When Detective Nick Fourcade enters the home of Genevieve Gauthier outside the sleepy town of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana, the bloody crime scene that awaits him is both the most brutal and the most. Genevieve's seven-year-old son, P.J., has been murdered by an alleged intruder, yet Genevieve is alive and well, a witness inexplicably left behind to tell the tale. Even Malcolm ends up joining them and he, too, tries to convince Cole that theres a lot more to the doll than meets the eye. Before leaving her with Brahms, Mrs. Heelshire tells Greta Despite what it looks like on the outside, our son is still here with us. Gripping til the end! She turned away from him and opened the blinds. "The Boy is a story well told, and Nick Fourcade and Annie Broussard are an investigative team you'll eagerly come back to for more.". This police detective couple are projected as a pair off the cover of a Harlequin Romance novel. At five, he was still afraid of thunderstorms, most times ending up tucked between her and Nick in their bed. Ellen starts to receive. Greta, the main protagonist of the film, accepts the job of babysitting a young boy, but to her surprise, this boy turns out to be a porcelain doll named Brahms. Everyone in the Sheriffs Office was feeling the effectson the job and off. If you are going to ignore something that was important before just take it out or have it not be such a big deal. Would they call the police at someone knocking in the middle of the night? A mother herself, Annie understands the emotional devastation this woman is going through, but as a detective she's troubled by a story that makes little sense. From the beginning of the film, she clearly struggles to get rid of Cole and finds it hard to move on. A mother herself, Annie understands the devastation this woman is going through, but as a detective she's troubled: Who would murder a child and leave the only witness behind? To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we dont use a simple average. I would recommend the book to a friend with a warning that they might find some of the occurrences disturbing. It's the kind of book that you hate when it ends because the next book you read will probably be a let down! This is NOT an easy story. Help me. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida, where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Related Series: Rainbow Chasers, Quaid Horses, Doucet, Elena Estes, Deer Lake. An unfathomable loss or an unthinkable crime? Please God, someone help me . I believe I've read every one of her books and have never been disappointed, Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2022. It's been a long while since I have read a Tami Hoag thriller, and this one is as good as the ones I remember. See the complete Broussard and Fourcade series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. I could actually feel that swamp humidity & hear the mosquitos buzzing around. As always Tami has written another plot twisting book. According to what he knows, when he was a child, Brahms used to play with another girl of his age named Emily Cribbs. A bird flew up, its wings thumping against the thick, still air. Set in Louisiana's swampy bayou country, the volatile Detective Sergeant Nick Fourcade is a man with a temper he can barely control, married to Detective Annie Broussard, a woman who has never come to terms with her traumatic family history, both based at the Partout Parish Sheriff's Office. When Detective Nick Fourcade enters the home of Genevieve Gauthier outside the sleepy town of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana, the bloody crime scene that awaits him is both the most brutal and the most confusing he's ever seen. A scene later reveals Mrs. Heelshire writing a later to Brahms which states: We cannot bear to live with what you have become. I also loved how well plotted and unpredictable it was, it kept me guessing all the way. Site by AuthorBytes. They would be horrified without even knowing the true horror of what had happened. This police detective couple are projected as a pair off the cover of a Harlequin Romance novel. I had this on audiobook and found myself taking lunch breaks in my car and sitting in the car after work to listen. It was too dark to make out his features. The Boy by Tami Hoag is a crime thriller set in a small town in the United States; the book follows the investigation of the brutal murder . The author's attention to detail and setting is keen. Tami Hoag lets the reader view the family lives of Nick and Annie, a married couple who are both detectives (Nick being her boss). The 2-star rating is more about how little I personally appreciated this book then the reflection on its writing or its storytelling. Its my case. but this book did nothing but annoy me. A book that keeps you guessing. Loved the French Canon flair. Her latest offering is The Boy, a police procedural set in fictitious Partout Parish, Louisiana. Oh man, Im so happy I jumped back into thrillers with this book. The Theriot case was a straight-up whodunit. When the doll starts showing signs of life and Malcolm realizes that Greta is getting attached to him, he warns her by disclosing a more detailed story surrounding Brahms death. Her body was later discovered in the woods with her skull crushed. Free shipping for many products! Page count shown is an approximation provided by the publisher. native I like that this book is based in La. Considering their relationship had essentially begun when Annie had arrested Nick for assaulting a murder suspect, it wasnt surprising that people had doubted they would last. #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag keeps you guessing in her most harrowing thriller yet. Ive enjoyed some of her other books but I thought this one was a disaster. currently-reading, e-book, edelweiss-review, and mystery-shelf, tagged: This local flavor includes Nicks tendency to lapse into Cajun French when his emotions spike. Oh, Im sorry my feelings are so tedious for you., Its the middle of the damn night, he said wearily. I thought I knew who the killer was but NOPE! Greta goes to sleep with the doll and promises it that shell never leave while Cole sleeps in a different room. Narrator Hillary Huber does an excellent job immersing the reader in the regions rich Louisiana accentseven including a smattering of pure French Patois. The boy, dressed in Spider-Man pajamas, is lying in a pool of blood in his bedroom, stabbed some 10 times in the chest and face. The detectives wonder: Why kill the boy and let a witness go? Someone killed me and my boy.. They would see the blood that stained her hands like red lace gloves. Absolutely fantastic read from start to finish! Just when he asks her to give her a goodnight kiss, she stabs him with a screwdriver and gets out of there with Malcolm. So much blood. Uncle Sos, as Catholic as any Cajun man in these parts, still wore a dime on a string around his neck to ward off bad gris-griscurses and such. Help me. He had a volatile nature, always teetering on the edge of darkness. What transpired between them during sex was explosive and incredible as they both tried to reach beyond their frustration to connect as they always had on this other plane of being that was beyond words. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid- Feat Hippie Food by Jonathan Kauffman- Feature and Review, Someone to Trust by Mary Balogh- Feature and Review, Watching You by Lisa Jewell- Feature and Review. A book that keeps you guessing. The car drew closer. I suppose that's a sign of a good writer when she can evoke such strong emotions. It didnt help that the unrelenting heat and humidity had everyone on their last nerve. She wanted to cry out, to call for help, but her voice died in her throat. Malcolm tells her that Brahms was once a real boy and was the only child of Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire. Don't miss this read! A great read I do like a bit of crime and a bit of love!!! #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag keeps you guessing in her most harrowing thriller yet. But then, one day, their house caught fire and after not being able to escape on time, Brahms died. Mainly, mystery/thriller, Contemporary and Historical fiction, Biography/Memoir and True Crime, and a little Romance, too! I write book reviews for all types of books. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Select a location to see product availability, Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2023, I've been a fan of Tami Hoag for years. To make matters worse, while Ellen is developing her case against the incarcerated Wright, another eight-year-old boy is kidnapped and then murdered in a neighboring town. The forensics had given them nothing to go on. I gotta go, Nick said, suddenly behind her. An unfathomable loss or an unthinkable crime? #1New York Timesbestselling author Tami Hoag keeps you guessing in her most harrowing thriller yet. Now aNew York TimesbestsellerAn unfathomable loss or an unthinkable crime? Dutrow lives with his fiancee, Sharon Spencer, with her troubled child, Cameron. Help! She flung herself at the drivers side of the hood as if she could physically force the car to stop. A part of her wanted to crouch in the brush and hide. It didnt matter that Gus himself had brought Kelvin Dutrow on board as chief deputy the year before his retirement. Author: Tami Hoag Publisher: ISBN: 9780752847108 Size: 26.35 MB Format: PDF, Kindle View: 4234 Get Book Disclaimer: This site does not store any files on its server.We only index and link to content provided by other sites. To save him from the world, his parents faked his death and hid him in the walls of their grand mansion. 5 big ol' shiny stars and I'll definitely be reading more by this author. . He is presented as being strikingly handsome, with piercing eyes, a square jaw, and the kind of muscular forearms that Anne likes to stroke. He does not follow the law he does not follow the constitution and its constantly violating peoples rights. Now a New York Times bestseller An unfathomable loss or an unthinkable crime? It deals with the dark side of human nature and how the face a person shows the public does not always match the one behind closed doors. She liked to think she was too logical and practical to believe in signs and portents, but she couldnt escape the fact that she had been raised by superstitious people in a superstitious place. Marc Mercier appears to have it all - a successful business man with a loving family who has risen above his upbringing. If one of the people in this night's story had turned left instead of right at some point in time, their paths might never have crossed, and KJ and Genevieve Gauthier would be home, asleep, and in safe beds. edelweiss-review, currently-reading, e-book, and mystery-shelf, tagged: . I don't think I'll be reading anything else by this author I hated this book and wasn't that big a fan of another of her books. She was painted with it. Across the room, his cell phone came to life on the nightstand. The thunder rumbled in the distance, but above her the moon was still white-bright, so bright that the sky around it glowed metallic blue. As disturbing and puzzling facts come to light its up to Detectives Nick Fourcade and Annie Broussard sort them out, find the killer and bring him to justice. Most of the staff had worked their entire careers under the long reign of Gus Noblier, and no matter how any of them had or hadnt gotten along with Gus, he had become a saint in absentia. Very good book to read. Is someone from Genevieve's past or present responsible for the death of her son? They are dealing with upheaveal in their department with a new sheriff in charge who wants things done his way. !Leona Ellis Ashton. Bang! Author Tami Hoag has penned an intriguing tale of murder and mystery, tossing in enough red herrings to throw even veteran sleuths off the trail. I cant stand her main character the detective. I loved the chemistry between the two main characters and the humid, sweaty setting of the Louisiana bayou. Not that she wasnt used to the phone ringing at all hours with bad news, but it was always someone elses bad news, and she or Nick or both of them were being called on as sheriffs detectives to come out and sort through the latest human catastrophe in Partout Parish. When he lifted his mouth from hers, she murmured, I think you may need to do more than just hold me.. And then the blackness of oblivion swallowed her whole. But the truth is a lot more complex than that. Or would they just mistake her for an intruder and shoot her? It also reflects on why Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire committed suicide. Her 7-year-old child is at home dead from knife wounds. Death was just a part of life here. native I like that this book is based in La. crime readers will be turning the pages desperate to find out the ending. Where you at? he asked, his voice a low, raspy growl. Who would murder a child and leave the only witness behind? But after moving into the Heelshire mansion, things eventually start getting a lot better for her. In order to save Malcolm, she returns to the mansion and tells Brahms that she came back for him. Powered by WordPress.com VIP. The Boy is a story well told, and Nick Fourcade and Annie Broussard are an investigative team youll eagerly come back to for more. Is the missing teenager, Nora, a victim, or something worse? Thud! On the other side of the room, Annies husband stirred in his sleep, grumbling, sweeping an arm along the empty space beside him. Her characters are flawed and all too human . #1New York Timesbestselling author Tami Hoag keeps you guessing in her most harrowing thriller yet. He bent his head and sighed, his warm breath stirring the hair at the nape of her neck as he moved close again, corralling her between his arms, trapping her between himself and the window. Genevieve's seven-year-old son, KJ, has been murdered by an alleged intruder, yet Genevieve is alive and well. & shows the Cajun country way of life along with the description of the weather & nature. Who would murder a child and leave the only witness behind? What it boils down to is young teenagers being bullied and being misunderstood to the point where they do the unthinkable. When the cops arrived at the mansion to question the young boy, it was already burning down and Brahms was later found dead. Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2022. He was a miniature of Nick with his straight dark eyebrows and full lower lip. . Hoag opens her latest novel with a wounded woman stumbling down the street seeking help. . No witness had come forward to point the investigation in any direction. I need to hold you for a while., She tipped her face up to look at him and met his lips with hers. There are more than 40 million copies of her books in print in more than 30 languages, and each new title instantly rings the bell on the bestseller charts. Called out to a shack on the outskirts of Bayou Breaux, Nick Fourcade discovers a horrific crime scene. The night air was too thick, too heavy. Please, Genevieve whispered. Then fingerprints at the scene change everything when they come back to a convicted criminal: Genevieve herself. I had this on audiobook and found myself taking lunch breaks in my car and sitting in the car after work to listen. Stop! Nick and Annie struggle to understand why the murderer killed the child, but not the mother. Mrs. Heelshire also tells her that they save all of their uneaten food and it is pretty obvious that all of this food goes to Brahms. Fanchon Doucet had been her anchor since childhood. The man wants justice for his daughter, and me, I cant give it to him., Whose fault is it, then? Reprinted with permission of Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. When he was small, his mother had referred to him as petit homme de mystreher little man of mystery. I love the plot and the twist. Im angry with you, and you think you can just brush it aside like it doesnt even matter, like Im liable to just forget about it if only you can get me to have sex with you.. She slipped to the side. Please, help me!. The night waited, ever-patient, oblivious to her pain, not caring if she lived or died. Dats all what you deserve, you! He seemed kind of mean and antagonistic with a hair-trigger temper. How far will Nick and Annie have to go to uncover the dark truth of the boy? He sat up, the sheet puddling around his narrow waist. The actual page count will vary based on various factors such your device's screen size and font-size. Where has Tami Hoag been all my life and why have I never read her before? Very few people had ever been invited past even the first of his fortress walls., Hoag is also skilled with the smaller touches. This pair first appeared in A Thin Dark Line (1997). I do not admire the fact that the author is trying to glorify this behavior. The new sheriff was an outsider, a usurper; too stiff, too arrogant, too brash. Looking forward to more great books read like this . I had this on audiobook and found myself taking lunch breaks in my car and sitting in the car after work to listen. Oh, Nick. Annie sighed, her annoyance with him instantly gone. Annies protective instincts rose up like hackles. The publisher has supplied this book in encrypted form, which means that you need to install free software in order to unlock and read it. After you've bought this ebook, you can choose to download either the PDF version or the ePub, or both. His mother, Genevieve, was injured by the intruder, but got away and ran for help. But eventually, she, too, realizes that the truth holds a lot more gravity than that. Inner conflicts occur. And as strange as it may seem, Greta just goes on ahead to do her job. Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller- Feature and Review. She might lie there and die, be run over by a truck, or dragged into the swamp by an animal. Book Description CRY WOLF In the rural parishes of Louisianas French Triangle, young women are disappearing, only to turn up on the banks of the Bayou, strangled and cast . And since the twists in it can often get a little more complex than would expect, you might need some explaining to understand what happens throughout its runtime. So many twist's and turns keeping you hooked and on the edge of your seat action. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness. Meanwhile, Nick's wife, Detective Annie Broussard, sits with the grieving Genevieve. He had always fiercely guarded his internal life, even as a boy . The flailing arms. Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide. The tires chewed at the gravel. Sorry I am not buying it. Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2022, Interesting made you wonder who did it. There are some people in the town who feel sorry for him as they remember him being a very good boy, but on the other hand, there are others who claim that the boy was evil. You probably will be surprised by the ending as I . Actually, it's more generations of those lost souls coming together in one place. Who would do such a thing? This was a tale full of many secrets and as many suspects too! The spotlight falls heavily on the grieving mother who is both victim and accused. Almost from the start I didn't like Nick Fourcade. As if in answer to her thought, way out over the Atchafalaya Basin, lightning again chased itself across the sky, and the ominous low rumble of thunder followed seconds later. There is no end to the amount of twists, and the author is adept at misleading her readers into suspecting who the killer is. She knew how hard Nick was working the case. After the boys parents leave for a vacation, hoping that Greta will be able to take care of his, things start to get really creepy. There wasnt any part of this story that wasnt monstrous. The face of an angel. A driver in the dead of night in the middle of nowherewould this be help or harm? A seven-year-old boy has been brutally stabbed to death in his bed, while his mother, Genevieve Gauthier, managed to escape and run for help. It features a husband-and-wife detective team, Detective Sergeant Nick Fourcade and Detective Annie Broussard of the parish Sheriffs Office. Get help and learn more about the design. Exhausted, she tripped on the front steps and fell onto the weathered boards of the old porch. Her head cracked hard against the window. What had followed that call had been days and nights of breathless anxiety, Annie clinging by her mental fingertips to hope that ebbed and flowed like an erratic tide. But he was the way he was, not because he was crazy but because he cared too much about what he did and the people he did it for. #1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag keeps you guessing in her most harrowing thriller yet. I was pleased to find out that I actually own the first book in this series, A Thin Dark Line, and I hope to find to read it someday. Things only get messier for Nick, who already has an unsolved sexual assault on an autistic teenager on his hands, and then he's hit with the disappearance of the 12 year old girl who used to babysit for KJ. In the middle of the night, blood drips down from the ceiling on Coles face and he assumes that is Greta is doing this just to get him out of there. In the final moments of the movie, when she decides to kill Brahms and save Malcolm, she liberates herself from her skewed sense of attachment towards all the destructive people in her life. She didnt answer for a moment, still irritated with him for something hed said to her earlier in the evening. Hoag revisits the sleepy town of Bayou Breaux in Louisiana with her second offering in the Nick Fourcade-Annie Broussard detective series. She could have closed her eyes and willed it all away, slipping into the deep abyss of unconsciousness. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Her heart swelled to overflowing with love every time she looked at him. He was frowning in his sleep, just as his father did. Inside is the body of seven-year-old KJ Gauthier. The impact rattled her brain and knocked the wind from her. Also, having followed the new sheriff, Kelvin Dutrow, from a previous town, Houma, into Bayou Breaux arising suspicion in Detective Fourcade. Help me! I had this on audiobook and found myself taking lunch breaks in my car and sitting in the car after work to listen. Her mystery thrillers are always fast paced, engaging, and captivating and. Greta comes to the Heelshire mansion 20 years after the Brahms death to babysit the doll. She was a hometown good girl, while Nick had a long reputation as a difficult man with a checkered past. Gretas past and her own insecurities are a secondary part of the films overarching storyline, but they play a key role in reflecting her relationship with Brahms. At the hospital with Genevieve, Annie Broussard struggles to understand what happened. Do you understand? He is, indeed, still with them. These sounds simply indicate that Brahms is moving inside the walls and is keeping a close eye on Greta. Carefully, she slipped out of bed and padded across the cypress-wood floor to the window to peek through the blinds. Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Genevieve's seven-year-old son, KJ, has been murdered by an alleged intruder, yet Genevieve is alive and well. She tried to gasp for air, frantic, thinking she might die. She could taste the salt of her sweat and her tears. Solving the case is made more difficult by the new sheriff of Partout Parish who loves to make a show for the press all the while butting in and trying to control investigative procedure. Some of the early chapters in which the author introduces the characters of Nick Fourcade and Antoinette Broussard presented a bit of a hurdle for me. The Boy Tami Hoag 4.16 14,306 ratings1,518 reviews When Detective Nick Fourcade enters the home of Genevieve Gauthier outside the sleepy town of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana, the bloody crime scene that awaits him is both the most brutal and the most confusing he's ever seen. Cameron Spicer turns out to be a character that the reader will focus on. Readers make up their own minds as to whether or not their favorite bestsellers have written themselves out and are just mailing in revenue generators, but in the case of Tami Hoag, The Boy is proof that this author continues to work hard at her craft. When Greta gets trapped in the Attic for the first time, she sees a large silhouette and not of a childlike doll. The various pressures had rubbed their nerves raw. She choked on it as she tried to swallow. . She slapped at the screen door, her strength draining out of her, rushing out of her like water down a hole. She knew how much sleep hed lost, the toll it had taken on him. He kills Cole, Malcolm and Greta soon realize that he is the actual Brahms. Lightning spread across the sky in the distance like spiderweb cracks across dark glass. The ending of this book begets tragedy in the wake of violence. The Boy happens in a small and sleepy town of Bayou Breaux, Louisiana, where many people have reasons not to like Genevieve Gauthier. A yellow bug light burned beside the front door. I thought I knew who the killer was but NOPE! Nick in particular is a figment of an over-heated imagination. Taking advantage of the situation, Malcolm had asked him what Brahms was like when he was alive. The headlights blinded her. You can read this ebook online in a web browser, without downloading anything or installing software. The Broussard-Fourcade household got a double dose. Nick and Toniette make a great team. It says: he shall not perish, but have everlasting life.. If she knew the identity of her molester, that secret was locked inside the labyrinth of her mind. The wind was starting to come up, ruffling the treetops and fluttering the ribbons of Spanish moss that draped the limbs of the big oak trees in the yard. Headlights appeared around a bend in the road. I can't believe how many times I changed my opinion of this book while I was reading it. It seemed the only place they didnt rub each other the wrong way was in bed, where the tension between them seemed only to ratchet up the sexual heat. Annie wouldnt have gone so far as to drill a hole in a dime, but she secretly wished for some protection against that now-familiar sense of dread that sat like a rock in her stomach. Another stressor for Annie, another pang of guilt. That's precisely why I liked this book so much! Would they call the police at someone knocking in the middle of the night? The Boy is an excellent police procedural. She slipped into her robe and padded barefoot down the hall. I couldnt finish this. What a thrill of a book! He kissed her slowly and deeply. But despite all the complications that it comes with, every once in a while filmmakers take the risk of giving us yet another doll horror film. Could she have killed her own child to free herself of the burden of motherhood, or is the loss of her beloved boy pushing her to the edge of insanity? Stinkin drunk, no doubt.. Things died in the swamp all the time. This explains how hes a full-grown man now.