Kill the Messenger [Paperback]

Tami Hoag (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam; 1st THUS edition (2004)
• ASIN: B0023YVHGW
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers--Deeper Than The Dead, and Secrets To The Grave. Set in the late '80's, this series explores crime fighting in the early days of modern forensic science and criminal profiling. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with Night Sins, and each of her books since has best a bestseller. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 10 Stars for this Excellent Thriller!, August 3, 2004

By 

ANDRENA G. DANCER (UPLAND, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kill the Messenger (Hoag, Tami) (Hardcover)

Being an avid Tami Hoag fan, I eagerly awaited her next effort after a two-year hiatus following DARK HORSE. Without a doubt, KILL THE MESSENGER was well worth the wait! From the scene-building, character-developing exposition stages of the novel, to its staggering climax, KILL THE MESSENGER is fast-paced, stimulating, and highly addictive. WARNING...Readers who have essential projects to perform, should not even BEGIN the novel until their projects' completion, because this spell-binding thriller will latch on with a serious death grip until the last page is turned!

A refreshing departure from Ms. Hoag's traditional formula of combining lust with intrigue, KILL THE MESSENGER still treats the reader to unbridled action and suspense; captivating and well-drawn characters; realistic and crisp dialogue; intelligently-crafted prose; and a lightning-paced plot--all set against a Los Angeles backdrop that is painted alternately with upper-class pseudo-glamour, middle-class nouveau-chic, working-class ennui, and lower-class desperation-within which crime, greed, cruelty, and courage are not bound by arbitrary social distinctions.

I anticipate a cinematic portrayal of Ms. Hoag's latest achievement in the very near future, because the adventures of Jace (the hapless, yet resourceful, bicycle messenger); Parker (the ambitious, intuitive, and self-enlightened police detective); Tyler (Jace's brainiac, yet charmingly innocent, 10-year-old brother); Abby (the beautiful and misunderstood daughter of the murdered and maligned decedent); and Andi Kelly (the only journalist who ever gave Parker a break during his long-ago fall from grace within the police department), should not be confined exclusively to the printed page. The novel's EXTREMELY satisfying conclusion (which I will not reveal here) said it all, and, hopefully, some enterprising movie producer will take notice.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another solid suspense thriller by Hoag, September 30, 2005

By 

Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kill the Messenger (Hoag, Tami) (Hardcover)

I have read many of Tami Hoag's books, as I generally enjoy how she combines a solid suspense thriller with steamy romance scenes. I found Kill the Messenger to be a change of pace from her usual style, however, and initially, I found it difficult to get into the story. First of all, the book opens with a much younger main character than usual, Jace, a barely-legal boy from a chaotic background who is working as a bike messenger to try to give his much younger brother a more stable life. Jace becomes unwittingly involved in illegal activies, putting him on the run and providing an entrance for the book's other main character, Kev Parker, a police detective with something to prove. Immediately after these early introductions to Jace and Parker, I didn't have a good feel for either character's personality; both remained a mystery.

As the story continued, however, more well-defined personas for Jace and Parker began to emerge, and the only mystery became the one that Jace was caught up in and that Parker was trying to solve. The frequent shifts between the perspectives of several different characters caused me to become even further engrossed in the novel, and by the final pages, I was eager to reach the book's climax. Here, Hoag does not disappoint, throwing in an unexpected resolution as well as a few surprising aftershocks as well. Ultimately, I enjoyed this book, and although I missed the romance angle, I will continue seeking out Hoag's thrillers in the future.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hoag delivers, July 13, 2004

By 

David L. Colgrove "Author of 'Six PM Sunday' ... (L.A.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Kill the Messenger (Hoag, Tami) (Hardcover)

Tami Hoag has long been one of my favorite authors. As a lifelong resident of LA, I can tell she's done her homework on this one. From Hope Street to Chinatown, she has captured the whole stinking, smoggy mess.

I must admit, the plot didn't thrill me at first but Jace, Kev, Tyler,et. al. drew me in with their quirky, fully realized "lives."

Overall an excellent police procedural, a worthy addition to Ms. Hoag's fine bibliography.