Down the Darkest Road

Very disappointing!

Up to this book, I have always like Tami Hoag and I preordered this book in anticipation. I loved Deeper than the Dead and Secrets to the Grave - they were very interesting, very action packed and had characters that you got to know and love. However, I was very disappointed in this book and I will be deleting it from my nook. It didn't have the gripping suspense and action as the other 2 books and the characters where very hard to like (let alone wanting them to thrive). Except for Det. Tony Mendez, all the characters were new. In addition, there was such harsh/vulgar language and explicate sex scenes that it was very hard to read and I skipped pages because of it. If this is the type of book Tamk Hoag is going to start pumping out, then I will find a new author to spend my time and money on.

12 out of 14 people found this review helpful.

great

I love reading this book. I was instantly immersed into this fantastic, believably written story.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Disiponted

Bad book

4 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Hoag hits one out of the park again

Tami Hoag puts you in the 1980s again, and if you havent been there personally,thats ok....there is plenty of story,action, gruesome, chilling murders and suspense to keep you up all night reading The story line is awesome and has you thinking about Alice Sebolts "Lovely Bones" and "Shutter Island" to liken to period fiction. A 5 star series and I Hope she continues. Kudos to Tami!

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Not my favorite Oak Knoll book...

I give this book 3 stars because it is Tammy Hoag and very well written. But I found the main character to be highly unlikable. She's a very disturbed woman who has encountered tragedy of the worst kind, but I don't think the reader is supposed to dislike her - which I did. I did enjoy the focus on Detective Mendez, as I enjoyed his character in the other books. I found Vince and Anne's happiness to be a welcome reprive from Lauren's misery and inner monalogue. It's a good story, but very depressing.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Awesome!!!

I have a hard time finding authors I truly enjoy but when the pleasingly rare easy read comes along I am thrilled to get lost in the readings, which is precisely what I have done with this book. I just finished dust to dust (another of this author's books) & it was a bit more difficult to read. However, when I saw this would be coming out on the 27th I stuck with it just to hold me over long enough to get to Hoag's latest Oak Knoll book. It was WELL worth it! Even working a full time job and a f/t college student, I still finished this book in less than 2 days! It was that good, especially if you've read the others and were familiar with the characters. Please keep em coming Ms. Hoag! Happy holidays everyone. :)

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Tami Hoag

Great book.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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1 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

INTENSE AND TERRIFYING

Intense, gritty, terrifying - the latest in Tami Hoag’s Oak Knoll series is a page-turner par excellence. The time setting is the late 1980s - 90s when tracing by DNA had not been fully developed and information via computer was not as available as it is now. Hence, tracing a criminal was a much more challenging task for law enforcement officers. In this case, not only tracing but proving guilt.

We’re introduced to the story through the eyes of Lauren Lawton who writes, “Once upon a time I had the perfect family. I had the perfect husband: Handsome, loving, successful. I had the perfect children: Leslie and Leah - beautiful, brilliant, precious girls. I had the perfect life in the perfect home, in the perfect place......And then, as in all fairy tales, evil came into our lives and destroyed us.”

Evil came in the person of a barbarous, vile individual, Roland Ballencoa. Four years ago he had abducted Leslie or the police were pretty certain he had - but they could not prove it. Not too long after the girl’s abduction Lauren’s husband drove off a bridge; it was thought a suicide due to the stress and guilt of being unable to protect his daughter.

Bent on revenge and driven to the point of exhaustion Lauren takes Leah and moves to Oak Knoll hoping to put at least a small part of their tragic past behind them. That is not be for she soon finds that Ballencoa is also in Oak Knoll, stalking mother and daughter. It’s all an insidious game to him, watching, frightening, taking pictures with his camera.

Lauren is reluctant to go to the police as they’ve not helped her in the past, but considered her a royal pain in the neck for constantly pushing them to arrest Ballencoa, to find Leslie. But Ballencoa is a wily beast, evidently never breaking the law, but silently stalking. Lauren is sickened to realize that in her case the person believed to be a criminal actually has more legal rights than she does. Eventually, she does turn to Detective Tony Menendez who believes her but can see no way to help her.

Hoag has woven a gripping tale, written in brief chapters, almost staccato-like, quick as a bullet which leaves the reader sometimes gasping, always turning pages. Down The Darkest Road is epic suspense seasoned with ravaged emotions and cliff-hanger scenes. Strong medicine so keep all the houselights on.

- Gail Cooke

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

One of her best!

I have read all of Tami Hoag's novels and think this was one.of her best! I couldn't put it down!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best of this series

Another good one from Hoag.... Have to admit, this is not my favorite series of hers, but enjoyed this one the most so far... I expect at least one more is coming....

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Gripping

Read this book overnite once i started i couldnt putit down i even did the (archiebunker)took it with me in the bathroom i wad glad it had a good ending it gripped you and never let go to the endWonderful

Disappointed! I have enjoyed reading Tami Hoag, but the main ch

Disappointed!

I have enjoyed reading Tami Hoag, but the main character was so unsympathetic. It is hard to imagine a mother who could just so completely emotionally abandon the child who needs her aso badly right now. And we heard about this character's pain for page after page after page... I just got sick of her.

Revenge

Unlike the prior two entries in the Oak Knoll series, this plot is somewhat obvious and predictable. Not that one can envision the story any differently. What unites the Oak Knoll series are three characters, profiler Vince Leone, his wife Anne, and detective Tony Mendez. But this novel really is about the Lawton family, and especially the mother, Lauren.

The Lawtons were a happy family of four living in Santa Barbara, that is, until the 16-year-old daughter was abducted and never returned. A suspect emerged, but there was no proof, so there was no closure. Two years later, the father died when his speeding car plunged into a mountain canyon (a suspected suicide). That left Lauren and a younger daughter, Leah, to cope with the tragedy.

The tale is all about the devastating effects on Lauren and Leah, and the inability of the police to do anything since there are no clues or reason to arrest the suspected perpetrator. Then Lauren decides to move to Oak Knoll “for a change.” But lo and behold the suspect is there, and the fun begins. An interesting but somewhat flawed addition to what were two previous excellent novels in the series. But then, we’ll take a rain check and look to the next one.

Despite reservations, it is recommended.

Hoag's best book yet. This book was nearly flawless. Several of

Hoag's best book yet. This book was nearly flawless. Several of the last few books I have not liked very much but this was incredible: the characters were REAL with believable thoughts, actions and reactions. Great storyline; I hope her next books is just as good.
If you enjoyed this book, I would also recommend: anything by Tess Gerritsen, Philip Margolin and Linda Howard.

Great book!

Tami Hoag never disappoints. She seems to just get better and better. I cannot wait for the next Oak Knoll book to be published!! Wonderful, realistic characters!!

Not as good as most of her books

The plot was not as good as most of her books which I usually love this one was too predicable. I did like the policewomen and I can really see her in a future book

I really liked this book, it goes to show you what some mothers

I really liked this book, it goes to show you what some mothers will do to get to the bottom of what happened to her child, but on the other had she had tow children, one that lives needs her more. I couldn't put it down. It seems as if the bad people have more rigths than the good, Even if Lauren's character was one you didn't like, you find yourself wanting her to get even as the book nears the end. Great Read

Intensely satisfying.

This book was interesting. How does one go on with their life when their child has been kidnapped? This novel delves into that. The main character is intense and often annoying. She stands in need of closure so she can get busy living for her other child as well as herself. The story takes several twists and turns. I did figure out the most important one early on. In all it is a good book. I would love to re-visit a couple of the other characters in other Tami Hoag novels in the future.

Another great read!

Tami Hoag is one of the few authors I will pay more for and preorder. This book is yet another example of why. Fast paced, keeps ou guessing and on the edge of your seat. You feel the frustrations of the mother over our judicial system and its limitations. Couldn,t put it down.