Secrets to the Grave: Book summary and reviews of Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag

Secrets to the Grave

by Tami Hoag

Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag X
Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag
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  • Published Dec 2010
    464 pages
    Genre: Mysteries

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Book Summary

Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her.

When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother's bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See-No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child's voice saying, "My daddy hurt my mommy."

Sheriff's detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won't fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne's life is hectic enough - she's a newlywed and a part-time student in child psychology, and she's the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne's heart is stolen.

As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham's life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Newcomers will have no trouble getting into this suspense novel rich in pre-DNA detecting methods." - Publishers Weekly

"Fans of literate mysteries will appreciate the complex but realistic story, the satisfying resolution and the descriptive writing." - Kirkus

This information about Secrets to the Grave was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Diane S.

Secrets to the Grave
I really enjoyed this novel as a whole, liked the characters and the story but the ending tried to cram to many bad things happening in too short a period of time. Loved Anne the child advocate and her little charge Halley, who had been through and seen things no four year old should ever have to experience. Would definitely have rated this book a five if not for the ending which stretched credibility.

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Author Information

Tami Hoag Author Biography

With more than fifteen consecutive Times bestsellers to her credit, including Deeper Than the Dead, Secrets to the Grave, and Prior Bad Acts, Tami Hoag has more than 35 million books in print, published in more than twenty languages worldwide. Her first thriller, Night Sins, was made into a two-part mini-series in 1997.

A favorite of readers and critics alike, Hoag began her career writing for Bantam's Loveswept line of romance novels, penning sixteen titles in five years. The novels ranged from romantic comedy to romantic suspense, with richly drawn characters and sharply written dialogue the hallmarks of Hoag's style. These traits carry through to her thrillers, along with fast-paced plots and dead-on police procedure.

Born in Iowa, raised in Minnesota, Tami Hoag left the...

... Full Biography
Link to Tami Hoag's Website

Name Pronunciation
Tami Hoag: rhymes with rogue

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