Product Description

It was a crime so brutal it changed the lives of even the most hardened homicide cops. The Haas family murders left a scar on the community nothing can erase, but convicting the alleged killer, Karl Dahl, is a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl's prior criminal record is inadmissible as evidence against him raises a public outcry - and puts the judge in grave danger. When an unknown assailant attacks Carey Moore in a parking garage, Detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are called in to investigate and keep the judge from further harm. Then Karl Dahl escapes custody, and the judge is kidnapped from her home even as the police sit outside watching her house. With no time to spare, the detectives are pulled down a strange dark trail of smoke and mirrors, where no one is who they seem, and everyone is guilty of something.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #71550 in Books
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review
"[A] lightning pace. Try it" -- Henry Sutton DAILY MIRROR, 24 Mar "A breakneck thriller that will have you tearing through the pages into the small hours. " PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH, 1 April "It's gripping and disturbing, and it pushes Tami Hoag up another rung of the crime writing ladder. Well worth investigating." -- Mark Timlin THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, 16 Apr "[A] tense, taut thriller... the portrait of Middle America seems spot on." LITERARY REVIEW, May 2006 "A twistingly-plotted mystery." COVENTRY EVENING TELEGRAPH, 13 May

Review
"[A] lightning pace. Try it" (Henry Sutton DAILY MIRROR, 24 Mar )

"A breakneck thriller that will have you tearing through the pages into the small hours. " (PETERBOROUGH EVENING TELEGRAPH, 1 April )

"It's gripping and disturbing, and it pushes Tami Hoag up another rung of the crime writing ladder. Well worth investigating." (Mark Timlin THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, 16 Apr )

"[A] tense, taut thriller... the portrait of Middle America seems spot on." (LITERARY REVIEW, May 2006 )

"A twistingly-plotted mystery." (COVENTRY EVENING TELEGRAPH, 13 May )

Mark Timlin, THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY, 16 Apr
"It's gripping and disturbing, and it pushes Tami Hoag up another rung of the crime writing ladder. Well worth investigating."

Customer Reviews

Dead Sky
Although nothing amazing, this was a good, reliable crime novel. I have been disappointed with Tami Hoag's previous crime novels, and so was slightly reluctant in picking this up and giving it a go. I'm glad I did. It was compelling and page-turning (if you can stand the cheesy American trash talk!)and the plot was interesting, with two different crimes being intertwined. Hoag doesnt make it overly complex or confusing, so its an easy story to follow.

This is definitely one of those crime books that you can pick up when you're in the mood for something pacy and escapist. I'll probably be reading more of Hoag's books now having read this one.

A Murder and Mayhem Bookclub review
It seems as if justice has, for once, been served on Judge Moore. After her controversial decision not to allow records of prior criminal acts to be admissible in a multiple murder trial, there would have to be more than one person out there who had reason to do the judge serious harm. Carey Moore is delivered a savage beating in the car park across from her office and becomes what she often sees on the other side of the bench, a frightened and angry victim. Detectives Sam Kovac and NIkki Liska (first introduced in Hoag's ASHES TO ASHES, released in 1999) are assigned to protect the cowed Judge and her family as the media runs with the very newsworthy story, swiftly making camp on the Judge's immaculate front lawn before she even returns from the hospital. The Haas murders were the worst ever encountered by the Hennipin Police Department and haven't been forgotten by a grieving community either, eager to see the accused Karl Dahl punished for taking the life of a mother and those of her two foster children.

Sam Kovac can understand why someone would have it in for the judge, whilst never forgetting what his job of protecting one of the senior members of the judiciary entails. Never one to hide from his professional responsibility, Kovac ignores criticism of his tactics and takes the investigation right back to the home, invading the Judge's personal life to the point where the two begin to form a bond. It is unbelievable to him when the Judge is kidnapped from her home with a police presence outside, and even more unbelievable that the accused Dahl also manages to escape during a prison transfer. With so much ground to cover, literally and otherwise, Kovac and Liska must go separate ways, reopening old wounds for the surviving family and the former detective who had hung his whole career on this one murder case. With three possible suspects sharing equal space in Kovac's sights, the detective must make a fast choice of which to pursue in order to save Carey Moore's life.

The Kovac and Liska novels, three to date, are the edgiest of author Tami Hoag's collected works. There are many reasons to read the work of this author who can deliver the goods across many genres; romantic fiction, romantic suspense and crime/American police procedurals. The character of Sam Kovac is quite irresistible and makes a welcome return in DEAD SKY, a multi-perspective novel that has enough of a window with each viewpoint to tease the reader into musing who it is that is harbouring the greatest grudge. The dialogue between the two detectives, and between all of the police, is a definite plus to lighten up what could be otherwise be a heavy emotional load with all the death and vengeance that is doled out over the pages.

Hoag definitely has the gift of making much with simple description and does not allow either action or the internal monologues in each scene to dominate, always presenting the tableaux for reader supposition. Fast and entertaining, DEAD SKY will not likely present much of a challenge in the whodunit stakes, but as there is a secondary crime in addition to the murders Hoag has kept all detail relevant and wasted little with both cases being, as they always are in mystery reads, intertwined.

Everybody is Guilty of Something
Tami Hoag's novels have appeared regularly in the national best seller lists since the publication of her first book in 1988. She lives in California.

Even the most hardened of homicide cops - a group whose everyday lives were filled with violent death - were sickened by the Haas family murders. It left a mark on the community that even time could not erase. But convicting the alleged killer, Karl Dahl was a beginning. Only the figure of Judge Carey More seems to be standing in the way of justice.

Her ruling that in law Dahl's previous criminal record is inadmissible in court causes a public outcry. This puts the judge in danger and when an unknown assailant attacks her in a parking garage, two of the top cops are called in to investigate and also ensure that the judge does not come to any further harm.

The stakes become higher when the judge is kidnapped from her own home in front of a police guard. Detective Sam Kovac is as hard-boiled as they come, and his wisecracking partner, Nikki Liska, isn't far behind. There are several lines of inquiry: Now Kovac and Liska must navigate through a maze of suspects that include the step-son of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge where the justice system failed, but are the police going to find which, if any of them are to blame before it's too late.