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A review by ncrabb
Guilty as Sin by Tami Hoag
4.0
This is the sequel to Hoag's earlier book, Night Sins. It's essential that you read that one first. This doesn't stand alone well at all.
The college professor is widely respected in the small Minnesota town despite his capture and being charged with kidnapping a child and assaulting a cop. There are many in the community, including many of his students, who believe him innocent.
It's up to prosecutor Ellen North to prove that he is indeed guilty, and it isn't long before she realizes that somewhere, he has an accomplice. But the psychology professor is a master at mind control, and even from his cell, it seems he is manipulating justice and the entire community to meet his needs and ensure his freedom.
Not long after he is incarcerated, and only weeks before his formal trial, things get even more interesting for the professor when he hires the best defense money can buy--a lawyer who once had a relationship with Ellen North.
Early into the book, Josh, the boy who was kidnapped in the first book in the series, is released to his parents. But the boy is badly damaged; his mind is a shell of its former self, and although he is home, he is very much a prisoner subject to the ongoing influence of "the taker," Josh's name for the man who took him. Indeed, when another little boy is kidnapped, it is Josh who comes out of his semi-locked-in state long enough to somberly pronounce, "he's a goner."
Hoag is the grand master of what I call the creep factor in a book. Yes, I know, that's saying a lot, since there are other authors out there who can creep out even the most unimaginative among us. But Hoag's creep factor is at times almost chilling to the point of being nauseating. There are the late-night phone calls which Ellen North gets where the caller breathes ominously into the phone and whispers threats. There is the mysterious lawyer turned writer who has his own sketchy past. Is he trying just to get information for his next book? His next in-the-sack score with Ellen North? Or is he indeed one of the good guys on the right side?
My only quibble with this book is that Hoag may have used the creep factor a bit too much. The threats of the almost-silent late-night caller that run through Ellen North's head seem to be repeated a bit too often. It's a bit like listening to someone over use some vulgarity or another. Eventually, the shock value wears off, and you simply see the verbosity as evidence of a weak mind.
But you'll be well and thoroughly creeped out by the mental manipulations of the college professor, his tragic twisted wife, and so much more. Hoag masterfully tears the small community down to its sheetrock and studs, and the exposed nastiness is ugly indeed.
The college professor is widely respected in the small Minnesota town despite his capture and being charged with kidnapping a child and assaulting a cop. There are many in the community, including many of his students, who believe him innocent.
It's up to prosecutor Ellen North to prove that he is indeed guilty, and it isn't long before she realizes that somewhere, he has an accomplice. But the psychology professor is a master at mind control, and even from his cell, it seems he is manipulating justice and the entire community to meet his needs and ensure his freedom.
Not long after he is incarcerated, and only weeks before his formal trial, things get even more interesting for the professor when he hires the best defense money can buy--a lawyer who once had a relationship with Ellen North.
Early into the book, Josh, the boy who was kidnapped in the first book in the series, is released to his parents. But the boy is badly damaged; his mind is a shell of its former self, and although he is home, he is very much a prisoner subject to the ongoing influence of "the taker," Josh's name for the man who took him. Indeed, when another little boy is kidnapped, it is Josh who comes out of his semi-locked-in state long enough to somberly pronounce, "he's a goner."
Hoag is the grand master of what I call the creep factor in a book. Yes, I know, that's saying a lot, since there are other authors out there who can creep out even the most unimaginative among us. But Hoag's creep factor is at times almost chilling to the point of being nauseating. There are the late-night phone calls which Ellen North gets where the caller breathes ominously into the phone and whispers threats. There is the mysterious lawyer turned writer who has his own sketchy past. Is he trying just to get information for his next book? His next in-the-sack score with Ellen North? Or is he indeed one of the good guys on the right side?
My only quibble with this book is that Hoag may have used the creep factor a bit too much. The threats of the almost-silent late-night caller that run through Ellen North's head seem to be repeated a bit too often. It's a bit like listening to someone over use some vulgarity or another. Eventually, the shock value wears off, and you simply see the verbosity as evidence of a weak mind.
But you'll be well and thoroughly creeped out by the mental manipulations of the college professor, his tragic twisted wife, and so much more. Hoag masterfully tears the small community down to its sheetrock and studs, and the exposed nastiness is ugly indeed.