Customer Reviews

Prior Bad Acts

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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

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!

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.

This is one of the best mysteries I've read in a long time. I love the characters Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska and hope they appear in future Tami Hoag books. Prior Bad Acts was one of those where you aren't sure who the bad guy is until near the end. The book is clear and well written with a superb plot, and I highly recommended it.

Tami Hoag's "Prior Bad Acts" features Minnesota Judge Carey Moore, a beleaguered woman who is on the firing line both personally and professionally. Moore's controversial decision to exclude murder suspect Karl Dahl's "prior bad acts" from being admitted as evidence makes her a pariah among police, prosecutors, and the public. Dahl allegedly tortured and murdered a woman named Marlene Haas along with her two foster children. On the home front, Carey and her husband, David, have become increasingly distant from one another. They barely communicate and would have nothing in common if not for their little girl, Lucy, whom they both adore.

Soon after her unpopular ruling, Judge Moore is beaten up in a parking garage, and it is clear that someone wants her dead. Could her assailant be a mentally disturbed detective named Stan Dempsey who has become obsessed with bringing Karl Dahl to justice? Or is it possible that Marlene's husband, Wayne, or her stepson, Bobby, want to punish the judge for her leniency towards the defendant? The judge's most enthusiastic protector is Detective Sam Kovac, a tough and irreverent cop who often comes close to stepping over the line when interviewing suspects. Surprisingly, Sam finds it increasingly difficult to keep his professional distance from Moore, who is both vulnerable and very attractive.

"Prior Bad Acts" has a teeming and sometimes overwrought plot that includes torture, pornography, kidnapping, murder and a plethora of red herrings. Carey Moore is an honorable woman and a sympathetic heroine who doesn't deserve the considerable grief that rains down upon her head, and her increasingly close relationship with Detective Kovac is both touching and realistic. This is a compelling story with sharp dialogue and an action-packed, albeit predictable, ending that will give thriller junkies the adrenaline rush that they have come to expect from Tami Hoag.

I've been reading a lot of books lately that are just so-so. When I picked up "Prior Bad Acts" I was thrilled to find one that you really can't put down. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the amount of profanities the characters used. I would have enjoyed reading it much better if it had been toned down some. I think the characters can be tough/and/or evil without using so much bad language. If you can overlook that, though, it is a great novel that keeps you guessing until the end.

Hoag is clearly an author at the top of her game. I find it very impressive when an author who has written alot of highly acclaimed books keeps coming through with books better than before, and this is just such an example. Great characters, great plot, a dynamite ending and excellent dialogue. Everything you'd want in a good suspense/mystery/thriller and more. And the one flaw I've seen in her books (likely coming from the fact that she started as a romance novelist)-- the rather overblown love scenes -- is even gone. This is one of the year's best novels of this genre, and a must read for old or new Hoag enthusiasts.

So glad to see Sam and Nikki back in this fast paced page turner! I truly enjoy the way they relate to each other, and with the addition of Carey, you get to see the softer side of Sam. This was an exceptional book with many plot twists and turns. I hope to see Sam and Nikki, and especially Carey in a future tale. Being a romantic, I would like to see Carey and Sam get together. There's so much more that could be told in the lives of these two dynamic characters. Tami Hoag never lets you down!!!

After her last couple of novels I wondered if Tami Hoag had finally given out of ideas. Well this one proves she is still hanging in there and when she tries she lets us know she is still the Queen of Mystery Thrillers.

Sam Kovac is a hard headed, hard driving, detective, not one to take a bunch of crap esspecially when a judge seems to be too soft on the bad dudes. He has survived two marriages and a partner with a bad divorce and a big mouth. He is an honorable man in a dark and dirty job. As the book progresses we see him grow as a person and take a long hard look at his life.

Carey Moore is a judge, she was a former prosecuter and now she is on the other side of the desk. When she makes a ruling in a savage murder case, that no one likes, not the police, not the public nor the victims family she faces not only their hate but actual physical attacks. Not to mention her husband, whom she is about to divorce, may be trying to have her killed. She has had to be a strong woman, but sometimes even a strong woman needs someone to hold her. At the end her life is a shambles but she is strong enough to start again.

From begining to end this is an exciting story. From a murderer, to a crazy cop, to a psychopath you never know where the story will lead. As the bodies multiply so does the action. The attack on the judge is only the beginning. Alot of red herrings but a boat load of thrills. I loved it.

An Evil act scars a community. Every one has a past, yet it is Karl Dahl's criminal history that's held to a higher scrutiny when a judge rules his prior acts inadmissible. The community is outraged, Dahl escapes, and the judge finds herself a target of a killer who is among a community with a growing list of suspects. Detectives Sam Kovak and Nikki Liska are assigned to the case which takes them on a hunt with leads that spiral into the community where everyone's prior acts are called into question.

If you haven't experienced a Hoag novel, here's one that'll fulfill your thrill! Her writing is intense and as always she grabs your attention from the beginning and never lets up. Be prepared to get your thrill on!