GUILTY AS SIN by Tami Hoag

Finished Mo 11/30/20

This is a hardback that I ordered from Amazon and received on Mo 8/24/20. This is the second and final novel in Hoag's 'Deer Lake Series'.

'NIGHT SINS' is the first book and I read that last summer. I wasn't wild about that book, and I'm pretty lukewarm about this one. 

Both are set in Deer Lake, Minnesota, a small town fairly close to Minneapolis. In both novels it's winter and temperatures plunge far below zero. 

In the first novel there is a steamy love affair between Agent Megan O'Malley of The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Mitch Holt, the local chief of police. 

In 'GUILTY AS SIN' Hoag features a love affair between Assistant County Attorney Ellen North and Jay Butler Brooks, a true crime author. 

The novel involves the kidnapping of eight year old Josh who was abducted after hockey practice. He is found, yet another boy is taken and he is killed. 

The book's page at Amazon:

"A cold-blooded kidnapper has been playing a twisted game with a terrified Minnesota town. Now a respected member of the community stands accused of a horrific act of evil. But when a second boy disappears, a frightened public demands to know: Have the police caught the wrong man? Is the nightmare continuing—or just beginning?

 Prosecutor Ellen North believes she’s building a case against a guilty man—and that he has an accomplice in the shadows. As she prepares for the trial of her career, Ellen suddenly finds herself swept into a cruel contest of twisted wits, a dark dance of life and death . . . with an evil mind as guilty as sin."

The ending is a bit abrupt and there were too many characters. Both novels were entertaining, but not really compelling.  

See the blog post of 'NIGHT SINS' for more plot details.