THE BOY

By Tami Hoag

Some readers out there have been impatient for this title to arrive, seeing as that it’s been two years since the last Hoag beyond-memorable book came out. So…was it worth the wait?

This is a thriller with a capital “T” from the very beginning. Readers witness Detective Nick Fourcade doing his job in the perfect suspense location of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana. He heads into the house of Genevieve Gauthier to find that her son has been murdered. Genevieve has remnants of bruises herself, yet it’s a bit odd why she would be left alive, since a murderer would not want a witness to their crime.

As Nick does his job, he finds no clues that place a stranger inside the home. Not to mention, Nick’s own wife and fellow detective, Annie Broussard, sits with Genevieve in the ER and can’t seem to get any answers. Although Annie, too, doesn’t understand why the woman is still alive, she definitely feels for her and is extremely sorry for her loss.

But the boy is not the only one who is lost. The victim’s babysitter, Nora, has come up missing and now everyone in the small town begins to lock their doors in fear that someone is preying on their children.

This investigation is monumental. Twists and turns include everything from dealing with Genevieve’s past that is not filled with the nicest of men; to a convicted criminal who just happens to pop out of her past; to whether or not the babysitter has been abducted or actually has disappeared because she had a hand in the murder.

As always with this author, the mystery is a long and complex one, with characters you will both love and hate. But was it worth the two-year wait? This reviewer gives a resounding “yes” to that question.