Title: Secrets To The Grave
Author: Tami Hoag
400 pages
Publisher: Dutton
Buy The Book: Amazon
Release Date: December 28, 2010
Summary:
Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her.
When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother’s bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See- No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child’s voice saying, “My daddy hurt my mommy.”
Sheriff’s detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won’t fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne’s life is hectic enough-she’s a newlywed and a part- time student in child psychology, and she’s the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne’s heart is stolen.
As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham’s life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed. (Summary provided by Dutton.)
My Thoughts:
Secrets To The Grave is the latest release in author Tami Hoag’s Deeper Than The Dead microseries, and it does not disappoint! Secrets To The Grave picks up one year after the events of Deeper Than The Dead, the first book in the series. As the newest installment opens the residents of Oak Knoll, California find themselves once again dealing with murder in their picturesque town. Anne, Vince, Tony, and the rest of the characters Tami Hoag introduced in the first book are back on the scene to solve the new murder case and to finish wrapping up loose ends in the See-No-Evil case the previous book centered around.
Before starting Secrets To The Grave I wondered if Hoag would leave the setting in Oak Knoll, California. I thought initially the action might move on to another location with Vince Leone staying in his position with the FBI and perhaps each book would take place in a different town. How wrong I was! I am so happy that the action stayed in Oak Knoll, because I became quite attached to the characters from Deeper Than The Dead. That speaks volumes about the quality of Hoag’s writing. Tami Hoag has the ability to draw the readers in to the story in such a way that the characters feel familiar like old friends.
Even the minor characters have a lush, full back story waiting to be discovered by readers everywhere. For example, my favorite character in the series is Fran Goodsell (see more about Fran later in the review). Fran is (main character) Anne’s best friend and confidante. In many of the series I have read the role of the main character’s best friend is purely that of sounding board. A person the main character can voice concerns about the plot to and many times nothing more. Fran however has a full and quite colorful back story including a reference to a birthday party he throws each year called “Franival.” I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and to learn more about Fran and the other characters. In fact, I love that character so much that I might start an internet campaign to get Fran a love interest in the next book(AKA: Operation Fran Needs A Man)! In my opinion that is what a good, well-written book does. It makes the reader care about the characters, and Hoag definitely excels at making her readers care.
Tami Hoag seamlessly weaves plot elements from the previous book into the current novel. Characters that were prominent to the See-No-Evil serial killer storyline in the previous book enter into the action of the new storyline involving the murder of artist Marissa Fordham. Some of the “usual suspects” from Deeper Than The Dead pop up in unexpected ways, and as usual Hoag managed to keep me guessing who the killer was until the very end of the book. Now, I am left waiting for the next book in the series wondering who will “get the ax” in the next installment. (It better not be Franny! Haha!)
Secrets To The Grave Fun Fact:
Did you know that there is really a Fran Goodsell? I was poking around Tami’s website the other day and I found a picture of her with her friend Fran Goodsell. The caption said that she gave him a character in the Deeper Than The Dead series for his 40th birthday. It also said that he called his 40th birthday “Franival.” Pretty cool, huh?
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I would like to thank TLC Book Tours for allowing me to participate in the Secrets To The Grave book tour. I had a blast! The tour will be making the following stops this month and next:
Monday, December 6th: A Bookworm’s World
Tuesday, December 7th: Luxury Reading
Wednesday, December 8th: Musings of an All Purpose Monkey
Thursday, December 9th: Under the Boardwalk
Friday, December 10th: Life in Review
Monday, December 13th: The Well-Read Wife
Tuesday, December 14th: My Two Blessings
Wednesday, December 15th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Thursday, December 16th: Bewitched Bookworms
Friday, December 17th: Presenting Lenore
Monday, December 20th: Man of La Book
Tuesday, December 21st: I’m Booking It
Wednesday, December 22nd: Rundpinne (Deeper Than the Dead)
Thursday, December 23rd: Rundpinne (Secrets to the Grave)
Monday, December 27th: Reviews by Molly
Monday, January 3rd: Teresa’s Reading Corner
Wednesday, January 5th: Lesa’s Book Critiques
Monday, January 10th: Jen’s Book Thoughts
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic review! I’m so happy you enjoyed the book. Thank you so much for being on the tour!
Forgot to say I think an internet campaign “Fran needs a man” would be hysterical!! Great idea!
Great review! I, too, think Fran needs not only a man, but perhaps his own spin off.
I agree! The ancillary characters really caught my eye. I cared so much about them from the first book I wanted to know why the burgeoning relationship between Cal Dixon and Jane Thomas wasn’t at least mentioned in this one. Perhaps because they didn’t want to overshadow the other relationships but it was mentioned several times in Deeper Than Dead. I was looking for a little resolution (Did They or Didn’t They, either way) in this one.
I will be linking my review to yours. Thanks Lisa