Deeper than the Dead

By: Tami Hoag

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Tami Hoag is in a class by herself, beloved by audiences and critics alike, with more than 22 million copies of her books in print. With Hoag's first novel for Dutton, she proves anew why the Chicago Tribune called her "one of the most intense suspense writers around."

California, 1984. Three children, running in the woods behind their school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre, shocked by this discovery and heartbroken as she witnesses the end of their innocence. What she doesn't yet realize is that this will mark the end of innocence for an entire community, as the ties that bind families and friends are tested by secrets uncovered in the wake of a serial killer's escalating activity.

Detective Tony Mendez, fresh from a law enforcement course at FBI headquarters, is charged with interpreting those now revealed secrets. He's using a new technique-profiling-to develop a theory of the case, a strategy that pushes him ever deeper into the lives of the three children, and closer to the young teacher whose interest in recent events becomes as intense as his own.

As new victims are found and the media scrutiny of the investigation bears down on them, both Mendez and Navarre are unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves-or the family and friends of the killer, blissfully unaware that someone very close to them is a brutal, calculating psychopath.

©2009 Tami Hoag (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“[A] nail-biting thriller…Once again, bestselling Hoag plots craftily and creates characters readers root for.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)  

“Hoag's first-rate exploration of her characters imbues Deeper than the Dead with compelling plot twists.” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)  

“There's a truly terrifying serial killer at the heart of Hoag's...page-turner...the chilling premise and exciting twists make Hoag's latest a thriller in every sense of the word.” (Booklist)  

“Bestseller Hoag (Kill the Messenger) ventures into serial killer territory with results sure to please her many fans.” (Publishers Weekly) 

A pleasant surprise

I struggled for a long time when purchasing my last book, but finally decided on this one. I am glad that I chose this book because, not only was it an intriguing mystery, but it was also a critical look into the psychology of families and the impact their actions have on children. The whole premise of the novel from the description made it seem like it had nowhere to go but into nap time, but it kept me very involved. I had to put off a few things at the end because I could not wait to see what happened in the last 5 or 6 chapters. Also, the reader was excellent. A perfect choice for this particular novel. And since you usually figure out the end of novels like this well before the end, it was refreshing to be pretty surprised at the outcome. Lots of twists and turns and surprises all along the way to keep you fully involved.

Well written, well read

This book is will have you taking the long way home to spend more time listening. It is a bit graphic in parts and may give you nightmares but the story is so well-done, the suspense is amazing. Kirsten Potter's narration is outstanding and I am going to seek out her readings. She has a great talent. She even sounds sexy as the tough guy Chicago FBI agent!

this who dunnit kept me guessing

An excellent read with a long suspect list, that kept me guessing on the bad guy's identify. It is amazing how one incident can affect so many lives, this story shows it.

I liked all the characters and loved the different written and verbal voices - credit goes to excellent narration by Kirsten Potter. Her rendition of Frannie was excellent and funny and she is just fabulous!!!! thanks Tami Hoag for a great read.

Really got sucked in!

Had a hard time stopping my listen to work, go to bed, etc. Really enjoyed it.

Exploitative, Trite, and Badly Written

If I could, I would have given this book minus ratings. If I dislike a book this much, I usually just either return it or decide not to review. But this time I think I should warn serious readers of psychological thrillers, dark mysteries, or romantic fiction.

The characters here are mere stereotypical ciphers, the dialog is trite and hokey. I could not believe that a woman writer could present women in such a way: there's the nagging scold, the grasping and icy social climber, the cowering battered wife - all without a trace of subtlety or insight. Men are manly men, total abusers, or not very interesting. And, heaven help us, there's even the chattering, gossipy, one-of-the-girls gay man! Seriously?

Add to this a nearly sickening and exploitative degree of graphic violence against women, child abuse, and utterly unimaginative and gratuitous sex scenes.

Even the "mystery" isn't all that good. It doesn't come as any surprise at all who the villain is.

Waste of time, money and/or credit. Skip it!

author has psychological insight

Very few authors understand the borderline/abusive wife/mother as well as the dynamics between an abusive husband and his wife. Tami Hoag presents both of these situations throughout this book and is right on. As a psychologist I commend this author for understanding and presenting these characters for the readers to understand.

I loved this book! Couldn't stop listening.

This is a great book. A real "page turner". It kept me listening into the wee hours of the morning and even made my housework enjoyable!
A superb narration from Kirsten Potter. Can't wait for the next book.

Great book!

I really did enjoy this book. Couldn't wait to keep listening. I do think the character Anne N. was a little stiff and a little too perfect. But, ignoring that, I did enjoy the story.

Excellent Read

Excellent read! If you liked Night Sins and Guilty as Sin this is a book for you to read. There really needs to be a sequel and I can't wait for it to come out

great characters

She does a great job of making you care about the people in the book: a nice variety of characters