Secrets to the Grave

Publishers Weekly

A horrific murder rocks the town of Oak Knoll, Calif., in the chilling sequel to Hoag's Deeper than the Dead), set in 1986. The victim is 28-year-old artist Marissa Fordham, the single mother of Haley, a four-year-old found partially strangled and barely clinging to life next to her mother's stabbed and mutilated body. Det. Tony Mendez and his capable crew investigate the crime, while child advocate Anne Leone and her husband, former FBI special agent Vince Leone, take temporary custody of Haley. Among the several suspects is attorney Steve Morgan, the estranged husband of Sara Morgan, whose daughter, Wendy, found a victim of the accused See-No-Evil killer, Peter Crane, who's about to go on trial. Adding extra tension are Anne's efforts to help disturbed 12-year-old Dennis Farnham and the disappearance of Marissa's best friend, Gina Kemmer. Newcomers will have no trouble getting into this suspense novel rich in pre-DNA detecting methods. (Dec. 28)

Library Journal

In her sequel to Deeper Than the Dead, Hoag returns to the fictional California town of Oak Knoll circa 1986. Former FBI profiler Vince Leone has remained in the area and is asked by protégé Tony Mendez in the sheriff's office to help out when a single mother is murdered and her four-year-old daughter left for dead. The killing of Marissa Fordham was particularly brutal, and the little girl's call to 911 reported only that "my daddy hurt my mommy." The problem is that little Haley's dad is unknown, and she is too traumatized to provide any further information. Though Vince's new wife, Anne, a child psychologist in training, is helping with Haley, the police have both too many suspects and none who exactly fit the bill. As with the first book in this microseries (the publisher's term), the mid-1980s setting means that the cops can't rely on DNA or computers or any of the new-fangled technologies used by 21st-century detectives. This authorial choice serves the novel well as it gives a solid footing to the police procedural aspects of this thriller. Verdict While the plotting is sometimes a little overworked, Hoag's characterizations remain spot on, and her writing is as exciting as ever. For fans of Lisa Gardner and Tess Gerritsen.—Jane Jorgenson, Madison P.L., WI

Kirkus Reviews

The "See-No-Evil" serial killer is jailed awaiting trial, and the last thing Sheriff's Detective Tony Mendez needs is another murder victim, especially a beautiful young woman brutally stabbed and slashed.

Marissa Fordham, a rising young artist and the protégé of the wealthy Milo Bordain, is discovered murdered in her isolated cottage. Haley, her 4-year-old daughter, rests badly injured on her mother's bloody corpse. Mendez catches the case, ably assisted by Vince Leone, a retired FBI profiler who helped solve the "See-No-Evil" mystery. Leone has retired and married a local teacher, Anne Navarre, who was almost murdered by the jailed serial killer. Anne is now studying child psychology and working as a court-appointed special advocate in juvenile cases, and she persuades a reluctant Vince to let her care for Haley. That necessary and time-consuming task deflects her from counseling an apparently psychopathic middle-school student who has stabbed a classmate. Mendez and Leone have more than one suspect in Marissa's brutal murder, even though the victim isn't all—or is more than—she seems to be. Hoag (Deeper Than the Dead, 2009, etc.) again stages her mystery in Oak Knoll, a fictional town somewhere near the beautiful landscape surrounding Santa Barbara and Lompoc, Calif., and her gift for description makes the area come alive. The author also discovers a suitable set of suspects ranging from Bordain's Mercedes-dealer son, a mathematical genius and college professor with Asperger's Syndrome and mother issues, and a prosperous and adulterous attorney who may or may not have been linked to the "See-No-Evil" serial killer. The good guys are less dramatic, although Hoag's character sketches are memorable, right down to minor players like the county sheriff, Cal Dixon.

Fans of literate mysteries will appreciate the complex but realistic story, the satisfying resolution and the descriptive writing.