Feature Post and Book Review: Bad Liar by Tami Hoag

Book Description

Small-town labels are hard to shake. Hometown hero. Fallen angel. Can anyone ever escape their past?
 
A murder victim dumped at the dead end of a lonely country road, face and hands obliterated by a shotgun blast, is not the way sheriff’s detective Nick Fourcade wants to start his week. His only lead takes him to the family of a hometown hero suddenly gone missing. Marc Mercier left his home for a weekend hunting trip and hasn’t been seen since.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s detective Annie Broussard begins her first day back on the job after suffering a brutal attack by taking on the case of B’Lynn Fontenot, a mother desperate to find her grown son, a recovering drug addict. Robbie Fontenot has been missing for eight days, but the local police have no interest in the case, telling B’Lynn that an adult has the right to disappear, and a missing addict is no big surprise. But B’Lynn swears her son was turning his life around. Sympathetic to a mother’s anguish, Annie agrees to help B’Lynn, knowing she’s about to start a turf war with the city police.

As Annie searches for Robbie Fontenot and Nick investigates the disappearance of Marc Mercier, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems in the lives of either man. And it’s still not clear whether either—or neither—of them might be the unidentified murder victim. Old jealousies and fresh deceits, family loyalties gone wrong and love turned sour all lay a twisting trail that leads deep into the Louisiana swamp, endangering all who cross the path of a bad liar.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205846882-bad-liar?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6fxQITTDev&rank=2

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BAD LIAR (Broussard and Fourcade Book #3) by Tami Hoag is a fast-paced, dark, and intricately plotted crime thriller/police procedural featuring a married couple, both Sheriff’s Detectives in Partout Parish in the French Triangle of Louisiana. This crime thriller is easily read as a standalone crime thriller, but it is based in a small-town and all the characters continue to grow and evolve in their everyday lives.

Sheriff’s Detective Nick Fourcade is called to the scene of a dumped murder victim in the tall grass off a country road. Identification is going to take time because the victim’s face and hands have been obliterated by a shotgun blast. As he begins to look for leads, he discovers a returned hometown hero has gone missing. Are his victim and the missing man one and the same?

Sheriff’s Detective Annie Broussard is on her first day back on the job after recovering from a brutal attack. She takes on the case of a mother, B’Lynn Fontenot, desperate to find her adult son. She has gone through ten years of drug addiction, but she truly believes this time he had finally turned his life around. Annie is willing to fight the city police detective to take over the case.

As Nick and Annie investigate their cases, they soon discover that there is much more to the lives of the missing men as they wait to discover if either is the unidentified corpse in the morgue. The investigation leads to surprising twists and turns that will endanger Nick and Annie until the pieces of all the lies fall into place.

This is another example of the strength of Ms. Hoag’s ability to produce an atmospheric crime thriller full of compelling, complicated characters, good and bad, and a twisted plot that keeps you guessing until all the pieces have been discovered. Nick and Annie are fascinating as a couple, while also being the ying and yang of investigative styles. This book realistically portrays many types of drug addiction, domestic abuse, family loyalties, good and bad, jealousy, and murder. It took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions throughout and left me guessing to the end.

I highly recommend this compelling crime thriller/police procedural!

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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–COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting. A woman of eclectic tastes, to say the least, Tami was recently asked to list seven things people may not know about about her: 1. I was once offered a job by a private investigator. 2. I have a license to carry concealed weapon, but never do. I took the course for research purposes. 3. My high school guidance counselor encouraged me to become an actress, but I thought that was too impractical (Of course, there’s nothing practical about being a writer, either, but at least I’m not obligated to look good on a daily basis.) 4. I used to sing at weddings. 5. While I have no intention of ever getting married again, I love watching Say Yes To The Dress 6. I have legitimate knockout power in my right hand, and I’m not afraid to use it. 7. When I’m stressed out, all tech devices around me go haywire. I’ve stopped watches, and fried hard drives. I once killed a television in a store display by merely touching it. I’m better off sticking to life’s simple pleasures–like books!

Social Media Links

Website: https://tamihoag.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TamiHoag

Twitter: https://x.com/tamihoag

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tami-hoag

Feature Post and Book Review: The Boy by Tami Hoag

Book Description

When Detective Nick Fourcade enters the home of Genevieve Gauthier outside the sleepy town of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana, the bloody crime scene that awaits him is both the most brutal and the most confusing he’s ever seen. Genevieve’s seven-year-old son, KJ, has been murdered by an alleged intruder, yet Genevieve is alive and well. Meanwhile, Nick’s wife, Detective Annie Broussard, sits with the grieving Genevieve. A mother herself, Annie understands the devastation this woman is going through, but as a detective she’s troubled: Who would murder a child and leave the only witness behind?
 
When KJ’s babysitter, twelve-year-old Nora Florette, is reported missing the very next day, the town fears a maniac is preying on their children. With pressure mounting from a tough, no-nonsense new sheriff, the media, and the parents of Bayou Breaux, Nick and Annie dig deep into the dual mysteries. Is someone from Genevieve’s past or present responsible for the death of her son? Is Nora a victim, or something worse? Then everything changes when Genevieve’s past as a convicted criminal comes to light. Could she have killed her own child to free herself from the burden of motherhood, or is the loss of her beloved boy pushing her to the edge of insanity? Could she have something to do with the disappearance of Nora, or is the troubled teen the key to the murder? How far will Nick and Annie have to go to uncover the dark truth of the boy?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32716342-the-boy?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=0rAJN6GV2e&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE BOY (Broussard and Fourcade Book #2) by Tami Hoag is a gritty, dark, and emotionally unsettling crime thriller featuring Sheriff’s Detectives Annie Broussard and Nick Fourcade in the French Triangle Partout Parish of Louisiana. While this is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone thriller.

Detective Nick Fourcade is called to the scene of a bloody home invasion. The mother is hospitalized, and her seven-year-old son, KJ, is dead. Nick finds it confusing that the young child is killed but the mother is still alive. Why did the killer leave a witness? Detective Annie Broussard is with the emotionally traumatized mother at the hospital and is troubled by her story.

As Annie begins to investigate the child’s movement from the previous day, she discovers his thirteen-year-old babysitter is missing. Who is preying on the children of Bayou Breaux?

This is an incredibly twisted tale that at times is difficult to read and yet I could not put it down because it takes off on page one and does not stop. The plot is packed with questions, answers, twists, and secrets and I never figured out how it would end. Annie and Nick are once again opposites in their approach to their jobs and yet balance each other perfectly. All the characters in this story are well developed and realistically flawed, some much more than others. The story does contain depictions of neglect, child abuse, spousal abuse, and sexual exploitation. There are also explicit descriptions of scenes of violent crimes and suicide. I felt these were all handled without exploitation, just realism.

I highly recommend this intense crime thriller!

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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–COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting. A woman of eclectic tastes, to say the least, Tami was recently asked to list seven things people may not know about about her: 1. I was once offered a job by a private investigator. 2. I have a license to carry concealed weapon, but never do. I took the course for research purposes. 3. My high school guidance counselor encouraged me to become an actress, but I thought that was too impractical (Of course, there’s nothing practical about being a writer, either, but at least I’m not obligated to look good on a daily basis.) 4. I used to sing at weddings. 5. While I have no intention of ever getting married again, I love watching Say Yes To The Dress 6. I have legitimate knockout power in my right hand, and I’m not afraid to use it. 7. When I’m stressed out, all tech devices around me go haywire. I’ve stopped watches, and fried hard drives. I once killed a television in a store display by merely touching it. I’m better off sticking to life’s simple pleasures–like books!

Social Media Links

Website: https://tamihoag.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TamiHoag

Twitter: https://x.com/tamihoag

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tami-hoag