Down the Darkest Road: Oak Knoll, Book 3

One of the best listens of 2011 for me ~ excellent story, excellent narration ~ it's like watching the story happen it front of my eyes it was so vivid and clear.

The way the author leads you to believe that you've got it all figured out, you KNOW who dun it...and then you don't.

She brought the characters ALIVE for me ~ it wasn't unnatural the way she did the mens voices, but she was consistent in every portrayal and varied them enough I never wondered who was supposed to be speaking. She was clear and concise, and spoke at a good narrative speed ~ she really made the book come alive for me. I had quit Tami Hoag, in all honesty, because she'd pretty much leaft the romance behind. Listening to her books opens a whole world up that I love ~ it's more like watching tv.

Criminal Mind fans, take note ~ THIS movie is one you don't want to miss!

Just that I really love that I'm once again enjoying Tami Hoag's books again so very, very much thanks to Audible. I'm becoming such an audio book junkie!

No Vince Leone and two much of the main character thinking not action. No comic relief with a character like Frannie from the previous novels and no suspense.

Moneyball

I have listened to all the Oak Knoll books and this last one did not disappoint. If anything, it made me quite disappointed that it was the last one as I had listened to all three in a row and felt a bit of a kinship with the main characters. My only complaint was that Vince and Anne weren't in this one nearly as much, so I missed them a bit. Very well narrated and another great mystery. If you like mysteries, this is a good one.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the Oak Knoll series but I will say this one was not my favorite. I originally was excited for Tony Mendez. He was a real gentleman in Secrets to the Grave with Sara so I thought he would be rewarded in this one. The female detective was a little to vulgar – hard core for me and quiet honestly for Tony too, if you stayed attuned to his character throughout the series. The throw in at the end was contrived and unnecessary at that point- Tony deserved better. The storyline was flat in the sense that it really didn’t explain WHY she would put her daughter at risk by moving to confront her other daughter’s alleged “guilty as charged” abductor and would-be killer. I love the daughters’ character – strengthen as the story went on…to bad her mother couldn’t do the same. A middle of the road storyline for a great suspense writer.

Yes. I've read plenty of Tami Hoag's books and like most of them. This one just didn't strike me right.

There was just too much thinking and not enough action. This was mentioned in a previous review and I ignored it. Now I wish I hadn't. It was just too boring to follow and I never even finished listening to the whole story.

I was so disappointed by this book. I have loved the Oak Knoll series, but this one tanked. There was hardly any character development. It felt like 60% of the book was internal conversations the main character is having with herself- it got to the point that I was so sick of listening to her I fast-forwarded a lot of it. While I cannot imagine what it would be like to loose a child, I did not feel sympathy for the main character because of her obvious lack of care for her remaining daughter. It was frustrating that in the end, she never even grasped how poor her parenting had been. I was also super frustrated that you didn't get to see any of the old characters (Vince, Anne, Franny) very much if at all. There have been SO many unanswered questions in these books, and I was really hoping they would all come together finally, but they didn't. I honestly didn't really feel like this book connected very well to the others. There was no comic relief in this book, and the tone was much darker than the previous two. And lastly, the romantic interest of Tony was SO far beneath him it was disgusting. This whole time, you've been waiting for him to end up with someone he can love and protect who deserves him too. Hoag's choice for him was just pathetic.

The authors writing style.

There are lots of them.

I thought she did great! Laurens voice reflected exactly how I pictured her character being.

No, I only listen while commuting.

I read several of the reviews before I bought this book. I have to say that I disagree that people were disappointed that it wasn't as good as the others in the Oak Knoll series. I found the book to be just as intense as the others and the characters and plots certainly had a few twists. I thought it brought out well how justice isn't always what we would like it to be.

Tami Hoag is one of my favorite authors but she overdid the (understandably) distraught mother of an abducted child story such that Lauren Lawton is an almost unsympathetic character. She neglects her remaining daughter to such an extent that I did not like her at all. Hoag also went on WAY TOO long about the pain - we get it - but hours of how much the character suffered, an drank, hated her late husband for copping out, etc didn`t add to the story itself. The narrator didn`t help either....especially her rendition of Tanner the female detective`s filthy tough talk was stereotypical of women who have to hold their own in a male work place. Bottomline - a lot of stereotypes and droning of the internal catharsis was painful. I actually jumped to the end to find who-dun-it because I got so turned off by Lauren Lawton`s mental breakdown - not sure how she survives on coffee, booze and toast for four years!

Less emphasis on stereotypes - e.g., tough talking female cop, knight in shining armor detective, hard bitten mom who while understandable just gets hard to take hour after hour...also where are the other characters like Franny? The gay friend of Anne. He was great.

No. She is dramatic but not quite right for mysteries. Also profanity doesn`t suit her - not sure who would be suited but the tone, pitch, etc didn`t go over well.

The story outline had promise but the guy identified early on was the guy....kind of a let down.

I will stick to reading Tami Hoag`s books - they don`t lend themselves to audio for some reason.

This is the third in a series, but they can be stand alone. I really like the whole 80's theme. It is prior to cell phones and low jacking. I love how Tami has brought to light the beginning of pro-filing and how the crime fighters of the world began sharing information in order to catch killers. It is dark, but very good. Thanks Tami.

Kristen Potter was an excellent narrator, I would definitely listen to other books read by her.

I would try other Tami Hoag books as well.

I listened to the other Oak Knoll books and this was by far the most sexually explicit. It was a little to much for me and I found myself fast forwarding through some parts. I liked the other Oak Knoll books better, although they were violent I felt like they were less twisted.

I did not mind that this book was not as focused on Ann and Vince though, I thought the author did a really good job of tying Ann and Vince into the story. Same with the Wendy character and her mother.