A Thin Dark Line [Mass Market Paperback]

Tami Hoag (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

Terror stalks the streets of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana. A suspected murderer is free on a technicality, and the cop accused of planting evidence against him is ordered off the case. But Detective Nick Fourcade refuses to walk away. He’s stepped over the line before. This case threatens to push him over the edge.

He’s not the only one. Deputy Annie Broussard found the woman’s mutilated body. She still hears the phantom echoes of dying screams. She wants justice. But pursuing the investigation will mean forming an alliance with a man she doesn’t trust and making enemies of the men she works with. It will mean being drawn into the confidence of a killer. For Annie Broussard, finding justice will mean risking everything—including her life.

The search for the truth has begun—one that will lead down a twisted trail through the steamy bayous of Louisiana, and deep into the darkest reaches of the human heart.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Vigilantism can be swift and lethal, but it does not always carry the banner of justice. For Deputy Sheriff Annie Broussard, an attempt to honor the law traps her between the prime suspect in a vicious crime and her own colleagues on the force. And she's unsure which side, if either, is to be trusted. Set in the bayou country of Louisiana, A Thin Dark Line explores dark psychological territory while weaving through a complex plot rife with sordid characters and unlikely heroes. As the author of Night Sins and Guilty as Sin, Tami Hoag lives up to her reputation as a master of suspense. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Coming off her best-selling hit, Guilty As Sin (LJ 2/1/96), Hoag sets her latest in Bayou Breaux, a fictional Cajun town. A woman is brutally murdered, and everyone, from cops to citizenry, is convinced that the deed was done by Marcus Renard, a fellow she charged with stalking shortly before her death. Renard is set free on a technicality only to be beaten insensible by the chief detective on the case, Nick Fourcade, a patois-speaking recluse with a dark past. Fourcade is arrested by Annie Broussard, an idealistic young sheriff's deputy and the only woman on the force. Because she stands up for what she believes is right, Annie is hounded from her job by the good-ol'-boy cop network. She then joins forces with Fourcade to solve the murder and a series of rapes. Hoag almost scuttles her own story by making the first 200 pages dull and repetitive before finally settling down to let the characters evolve and the story take its own dark, satisfying turns. This doesn't work completely, but her fans won't mind. For popular collections.
-?Laurel A. Wilson, Alexandrian P.L, Mount Vernon, Ind.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; First Printing edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553571885
• ISBN-13: 978-0553571882
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #129,390 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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Hoag winner, October 3, 2000

By 

Marcia L. Hopkins - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thin Dark Line (Mass Market Paperback)

A Thin Dark Line returns to the French Triangle, the setting of two earlier books, Lucky's Lady and Cry Wolf. Those of you who have not already read Cry Wolf may want to read it before reading Thin Dark Line as the killer and the victims in Cry Wolf are revealed in Thin Dark Line.

A few years after the Bayou Strangler's reign of terror is ended, Bayou Breaux again terrorized by a killer. After a prominent businesswoman's mutilated body is found, her accused stalker is investigated and arrested for the murder. Charges of corruption in the Sheriff's Office, tainted evidence, and a legal technicality set Marcus Renard free. Renard now focuses his obsession on Sheriff's Deputy Annie Broussard, the officer who found the body. Broussard feels an obligation to the murdered woman, and to the woman's child, to find and punish her killer.

Deciding to use Renard's obsession to get close enough to him to prove his guilt, Annie is caught in a dangerous crossfire. Her only ally is Detective Nick Fourcade, a rogue cop with a reputation of corruption and violence. Annie can't be sure if Fourcade is helping her or using her, since it was his investigation, his evidence, and his mistake that allowed a brutal murderer go free. Fourcade's only hope of redeeming himself and his reputation is in the hands of the woman most likely to die next.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly enjoyable, December 3, 1999

By 

Stephanie Flatley (ellicott city, md) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Thin Dark Line (Mass Market Paperback)

Harrowing and smoldering by turns, I loved reading--experiencing--this book. The setting was fantastic, the characters gripping. The story and plot were woven together with enough spice and chill and flair to truly hold my interest. I've just discovered Tami Hoag with "Guilty as Sin", but I enjoyed "A Thin Dark Line" even more. Similar to the former, I could only read a few chapters at a time; it's rather like eating very rich food: a taste is stupendous, it fills you up quickly, too much is a shock to the system, but it always leaves you wanting more. Excellent.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Darkness Prevails, March 25, 2000

By 

Rhogary (Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Thin Dark Line (Mass Market Paperback)

This was the first Tami Hoag book I ever read, and what brought me to check out city, were three things: the Louisiana setting (no place like it); the packaging (red attracts me like a bull); and that enchanting storyline on the back cover.

From page one, I was captivated by Annie's courage and wit. I love a determined female protaganist who fights for what she wants, and Nick--well, let's just say, we need more men like him.

A murderer goes free based on a technicality, and a town is embroiled in a lynching type of mentality. Annie, is a straight-arrow deputy, whose loyalties are challenged when she is forced to arrest fellow officer, Nick, who is beating the acquitted murderer, Marcus to a pulp in a darkened alley.

The story is awesome, especially when set against a Cajun background, and with that spicy, local flavor thrown into the mix, how could you go wrong?