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Summary
Summary
"ASHES TO ASHES" Read by Melissa Leo A monster known as the Cremator is killing prostitutes in Minneapolis parks and setting their bodies on fire. When one of his victims turns out to be the daughter of a local billionaire, and a homeless teenager claims to have witnessed the burning, it brings together former FBI agent Kate Conlan and the Bureau's top serial-killer profiler, John Quinn. Conlan and Quinn share a painful personal history; now they have to work together against a very smart lunatic who seems to be able to read their minds.
Author Notes
Tami Hoag was born on January 20, 1959, in Cresco, Iowa. Her first novel, The Trouble with J. J., was published in 1988. Her other works include Night Sins, Guilty as Sin, The Alibi Man, Prior Bad Acts, Dark Horse, Kill the Messenger, Deeper Than the Dead, Secrets to the Grave, Down the Darkest Road, Cold Cold Heart, the Bitter Season, and The Boy. She is a past recipient of the Career Achievement Award from the Romantic Times.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Hoag (A Thin Dark Line) has a way of sneaking up on the reader in superior thriller tradition, taking her time in revealing monstrous images lurking in the dark corners. The Cremator, a Minneapolis serial killer, has been torturing prostitutes before incinerating them in local parks, but no one pays much attention until it appears that the third victim may be Jillian Bondurant, a billionaire's daughter. Former FBI agent Kate Conlan, now a victim/witness advocate, is enlisted to handle a reluctant teenage witness who claims to have seen the latest torching. Kate's life becomes further complicated when ace FBI profiler John Quinn is called in by Jillian's father. Kate and John share a personal history, he being one of the reasons she left the Bureau five years ago, and they must each contend with their painful past as they work together to catch the diabolical killer who appears to be taunting them at every turn. Hoag uses crisp dialogue effectively to distinguish the many diverse characters, while Kate and John's mirror-image Machiavellian work ethics justify both their mutual attraction and aversion. Devoting equal attention to the mystery of the serial killer's identity and the romantic tension between her engaging protagonists, Hoag does service to both, scripting love scenes worthy of George Clooney and Renée Russo, the Hollywood stars she mentions as look-alikes for her principals. Granting a humanizing dignity to the victims' corpses, she neatly sidesteps the graphic crudeness of some of her competitors, while still providing enough surprise twists and stomach-turning carnage to satisfy any heebie-jeebie enthusiast. Major ad/promo. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Hoag continues to exploit the theme of mutilated women (A Thin Dark Line, 1997, etc.) in a romance thriller about the hunt for a serial killer. Someone in Minneapolis is tying down women, then raping, torturing, and killing them. While they're still alive, the attacker sticks knives into the soles of their feet, then cuts off their nipples and aureoles. After they die, he stabs them in a ritual pattern, slices off their tattoos, and burns their bodies beyond recognition; to relive his moments of triumph, he audiotapes their screams for mercy and death. He's the ``Cremator'': just another ``sadistic sexual serial killer'' with low self-esteem and an abused childhood behind him. His first two victims are prostitutes, but when he turns his hand to Jillian Bondurant, the daughter of a billionaire, Minnesota calls in FBI agent John Quinn, world-famous expert on serial killers and related ilk. In the Twin Cities, Quinn is reunited with his ex-lover Kate Conlan, a former FBI expert in violent crime and the only woman he could ever really love. After the death of her daughter and a bitter divorce, Kate has moved to Minnesota and become a victim- and witness- advocate. In that capacity, she's assigned to watch over Angie DiMarco, a runaway teenager who spied the Cremator while she was turning a trick in the park. As lots of tawdry details are dug up about Jillian (incest, etc.), the killer tortures and murders another woman, kills a small dog (in romance, always a sign of irredeemable evil), then begins to plot against Kate herself. Hoag's strong dose of S&M resolves in fire, blood, stabbings, and Kate spread-eagled on a table. Though Hoag grows more and more adept at juggling a complex plot, her sort of violent entertainment isn't for everyone.
Booklist Review
A gruesome serial killer is on the loose in Minneapolis, torturing and burning his victims. Kate Conlan, former FBI agent, is the advocate for the only witness, Angie, a street-tough juvenile who refuses to cooperate. She distrusts the police, making Kate's job more difficult. Moreover, she has given a vague description of the killer. To make matters worse for Kate, the latest victim may be the daughter of reclusive billionaire Peter Bondurant, who uses his connections to bring in John Quinn, the FBI's top profiler. He is a former associate of Kate's, and her love for him was one of the reasons she left the FBI. On one level, she wants to remove herself from the case but bonds with Angie and is frantic when she turns up missing. The reader is privy to the innermost thoughts of all the central characters, from the killer to the authorities working on the case, providing great insight into the frustrations of the heroes and the evils of the villain. This is a winning psychological thriller that will attract fans of Thomas Harris. Hoag's romance fans should note that this is not for the squeamish. --Patty Engelmann
Library Journal Review
FBI agent Kate Conlan's career may have gone up in smoke, sticking her with a desk job in a backwater town, but now she's tracking a serial killer who burns his victims. Following the author's five New York Times best sellers. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.