A Thin Dark Line

A Thin Dark Line

 By Tami Hoag (1997)

     Imagine the Louisiana Bayou right before Mardi Gras and there is a killer roaming the streets.  Marcus Renard has killed and been acquitted; the town is up in arms over the not guilty verdict.   Enter Deputy Annie Broussard and Detective Nick Fourcade; she’s an idealist who believes in right and wrong, black and white; he lives in shades of gray and has stepped over the line more than once.  This case threatens to push Fourcade over the line again, when he decides to take matters into his own hands and shows up at Renard’s work place as he is leaving for the day.   Drunk and in a foul temper, Fourcade begins a brutal  beat down of Renard only to have Broussard come across the scene where she arrests the detective.  And then the fun begins . . .

     This book is full of twists and turns that will leave the reader guessing until the final pages of the story.  I couldn’t put this book down.   I felt that I knew just who the real killer was throughout the story and even though, looking back now, clues were dropped along the way that I should have picked up on, the writer did such a thorough job early on of convincing me that one particular person was guilty that I overlooked the clues she left behind.  I totally missed the real killer until much like Broussard and Fourcade, it was nearly too late.

     If you like a fast paced edge of your seat read full of murder, mayhem, mystery and a dash of romance, than this book is for you.  I thought the story was exceptional.  I read a lot of murder mysteries and usually half way through the book I know who did it and why.  Not so with this book and that’s why I can wholeheartedly recommend this book.