Ashes to Ashes: A Novel (Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska) Mass Market Paperback – June 27, 2000

A real page turner!! Hoag paints a picture that is frightening and mesmerizing… made me buy several of her other books All great reads

I enjoy Hoag's books. This one just had too many characters and sappy background for me. I could easily scan through the tedious parts and enjoy the story with a surprise ending.

A suspense that sneaks up to spin your mind. Well done! Meek and inadequate cannot hide the horror and brutality one can inflict on someone else.

This is my first book by this author I read a lot of police procedural type stuff and I really liked that part of this book the police investigators were great characters. The story was suspenseful if somewhat ridiculous at times. What I didn't like was that within the story was the subplot corny romantic novel relationship between two of the main characters - drawn out and tedious I felt. If she stuck to the investigation and made the book a bit shorter I think it would have been the better for it (so may try one more of her books to see if she improves), I scanned read a lot of the last one hundred pages just to get to the end!

I am writing this review to thank Tami Hoag for getting my reading juices going again. I have always been an avid reader but lately nothing has grabbed my attention as did "Ashes to Ashes". A book about a serial killer, an FBI profiler possibly facing burnout, and a love from the past, Kate, who is now a victims advocate that is now working with him on this case, because there is a witness (a young troubled girl) who actually saw a murder taking place and is the only witness they have.This horrific killer is called the "Creamator" and when you read you will find out why. The interplay between the FBI profiler and Kate brings a nice bit of romance, and the way Kate deals with this vulnerable witness who is not the easiest girl to get close too is touching. The serial killer is someone who everyone on the case feels is someone they may know, someone familiar, or at least one gets that feeling. I don't want to give away to much about the book, but just to say if you are looking for a great book that is one of those that is hard to put down, this is your book. I have fallen asleep many nights, book in hand as I just can't seem to put it down. Ms. Hoag has an easy reading style, she has just enough characters to make it interesting, but not so many that you have to keep going back and forth to figure out who they are. If you are a true mystery buff and enjoy seeing things from the FBI and the laws point of view along with the killers thought throughout the this book is one of the best I have read in years. I have read most of Tami Hoags book and I think this is my favorite so far. I was so excited to see "Dust to Dust" coming out August 1st will have some of the same characters, as I am not ready to let them go yet. Thank you Tami for making reading such a great treat again. I have always loved to read, but your books are the best!

ASHES TO ASHES (Kovac and Liska Book #1) by Tami Hoag is the start of a new series featuring a former FBI agent who is now a local law enforcement victim advocate and a high-profile FBI serial killer profiler who share a personal past. This book does have graphic scenes of violence and torture, but it is expected when I read a serial killer suspense by this author and she adeptly mixes the gruesome with a humanizing empathy for the victims, witty dialogue, and a subplot second chance romance that will carry on through the series.The Minneapolis papers have named him “The Cremator” after his killing of two prostitutes who he tortured and then left burning is public parks. His third victim is a billionaire’s daughter and that has the police and politicians scrambling.Former FBI agent now victim advocate Kate Conlan is assigned to a teenage witness who claims to have witnessed “The Cremator” setting the latest victim on fire and FBI profiler John Quinn is called in by the billionaire’s father to assist the Minneapolis authorities. As they work together to catch a sadistic killer who continually taunts the police, they are also dealing with a complicated past from when Kate left the FBI five years previously.As Kate and John get closer to catching the killer, the killer still has some twisted surprises in store for Kate. Will she survive the attention of “The Cremator”?I enjoyed this serial killer thriller/police procedural/romantic suspense mash-up from start to finish. There are graphic scenes of torture against women, but this is a serial killer thriller story, so I expected them, and Ms. Hoag is adept at giving me the chills without making the scenes seem gratuitous. The story is more suspense/thriller than romance, but there are two seriously hot sex scenes as Kate and John work through their complicated pasts and come together for the future books in the series. I will say that the revelations surrounding the killer’s identity surprised me and made for a tense and exciting conclusion. As you may have noticed, Conlan and Quinn are not Kovac and Liska which is why I did not give this book more stars. Kovac and Liska are the Minneapolis detectives in this story and while they are important players and had great wise-cracking dialogue, I did not feel they were the focus like Kate and John.Not for the faint of heart, but I enjoyed the start to this series and I am looking forward to continuing the series.

It was a good read. It’s a book you don’t want to put down until you finished the book. If youlikes a good “ who done it” this is the book for you.

This is my second run-through of this series and I'm enjoying it as much as the first time. Tami Hoag never disappoints me in anything written by her. I highly recommend this author and this series.

A really good read. Kept me guessing until near the end. Will be looking at more Tami H books.

Sehr spannend von der ersten Seite an. Man möchte es sofort bis zu Ende lesen. Das Ende ist unglaublich überraschend.

Enrêdo imaginativo, policiais ineptos e incompetentes, 30% do texto dispensável por referência a vida desinteressante dos ditos incompetentes policiais. Uma pena. Não recomendo.

E excellent reading from commencement of novel. Could not put the story out of my mind, just mind blowing reading