Suspense

Detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are involved in investigating a murder where a young girl popped out of a trunk and then was run over by a vehicle on New Year's Eve. Penny, the victim is traced to a school for gifted students, which Liska's son, Kyle attends. They find video of Penny's last known movements. They question whether she was a victim of a serial killer they looking into and are calling Doc Holiday. Penny was a loner and not liked by many other students. She was bullied by a number of classmates. Kyle becomes involved in Penny's murder as she was a friend of his. Kyle is ostracized by other students who appear to be have something to do with Penny's murder because they were some of the last people to be seen with her. There are many twists and turns to this book before its stunning conclusion. ( )

Another awesome book by Tami. ( )

Tami Hoag returns to Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska in "The 9th Girl". For those who did not read The 1st Victim: A Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska Story, featuring an excerpt of The 9th Girl (A Penguin Special from Dutton I would suggest that you do so, so that you can get background on the killings that Sam and Nikki are investigating in the 9th Girl. If this is your first Kovac and Liska novels I would suggest that readers start with Ashes to Ashes. Though the focus of the novel is really on Kate Conlan and John Quinn it still also stars Sam and Nikki giving you a great background on their working relationship and personal lives.

On New Year's Liska and Kovac are brought to a scene of a Jane Doe who matches the M.O. of a unidentified serial killer they have dubbed Doc Holiday due to his kidnapping females in one city and leaving them to be found in other cities on major holidays. In The 1st Girl we had Liska and Kovac investigating the first Jane Doe that the serial killer captured and killed. Now it has been a year and in that time 8 other Jane Doe's have been kidnapped and murdered by Doc Holiday with no end in sight.

I can honestly say I don't have any real issues with this novel. My only very minor quibble is that it has been several years since Prior Bad Acts and though we do get reference to Judge Carey Moore we did not get her physically appearing in this installment which disappointed me to no end. I want Kovac to be happy with someone already! Also due to the serial killings Hoag brings John Quinn back into the mix though I was disappointed we did not get any appearances by Kate which would have been nice.

This novel was definitely similar to meeting up with an old friend you have not seen in years and taking up exactly where you left off.

I was happy to see that Sam is still being traumatized by his next door neighbor's Christmas lights and yard decorations and Nikki is still trying to be a tough but fair mother to her now teenage boys. The camaraderie between Kovac and Liska is still crackling as well as both of the duos ability to read other people and still have compassion for the victims of the violent crime that they are investigating. Hoag including a timely subject such as teen and cyber bulling was also interesting to read as well. The ending was a definite surprise though I thought that Hoag called back to Prior Bad Acts once again with the ending.

I 100 percent recommend to long time fans of this series! ( )

It has been yearsssss since I've delved into a novel by Tami Hoag, through no one's fault but my own. Having so many books on your tbr pile can make a few that seem "not as important", & fall to the way-side. And for that I am sorry.
I am also very sorry that it's been so long since I've read other novels dealing with these two main characters in the novel, Liska and Kovac. I cannot remember much about their past three novels, since it's been so long. There have been a LOT of books, since then...! I had flirted with at least reading the summary on wiki's page about #1-3, but then didn't. It was late, and I was tired... So I just delved in.

Like most great suspense novels, "The 9th Girl" is overflowing with procedural-cop-talk, turney-twists, and handful of disfigured corpses. There is more than one plot line to sort through at once. However there is one very significant thing that sets Hoag's novel apart from the others I've read; not knowing what is significant and what is filler. So instead of guessing the killers identity 50 pages in, I had to collect ALL of the information, weave them together and THEN try to dissect them. I have missed this...! Man, why have I stopped?

The result of reading this novel is, I still got the killer wrong. Which actually made me quite happy. I WANT to be surprised. I LIKE to be taken on a thrilling ride like this. Why else would you read mystery...? The way in which the overall concept was built remained generic and formulaic -true; which a LOT of others have complained about. BUT....
(1. Murder 2. Investigation 3. Bump in the road 4. Killer's perspective 5. The end.). --but the way in which it was delivered showed Hoag's maturity and ingenuity in what she did or did not deem worthy to present to her audience. Hence, the turney-twistiness...! I KNEW the formula, yet I remained engaged. Yes, throughout!

And the moment I realized I was engaged, was the moment I realized I cared about the characters inside this novel. I was heartbroken for some, disgusted by others. Past cases, and past novels these characters had been in were exactly that...past, and ultimately had no bearing on my understanding of what was going on inside **this** novel. Relationships seemed natural, flitting across the page with easy and comfort. And is it an easy read? Sure, but completely enjoyable at that, throughout every page. Hoag is just THAT good.

In the end...it was just another (stand alone) psychological thriller, with amazing attention to detail, just the right amount of humor, and enough heart to make the story sink its teeth into you. I didn't need to backtrack. I didn't need to research. All I needed to do was kick back and take it all in. Which (to me) is the sign of a successful novel.

That said...I actually do recommend you read novels 1-3 first. Not because it's necessary, but because I KNOW they will be just as entertaining as this one was. And, since most of you read for fun, adding a few more books to your list isn't such a big deal. No?

Good book. Interesting story. Captivating characters. If you are a thriller/mystery buff...take a chance. Hoag IS all that and a bag of chips.
4-1/2 stars. ( )