What a wild ride that was. BL by new to me author T. Hoag, published by Penguin Group Dutton, is book three in the Broussard and Fourcade Series.
A thriller that is literally unputdownable, masterfully crafted, suspenseful, full of unexpected twists and turns that had me guessing til the very last page.
Blurb: A body at the dead end of a lonely country road 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.
Meanwhile, sheriff’s detective Annie Broussard begins her first day back on the job after suffering an attack by taking on the case of B’Lynn Fontenot, a mother desperate to find her son. Robbie Fontenot has been missing for eight days, but the local police have no interest in the case, telling B’Lynn that an adult has the right to disappear, and a missing addict is no big surprise. But B’Lynn swears her son was turning his life around. Sympathetic, Annie agrees to help B’Lynn, knowing she’s about to start trouble with the city police.
As Annie searches for Robbie Fontenot and Nick investigates the disappearance of Marc Mercier, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems in the lives of either man. And it’s still not clear whether either—or neither—of them might be the unidentified murder victim. Old jealousies and fresh deceits, family loyalties gone wrong and love turned sour all lay a trail that leads deep into the Louisiana swamp, endangering all who cross the path of a bad liar.

Tami Hoag never disappoints and her latest is no exception. Bad Liar is the third book in this series, and it’s been a few years since the first two were published. Detective Nick Fourcade has a dead body that can’t be identified because the face was blow away. Then there are two people who are reported missing, could one of them be their shooting victim and are all three somehow connected. I love all of Tami Hoag books , they keep you interested and are so well written. Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

Two missing men and a body that can't be identified due to a shotgun blast to the face, a history of drug abuse and domestic abuse, and possibly a bad cop or two. This book has all the elements, along with top-notch, suspenseful writing, to make it a riveting and enjoyable detective novel. Though this is the third book in a series, it easily stands alone, and prior knowledge of the two main characters is not a hindrance to the story. They are both believable and likeable, and interact in credible ways with other characters in the story. I hope to read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed the 3rd book of this series. The south Louisiana setting is one of my favorites and I love how Tami Hoag includes the "French Cajun" in the story. Nick Fourcade is one of my favorite detectives.

A small town in the deep south. What could be more inviting to murder and the disappearance of two of the town’s young men.
The first, a former addict and felon whose mother insists he is still clean and something bad must have happened to him. But no one will listen to her, they see the word addict and dismiss him as just another lost person to drugs. But sheriff’s detective Annie Broussard runs into her at the police station. She agrees to look into the case to help the distraught mother.
The second, the town’s favorite son. He went to a big city for college, after receiving a scholarship under less than honorable circumstances. Then returned to help out in his family business after his father died, with a wife and baby in tow. The wife is miserable in the deep south, can’t imagine why her husband would suddenly disappear and is worried that something has happened to him. The town is clamoring that something be done to find him.
And finally at the same time a body is found in the swamp, with its face shot off.
It’s left to Sheriff’s Detective Nick Fourcade to resolve these two last cases. All three men knew each other, something happened a decade ago that they can’t escape. Who will come out alive, who is the dead person, who can or can’t be helped.
Well-paced, emotionally charged, highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this copy.

There is something about how Tami Hoag sets the scene in her novels that sucks you in and doesn’t let go. Almost from the start I was very invested in the story set-up, there was an excellent mystery factor that builds and takes many turns for a wonderfully layered and complex plot. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys mystery, thrillers, or light suspense novels,

Bad Liar


Bad Liar is a great read with intricate plotlines that mesh well, realistic characters that almost walk off the page, and a fascinating setting of a small town in here and now Louisiana. There are some passages, like parts of the first chapter, that are also poetic in their eloquence. Also, the strong female main character is totally believable.

I rarely ever give a book five stars, but I must in this case, this is a truly excellent crime thriller.

The first chapter drew me in (it was more of a prologue). We are introduced to the characters by way of a few paragraphs. I loved how they were referred to as the mother, the son, the wife, the lovers & alligators! We learn their names in the following chapters. I found the middle a bit slow maybe due to the detailed character descriptions , however towards the end, when we begin to learn whodunnit, I became fully engrossed again.

I love Tami’s older novels, especially the Kovac & Liska series & the Oak Knoll series, however this series just didn’t capture me the same way. I still highly recommend Tami Hoag’s books.

Favorite Line: “Don’t hang on to a mistake just because you spent a long time making it.”

Thank you to NetGalley, Dutton (An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC)) and Tami Hoag for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Tami Hoag is back, and it's been too long. She is making a great return with her next one, The Bad Liar. If you are a fan of procedural crime procedures, you will not be disappointed with this one. I felt that it was a bit of a slow burn, but it held my attention. One dead body, two missing people and a bit of a subtle romance. You can't go wrong with this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Nick's next case has little to go one. They found a body but are unsure of who it is. Annie is working on a different case with many roadblocks in her way. I enjoyed this book and am excited to read her next one.

Nick, who is in charge of the detectives in this small town, finds a body. Not an easily identifiable body but one whose face is blown off. He must find out who the victim was and solve the crime.
In the meantime, Annie, also a detective, agrees to help a mother find her missing son. He has been gone 8 days and the police aren't interested for two reasons. One is that he is an adult and the other is that he is an addict. By agreeing to take this journey on Annie alienated herself from her own police force.

A good book that winds together at times. Annie and Nick have appeared in other Hoag books and are a terrific team to watch and read about.

Bad Liar is the third book in the Broussard and Fourcade series, and these books get better and better.

A body is found that is impossible to identify due to a shotgun blast to the face. As Detective Nick Fourcade investigates this gruesome murder, Detective Annie Broussard simultaneously investigates the whereabouts of a drug-addicted man when his mother insists that he’s well and truly missing, not just off getting high. After every lead turns up a dead end, both detectives begin to wonder if their cases might intersect.

This whodunnit has more questions than answers but ties up perfectly in the end. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the eARC.

It’s been a while since I read a book by Tami Hoag and now I am kicking myself. She is a master storyteller and the way she weaves the plot twists delicately through the red herrings, you feel like you’re on a super fun roller coaster in the pitch black.

Her prose is spotless and this whole book is loaded with “quotables”. Here’s one:
“The apple of his own eye, Stokes was as faithless as a feral tomcat.“

Or this one:
“THE MORNING SKY WAS THE COLOR OF A DOVE’S WING, BACKLIT by the diluted yellow of a hidden sun.”

You can just see that morning sky, can’t you?

Bravo, Tami. Thanks for reminding me why I’m a fan. I’ll be back for more!

P.S. This can also be read as a standalone.

Bad Liar was worth the long wait. Even though it’s been years since I’ve read the earlier books in this series, it stands alone and on top. Every character is fully developed and I found myself fighting for, being angry with and loving and aching for them. This book covers quite a bit of ground and while all lives intersect at a certain point there are several stories to be told. The writing is atmospheric and visual. You can imagine each location: the junk yard, the stables, the hospital, the Pizza Hut, the Bayou and more. It’s been a long time since I’ve cried at the end of the book. This one got my heart and shattered it into a million pieces. Nick and Annie find themselves running circles around Bayou Breaux, their cases becoming more and more intertwined. Do the cases have anything to do with each other? Or did three people really suddenly go missing the same night?

Tami Hoag is a great author that delivers yet another winning story.

This book covers a LOT of ground but without feeling like it was too much. The book starts out with a dead body and a missing son. While searching out what happened to the missing son, you find out there is another missing person. Right when you think thing are getting overly complicated, the author starts to bring it all together. It kind of felt like there were three story lines in the beginning but again, the author starts to tie it all together and you see the pieces fall into place. Who is the dead body and how does the two missing people play into it? The author does a great job making you feel for each person in the book as well. You ache for the mother who has a missing son, the wife who is getting abused and the son that can't live up to expectations.
This is a definite read by Tami Hoag and while you don't have to read the first two books in this series to follow the story; I think you should as it will give you a bit more background on the main characters.

Thank you Net Galley and Dutton Publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Bayou Breaux is set in the backwaters of Louisiana, complete with alligators, swamps, and generations of Cajun families and tradition. Detective Annie Broussard and her husband Nick Fourcade are part of the law enforcement team in the area. A pair of missing person cases and a dead body found at the edge of the swamp are just the tip of what the swamp has to hide. This is another great Tami Hoag mystery, set in a compelling location. It has just the right amount of local history, and color, crime and great characters.

Thanks to Penguin Random House, NetGalley and Tami Hoag for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

LOVED this book. What a great mystery. I loved that it was such a tangled web that kept getting picked at. I was guessing until the very end. FABULOUS!

I really felt the agony of the moms of both Robbie and Marc, it was so palpable. And the pull of all the family dynamics- it kept me guessing all the way through. I just couldn't figure out what the outcome was going to be and who was dead and who was going to end up being alive - which to me is the best kind of mystery.

I think I must have missed the last book where Annie got hurt, so I'll definitely need to pick that book up to fill in the blanks.

Looking forward to many more Tami Hoag books!

Three separate cases all popped up at the same time, seemingly unrelated. Nick and Annie can’t help but wonder, are they all intertwined?

Annie is just getting back to work after what should have been a routine follow up on a case went south. Nick didn’t want her to go back yet, but he couldn’t stop her. Both of them were leery of Annie jumping right back into a big involved case on her first day back to work, but if not her then who?

Robbie Fontenot had a few months of sobriety under his belt and was trying to keep it together. So where had he gone? His shifty drug-addicted neighbor is caught stealing from his house, the house his mom B’Lynn swore was locked. B’Lynn finally found a willing listener in Annie, little did she know Annie was bound and determined to solve this missing persons case.

Marc Mercier was just gone. Vanished. His best friend Dozer claimed to know nothing about it, hadn’t heard from him. Marc’s brother Luc was sporting a fresh shiner but claimed he didn’t know anything about Marc’s sudden disappearance either. Marc’s wife hadn’t seen or heard from him in almost two days. Marc, along with his truck and boat, had simply vanished.

Tulsie Parcelle was in the ER again with another injury she claimed was from working horses on her and her husband Cody’s farm. But suddenly Cody wasn’t answering his phone and nobody could locate him.

Nick and Chaz caught a case first thing Monday morning. A dead body had been dumped by the swamp and found by an old trapper. The body couldn’t be identified because his face had been blown off with a shotgun.

Who was the body? Where was Cody? Or Marc? Or Robbie?

Nick and Annie find themselves running circles around Bayou Breaux, their cases becoming more and more intertwined. Do the cases have anything to do with each other? Or did three people really suddenly go missing the same night?

Trigger warning: Discussion of domestic abuse.

Big reason why only four stars is that the book takes a while to find it’s rhythm. There are just parts that dragged. That said, I loved the overall plot and the resolution to the cases that Annie and Nick are investigating.

"Bad Liar" is the third book in the Broussard (Annie) and Fourcade (Nick) series. Tami Hoag did the first book in this series, "A Thin Dark Line" back in 1997. I gave the first book two starts and recall thinking I don't know if I would want to see these characters again. Well Hoag did one back in 2018, "The Boy" and I gave that one four stars. So at least with the third book in the series I still find it to be a good four star read. I would recommend though that any readers read all the books in order because otherwise things will get confusing. And even though there was a significant time passage in real life, the characters only really have 6 years in their timeline from the first book to second.

"Bad Liar" follows things a few months after the events in the last book. Annie is dealing with some PTSD and minor physical things, but has been okayed for return to light duty. Nick though is in charge of the detectives (including Annie) and they have their old boss Gus back. However, the fallout from the last case is still felt by all. And when Nick gets called to the site of a body dumped to be gator bait with half its face blown off, he and another member of their team try to see if it's hometown hero Marc Mercier who left his house and has still not returned. Annie gets involved with the dumped body case when she realizes a missing person's case she gets pulled into could be Robbie Fontenot.

Annie and Nick investigate and quickly realize it could be either of their victims since plenty of people may want to see the end of them.

I thought Nick was much more palatable in this one. He still has his Cajun coming out to speak, but this time I wasn't dealing with a Nick ready to beat up someone. He's careful and knows how to push to get what he wants. Annie is also more careful. She's still persistent in seeing justice done, but is realizing that she can put herself in harm's way when she goes in without thinking. We barely see them interact with their son in this one, he is mostly referred to, along with some scenes here and there with Annie's uncle.

The secondary characters are a lot in this one, but we only get two other additional POVs throughout the book, and not to the point it was distracting IMHO. They come in when they should. We mostly stayed third person point of view view Nick and Annie.

The flow though as I said was up and down. Nothing was repetitive in my opinion. But it just takes a while to get going and some readers may get bored before things start clicking along.

The setting of the bayou was dark in this one with some hints of brightness here and there. But it's really obvious that there's different worlds going on down there.

I thought the ending was well done and of course was left with what do I think happens next questions.

More like 2.5 stars. I’d like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the other books in this series but unfortunately couldn’t get into this one.