Let’s Review-Deeper Than the Dead
by on February 3rd, 2010
filed under Book Review
In 1985 Michael Jackson bought The Beatles song catalog, New Coke bombed, the first cell phone call was made , a gallon of gas was $1.09 and a movie ticket was $2.75. 1985 is also the setting for Tami Hoag’s first novel after a two year hiatus.
Can you smell the Bartles & James wine coolers? Are your eyes stinging from the perm solution & Aqua-net? Are your shoulders properly padded? 
Then you’re ready for this review.
California, 1985. Three children, running in the woods behind their school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre, shocked by this discovery and heartbroken as she witnesses the end of their innocence. What she doesn’t yet realize is that this will mark the end of innocence for an entire community, as the ties that bind families and friends are tested by secrets uncovered in the wake of a serial killer’s escalating activity.
Detective Tony Mendez, fresh from a law enforcement course at FBI headquarters, is charged with interpreting those now revealed secrets. He’s using a new technique-profiling-to develop a theory of the case, a strategy that pushes him ever deeper into the lives of the three children, and closer to the young teacher whose interest in recent events becomes as intense as his own.
As new victims are found and the media scrutiny of the investigation bears down on them, both Mendez and Navarre are unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves-or the family and friends of the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very close to them is a brutal, calculating psychopath.
Tami Hoag juggles the multiple points of view deftly with short chapters which also keeps the action moving. Working in the children’s point of views gives the reader interesting insight. Children often feel and notice things adults don’t, including who the good guys are and who are not. And in this book the bad guy is really bad. Today we take DNA evidence and criminal profiling for granted but in 1985 these were new, untested tools for law enforcement. Police work has come a long way in the last 25 years. It must have been a challenge to not sneak in one single text message, email or cell phone call (remember rotary phones?) while writing this book.
I’m glad you’re back Tami. Please don’t make us wait another two years for your next book. I give Tami Hoag’s Deeper Than the Dead a Yuppie, a Preppie, 2 Coreys (Feldman & Haim) and a silver DeLorean.
Pop on over to my friend Barrie Summy’s blog to check out more wonderful book reviews.
Disclosure- Barrie received this book from the publisher. She put the call out for a volunteer to read & possibly review it. My review policy is that I only review books I like, books I can recommend to other readers. Being a huge fan of Tami Hoag’s I would have bought and read this book anyway. I posted this review only because I liked the book and not because it was given to me.
Sounds like an interesting book and a different one. I used to read Tami Hoag a lot, but her later books got too dark for me. This one sounds like a possibility though. Is there any romance in it?
Great review, Beth. Love your list of awards. (Yes, I remember them all, not to mention the padded shoulders.)
There is a romance between the teacher, Anne & the police detective, Tony. The book is pretty dark, getting into the mind of a serial killer isn’t a walk through the daisys. But I think you’ll like it.
Beth,
Just thought I’d mention that I’ve started blogging about my tarot cards at my “other” blog, Lyndi’s Love Notes: http://lyndilamont.com/blog/
Linda
Thanks, Beth, maybe I’ll give it a try. Though serial killers kind of creep me out, and not in a good way.
I’m a fan of Tami Hoag, too, Beth. In fact, if I had been a little quicker in my reply to Barrie, I might have reviewed this book this month:) But I will definitely put it on my list to read! I understand the other readers’ comments about this being a little dark, but that seems to be true of so many of my favorite mystery authors these days. Perhaps they’re responding to what they (or the publishers) think the public wants.
I absolutely love the intro to this review! So put me in 1985.
Thanks for reviewing this book, Beth. I’m sort of burnt out on serial killers, but perhaps this one has a fresh twist with using the kids’ perspectives along with other characters.
[...] Beth Yarnall: DEEPER THAN THE DEAD by Tami Hoag (suspense) [...]
It was okay. Just ok because there wasn’t much mystery as to who
the killer was, as soon as his character was introduced I picked up on
it that he was the serial killer. From that point on I kept reading to find out how they were going to figure it out.