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Review by Sandy Huseby
The brooding pulse of the Louisiana bayou drums through A Thin Dark Line, the evocative new thriller from best-selling author Tami Hoag.
Sheriff's deputy Annie Broussard discovers the violent murder of Pam Bichon. When Pam's accused killer, Marcus Renard, is released on a legal technicality, Annie is compelled to seek more evidence to convict Renard. She feels a strong allegiance to Pam's daughter, Josie, because her own mother died in a suicide.
Personally ambitious, Annie recognizes that if her investigation finds the necessary evidence to convict Renard, that will likely also assure her promotion to detective. But Annie's plan is cut short when she arrests rogue cop Nick Fourcade, who she stops from violently beating Renard.
Arresting Nick makes Annie an outcast among her colleagues in the Partout Parish sheriff's office, so she is driven to use unconventional tactics. Her unlikely ally is Fourcade, who has his own checkered past as a New Orleans cop.
Their separate investigations open a morass of new dangers: a series of rapes in the Parish bear a marked resemblance to the circumstances of Pam Bichon's murder.
Most chilling are the messages and gifts which begin to shadow Annie's nights in the same haunting manner that Pam endured by her stalker.
Hoag's story is as riveting as a bayou ride through the dark waters, where danger lurks just beneath the surface ready to rise with a toothy snap of final judgment. From the dangerous remoteness of the bayou to the false security of her own bedroom to the dissonant celebration of Mardi Gras, Hoag's portrayal of Annie Broussard's growing vulnerability rings with terrifying clarity.
As the title promises, A Thin Dark Line reminds the reader that line exists for everyone, and as the tension builds the provocative question becomes whether Annie, driven by her own personal history and the harassment she endures from Marcus and her colleagues, may be driven to cross that line herself.
A Thin Dark Line is a take-the-phone-off-the-hook, turn-the-lights-on-bright thriller that will keep readers immersed in this spellbinder and mesmerized to the last page.
Sandy Huseby is a writer who divides her time between Fargo, North Dakota, and Nevis. She is online at SHuseby@aol.com.
©1997, ProMotion, inc.