high profile kidnapping case. Ms. Hoag weaves romance into a very suspensful story as only she can do, and by doing so will catch the hearts of all of us hopeless romantics. This story is also full of twists, turns, and surprises. It keeps you guessing as to who the bad guy is, while it has you rooting for the good guys. It will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last pages, and will be very hard to put down.

I would recommend this novel to any and all readers as I felt there was something in it for everyone.

It's a great first sentence, I admit, but let's look at the rest of the book.

I read the prologue and the first two chapters. Only 35 of its 606 pages, which violates my informal "10% rule." Did I read enough? Actually, I read too much. I was treated to overfamiliar cardboard characters, equally overfamiliar cliches, awkward language, cutesy language, wordy language, the telling of scenes that should be shown, and the showing of scenes that should be told. Hoag has been a regular on the best seller lists since 1988, but not because of anything I bought. I'm returning this to the book swap at the Jazz Pub here in Hangzhou and bringing home something else.