Friday, April 8, 2011

Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoag

About the book: 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. 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, Vince and Anne find themselves circling the same small group of local suspects, blissfully unaware that someone very near to them is a murderous psychopath...

Pub. Date: October 2010
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Paperback , 560pp
Sales Rank: 5,966
ISBN-13: 9780451230539
ISBN: 0451230531

First Line: My hero is my dad.

My thoughts: For an over 500 page book this one sure went fast! To begin with I thought it was interesting that the action takes place in the mid-eighties. That means that the law enforcement community did not have the databases, DNA profiling, or other modern forensic techniques that we have today. The details and wishes of the police for these things at times may have felt a little awkward or contrived but for me it just added to the atmosphere, reminded me of where the story was. The title, Deeper Than the Dead, refers to the location of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit in its early days. It is in the basement so it is "deeper than the dead." That was an interesting little tidbit.

This was a pretty dark story with vivid descriptions of the murder victims, so beware. There was the occasional bit of dry humor but not much. I felt sorry for the kids in this book...wow....each one was traumatized in some way. If not for the treatment of the children, my rating would be higher. With that said, I still couldn't put it down. I've already got the next one, Secrets to the Grave, ready to go.

Rating:

2 comments:

Teddyree said...

Dark & vivid descriptions, I dont mind that. I haven't read a Tami Hoag for years, might try and borrow these from the library. Thanks for your review :)

samantha.1020 said...

I love this author and usually go to her when I am in the mood for a good thriller. I thought that this book was really good and fast paced and am glad to hear that you enjoyed it as well!