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Book Review: The Bitter Season (Kovac and Liska #5) by Tami Hoag

Frankly speaking, I do not like coincidences in a murder mystery which solves on its own, just for the heck of it. I mean detectives do need to put proper efforts, right because how many such coincidences do occur, especially in cold cases.
If the start of the book made you think you were going to miss the chemistry of Kovac and Liska for Liska’s case was cold, very cold, you were so so wrong! Oh, never mind. I am sure reviews are mostly checked out by one who has not yet read a book, I mean, that is my perception and that is what I do. Tell me, am I correct or wrong in the comments below.
Well, rest of the book is good because in books, cold cases are not so cold. And Kovac and Liska are ever more better partners without actually being (can they become life partners? Umm, some relationships are happier just the way it is). And murders are more gruesome, total yuck. And has an unexpected conclusion with innocents (or not so?) getting hurt.
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Book Blurb: EVERY FAMILY HAS A SECRET. THEIRS WILL CHILL YOU TO THE CORE. |
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—The Bitter Season, Cold Cold Heart, and The 9th Girl. Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller List with Night Sins, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. Website: tamihoag.com |
Rating: 7/10 |
Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
Book Name: | The Bitter Season (Kovac and Liska #5) |
Author: | Tami Hoag |
Pages: | 416 |
Publication Year: | 2016 |
Book Review: The 9th Girl (Kovac and Liska #4) by Tami Hoag

The 9th Girl fits into the theme of gruesome murder and questioning relationships, which now I have gone accustomed to after reading Elizabeth George books, but when I was reading this book (ummm, this review is also being posted late), it was shocking. By the way, just a small ‘chhotu sa’ hint – though the banter between detectives get tiring at a few times, they still do not solve either of the two crimes mentioned in the book.
The book is a fast paced read with teenage thoughts well expressed and tattoos being central to that. The quote “Tattoos are a road map of the bearer’s personal journey” suitably puts the same into perspective. And I personally know a girl who believes in the same (though not a teenager). By the way, do we not all remember the TV series The Prison Break of tattoo actually being a road map of gaining freedom. Well, back to the book, in fact, because of tattoos only, the victim is identified. I am waiting to read The 1st Victim and how it was left open-ended, for it must have been, else this book would not have taken place with Doc Holiday.
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Book Blurb: “Kovac had seen more dead bodies than he could count: Men, women, children; victims of shootings, stabbings, strangulations, beatings; fresh corpses and bodies that had been left for days in the trunks of cars in the dead of summer. But he had never seen anything quite like this . . . “ |
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—The Bitter Season, Cold Cold Heart, and The 9th Girl. Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller List with Night Sins, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. Website: tamihoag.com |
Rating: 9/10 |
Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
Book Name: | The 9th Girl (Kovac and Liska #4) |
Author: | Tami Hoag |
Pages: | 405 |
Publication Year: | 2013 |
Book Review: Prior Bad Acts (Kovac and Liska #3) by Tami Hoag

At times even though you like murder mysteries and have read a lot, the description of a murder raises your hackle. Prior Bad Acts was one of those books (I had not yet read many Elizabeth George) and it was better than the other two previous books of this Kovac and Liska series by Tami Hoag.
Murderer can be anyone and where least he/she can be expected. The wise-crack interactions between the two detectives Kovac and Liska was less and I missed those even though separately they were good enough in exploring out the solutions. The book amply shows how a crime affects so many people around, hardens them and changes them for bad, in most cases. The name of the book Prior Bad Acts made me start thinking on a tangential line, that what was the bad act the judge did. But then, hey a book’s name is not supposed to be correlated to every character of the book.
So, go ahead pick this book and tell me how many murderers did you think this book could have had once you were half way through – 1, 2 or 3?
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Book Blurb: New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag returns with a thriller that begins with a shocking crime scene you’ll never forget and follows two relentless detectives on a manhunt that ends in a chilling confrontation with the essence of human evil. |
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—The Bitter Season, Cold Cold Heart, and The 9th Girl. Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller List with Night Sins, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. Website: tamihoag.com |
Rating: 9/10 |
Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
Book Name: | Prior Bad Acts (Kovac and Liska #3) |
Author: | Tami Hoag |
Pages: | 525 |
Publication Year: | 2006 |
Book Review: Dust to Dust (Kovac and Liska #2) by Tami Hoag

I am reading the book blurb now and trying to recall what this book was all about. Oh yes, this is the book where Kovac and Liska interactions finally came to the forefront in good doses. I like them and their banter. That is how any relationship should be like, umm, not the love angle, friendship/ working relationship/ anything else because why make life sad! A few other characters were loud, but what the hell, a mix of characters bring up a better story-line in a murder mystery. Only if the pages were less, I would have been happier.
Overall a decent book for murder mystery.
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Book Blurb: The death of internal affairs investigator Andy Paxton is a potential political bomb for the Minneapolis Police Department… Andy Paxton was gay and he was investigating a possible cop connection in the brutal murder of another gay officer. But Andy’s death looks like suicide, or an unfortunate and embarrassing accident, and the pressure is on from the top brass to close the case as soon as possible. But the investigation’s lead detective Sam Kovac is not convinced the case is as straightforward as it appears. As he digs deeper, it is looking very much like Paxton discovered something that got him killed. And he might not be the final victim…. |
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—The Bitter Season, Cold Cold Heart, and The 9th Girl. Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller List with Night Sins, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. Website: tamihoag.com |
Rating: 7/10 |
Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
Book Name: | Dust to Dust ( Kovac and Liska #2) |
Author: | Tami Hoag |
Pages: | 480 |
Publication Year: | 2000 |
Book Review: Ashes to Ashes (Kovac and Liska #1) by Tami Hoag

How tough is it can you imagine when a book you have read was months back and you only found time to write a review now. Okay, it was more like I was being lazy. But still reading a series makes it easy for me to pick up next books. (Is the same applicable for you too?) Though the series is named as Kovac and Liska, the characters are very much in the background and the first book in this series is more about introducing them and getting them accustomed to reader’s palate.
The book is written well, but as happens with thicker books, could have been edited and cut short to make the other parts of the stories crisp. But well, I would not have wanted any interaction between Kovac and Liska reduced. I will rate this series a notch less than the Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George but still good to go. So, start off with this book and tell me if you were able to guess the Cremator (murderer) because sometimes the murderer is closer to home than you can imagine. Haha, no, that is not a spoiler….Enjoy
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Book Blurb: He performs his profane ceremony in a wooded Minneapolis park, anointing his victims, then setting the bodies ablaze. He has already claimed three lives, and he won’t stop there. Only this time there is a witness. But she isn’t talking. |
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—The Bitter Season, Cold Cold Heart, and The 9th Girl. Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller List with Night Sins, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. Website: tamihoag.com |
Rating: 7/10 |
Genre: | Mystery Thriller |
Book Name: | Ashes to Ashes ( Kovac and Liska #1) |
Author: | Tami Hoag |
Pages: | 566 |
Publication Year: | 1999 |