The Alibi Man by Tami Hoag Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.48 You Save: $5.51 (69%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Alibi Man
Book Review: Alibi Man
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved THE ALIBI MAN. It was great! With this book I just rediscovered how much I like Tami Hoag. Her dialogue is always great and right on for the story. It's the second book with Elena Estes as the main character. I liked DARK HORSE, the first one, too, but this one was even better. The romance with Landry is barely there but it sizzles anyway. You never feel like you're waiting for a scene to end and the plot just moves faster and faster. I'm not normally into horses, but it really worked as the background for the crime. Keep 'em coming, Tami!Book Review: Amazingly Bad
Summary: 2 Stars
Cashing in on the success of her last novel - Dark Horse, Hoag uses the same female lead character to weave a story that's, painfully slow and unnecessarily graphic in the gore department. Furthermore, it's hard to enjoy a book when one cannot like or respect its lead character. Elena Estes is a charmless, self-centered Eve Dallas wanna-be(In Death Series by JD Robb). Yet, unrealistically, several men seem to be attracted to her. The author repeatedly mentions how "cynical" Elena is, but has her sympathize and almost melt with sorrow for a psychotic killer. I found that a little sickening. But then again, perhaps it's not surprising that one psycho would have sympathy for another.Book Review: Compelling Character
Summary: 5 Stars
Although I have been a fan of Tami Hoag for her former novels, The Alibi Man has put her at the top of my favorite writer list. This fast-moving story, centered on the corruption of wealthy Palm Beach society, is one of long-overdue justice finally coming home. The protagonist, the former detective Elena Estes, is one of the most compelling characters I have come across in reading. She is flawed, fearless and entirely engaging. Though there are several points of view in the story, she is the primary voice, and whenever she's "on" there's literary electricity that made me not to want her to stop. A marvelous characterization, and although other persons in the story are well drawn out (especially James Landry, whose unrequited love for her is a wonderfully understated theme)-- none come close to Elena. Her reflections, attitude, and honest internal conflicts make the entire novel a powerful experience. Elena was introduced in Dark Horse, which I also thoroughly enjoyed, but she blossoms into a fully deep and real person in The Alibi Man. I only hope the author will choose to create another story with her as protagonist. She's an unqualified winner.Book Review: Enjoyable read
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the first Tami Hoag book that I have read. I did enjoy it even though I don't have an interest in the horse/polo world. The characters were interesting and she held my interest right through the end, which is something James Patterson has never been able to do. On the whole this is a great beach read!Book Review: Excellent thriller with many of the same characters as Dark Horse
Summary: 5 Stars
I pre-ordered The Alibi Man in hardback, and upon receiving it on the first day of publication I read it in one sitting, and I have just re-read it. Amazingly, for a thriller, it was still a riveting read even though I knew the outcome
If you have read Tami Hoag's Dark Horse you will be somewhat familiar with the horse scene in South Florida where it is set. This time around it is polo rather than dressage, but still inhabited by some of the most unsavoury and self-absorbed people you will encounter.
Elena Estes, an ex-undercover detective scarred emotionally and physically, is out for a morning ride when she encounters a body floating in a pond, and not just any body, a beautiful Russian groom, Irina Markova, who works with Elena on her friend Sean's horse farm. From here on giving too much detail on the plot could spoil the book for you, but just be aware there are shennanigans galore including Elena's ex-fiancee Bennett Walker, Russan mafia, old murders, and a couple of scenes so grisly that I had to put the book down for a while to catch my breath. Bennett is part of a wealthy, spoilt, bad boys network called the Alibi Club, who have for years provided alibis for each other. 'nuff said!
Elena Estes is a complex lady and, sometimes her worst enemy, but she is riveting as a non-typical heroine, flaws and all. She is not a licensed Private Investigator, but she wants justice for her friend, and she bends the rules as far as possible to glean information. James Landy, a detective she first met in Dark Horse, is also investigating the crime. They walked off together at the end of Dark Horse and between the two books they had a relationship, but he is her ex at the beginning of The Alibi Man. He is also a very compelling character, an honourable man, and balances out Elena's personal need to get justice, with insight and good police work. Drat, I would have liked a bit more of the Estes/Landy relationship when they were a couple, as they seemed so well matched, so I felt a bit cheated that it had happened off the page.
Tami Hoag's suspense books Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Night Sins, Dark Paradise, A Thin Dark Line (Mysteries & Horror), etc, have multiple threads in the storyline, so they are not always an easy read if you are easily distracted. They are very different from her earlier romance books Heart of Dixie, Sarah's Sin, etc. There are always some twists, and there are generally a couple of rather gruesome passages. I understand from a friend who has worked in the world of Polo that Tami Hoag absolutely nailed it, murders aside!
I really loved the ending. The Alibi Man is worth the cover price and definitely a keeper. I'd give it extra stars if I could, and I will definitely be pre-ordering her next book Deeper than the Dead.
I'd definitely recommend this books to other readers who like complex suspense, and don't mind the occasional grisly scene. Although this book stands alone, if you haven't already read it, I'd suggest you read Dark Horse first.