Book Review: Dust to Dust

Reviewed By: Luke Croll - RAM

Dust to Dust     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Tami Hoag
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural   Thriller
Series: Sam Kovac & Nikki Liska # 2
Orion; 2000; £9.99 (English pounds); 354pp
Classification: Adult fiction (Police thriller)

Internal Affairs investigator Andy Fallon dies, causing a massive problem for the Minneapolis police department. He was gay and was investigating a police connection in the murder of another gay cop. It looks like suicide or autoerotic misadventure, but his ex-lover does not believe it and pressures the lead detectives to keep investigating. They soon discover that Fallon had hit on something big, something that powerful people will do anything to keep buried.

Tami Hoag's last two novels have been very successful and 'Dust To Dust' is no exception. She returns to characters used in her previous novel, 'Ashes To Ashes' (hence the title), though there is no need to have read the first novel, as this is not a sequel as such.

Her main characters of Kovac and Tinks are made very human, with all their vices and their authentic behaviour. Hoag creates an interesting Minneapolis and perhaps one that is more authentic that in the novels of John Sandford. The pace is not overly fast, but it never becomes slow enough to be boring. I saw one of the plot twists coming from a long way away, but the actual denouement is interesting and unexpected. Hoag builds up a big plot and then sweeps the rug out from under the reader's feet, causing a great surprise.

Overall, 'Dust To Dust' is a very enjoyable police procedural that will appeal to fans of Hoag and fans of the genre alike.

Luke Croll - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Luke Croll - RAM

Luke Croll - Conference interpreter and translator
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