The 9th Girl, by Tami Hoag

From goodreads.com:  "Kovac had seen more dead bodies than he could count: Men, women, children; victims of shootings, stabbings, strangulations, beatings; fresh corpses and bodies that had been left for days in the trunks of cars in the dead of summer. But he had never seen anything quite like this . . . "

Doesn’t that sound AWESOME (in a *not* sick way)??  I love me a good murder mystery, and this seemed like just the ticket.  Many years ago, I remember reading a few books by Ms. Hoag.  (How do you pronounce that, anyway?  Is it HOAG, as in hoagie?  Ho-Ag, which I seem to remember seeing someplace?  Or should I just keep it simple, and call her Tami Ho?  Yeah, I think that’s for the best.  She won’t mind…really.  How’s she going to know?)  Anyway, I distinctly remember reading one of her books back in high school and LOVING it.  Then, I remember reading a second one and HATING it.  Hence, I haven’t picked one up since.  God knows, it’s now been a long, long, (insert more long’s, please) time now.  But, we won’t discuss that.  Just refer to me as Grandma, and we’ll call it a day.

So, I figured xx number of years was enough time to let bygones be bygones, and I picked up Ms. Ho’s new book, The 9^th Girl.  I was sucked into the story immediately, with an easy to follow storyline, and likable, if stereotypical, characters.  You know the ones I mean - the surly, grumbly cop (Kovac); the struggling single mom trying to connect with her teenage sons (Liska).  And, how appropriate, with today’s trends, that the first victim is referred to as Zombie Doe.  Walking Dead, anyone?       

There were several different side stories going on at the same time, which could very easily have muddied the waters (particularly for this old brain).  Instead, though, they seemed to mesh and flow with one another seamlessly, resulting in a rich, robust whodunnit. 

I think it’s time to forgive Ms. Ho for previously doing me wrong.  She earned back my literary trust with this gem.  On a side note, however, I was a little bummed to find out that this particular novel is actually #4 in a series, titled (big surprise) Kovac and Liska.  It was certainly fine as a stand-alone novel, but it would’ve been nice to have a little background on the characters beforehand.  (Not to mention my OCD rearing its ugly head, screaming ‘READ THEM IN ORDER, OR NOT AT ALL!’)  Anyway, at least I now know where I’ll be heading next.  I just hope it wasn’t #1, 2, or 3 that initially turned me off the Ho to begin with.  That would just be wrong. 

4 Stars