New Releases by Tami Hoag

NATIONAL BESTSELLER Masterful #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag is back with a riveting, emotionally powerful new thriller! Small-town labels are hard to shake. Hometown hero. Fallen angel. Can anyone ever escape their past? A murder victim dumped at the dead end of a lonely country road, face and hands obliterated by a shotgun blast, is not the way sheriff’s detective Nick Fourcade wants to start his week. His only lead takes him to the family of a hometown hero suddenly gone missing. Marc Mercier left for a weekend hunting trip and hasn’t been seen since. Meanwhile, sheriff’s detective Annie Broussard begins her first day back on the job after suffering a brutal attack by taking on the case of B’Lynn Fontenot, a mother desperate to find her grown son, a recovering drug addict. Robbie Fontenot has been missing for eight days, but the local police have no interest in the case, telling B’Lynn that an adult has the right to disappear, and a missing addict is no big surprise. But B’Lynn swears her son was turning his life around. Sympathetic to a mother’s anguish, Annie agrees to help B’Lynn, knowing she’s about to start a turf war with the city police. As Annie searches for Robbie Fontenot and Nick investigates the disappearance of Marc Mercier, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems in the lives of either man. And it’s still not clear whether either—or neither—of them might be the unidentified murder victim. Old jealousies and fresh deceits, family loyalties gone wrong and love turned sour all lay a twisting trail that leads deep into the Louisiana swamp, endangering all who cross the path of a bad liar.

A woman will do whatever it takes to uncover the truth about her missing daughter in this taut thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag. California, 1990—four years after Lauren Lawton’s sixteen-year-old daughter disappeared, the world has given up the girl for dead. Lauren’s husband took his own life. Her younger daughter Leah is still looking for what’s left of her childhood. But Lauren never surrendered. She knows who took her child, and there’s not a shred of evidence against him. Seeking a fresh start, Lauren and Leah move to idyllic Oak Knoll. So does Lauren’s suspect. And suddenly it feels like history is about to repeat itself. Leah is turning sixteen, and Oak Knoll has a cunning predator on the hunt. But as sheriff’s detective Tony Mendez and his team sift through the circumstances of an increasingly disturbing case, a stunning question changes everything they thought they knew. . . .

She writes the kind of thrillers that keep readers and critics awake all night. She grabs you with a story as frightening as your worst fears, as chilling as your unspoken secrets. She is New York Times bestselling writer Tami Hoag, today''s most exciting master of suspense. Ashes to Ashes is her most terrifying novel yet...read on... Some killers are born. Some are made. For him, the question is irrelevant. The taste for murder has always been present, prowling the edge of his consciousness like a hungry wolf. In a wooded Minneapolis park, he performs his profane ceremony. He arranges the body to his satisfaction. He pours the accelerant, anointing the dead. Then he lights the match. "Ashes to ashes." The newspapers have dubbed him the Cremator. He has already claimed three lives. And he won''t stop there. He has a plan for greatness. Only this time there is a witness. A teenage runaway with a dubious identity and a murky past, Angie DiMarco has seen the face of the killer in the flickering light of the funeral pyre. Now the police have Angie, but Angie isn''t talking. Enter Kate Conlan. She knows all too well the dark side of the human heart. Once an up-and-coming FBI agent, she left the Bureau under a cloud of scandal. Now, instead of catching criminals, she helps their victims and protects witnesses. The job of advocate suits her just fine--until she''s assigned to Angie. Not even Kate can tell if the troubled youth is a reluctant witness, a potential victim, or something more troubling still. Her superiors are interested only in badgering Angie for a lead, because the Cremator''s latest victim may be the daughter of Peter Bondurant--an enigmatic billionaire businessman with power to influence the way the case is handled. Bondurant pulls strings and gets Special Agent John Quinn brought to the case. The FBI''s ace profiler of serial killers, Quinn shares a painful past with Kate and hides a secret that is driving him toward madness. He is a man on a ragged edge, and yet his insatiable need to do justice drives him to catch the Cremator--no matter what the cost to himself. Amid a frenzy of public hysteria, politics, and media attention, Kate is confronted with the most difficult role of her career--and her life. For she is the one woman who has what it takes to stop the Cremator...and the one woman he wants next.

Detective Nick Fourcade and Deputy Annie Broussard return to investigate the brutal murder of a seven-year-old boy in Hoag''s most harrowing thriller yet.

"#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag returns to the bestselling series of her career with a Kovac and Liska case that will delight fans and new readers alike. A murder from the past. A murder from the present. And a life that was never meant to be... As the dreary, bitter weather of late fall descends on Minneapolis, Detective Nikki Liska is restless. After moving to the cold case squad in order to spend more time with her sons, she misses the rush of pulling an all-nighter, the sense of urgency of hunting a murderer on the loose. Most of all she misses her old partner, Sam Kovac. Sam is having an even harder time adjusting to Nikki''s absence, saddled with a green new partner younger than pieces of Sam''s wardrobe. Sam is distracted from his troubles by an especially brutal double homicide: a middle-aged husband and wife bludgeoned and hacked to death in their home with a ceremonial Japanese samurai sword. Nikki''s case, the unsolved murder of a family man, community leader, and decorated sex crimes detective for the Minneapolis PD, is less of a distraction: Twenty years later, there is little hope for finding the killer who got away. On the other end of the spectrum, Minneapolis resident Evi Burke has a life she only dreamed of as a kid in and out of foster homes: a beautiful home, a family, people who love her, a fulfilling job. Little does she know that a danger from her past is stalking her perfect present. A danger powerful enough to pull in both Kovac and Liska and destroy the perfect life she was never meant to have"--

Previously published in a Dutton edition.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag’s fan-favorite Minneapolis investigators, Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, hunt a serial killer in this haunting thriller. On a frigid New Year’s Eve in Minneapolis, a young woman is found brutally murdered—the ninth so far this year in a string of grisly slayings. Homicide detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska fear that it’s the work of a serial killer they call Doc Holiday, a transient who has brought his gruesome game to a new and more terrifying level. But as Kovac and Liska uncover the truth, they find that the monsters in the ninth girl’s life may live closer to home. And even as another young woman disappears, they have to ask the question: Which is the greater evil—the devil you know or the devil you don’t?

“[Tami Hoag] demonstrates just why she has become one of the hottest names in the suspense game. Bottom line: Leaves competition in the dust.”—People Sorry. The single word is written on a mirror. In front of it hangs a Minneapolis Internal Affairs cop. Was it suicide? Or a kinky act turned tragic? Either way, it wasn’t murder. At least not according to the powers that be. But veteran homicide detective Sam Kovac and his wisecracking, ambitious partner, Nikki Liska, think differently. Together they begin to dig at the too-neat edges of the young cop’s death, uncovering one motive—and one suspect—after another. The cloud of suspicion falls not only on the city’s elite, but over the very heart of the police department. Someone wants the case closed—quickly and forever. But even with their careers and their lives on the line, neither Kovac nor Liska will give up. As they unearth a connection between a two-month-old murder case and one that has been closed for twenty years, they find themselves chasing a killer who will stop at nothing to keep a dark and shattering secret. “Without a doubt, one of the most intense suspense writers around.”—Chicago Tribune “Tami Hoag is the queen of the crime story.”—New York Post

Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska return to investigate the death of a Jane Doe in this short story from #1 New York Times bestseller Tami Hoag. New Year’s Day is a time for new beginnings, but Minneapolis homicide detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are focused on endings: specifically, the tragic end of their latest murder victim, an unidentified young woman discovered on the side of the freeway. Believed to be the victim of a serial killer, Kovac and Liska are determined to do the girl the small justice of returning her body to her family as they investigate her case, but it is no simple task matching the broken corpse to any of the scores of missing persons reports, especially when no one seems to be looking for her. Meanwhile, recent widow Jeannie Reiser is frantic when she is unable to get in touch with her daughter, Rose, who, as an eighteen-year-old, is a legal adult rather than a missing child in the eyes of the law. Jeannie’s desperate attempts to get the police to believe her child is in trouble lead her closer and closer to an evil even Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska may be unable to stop. Includes an excerpt of Tami Hoag’s The 9th Girl.

Young Haley Fordham witnessed the murder of her mother. To protect, and deal with, their witness, the police call in child advocate Anne Leone. But the clues that they uncover bring Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag comes this bittersweet romance classic about a woman who’s rebuilt her life—and her heart—after the disappointments of the past, only to find her carefully laid plans shattered by a knock on the door.… As a trauma nurse, Julia McCarver is accustomed to dealing with life-and-death emergencies. But she is the one in shock when she answers the door and finds the past standing there in the person of S. T. “Storm” Dalton. Julia had painstakingly put her life together not just once but three times in the wake of his abrupt and devastating departures, and she has no intention of doing it a fourth time. Because that’s what S.T. promises he will do—break her engagement to another man, her heart, and her future all over again. Except, of course, that’s not what he calls his plan to win her back. He gives himself two weeks to convince Julia that he’s changed, that she is still in love with him, and that—despite conventional wisdom—the fourth time lightning struck can be a charm.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag comes a classic novel of mismatched lovers who give a whole new meaning to the phrase “Fake it till you make it.” Sensible corporate lawyer Alaina Montgomery has been frustrating her matchmaking friends for years. But this time they’ve really tried to set her up with the wrong guy: Dylan Harrison, a free-spirited single dad who runs a ramshackle bar and bait shop. Appropriately enough, she meets him on the way to a science-fiction-themed masquerade party. When cops mistake the costumed pair for a lady of the evening and her client, Alaina and Dylan end up in jail together. And soon they hatch a plan to foil the matchmakers once and for all by pretending to be a couple. What begins as a good-natured ruse quickly blossoms into a real romance, as these two polar opposites discover that desire can’t be so easily disguised.

A classic novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag, Reilly’s Return is the wonderful story of a woman who seeks sanctuary and stability as she reconnects with a man who lives life on the edge. In a small town on California’s northern coast, Jayne Jordan thinks that she has found the perfect place to live. Recovering from her husband’s death, searching for spiritual harmony, Jayne still manages to crank out bluntly honest—often scathing—movie reviews read by millions. Then into her life strides international movie star and sex symbol Pat Reilly, a friend of Jayne’s late husband. Reilly has waited a year to contact Jayne. Now, certain that he and Jayne fell in love the first time they met, Reilly has arrived to give destiny a nudge. For any other woman this would be a no-brainer, but Jayne is picking up confusing vibes. And Reilly’s latest action-adventure blockbuster is about to draw the wrath of her next review. Can Jayne really give in to this big, reckless matinee idol and stay true to herself? In a little town where anything can happen, there will be only one way to find out.

In this unforgettable classic novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag, the promise of a new love is imperiled by the secrets of the past. In the charming seaside town of Anastasia, California, Faith Kincaid is looking to start over after her bruising divorce from powerful, corrupt senator William Gerard. But the past still haunts her. As she prepares to testify against her ex at his high-profile bribery trial, the federal government is watching her every move. They’ve even sent a special agent, Shane Callan, to protect her. Faith doesn’t think she needs a bodyguard—especially one as physically formidable as Shane. But he refuses to take no for an answer. Soon the two are sharing secrets and the simmering attraction between them shows signs of sizzling out of control. But as Faith learns, Shane’s not a forever kind of guy—unless she can convince him to undergo a major change of heart.

A serial killer terrorizes a small California town in this gripping thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag. California, 1985—Four children and young teacher Anne Navarre make a gruesome discovery: a partially buried female body, her eyes and mouth glued shut. A serial killer is at large, and the very bonds that hold their idyllic town together are about to be tested to the breaking point. Tasked with finding the killer, FBI investigator Vince Leone employs a new and controversial FBI technique called “profiling,” which plunges him into the lives of the four children—and the young teacher whose need to uncover the truth is as intense as his own. But as new victims are found and pressure from the media grows, Vince and Anne find themselves circling the same small group of local suspects, unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves—or those close to the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very near to them is a murderous psychopath…

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag tells a story of romance on the rebound in this classic novel about a woman torn between the demands of her career and the desires her new love has awoken within her. When did love get so complicated? That’s the question Kelsie Connors keeps asking herself. Stung by a bitter divorce, Kelsie’s been married to her job as a high-end animal wrangler ever since. So when her disastrous first encounter with advertising executive Alexander McKnight—a man so gallant he’ll overlook the destruction of his office by an out-of-control chimpanzee—blossoms into romance, she finds herself in uncharted waters. She certainly never expected to fall for a man this charming, this flawless, this quickly. For Alec, Kelsie’s devotion to her career is the only thing keeping her from saying yes to the best business proposition of all: a new relationship. He’ll try every trick in his arsenal to get her to put down the phone, set aside her calendar, and let him care for her and her two children. But with only so many hours in the day, can she set aside enough time to learn to love again?

In this romantic, funny, and heartwarming classic novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag poignantly captures one eventful summer in the life of a woman facing the ultimate relationship dilemma. It took only one look for Genna Hastings to make up her mind about her new next-door neighbor, J. J. Hennessy. She knew his type all too well: Jared Jay Hennessy was tall and handsome, a man who thought he was God’s gift to women. From the pink flamingos dotting his front yard to the all-night boozy barbecues, he threatened to disrupt Genna’s peaceful summer off from teaching. But beneath his carefree smile and teasing nature, J.J. was a man as serious about the future as he was about Genna. He’d come to this quiet Connecticut town to change his life, and he challenged Genna to help him become Mr. Right. It was a challenge she knew she’d be smart to refuse . . . and one J.J. knew she couldn’t resist.

In this classic love story from #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag, fire meets ice when a Yankee heartthrob falls for a resistant proper Southern belle determined to guard her heart. Katie Quaid could never refuse a dare. It was the quality that had once made her a world-class equestrian. And it was the reason she’d been elected to introduce herself to Briarwood’s intimidatingly gorgeous new resident. It took one week to make Nick Leone the focus of the Virginia town’s rumor mill. So far he was a CIA agent, a male model, a fugitive—maybe all three. Whatever Nick was, Katie learned one thing right away: she liked him. And that made him the greatest danger she’d faced since the accident that had ended her riding career. In the five years since, she’d buried herself in her business of restoring historic homes, afraid to share her scars with any man—scars that had destroyed more than one dream. Nick had disappointments of his own, but after meeting Katie, he sensed that fate had a better plan all along. And soon he would pose her with the greatest dare of all—to love again.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag comes this romance classic about a man in love—and the woman who’s determined to prove it to him… Maggie McSwain should have been thrilled when Rylan Quaid asked her to marry him. Instead, she was crushed. After all her romantic fantasies, Ry’s proposal was missing one crucial element: love. But Maggie would prove to Ry that he had a heart—and then she’d use every teasing, tempting ounce of seductive power she had to capture it. The next time he proposed to her—and there would be a next time—common sense would be the last thing on his mind. As far as Ry was concerned, solid partnerships made for lasting marriages—and that’s what he could have with Maggie. Of course he wanted her, as any man with eyes would want her. But he couldn’t love her…because he’d vowed never to fall in love again. Now it seemed that the only way to make her his wife was to use reverse psychology. He’d just retract his proposal—and pretend to be immune to her charms. He had no idea what a challenge that would turn out to be.

A sensational New York Times bestseller that was made into a CBS-TV miniseries, Night Sins has confirmed Tami Hoag''s reputation as the new modern master of suspense. This gripping tale unfolds in a peaceful Minnesota town, where crime is something that just doesn''t happen. But when a young boy disappears, it marks the beginning of a unspeakable nightmare. There are no witnesses, no clues—only a note, cleverly taunting, casually cruel. Has a cold-blooded kidnapper struck? Or is this the reawakening of a long-quiet serial killer? Now, a tough-minded investigator on her first make-or-break case, and a local cop who fears that big city evils have invaded his small town, are hunting for a madman. Together, they must outsmart a killer who knows no bounds...and protect a town that may never feel safe again.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag mixes passion, politics, heartbreak, and humor in this powerful classic novel ignited by a man and woman whose desire for each other could lead them both to ruin. They were totally wrong for each other. A romantic odd couple. It was clear at first sight. Bronwynn Prescott Pierson was a jet-setting socialite, a one-time fashion icon, and now a runaway bride. Wade Grayson was a straitlaced, ambitious congressman from the American heartland. They couldn’t have had less in common and more to lose by their accidental meeting in the Vermont woods, where they’d each gone in hopes of escaping the past. Both drawn to the ruins of the old Foxfire estate, the woman from Venus and the man from Washington were playing a dangerous game with the most volatile and unpredictable of human emotions. And when it all blew up, the press would be there to broadcast the disaster to the world. But what their enemies didn’t count on was that the power that drew them together would always be a little stronger than anything—or anyone—that would try to drive them apart.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag mixes mystery and romance in this moving classic novel of a missing woman and the search that brings together the unlikeliest of lovers.… She was a blond goddess, a box office megastar. Every woman wanted to be her; every man wanted to bed her. But over a year ago Devon Stafford vanished without a trace. As a biographer, Jake Gannon had taught himself to follow the clues of a person’s life story like a detective. As an ex-Marine, he was accustomed to being firmly in control. But when his car died in a little town called Mare’s Nest on the Carolina coast, he had to admit he’d come to a dead end. There he met a .38-toting tow-truck driver named Dixie La Fontaine. She was no celebrity, but Dixie had an irresistible sex appeal all her own. What did this down-to-earth woman know about a missing movie star? Surprisingly, quite a lot. And Jake was going to uncover it all…if Dixie didn’t end up shooting him first.

She was a vision. She was a siren. She was a nightmare. She was dead. Now he needed her to disappear. And he knew just how to make it happen. The Palm Beach elite go to great lengths to protect their own—and their own no longer includes Elena Estes. Once upon a time a child of wealth and privilege, Elena turned her back on that life. Betrayed and disillusioned by those closest to her, she chose the life of an undercover cop, the hunt for justice her own personal passion. Then a tragic, haunting mistake ended her career. Now Elena exists on the fringes of her old life, training horses for a living. But a shocking event is about to draw her back into the painful vortex she’s fought so hard to leave behind. First she finds the body—a young woman used, murdered, and dumped in a canal. Not just a victim, but a friend. As Elena delves into her dead friend’s secret life, she discovers ties not only to the Russian mob but also to a group of powerful and wealthy Palm Beach bad boys known for giving each other alibis to cover a multitude of sins. A group that includes a man Elena once knew very well—her former fiancé, Bennett Walker, a man she knows has already escaped justice at least once in his life. Finding her friend’s killer will put Elena at odds with her old life, with her new lover, and with herself. But she is determined to reveal the truth—a truth that will shock Palm Beach society to its core, and could very well get her killed.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag comes this powerful novel of passion, heartbreak, and redemption—a story that celebrates our capacity to love one time, for all time, even in the face of adversity and change. They say that each of us becomes an entirely new person every seven years. But Rebecca Bradshaw doesn’t feel any different when an old lover shows up severely injured at the hospital where she runs the physical therapy department. Seven years ago baseball player Jace Cooper left her without a second thought or the chance to share the life-changing secret she swore she’d keep from him forever. Now he was back, wanting both her help and a second chance. Becca hadn’t changed, and she didn’t believe Jace had either, but as she helped him repair his broken body and his fractured past, she would find she was wrong on both counts. The only thing that had stayed the same was the most important thing of all—and now suddenly time was running out.

Assigned to protect a judge whose unpopular ruling regarding a potential serial killer has led to threats, Minneapolis homicide detective Sam Kovac and his partner, Nikki Liska, find their case taking a whole new direction when the judge is kidnapped and they discover that the suspect list is far larger than anyone could have expected. Reprint.

Intrigued by the sensual woman whose cause he has offered to support, charismatic politician Erik Gunther must convice lovely Lynn Shaw that his politician''s promises will be kept.

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 convicting the alleged killer - Karl Dahl - would be a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl''s prior criminal record is inadmissible as evidence against him raises a public outcry - and puts the judge in grave danger. When an unknown assailant attacks Carey in a parking garage, two of the city''s top cops are called in to investigate 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 detective wants to be on this case, but when Karl Dahl escapes custody, everything changes, and a seemingly straightforward case cartwheels out of control. The stakes are raised when the judge is kidnapped from her home even as the police sit outside watching her house. Now Kovac and Liska must navigate through a maze of suspects that include the step-son 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 whom they seem, and everyone is guilty of something.

With this new thriller, The New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag delivers her own message to suspense fans everywhere: Don''t turn off the lights, and keep reading if you dare. From the gritty streets of Los Angeles to its most protected enclaves of prestige and power to the ruthless glamour of Hollywood, a killer stalks his prey. A killer so merciless no one in his way is safe—not even the innocent. At the end of a long day battling street traffic, bike messenger Jace Damon has one last drop to make. But en route to delivering a package for one of L.A.''s sleaziest defense attorneys, he''s nearly run down by a car, chased through back alleys, and shot at. Only the instincts acquired while growing up on the streets of L.A. allow him to escape with his life—and with the package someone wants badly enough to kill for. Jace returns to Lenny Lowell''s office only to find the cops there, the lawyer dead, and Jace himself considered the prime suspect in the savage murder. Suddenly he''s on the run from both the cops and a killer, and the key to saving himself and his ten-year-old brother is the envelope he still has—which holds a message no one wants delivered: the truth. In a city fueled by money, celebrity, and sensationalism, the murder of a bottom-feeding mouthpiece like Lenny Lowell won''t make the headlines. So when detectives from the LAPD''s elite robbery/homicide division show up, homicide detective Kev Parker wants to know why. Parker is on the downhill slide of a once-promising career, and he doesn''t want to be reminded that he used to be one of the hotshots, working cases that made instant celebrities of everyone involved. Like the case of fading retty-boy actor Rob Cole, accused of the brutal murder of his wife, Tricia Crowne-Cole, daughter of one of the most powerful men in the city, L.A.''s latest "crime of the century." Robbery/Homicide has no reason to be looking at a dead small-time scumbag lawyer or chasing a bike messenger...unless there''s something in it for them. Maybe Lenny Lowell had a connection to something big enough to be killed for. Parker begins a search for answers that will lead him to a killer—or the end of his career. Because if there''s one lesson he''s learned over the years, it''s that in a town built on fantasy and fame, delivering the truth can be deadly.

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.