A Thin Dark Line

By: Tami Hoag

Narrated by: Karen Peakes

Length: 18 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Terror stalks the streets of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana. A suspected murderer is free on a technicality, and the cop accused of planting evidence against him is ordered off the case. But Detective Nick Fourcade refuses to walk away. He’s stepped over the line before. This case threatens to push him over the edge.

He’s not the only one. Deputy Annie Broussard found the woman’s mutilated body. She still hears the phantom echoes of dying screams. She wants justice. But pursuing the investigation will mean forming an alliance with a man she doesn’t trust and making enemies of the men she works with. It will mean being drawn into the confidence of a killer. For Annie Broussard, finding justice will mean risking everything - including her life.

The search for the truth has begun - one that will lead down a twisted trail through the steamy bayous of Louisiana, and deep into the darkest reaches of the human heart.

©2014 Tami Hoag (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. “Could I Be Your Girl” written by Jann Arden Richards © 1997 Polygram Songs, Inc., and Girl On The Moon Music used By Permission. All Rights Reserved

Respectfully disagree with the other reviewers

I feel pretty deceived by the other reviewers here. By all accounts, I really should have liked this book. As a gal who likes a book with a strong female protagonist seeking to solve a horrible murder- this one seemed like it was right up my alley. To be fair, the premise of the story was interesting enough to keep my attention until the end. But in all honesty, the sum of the book’s flaws just completely ruined this one for me.

My biggest issue was with the characters. In the world the author created, there is not one male person with even a few sympathetic features. In fact, each and every man in this book, on one level or another, harbors rape fantasies and/or abusive tendencies toward the women around them. Even the main love interest! I actually started Mama-bear lecturing the book out loud when Anne began to get all heart-a-fluttery for a man who 1. drinks and has anger management issues 2. her internal dialogue is constantly stuck on how afraid she is of this man and 3.- HE BROKE INTO HER HOUSE AND THREATENED HER WITH A WEAPON. And this is the guy who is supposed to be our co-star hero? Does the author not know what good men look like? This is a terrifying (and not terribly realistic) world she’s created where every male is out to get the heroine.

My second grumble I have with this book is that there is no clever detective work involved. Our main character doesn’t solve the mystery, even though the culprit is pretty obvious and staring everyone in the face- they’re dismissed early on in the story. The plot conclusion sort of stumbles into itself with the two main characters having had nothing to do with the solution of the crime. I admit that this second complaint will be completely up to the reader’s tastes, but when I read a murder mystery, I like for my main character to have some ability in solving crimes.

34 of 36 people found this review helpful

Exciting Mystery

A Thin Dark Line revealed to the listener just how difficult it can be to find enough evidence to convict a suspect. There were many character's who appeared to be the murderer of Pam Boussard.

The actions of so many made the listener quite sure that person was the killer. However, another character made the listener think, no, he's not the one. Therefore, maybe Marcus Raynard, the man who was believed by most of the people in the small town, including the police, actually did commit the murder. He had a trial but due to lack of evidence, Marcus was a free man again. His actions after he was released were ones that made me believe that maybe Marcus was the killer after all.

The mystery definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. There was action and suspense throughout the book. The narrator, Karen Peakes, did an excellent job with the many character's that were relevant to the story. She was able to express the many emotions that the characters felt, such as fear, anger, hate, compassion, etc. What I liked best about the story was the difficulty figuring out who did kill Pam. I've enjoyed reading Tami Hoag books and A Thin Dark Line was another purchase that was a good decision.

I had difficulty keeping track of the character's names. The author interchanged the first and last names of every character and there were many. I had to think hard about who was who while I listened. That is the reason I did not give the book five stars.

31 of 33 people found this review helpful

Unlikeable characters

I listened to the author's other book, Cold Cold Heart, and enjoyed it much more than this one. Although well written, the suspense is not that suspenseful and most of the characters mostly unlikeable. The main character, Annie, gets in trouble on the local police force for arresting fellow policeman, Nick Fourcade, for beating a murder suspect senseless. He is a cop gone wild, justifying terrorizing just about anyone who he suspects of a crime. He would be right at home in Ferguson, MO.

Most of the book seems to be about the petty revenges among the police force. They treat her badly she just responds with really vicious comments. No wonder they don't like her, I wouldn't either.Then you have two really unrelated stories of a murder and multiple rapes in the town. Characters are introduced which have no point in the story, and only a minor twist at the end makes it slightly interesting. I only paid $3.95 on a daily deal so I am not that disappointed. At full price I might have returned it.

The narration was just ok, having liked the narration of Julian Whelan better in Cold Cold Heart. The female voices are good, but the narrator adds too much a New Orleans French twang to the male voices making the narration difficult to understand

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Not Bad, But Not Hoag's Best

I was disappointed in this book. The prose are wonderful. Tami Hoag is very skillful with words, but the story is a very predicable boy-meets-girl plot and quite formulaic. The plot line was messy. When one of the "bad guys" was revealed it made no sense, he was pulled from thin air and had no connection to the story until that point. The high point of this production is the narrator Karen Peakes, she makes the characters come alive.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Awesome narration and a great suspense!

Where does A Thin Dark Line rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best! Excellent narration and the storyline was a great suspense.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Very good. So many possibilities, the story keeps you guessing the whole time.

Have you listened to any of Karen Peakes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've never heard any previous books of Karen Peakes but I will be searching out more for sure!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I'm not very good at creativity, not too sure how to answer this one at all.

Any additional comments?

I will be looking for more with Karen Peakes!

19 of 21 people found this review helpful

Loved this book!

Great job by the narrator with multiple characters and the different accents. I was impressed and will look for other books by this same narrator.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

Narrator Takes Story to the Next Level

Would you try another book from Tami Hoag and/or Karen Peakes?

Yes. This was my second book from Tami Hoag, but my first with Karen Peakes as the narrartor. I was very impressed by Karen.

Would you be willing to try another book from Tami Hoag? Why or why not?

Yes, Dust to Dust was the first Tami H. book I read. I like this story much better.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

An excellent mystery with a bit of Romance Novel

THis was a very well written novel that kept me changing my mind about the perpetrator of the crime all the way through. The voices were perfectly voiced by the narrator and it would have been 5 stars all the way across if not for the unnecesary romance novel tripe . I wish today's authors would realize that stuff is not needed to get the feeling of attraction between two people across to the reader. More and more mystery/crime writers are lowering their quality of writing and taking the easy way out to make their books exciting.
In this case, it was a relatively small part of the story and easily scrolled past so didn't detract so much from the story as to cause me to give up on it.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Complexed Mystery/Suspense Story

The author Tami Hoag grabbed my attention with her Oak Knoll series (Down The Darkest Road, Deeper Than The Dead and Secrets To The Grave). Her storylines are different - not "cookie-cutter" and her characters are developed well enough to get you interested in what going on in the story and how the main character(s) are impacted by the doings of the bad guys. And, of course, there are twists and turns... some twists/turns can be seen coming but mostly you are blindsided and you can't see the them coming.

This was an interesting story with plenty of action and murders. The setting is the Louisiana French Bayou with the upcoming Mardi Gras/Carnival as part of the backdrop. So pay close attention during the first couple of chapters until the names and who's who are introduced and sorted out. This story has characters who I labeled as "undiagnosed" because they are "sick, sick, sick"! with personality disorders, stalker qualities, and OCD (obsessive/possessive compulsive disorder)...

The biggest twist is in the last three or four chapters. As I like to say, the least suspect should be the first suspect. I saw it coming and I think you will too, but it doesn't take away from the action, suspense, and tension as you root for the main character to hurry up and figure out who the villain truly is.

The narrator was okay, can't complain, but I think Kirsten Potter is better.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Fabulous

This Book started off strong held your attention and I never saw the end coming. Great listen you won't regret

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

waste of a credit

What disappointed you about A Thin Dark Line?

not my type of novel

What was most disappointing about Tami Hoag’s story?

too long , cringemaking sex scenes, unpleasant attitudes and violence

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Bit too southern gothic for me

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from A Thin Dark Line?

perhaps 40%

Any additional comments?

Avoid

20 of 35 people found this review helpful

Complete spoiler heard in The Boy

Ruined it. Story over egged could have been told in a tenth of the time.

I would like a credit as could not rewind this or The Boy. Both could only be moved on 30 seconds at a time and not eg by chapter.

Well narrated though.

A good read

Once again a good read from this writer ,keeps you gessingy,fist I thought it was one person then another,I did . gess but not till the last

Excellent read

Another superbly crafted storyline by Tami. Thoroughly enjoyable and thrilling. Great plot, good characters. Well constructed ed

fantastic narrator

fast paced and had me catching my breath at times. The narrator brought a new voice for each person and I was there with them.

A Thin Dark Line - wish I could have given this 2 1/2 stars

A Thin Dark Line - wish I could have given this 2 1/2 stars
I enjoyed this book at times & at other times the book got on my nerves, there was the usual LOVE interest, which distracts from storyline.
The ending was a big surprise.
Narration was ok

Great story

great story fast paced and kept me guessing to the end! will read more definitely

Great story , wonderfully narrated

I enjoyed this book immensely. The plot twists, the characters and the unpredictable ending all added up to a book that I would recommend to anyone.
The narrator did an excellent job with each of the characters and added to the listening experience.

great reader

i enjoyed the book thanks to the reader she brought the book alive well done your have a great talent you did justice to the story

loved it!

the bayou bought to life. crime, passion, gators and good writing and performing. most excellent.