I want to start my review by saying that I LOVE Tami Hoag. I read the previous book with the same characters and was really into it. Bad Liar is good. The concept of the book, the storyline, the love story BUT there were too many characters and too many subplots to keep track of as a busy, working mom. It took me awhile to read and although I now know who did what, I am not sure I could accurately describe it for you.

As we’ve joyously come to expect, Tami Hoag has ANOTHER thrill ride with BAD LIAR. I couldn’t get enough!

Lt. Nick Fourcade and his partner, Deputy Stokes are called to the swamps of New Orleans when a body is found. The victim’s face and hands have been obliterated by a shotgun blast, so identification of the body will take a few days. In the meantime he makes contact with Kiki Mercer when she reports that her son, Marc has gone missing for days. He was supposed to meet his brother for hunting and never showed. Marc is the town’s Golden Boy who was set to win a football scholarship and make the town proud. Could the body in the swamp be Marc? And what of his wife who hasn’t even reported him missing? Is she involved in his disappearance?

Nick’s wife Deputy Annie Broussard, having recovered from a violent attack, is on light duty when she returns to the department. When a distraught mother, B’Lynn Fontenot comes to the department begging for help in finding her son, Robbie. B’Lynn reports that she has been to the police department on numerous occasions, dealing with Detective Dewey Rivette who seemed to blow her off and reported that Robbie is an adult who probably left on his own when he returned to his hard partying, drug induced days. B’Lynn is convinced that Robbie is on a good program and is staying clean. She begs Annie for help in locating her son. As Annie dives into the case, she meets with much resistance by Detective Rivette. She also comes into contact with some, shall we say undesirables and meet a battered woman who she really wants to help.

There are secrets in this small town. Sometimes they float to the surface and other times they sink to the bottom of the swamp. Just who is it who can put the pieces together? Are Robbie and Marc part of a crime and coverup or are they victims at someone else’s hands?

This one had me hooked from beginning to end. As I’ve come to expect from Tami Hoag, the writing is clear and concise and painted a picture of the Bayou that had me motoring through the waters in search of answers.

Thank you to netGalley and random house for this ARC opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

Audiobook And Pub Day Review: Bad Liar
I absolutely loved the Oak Knoll series when I read it years ago, so l was excited to see this title on @netgalley.
I loved this small town Louisiana thriller, and the narrator did such a great job with the Cajun accents! Nick Fourcade and Annie Broussard are back investigating two separate missing men in this small southern town. B'Lynn is worried about her recovering addict son who she hasn't seen or talked to. Nick is investigating the disappearance of Marc Mercier, a well known hometown hero. A body is found, but is unrecognizable, so the two detectives must work together to find out who it is.
This was a great procedural thriller, and I really enjoyed the audio! Thank you @tami_hoag_writer and @netgalley

Bad Liar is book three in the Broussard and Fourcade Series by Tami Hoag.
I’m such a big time fan of Hoag! When I first discovered her Kovac and Liska series! Absolutely loved 9th Girl!
And this series and book is no different!
The story was fast moving and kept me guessing.
Hoag writes very solid, atmospheric stories and really knows how to ramp up the suspense. She outdid herself with this one, I must say.
It's a book that you wanted to end just to find out who did it but you didn't want it to end because it was so exciting.
If you like tense, atmospheric thrillers, with complex characters and personalities, and mysteries that will keep you guessing to the bitter end, this one is for you.

Thank You NetGalley and Dutton for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Bad Liar was everything that makes Tami Hoag great and more. It was the roller coaster of whodunnit and emotions that make me absolutely love the writing style of this author. Just when you think you have it figured out you turn the page into another 180 that leaves you guessing again. And the fact that there are several different mysteries going keeps you on your toes and completely immersed in this story. 1000% a top read of there year for me. I loved this journey!

When a mangled body shows up in the swamps there is little to identify who it might be. However, the town has two missing people. Both who have a tie to each other. Either could realistically be the body. The only thing that differs between them is one is the hometown hero, a football player who stepped in when the other missing person suffered an injury that knocked them out of the game. And Robbie the young man hurt so horrendously during the football season that they started to take opioids which they were never able to break the habit. While it seems weird to think that two different people on such life paths lives would still be entwined the more that is discovered the sticker the knot looks.
This is an interesting book. I am not quite sure I loved it personally as a reader. There were times that I was taken out of the story. Especially at the beginning. The more I got into the story though I appreciated all the footwork that was going on to make everything connect at the end.
Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This is the third book in the Broussard and Fourcade Series.

When Nick is called to a murder victim dumped on the side of the road, that is the start of his case involving the missing Marc Mercier.

Meanwhile, Annie is faced with a desperate mother trying to locate her missing son. As they are both involved in missing cases, they end up being connected. When the investigation continues, they find old family grudges, jealousies, and police corruption.

This is a great addition to this series. Great characters and a great plot that keeps building as the story goes until the finish.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Fast paced and a real page turner, Tami Hoag's latest, "Bad Liar", doesn't disappoint. It is a police procedural with missing persons, a dead body, and a host of characters who shy away from the truth. Great character development, wonderful writing, and a really good storyline makes this a terrific read. Don't miss it!

I am a long time fan ofTami Hoag and was excited to be selected to read her new one. It did nit disappoint me.
A man is found dead in a remote area. Someone gas gone to extreme lengths to make sure he is not identified. Meanwhile another man is reported missing by his mother. The police department refuses to help because he is a known drug user. They suddenly become interested when the sheriff's department takes over determined to find both him and the link to the dead man.

This was a highly entertaining story with dual P.O.V.'s and a solidly structured plot that only well seasoned authors can create. Before diving into this one, keep in mind that it is a mystery, not a thriller, and that it is part of a series although it can still be read as a stand-alone. That said, Tami Hoag is back with a vengeance and remains the queen at this game. This was delivered meticulously with such detail and solid character development, creating the perfect murder mystery/police procedural novel. It had several characters to keep track of which is easily obtainable if you are an avid reader and fan of well told stories that take their time and not in a rush to the climax and reveal like so many in the recent years. Unpredictable and memorable, this was a great read yet again by this author and so give it four stars.

Thank you, Netgalley, and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC.

Really great suspense/thriller. 3rd book in the series - but was easy to read as a stand alone (I'm definitely gonna go back and read the first ones).

Annie and Nick make a great duo - totally relatable and likeable. The story was slow to build - long back story set up - but held my attention and left me wanting to keep reading.

Bad Liar
by Tami Hoag
Pub Date: Sep 24 2024

When I started reading Bad Liar by author Tami Hoag I didn't realize this was the 3rd. book in the Broussard and Fourcade series. This can be read as a standalone novel, reading the earlier books will provide more background though. The story went slow for me, it did hold my interest though. It involves police procedures. The story and characters were interesting. All in all a good read.

Synopsis: A murder victim dumped at the dead end of a lonely country road, face and hands obliterated by a shotgun blast, is not the way sheriff’s detective Nick Fourcade wants to start his week. His only lead takes him to the family of a hometown hero suddenly gone missing. Marc Mercier left his home for a weekend hunting trip and hasn’t been seen since.

Many thanks to #BadLiar #NetGalley and #PenguinGroupDutton for providing me with an E-ARC of this book.

When I saw a new book by Tami Hoag, I was reminded how much I loved her writing back in the 1990's, and that I really missed her books. Bad Liar, the third in the Broussard and Fourcade series was a great reminder of how wonderfully suspenseful and character driven her novels are. Oh, how I have missed them!

Tackling the destruction of high school dreams, addiction, and spousal abuse, Bad Liar isn't a light, cozy mystery. Instead, the reader is taken deep into the psyche of the detectives who investigate missing persons and murders, as well as those relatives who are desperate for news of their loved ones who are missing. Annie and Nick are fantastic characters, detectives who are not perfect, who become emotional about the cases they investigate, and worry about their loved ones as they go about their chosen occupations. Tami Hoag is a master of both mystery and character development, and her books are among my favorites as a result.

I am so happy to see a new book by Tami Hoag, and hope to continue to enjoy books in this series for many years to come!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for the digital ARC of Bad Liar by Tami Hoag. The opinions in this review are my own.

I have waited so long for a book from Tami Hoag and finding this one was so exiting! I loved it! I have missed her stories and writing style!

This suspense thriller and police procedural with Annie and Nick draws the reader right into the story and keeps you there. It is filled with mystery and intrigue that will keep you enthralled and on the edge of your seat waiting for what happens next.

Three local men have seemingly just disappeared and one unrecognizable dead body begin the story. Annie comes across a desperate mother, begging for help to find her son, in the lobby of the law enforcement building. She stops to find out what is wrong and quickly becomes embroiled in the mystery of the woman’s son’s disappearance. Meanwhile, Nick is called to the scene of a dead body which leads to more mystery and suspense as the seemingly separate stories may have threads that tie them together.

The story is well written and keeps the reader absorbed in the story. I found it unputdownable! An excellent, solid suspense thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Penguin Group Dutton for the arc. I leave this review voluntarily.

Wow, I do not know where Tami Hoag has been, but she is back and better than ever!!!!! Bad Liar continues the story of Nick Fourcade and Annie Broussard. The writing with the Cajun flair is so spot on!!! The story line has great twists and turns and has plot overlaps that keep you guessing. Excellent writing, highly recommend, and so grateful Tami is back!!!

Thank you to Dutton Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. I DNFed this book, but that’s entirely on me - I didn’t realize it was a sequel. I know some other reviewers said they didn’t have a problem, but I kept feeling like I was missing something, even before I knew it was part of a series. I may pick it back up when I read the first two, but I won’t be finishing it for now

This was a very intertwining story that will leave you in tears at the end. It actually made me think how many people I know that are like this Marc character. I hope I don't know any, but I am betting we all know a few.

Halloween night happens and all of sudden there are people missing. This book takes place in Bayou Breaux, Louisiana..It starts off with Chaz Stokes and newly appointed Lieutenant Nick Fourcade both police officers, getting a call for a dead body. A dead body without a face, or any I.D. The swamper found the body because he had to go to the bathroom and stumbled on to it.

Annie Broussard is also a police officer and married to Lieutenant Nick Fourcade. She is just coming back from being injured. She heard a women yelling and crying in the hall and when she saw her decided to have her go into a room and talk to her. Her name is B'Lynn Fontenot. She has a son named Robbie and he had been missing for eight days. No one will listen to her so she came to talk to the Sheriff as he knows her ex-husband only he isn't there. Annie says how old is he ,she tells him 27, and he is a drug user that has been through drug rehab and jail since he was seventeen. He is clean right now and has been for two months now.

The second person missing is Marc Mercier. He has a wife and a baby daughter. The police find out that he is missing only because they found a business card in the dead mans shirt pocket. It read, "Mercier and Sons Salvage and Swamp Tours". It had an amount written down on it and they needed to know what it meant. When they got there and introduced themselves the women thought that her son Marc was hurt or dead as they hadn't seen him. She blamed his wife for killing him right off the bat. Nick slowed the conversation down and asked her her name. She said it was Kiki and her other son's name was Luc. Asked what the wife's name was Melissa Mercier and she works for Bayou Realty. Will Faulkner is her boss.

Tulsie Parcelle is a young girl that Annie has been watching as she saw her in the ER once with black and blue marks on her face and a broken arm. Annie knew the look and knew the young woman was being abused so she did some checking and found out that her husband Cody was a drunk and liked to come home and raped and beat his wife. She found out that Izzy, the farm hand, was there and witnessed this and also received a blow from Cody.
I can only say that all of these people are intertwined and you will find out how. Tami Hoag wrote a very tangled web. This was so well thought out that it will keep you guessing.

Highly recommend this book

Happy Reading!!

Tami Hoag’s Bad Liar expertly weaves a tale of suspense and small-town intrigue, making it a compelling read from start to finish. The dual storylines of Sheriff’s Detective Nick Fourcade and Annie Broussard offer a gripping exploration of the darker sides of their hometown, as both detectives delve into cases that blur the lines between heroism and deception.

Hoag’s characterization shines, especially in Annie’s journey as she returns to work after a traumatic event. Her determination to uncover the truth about missing individuals—despite the indifference of local authorities—highlights themes of resilience and justice. Nick’s investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a local hero adds layers of complexity, revealing how past actions haunt present lives.

The atmospheric setting of Louisiana, with its swamps and secrets, enhances the narrative, creating a sense of unease that keeps readers on edge. Hoag’s skillful plotting and pacing maintain tension, leading to a satisfying yet thought-provoking conclusion.

While the resolution leaves some threads untied, this ambiguity fits the novel’s themes. Overall, Bad Liar is a thrilling read that explores the inescapable nature of one’s past and the lies that bind us. Highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers and mystery lovers alike.

Thank you Tami Hoag, Brilliance Publishing, Penguin Group Dutton, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Thanks Netgalley for an ARC of this novel. I really like this author but haven’t read any of her books in years. I felt like this novel had a few too many characters - some with similar names- Danny and Dewey?! It was a bit confusing to keep them all straight. It was very average- a good story but very forgettable.

I didn't realize this was part of a series when I requested this book. I do feel like I would have benefited from reading the prior books first for some backstory on the two main characters. However, this books was good. It kept me wanting to read and figure it out. I loved the plot and the characters. This is my first Tami Haag book but definitely not my last.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this in advance.