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Prior Bad Acts [Mass Market Paperback]

Tami Hoag (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)

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Since her first thriller was published in 1988, Tami Hoag has lived up to her reputation as a master of suspense. Visit Amazon's Tami Hoag Page.

Book Description

February 27, 2007
New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag returns with a thriller that begins with a shocking crime scene you’ll never forget and follows two relentless detectives on a manhunt that ends in a chilling confrontation with the essence of human evil.

It was a crime so brutal, it changed the lives of even the most hardened homicide cops. The Haas family murders left a scar on the community nothing can erase, but everyone agrees that convicting the killer, Karl Dahl, is a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl’s prior criminal record is inadmissible raises a public outcry—and puts the judge in grave danger.

When an unknown assailant attacks Judge Moore in a parking garage, two of Minneapolis’s top cops are called upon to solve the crime and keep the judge from further harm. Detective Sam Kovac is as hard-boiled as they come, and his wisecracking partner, Nikki Liska, isn’t far behind. Neither one wants to be on this case, but when Karl Dahl escapes from custody, everything changes, and a seemingly straightforward case cartwheels out of control.

The stakes go even higher when the judge is kidnapped—snatched out of her own bed even as the police sit outside, watching her house. Now Kovac and Liska must navigate through a maze of suspects that includes the stepson of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge where the justice system failed.

With no time to spare, the detectives are pulled down a strange dark trail of smoke and mirrors, where no one is who they seem and everyone is guilty of Prior Bad Acts.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. A simple court hearing explodes into a multifaceted case at the start of this stunning meld of thriller and police procedural from bestseller Hoag. Shortly after Minneapolis judge Carey Moore decides that the many "prior bad acts" of accused serial killer Karl Dahl can't be used in his trial, Dahl escapes from jail and someone attacks Moore. Homicide cops Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, introduced in Ashes to Ashes (1999), are assigned to protect the judge, whom the police hate for her liberal views. Moore's disintegrating marriage and her husband's shady business dealings lead the investigation in new directions, while more murders exacerbate the hunt for Dahl. Hoag, who began her career as a romance writer, has experimented with several mystery subgenres. Here she stands above the competition, creating complex characters who evolve more than those in most thrillers. The breathtaking plot twists are perfectly paced in this compulsive page-turner, which ends on a romantic note. (On sale Mar. 28)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Law-enforcement officials throughout Hennepin County thought they'd have an advocate on the bench when one of their own--former state prosecutor Carey Moore--became a criminal-court judge. Her Honor, however, knows that she will be scrutinized for favoring the prosecution, so she makes sure to rule evenly. But "even" is not the way the D.A.'s office would describe her handling of the case against defendant Karl Dahl. The cops and prosecutors are sure that Dahl is the one who brutally raped and murdered a mother and her two children, but they recognize that the evidence is highly circumstantial. Admitting Dahl's "prior bad acts" into evidence, they argue, would establish a pattern of behavior, whereas Dahl's attorney maintains that the evidence would be prejudicial. When Carey sides with the defense, her decision ignites a series of events that begins with her being brutally attacked. Then Dahl escapes, and homicide detectives Sam Kovak and Nikki Liska give chase. A first-rate thriller with an ending that will knock your socks off. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam (February 27, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 055358359X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553583595
  • Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

89 Reviews
5 star:
 (42)
4 star:
 (26)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (7)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (89 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! This one kept me up all night!, September 18, 2006
This review is from: Prior Bad Acts (Hardcover)
I've been a Tami Hoag fan for years and she has never let me down when I want an enjoyable, fast-paced thrilling read. In Prior Bad Acts she gives you enough twists and turns you'll feel you're on a roller coaster without brakes!

I love Tami's humor and realistic dialogue, and her character development is 4-dimensional. I was `in love' with these characters in Ashes to Ashes, and then Dust to Dust, and am ecstatic that they're back. Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are awesome protagonists with sizzling chemistry. Hoag has a winning team!

Prior Bad Acts is one of my favorites and if you're new to Tami's novels, I highly recommend you pick up a copy, curl up in a chair with the doors locked and settle in for a suspenseful ride. She really knows how to tell a good story! Kudos, Tami!

~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Author of Divine Intervention
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A bang-up job by best-selling author Tami Hoag! I started reading, July 5, 2006
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Prior Bad Acts (Hardcover)
this book yesterday at 7am and finished it at 3am today. Of course, I had a few other things to do but every free second I was back at the book.

Each and every character was a separate entity and Tami made sure you know each one inside out by the time she reached the conclusion.

The intricacies of the plot are braided together ...then slowly and masterfully unwound; making each turn of the page an adventure into the unknown. Sub-plots were made almost as interesting as the main plot which starts on page 1 with the ghastly torture and murder of a mother and two children.From that point on I advise the reader to hang on tight.

There were so many things I enjoyed! The interplay of characters...Sam was my favorite...the comraderie and repartee of the police and detectives; the raw emotions of grief, terror...love, hate and boundless fear. Put all that together with Tami Hoag; a genius of a story teller and you have one fantastic read.

Tense, terse and terrific! Enjoy!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to put down, April 17, 2006
By 
This review is from: Prior Bad Acts (Hardcover)
Detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska from DUST TO DUST are back for an encore peformance. This time their investigation involves one of Minneapolis's most grisly crimes, the murder a mother and her two foster children. Judge Carey Moore's decision to disallow suspect's Karl Dahl's prior criminal record has upset many in the community. Judge Moore is mugged in the parking garage and later threatened. To make matters worse Karl Dahl escaped from prison. Now Kovac and Liska must find Dahl , protect Judge Moore and apprehend a rogue cop while continuing their on-going investigation of the Haas case.

Hoag delivers a standard crime thriller, but with engaging characters and a well-paced plot. A couple of warnings-leave enough time to read it and the violence is rather graphic. Weak stomachs beware.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
prior bad acts
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Karl Dahl, Stan Dempsey, David Moore, Carey Moore, Judge Moore, Bobby Haas, Kenny Scott, Ginnie Bird, Christine Neal, Wayne Haas, Lieutenant Dawes, Marlene Haas, Sam Kovac, Chris Logan, Detective Kovac, Donny Bergen, Edmund Ivors, Lake of the Isles, Marquette Hotel, Twin Cities, Princess Lucy, Ethan Pratt, Kathleen Casey, Rebecca Haas, Tinker Bell
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