reviews
Feb 08, 2009
Book2 Elena Estes series
Ex-narcotics detective Elena Estes wants to live in peace training her horses. But when she discovers the abused body of a young female co-worker dumped in a canal, she is drawn back into action and launches an investigation. As Elena delves into her dead friend's secret life, she discovers ties not only to the Russian mob but also to a group of powerful and wealthy Palm Beach bad boys known for giving each other alibis to cover a multitude of sins. She is now More...
Ex-narcotics detective Elena Estes wants to live in peace training her horses. But when she discovers the abused body of a young female co-worker dumped in a canal, she is drawn back into action and launches an investigation. As Elena delves into her dead friend's secret life, she discovers ties not only to the Russian mob but also to a group of powerful and wealthy Palm Beach bad boys known for giving each other alibis to cover a multitude of sins. She is now More...
Dec 31, 2010
Elena Estes is working on a horse farm in Palm Beach polo country, recovering from psychic and physical injuries received during her final days as a cop. While exercising one of the ponies, she is horrified to discover the body of a co-worker submerged in a swampy canal, badly mauled by alligators. An experienced detective, Elena is not content to leave the investigation to her former department, even though it's lead by the man with whom she recently ended an affair. The dead woman, Irina Mark
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Mar 17, 2009
By F. J. Masterman "The PlanetCare Discoveries" - See all my reviews
Although I have been a fan of Tami Hoag for her former novels, The Alibi Man has put her at the top of my favorite writer list. This fast-moving story, centered on the corruption of wealthy Palm Beach society, is one of long-overdue justice finally coming home. The protagonist, the former detective Elena Estes, is one of the most compelling characters I have come across in reading. She is flawed More...
Although I have been a fan of Tami Hoag for her former novels, The Alibi Man has put her at the top of my favorite writer list. This fast-moving story, centered on the corruption of wealthy Palm Beach society, is one of long-overdue justice finally coming home. The protagonist, the former detective Elena Estes, is one of the most compelling characters I have come across in reading. She is flawed More...
Jan 02, 2012
Spectacular. Keeps the rollers in my head going! My friend and I enjoyed guessing who was the murderer. I found myself liking Elena's sass though at time I wish she wasn't so pricky. James was a little bland but the romance between them was really sweet.
The case itself is very simple but solving it is far from simple. This probably because of The Alibi Club.Since the rich and pampered guys wanted to protect one and another, this just give our detectives a major headache. Irina, the v More...
The case itself is very simple but solving it is far from simple. This probably because of The Alibi Club.Since the rich and pampered guys wanted to protect one and another, this just give our detectives a major headache. Irina, the v More...
Mar 17, 2009
Main character, Elena Estes, was first introduced in the novel Dark Horse and trouble is still finding her. Her complicated family history and troubled past which have soured her on life, is dredged up when her past combines with the present murder of an acquaintance. Not one to sit idle on the sidelines, the former cop involves herself in discovering who murdered her friend. What she finds is a confrontation with her past.
This was a quick-read with plenty of action and suspense. Lot More...
This was a quick-read with plenty of action and suspense. Lot More...
Sep 29, 2011
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Dec 04, 2010
Perfectly satisfying Tami Hoag fare. The Alibi Man gives us a troubled heroine, damaged and, yeah, a little bitter, but with a fixed core of humanity and a fierce sense of justice. We root for and identify with Elena Estes as much as we're interested in untangling the murder mystery. As for the murder plot, it mixes in your standard rough and scary criminal types alongside the smooth-talking, no-one-would-suspect-me nasties that are all the more dangerous for their ability to get away with murde
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Aug 23, 2009
Elena Estes is back in another mystery among the super rich horse set in FL. Out for a ride, she comes across a body in a canal and calls it in to Det. Landry.
It turns out to be the body of Irina, the Russian stable hand where Elena lives. Elena's unofficial investigations leads her back into the company of the very rich who are above the laws applying to the common folk and also into a brush with the Russian Mafia. She is put up against her ex fiancee and eventually her estranged fathe More...
It turns out to be the body of Irina, the Russian stable hand where Elena lives. Elena's unofficial investigations leads her back into the company of the very rich who are above the laws applying to the common folk and also into a brush with the Russian Mafia. She is put up against her ex fiancee and eventually her estranged fathe More...
Jul 04, 2009
I really enjoyed this book. There were some parts that were predictable. I liked the way Hoag strayed a bit from the typical girl meets boy and they fall in love mystery. The story uses main characters from Tami's other book Dark Horse. But, you didn't need to be familiar with dark horse to get the idea of this book.
Main Character, Elena, is a very strong character who tries to find out who killed a girl she knew from the horse world. The novel is not to friendly to polo players or More...
Main Character, Elena, is a very strong character who tries to find out who killed a girl she knew from the horse world. The novel is not to friendly to polo players or More...
May 03, 2010
This is one murder mystery book that keeps you very interested right up to the end. You did not know who to trust, who was going to die next and who really did what murder. It is not a sweet story. People die who you think would not or should not.
I realized a few pages into this book it was a second of series. I really enjoyed the first Elena Estes book by Tami Hoag, but I thought this book was far better in many ways. The plot and suspense was better. This book was more of a thrill More...
I realized a few pages into this book it was a second of series. I really enjoyed the first Elena Estes book by Tami Hoag, but I thought this book was far better in many ways. The plot and suspense was better. This book was more of a thrill More...
Aug 30, 2011
8.28.11 haven't been able to get into any book since the Robert McCammon fiasco - I think this one is going to hold my interest. I have so many to read stacked up here - and not enough time in the world to get to them all!
Ahhhhh....
8.30.11 - finished the last little tidbit this morning. It's a good start to getting back to devouring the books!
Y'all know about Tami Hoag, don't you? I read her books in order. Yes, I am anal about that. They are a good summer read for readings More...
Ahhhhh....
8.30.11 - finished the last little tidbit this morning. It's a good start to getting back to devouring the books!
Y'all know about Tami Hoag, don't you? I read her books in order. Yes, I am anal about that. They are a good summer read for readings More...
Aug 04, 2011
Over the years, I believe that I’ve read and enjoyed most of Tami Hoag’s books, but I don’t think I’ve read the first Elena Estes book, Dark Horse. In other words, Elena Estes came across as a very fresh and totally original character. Elena is a strong-willed, independent, cynical and smart woman. She’s around forty years old, and being an ex-cop, she’s unafraid and courageous. She’s cut all her ties with her adoptive rich Palm Beach parents and lives on a friend’s horse farm as a horse rider.
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Aug 11, 2007
ALIBI MAN (Unlicensed Investigator-Florida-Cont) – VG
Hoag, Tami – 2nd in series
Bantam, 2007 – US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780553802016
First Sentence: She floated on the face of the pool like an exotic water lily.
*** Elena Estes is a former homicide investigator now living and working at the stable yard of her best friend, Sean. Although she could cope with the unexpected bolting of the horse she was riding, she hadn’t expected having to deal with finding the dead and alligat More...
Hoag, Tami – 2nd in series
Bantam, 2007 – US Hardcover – ISBN: 9780553802016
First Sentence: She floated on the face of the pool like an exotic water lily.
*** Elena Estes is a former homicide investigator now living and working at the stable yard of her best friend, Sean. Although she could cope with the unexpected bolting of the horse she was riding, she hadn’t expected having to deal with finding the dead and alligat More...
Feb 08, 2011
Tami Hoag delivers a work in The Alibi Man that is elegant, witty, action-packed and suspensful. Centered around the main character, Elena Estes, who has been hardened by the world around her and who is a die hard crime solver, this book carries the reader through the twisting world of the Wellington horse world elite. Hoag's dialogue is crisp and entertaining, her characters are intriguing and the story holds the reader from beginning to end.
Jan 01, 2011
A good murder mystery, but nothing much likable about the characters. The heroine makes Sue Grafton's Heroine look like a princess. There's no real romance at all, and that's okay in some books but would have made this one a little more palatable. I can't see this heroine having a romance, though, and the character of Elena made me pretty sad at times.
I got through it fairly fast, and so it gets three stars. It's probably more like 2 and 1/2.
I got through it fairly fast, and so it gets three stars. It's probably more like 2 and 1/2.
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Aug 08, 2011
Elena Estes is full of anger and angst. One day while riding a horse, she comes across a dead body. She then discovers that she knows the victim. She quickly calls the police and joins the investigation to find out who killed Irina, a fellow horse excerciser. In the process, she vividly displays the world of the rich and famous polo players in Florida. Full of suspense and intrigue, this is a good read.
Nov 03, 2010
A so-so 'thriller' which features a sewer-mouthed heroine who is/was a cop (perhaps that accounts for the dialog she has been given). Too much of the book describes her many failed relationships which becomes very tiresome after a while. A contrived ending which sees everyone who has wronged the heroine or ever committed a crime ending up dead or in custody leaves the reader with a very unsatisfied feeling.
May 28, 2010
Until I was adding this book to my bookshelf at Goodreads, I hadn't realized that this was part of a series. The Alibi Man was so well written that although you knew there was a back-story, but I never felt that I was missing something. This is definitely the case with other series when I've read them out of order. Well done and I'm giving it 4 stars since it was a very good mystery/suspense novel.
Jan 30, 2010
A good book. Fast-moving. Group of wealthy men give each other alibis, but do they do it for murder? Elena is so bent on revenge, she is convinced her former fiance is the murderer, and keeps building her case. In the end, he's innocent but killed because someone else thinks he's the murdere. Not good law enforcement. Lot of characters intermingled--female grooms and wealthy men? Seems improbable.
Dec 18, 2007
I usually like Hoag. The mystery in this is good, but the main character, Elena Estes is obnoxious.
I am not the type of person who has to like a character to like them. I mean like in terms of, like to have tea with them or something. Some of my favorite characters of all time are awful people and I detest them, but they're compelling. . . There is nothing compelling about Estes.
She is whiny and mean spirited and so terribly sorry for herself. She is the type of person who love More...
I am not the type of person who has to like a character to like them. I mean like in terms of, like to have tea with them or something. Some of my favorite characters of all time are awful people and I detest them, but they're compelling. . . There is nothing compelling about Estes.
She is whiny and mean spirited and so terribly sorry for herself. She is the type of person who love More...
Nov 04, 2010
Story of hatred bottled up, but used for productive results. Rich parents adopt daughter because it's in-vogue at the time. Daughter becomes a detective. After she quits her detective job she goes to riding horses in a neighborhood among her previous rich family. She ends up working a case that involves her long ago fiance.
The case seems clear until a twist at the end.;
The case seems clear until a twist at the end.;
Aug 04, 2011
Write a review...Former police officer, Elena Estes, finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery when she discovers her friend’s body in a Florida canal. Elena gets right into the thick of a “men’s club” called the Alibi Club while trying to discover who killed her. Elena holds her cards close and tends to get into dangerous situations as a result.
Feb 09, 2012
This was another really good one by Tami Hoag. I figured out the whodunit part of it but the story was still engaging & entertaining. I have found a narrator I like as well as Scott Brick. This one was narrated by Beth McDonald and she did a FANTASTIC job. She reminds me a little of Kirsten Porter , who is also a great narrator. Tami Hoag did a bang up job of character development. On to Secrets to the Grave also by Tami Hoag.
Apr 07, 2011
Murder mystery where wealth closes doors even the police have trouble opening. A group of wealthy men use each other for alibis whenever in need. It's always been sort of a cover for an affair, etc...but this time it's an alibi for murder. Woman Dect. used to run in that crowd but now she's investigating it and an old former flame. Interesting story.
Aug 14, 2009
I had never read a Tami Hoag mystery, and now I have. I would recommend her. This story focuses on the investigation of the murder of a beautiful, young Russian girl who is caught up in the fast and high live of the wealthy in Palm Beach, FL. Hoag does a good job of keeping you guessing, as she shifts perspectives between 3 different characters. The ending is somewhat of a surprise. Not earth shattering but a good read.
Jul 14, 2011
Alibi Man starts off strong and wraps up all the important parts up at the end. I must confess, I doubt love the story, I love the Elena Estes, the tough woman with a burden of guilt and the habit of speaking her mind. There are many quirky charecters throughout the story, mostly cliches, and in the end there are one or two threads left dangling.
Feb 14, 2011
Here is my summary of the book:
Residual anger, emotional baggage, sexual tension between the two lead characters from "Dark horse"
World of polo players in Palm beach - money, sex, drugs, drink
Horses - grooming, beauty
Female lead character - who is mean, hates herself and the rest of the world, feels sorry for life
It was a speed read for me as I simply wanted to get through the darn book!
Residual anger, emotional baggage, sexual tension between the two lead characters from "Dark horse"
World of polo players in Palm beach - money, sex, drugs, drink
Horses - grooming, beauty
Female lead character - who is mean, hates herself and the rest of the world, feels sorry for life
It was a speed read for me as I simply wanted to get through the darn book!
Dec 11, 2009
Ex-detective Elena Estes has a serious attitude problem. Detective James Landry is in love with her and after 10 months she kicks him to the curb. She is a major bitch - just protecting her heart - but holy crap she is her own worst enemy. It has been three years since Elena's disgrace with the sheriff's office and she is still self-destructive. People like her should stay out of the publics eye.
Elena stumbles upon the body of her groom (horse farm) and calls Landry. She can' More...
Elena stumbles upon the body of her groom (horse farm) and calls Landry. She can' More...
Jan 04, 2012
3.5 stars. Tami Hoag books are total beach reads, however, after attempting 'Empire of the Summer Moon' (I can't believe my MOM recommended that book to me) I was so traumatized I needed a couple mindless reads. NOW, however, I am really attached to the character of Elena Estes and wish Ms. Hoag would hurry up and write another one.
