Disturbing and chilling and that wasn't even the serial killer part...Liska and Kovac are teamed up on another case. The grisly murder of a teenage girl just might be the same girl who went missing from Liska’s son’s school. This could be another victim of a serial killer they’ve encountered in the past, Doc Holliday, but Liska and Kovac are not ones to overlook other solutions. There’s not much romance except between Liska’s teenage son, an artistic outcast happy in his own skin (loved him!!) a...

#4 in the Sam Kovak & Nikki Liska series. I'm afraid I can't agree with the rave ratings bestowed on this book by the vast majority of reviewers - maybe it's a gender thing. The thing I object to most is the stuffing. I can recall when a book with this content would be 160-220 pages instead of the 400+ in this novel - of course a 160 page thriller couldn't command a $26.95 list price. There are pages of side stories that could be left out without being missed and more pages worth of repetitive d...

Sam Kovac and Nikki Lyska make a great detective team, Kovak is an old school, loaner, sleuth and Syska is a younger, divorced mother of two. Both are flawed but their flaws only add to their charm, they fit together and offset each other at the same time. Tami Hoag did an outstanding job of making this a stand alone book while keeping it intriguing enough to make me want to start with the first book in the series. The relatability of the characters and the crisscrossing threads of the mystery,

Jamar Jackson drove the twenty-passenger white Hummer to make extra cash while he studied. This particular night was New Year’s Eve in Minneapolis, it was freezing cold and his passengers were in various stages of drunkenness. With one eye on the semi-naked activities in the back, and one eye on the road, his concentration levels weren’t at their peak. Suddenly a vehicle cut across in front of him, bouncing through a pot-hole; the boot flew open and to Jamar’s horror the body of a woman fell fro...

I found this book to be not believable in every senseAs I said about the other Tami Haog book I read, Down the Darkest Road, this book is okay for an airplane ride. But that's it.From the simple linear predictable plot to the bumbling undeveloped stereotyped detectives, there was nothing in this book memorable, challenging, or remarkable. The book is 400 pages of dialog between detectives that goes like this: "Happy new year, detective." "What's happy about it?" "Uh… nothing, I guess." "I'm assu...

4.5 Stars! Very well written, tight read! I did figure out who did the deed, but getting there was a wild ride, as we explore the depth of teenage angst and drama. (all too real in my life right now.) If you haven't read a TH this is a good book to start with, as this book could stand on its own quite easily. Liska and Kovak have been partners for a long time, but this book didn't have a serial feel to it.

I am not sure if this is the final book to the Kovak and Liska series or not. It ended on a note that could be taken as a last installment. I was quite satisfied with this last book and I was kind of sad to be leaving the Kovak and Liska world. This was probably my favorite of the four. In this book Doc Holiday once again rears his ugly head when a teenage girl falls from a trunk of a dark sedan on the highway. Once they identify the girl they must figure out if Doc Holiday is back to his old gr...

There's a very good story lurking somewhere in here, but unfortunately it's buried in a 500-page book that's about 150 pages too long. It gets off to a roaring start on a New Year's Eve, when a Lexus sedan hits a pothole, of which there are apparently many in Minneapolis. The trunk springs open and a young woman, who's dead or nearly dead, is thrown out of the trunk and is hit by a stretch hummer carrying a group of inebriated and half-naked party goers. At first sight, the victim resembles a zo...

On New Year's Eve, homicide detectives Nikki Liska and Sam Kovac investigate the brutal murder of a teenage girl whose body pops out of a trunk of a moving vehicle after hitting a pothole in the road. The detectives wonder if this is another victim of the still-at-large serial killer, Doc Holiday, who is known for committing murders on holidays. As they investigate further, there is also the chance that this may be a stand-alone crime, since the victim was not well-liked and not looked upon too

Tami Hoag has done it again with her latest novel The 9th Girl. The "it" is make an exceptional read that's full of twists, turns, suspense, and some really dead bodies. The 9th Girl begins with the body of an unrecognizable girl coming from the trunk of a car on New Year's. She is believed to be the 9th victim of a serial killer dubbed the Doc Holliday. All of his victims are discovered during or around holidays and have similar MOs. Nikki Liska and Sam Kovak are called into the crime scene and...

Minneapolis detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska have seen just about everything there is to see when it comes to human depravity, so much that they no longer expect to be surprised. But, surprised is what they are about to be, although not nearly as surprised as the limo driver who suddenly crashes into a zombie in the middle of a Minneapolis freeway.The first question Kovac and Liska have to answer is whether Zombie Doe, as she comes to be called, was already dead when she popped out of the tr...

In this 4th book in the 'Kovac and Liska' series, the police detectives are on the trail of a vicious serial killer. The novel can be read as a standalone.*****When the mutilated, acid-burned body of a teenage girl falls from a car's trunk a serial killer called 'Doc Holiday' is the prime suspect.This sadistic murderer has already taken eight lives in a ritualistic fashion and police fear the teen may be his ninth victim. Detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska investigate the murder of the unident...

The 9th Girl by Tami Hoag is a 2013 Dutton publication.Kovac and Liska have been working a serial killer case for nearly a year now. The one they call "Doc Holiday" because he plans his killing around holidays. It's now New Year's Eve and a young girl has been killed apparently trying to escape from her kidnapper. It is assumed that since it is a holiday she was a victim of Doc Holiday. But, Liska isn't presuming anything. The first order of business is finding out who the girl is. Meanwhile, Li...

Ideal summer reading. It got a bit bogged down in the sub plot between Liska and her son. However, what I like about Hoag books is the ease in reading them. Throw in some plot twists and it's a good read.This is the fourth book in the Kovac and Liska series. The story starts on New Year's Eve when a limo driver sees a a car hits a pothole and a body pops up out of the trunk falling into the street in front of his limo. Aside from a small tattoo the body is disfigured and difficult to identify. T...

2.5 Stars. Pass.Pretty good ending and I was satisfied with the way Hoag built the suspense. However, it didn't really pick up until at least halfway into the book, which was too slow for my tastes. I was a bit bored by the first half. The concept wasn't interesting enough for me. The victim, who was murdered in a way that made her resemble a "zombie", is pretty much what the first half of the book rides on. While it certainly wasn't a cut-and-dry murder, it didn't offer anything else that drew

In the mood for another who done it & a serial killer on the loose. I liked the lead female detective's struggle between job, kids and frustration with "no responsibility" ex. Interesting story with quite a bit of commentary on teen culture and acceptance. 3.5 stars

#4 in the Sam Kovak & Nikki Liska series The 9th Girl is such a sad and shocking story. Detectives Sam Kovak & Nikki Liska follow a trail of smoke and mirrors after a body of a young girl is thrown out of the trunk of a moving car that may be the latest victim of a serial killer, who has eluded capture for some years, named “Doc Holiday” Characters well-developed and realistic. Liska’s home-life with her kids felt so real to me. How to deal with her young sons on an everyday basis….trying to be

After reading 2 thrillers, A Thin Dark Line (a stand alone story) and Ashes to Ashes (1st book in Kovac and Liska series), by Tami Hoag, I am hooked. The 9th Girl (4th book in Kovac and Liska series) didn't disappoint.The plot is cleverly delivered, with a shocking twist and satisfying ending. All characters are slowly and well developed as the story progresses, with fun bantering and intelligent dialogs. It was a little slow in the middle (in Audiobook standard, in my opinion), but the suspense...

I enjoy the Kovac and Liska series and did enjoy the 9th girl. I do want to note that The 1st Victim was a prequel to this one, but you don't really need to read it to enjoy this one. In fact The 1st Victim was more like a long prologue as it didn't have an ending.I like that there are multiple bad people and suspects on who killed Gray. The author did a really good job of showing how difficult it can be for young people who don't quite fit into the high school cliques. Gray's life was very sad

This was my first date with Tami Hoag & I can tell you there will definitely be a long term relationship on the cards.First character: I love Nikki Liska, the ballsy female homicide detective with a heart of gold. That she is a single mum struggling with all the guilt & fear that comes with being a working parent only endeared her to me more. Sam Kovac, her long term partner, is also a fantastic character even if a bit stereotypical as the gruff male detective. But what also surprised me was the...