Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
12th out of 19 books
—
23 voters
Kill the Messenger
by
Tami Hoag
With this new thriller, The New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag delivers her own message to suspense fans everywhere: Don't turn off the lights, and keep reading if you dare. From the gritty streets of Los Angeles to its most protected enclaves of prestige and power to the ruthless glamour of Hollywood, a killer stalks his prey. A killer so merciless no one in his...more
Paperback, 528 pages
Published
February 28th 2006
by Bantam
(first published January 1st 2004)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
Tami Hoag seems to be branching out these days. The last few books of hers I've read have abandoned her established mold of setting up a hero and heroine (both of whom have angsty pasts they're trying to overcome, and one or both of whom may be involved in law enforcement) embroiled in solving a nasty, suspenseful crime while they inexorably become embroiled in each other. Her latest, Kill the Messenger, has plenty of nasty, suspenseful crime--but barely a whiff of any romance. There's the sligh...more
1 like · like · see review
view 2 comments
Warning: This is not the type of book I usually read and review. It is packed with vulgar language, probably because that is the language of cops and killers. I guess I'm lucky I finished the book. I listened to the CD edition on a car trip with my wife and thought she might toss it out the window several times. I'm glad she didn't since I had checked it out of the library.
I'm also glad we made it to the end of the book. For me, it was an excellent story with a great deal of suspense. And, under...more
I'm also glad we made it to the end of the book. For me, it was an excellent story with a great deal of suspense. And, under...more
The phrase "cut to the chase" takes on new meaning in Tami Hoag's thriller, Kill the Messenger. Jace Damon is an L.A. bike messenger, scrambling to raise his younger brother, Tyler, following the death of their mother. Taken in by the kind owner of a fish market in China Town, the Damon's live under the radar, trying to avoid attracting the notice of family services. One dismal, rainy evening, Jace picks up a parcel from a sleazy lawyer, to deliver in a derelict neighborhood. Jace is assaulted a...more
Nineteen-year-old Jace Damon has had a hard life. His mother died when he was 13, and since then he has been struggling to raise his younger brother, while staying beneath the radar of Child Protective Services. With the help of an understanding Chinese lady, Madam Chan, the two have been living in L.A.'s Chinatown, where Jace works as a bike messenger. One dark and rainy night, Jace agrees to do a last delivery. He picks up a package from a shady lawyer, but when he gets to the delivery address...more
Sep 26, 2010
Jane Stewart
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery-suspense
Good murder, mystery and suspense. A bad guy is having trouble catching and killing a bicycle messenger (the hero).
STORY BRIEF:
Jace is a bike messenger, about 19 years old. He has been taking care of his younger brother Tyler for six years, ever since his mother died. Jace and Tyler live in a room with the Chen family in Chinatown. They fear the police and social services because they don’t want to be separated into foster homes. At the end of a long day, Jace has one last messenger run. He pick...more
STORY BRIEF:
Jace is a bike messenger, about 19 years old. He has been taking care of his younger brother Tyler for six years, ever since his mother died. Jace and Tyler live in a room with the Chen family in Chinatown. They fear the police and social services because they don’t want to be separated into foster homes. At the end of a long day, Jace has one last messenger run. He pick...more
Blurb taken from the back cover
At the end of a long, hard day bettling Los Angeles traffic, bike messenger Jace Damon is called on to make a pick-up from the office of sleazy defence attorneyLeonard Lowell. Jace is tired, and needs to get home to check up on his little brother who he's single handedly bringing up. He makes the collection, but the delivery adress turns out to be a vacant lot, a car tries to run him down, and Jace only just escapes. He returns to the attorney's office to find that...more
At the end of a long, hard day bettling Los Angeles traffic, bike messenger Jace Damon is called on to make a pick-up from the office of sleazy defence attorneyLeonard Lowell. Jace is tired, and needs to get home to check up on his little brother who he's single handedly bringing up. He makes the collection, but the delivery adress turns out to be a vacant lot, a car tries to run him down, and Jace only just escapes. He returns to the attorney's office to find that...more
1 like · like · see review
Jace Damon is a bike messenger in L.A. Its been a long day which started by shoveling ice in a Chinese fish market followed by the hectic and dangerous life of a bike messenger and now he has to make one last run, trying to get the delivery made before the office closes. Almost there he is suddenly nearly run down by a big black limo which chases him down and when he abandons his bike when it is run over, the driver chase him on foot, firing several shots. Jace manages to escape, but at a young...more
I really don't know Tami Hoag's style but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, in fact Kevin reminded me of Lucas Davenport in the John Sandford books. The storyline about Jace and his younger brother was sad and at the same time moving as Jace tried to protect styler to the best of his ability. Very action packed and a surprise ending for me. I liked at the end how Kevin played all the possible suspects over in his mind before he/she was finally reveled. I don't know if this...more
Kill the Messenger - Tami Hoag
This is the second Tami Hoag book I've read. The first -Deeper Than the Dead- was amazing. This one definitely didn't live up to the first one. However, it was still a great book.
Jace is a bike messenger that gets called for one last run of the night. This run, however, changes his life forever.
The person he's supposed to be delivering the package to tries to kill him before Jace can even dismount his bike. Jace manages to get away but won't go to the police because...more
This is the second Tami Hoag book I've read. The first -Deeper Than the Dead- was amazing. This one definitely didn't live up to the first one. However, it was still a great book.
Jace is a bike messenger that gets called for one last run of the night. This run, however, changes his life forever.
The person he's supposed to be delivering the package to tries to kill him before Jace can even dismount his bike. Jace manages to get away but won't go to the police because...more
Aug 12, 2010
Krista (One Love) (Critical)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
adult,
blood-and-guts,
funny,
murderer-on-loose,
own-ab,
best-character-s,
awesome-names,
yst,
tami-hoag
Despite the common consensus, I liked this. I've only read 2 books by TH, but I liked this one much better. The second I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading. I liked both Kev and Jace--Kev a little more though. I felt really bad for Kev--I wanted him to get with Andy, though that never happens. I loved Andy, and she and Kev would have been cute together--I don't know what he saw in Diane.
It's not that this book is good, really, but that it's REALLY suspenseful and makes you want to keep readi...more
It's not that this book is good, really, but that it's REALLY suspenseful and makes you want to keep readi...more
Kill the Messenger is a fast paced thriller with an interesting lead character, Jace, a bicycle messenger. Both Jace and his brother Tyler are well developed characters. After their mother died, Jace at age 14 strikes out on his own so that he and his brother's won't be orphans, getting an apartment in Chinatown and working at a fish market. Jace is at the wrong place at the wrong time, while sending a message on his bike, someone attempts to kill him. From there, he gets embroiled in a murder i...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I found this story quite contrived and poorly constructed. The characters are stereotypes and part of it felt like I was reading a Robert Crais novel.
The back of the book says how Jace Damon has to live on his street smarts, but he is a complete idiot. The main character (which isn't Jace, but Kev Parker) has such an unknown backhistory that is aluded to but never explained, that I guessed that I picked up a book in the middle of "Kev Parker" series. Couldn't be bothered investigating this chara...more
The back of the book says how Jace Damon has to live on his street smarts, but he is a complete idiot. The main character (which isn't Jace, but Kev Parker) has such an unknown backhistory that is aluded to but never explained, that I guessed that I picked up a book in the middle of "Kev Parker" series. Couldn't be bothered investigating this chara...more
Sep 29, 2011
Dorsi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio,
mystery-thriller
This one is leaning towards 4 1/2 stars for me. Fantastic characters with a twisting plot. There was one point in the story that I was sitting there with my mouth agape in surprise. It's been awhile since I have read any Tami Hoag. This one did not disappoint. I listened to the audio version & as usual, Scott Brick gave it that extra something special for me. I am still new to the whole audio thing but so far, Scott Brick is my favorite reader by a mile. I am going to have to see is there ar...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
THIS IS MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK ON THE ENTIRE PLANET!!!! I've read it cover-to-cover at least ten times, and I read a part of it every night before going to bed! It's a pretty easy read, but it's well-written, fast-paced, and witty. I ADORE each and every one of the characters; good or bad, the author wrote them PERFECTLY!!!! That's the main reason I am in LOVE with this book: the characters. Also, I love the ending. Every time I read this book, I STILL can't believe the ending!!! Every time I...more
This novel jumps into the action with a seedy lawyer's murder and the unsuspecting bicycle messenger a witness, still carrying his delivery package and no one to deliver it to - except the police, and no way that is happening. No way will Jace Damon jeopardize his life or the life of his ward and younger brother Tyler. Or the kindly Chens, who have generously taken them into their home in Chinatown. So, who to trust? Kill the Messenger carries its weight throughout the first two-thirds of the bo...more
One night bike messenger, Jace Damon gets called for a final run and his life is never the same again. Someone tried to kill him and now he's terrified and running. At 19, Jace is responsible for his orphaned brother, Tyler (10) and he doesn't know how to protect Tyler from this danger so he runs to draw the killer away. His dispatcher, Eta Fitzgerald is the funniest person in the story. Her one-liners will have you laughing out loud. I particularly liked this one when Kevin Parker was questioni...more
My main problems with this book:
- Characters who do not behave the way they seem to believe they should: One of the main characters constantly thinks how he can't trust anyone, etc, but he is constantly doing so.
- A plot that thinks it's clever.
- A plot twist that is without real impact because I didn't care at all about how it affected the characters.
- Characters I didn't get emotionally involved with. At all.
- Another incredibly smart, precocious kid. Ho-hum.
- Characters who do not behave the way they seem to believe they should: One of the main characters constantly thinks how he can't trust anyone, etc, but he is constantly doing so.
- A plot that thinks it's clever.
- A plot twist that is without real impact because I didn't care at all about how it affected the characters.
- Characters I didn't get emotionally involved with. At all.
- Another incredibly smart, precocious kid. Ho-hum.
1 like · like · see review
Excellent. The characters are memorable and I felt very involved with them. I don't recall crying at the end of a mystery before, but I did with this one. I was fascinated with the bike messenger culture. I've seen some of these guys around the bike shops in Seattle, wished I could ride like them, been a bit awed by them. The writing in this book doesn't hit a single wrong note. I've liked all the Hoag books that I've read, but this was the best.
This is honestly one of my all time very books...she had had me riveted right until the end and everytime I thought I figured out who the culprit was she dropped another bombshell. If this was a movie I would have been sitting at the edge of my seat gripping the chair handle with white knuckles trying anticipating the next scene. Even in the end when you find out who was behind it all it was like...WHOA!! really.
This one had me mesmerized from beginning to end. The story was complex but realistic, with enough turns and twists to keep you guessing but not to overwhelm you. The characters were all believable and people I cared enough about to keep me engaged. An engrossing, page turning "Who-done-it" (and why) that you will be reluctant to put down until it surprising conclusion. I look forward to reading more of Tami Hoag's books.
A Los Angeles youth, a mere boy himself, is trying to support himself and his younger brother by working as a bicycle messenger. He delivers a message, sees in the recepient's face that in the message is the order to "kill the messenger." Not completely understanding, he's yanked into survival mode, flees, and this story of action and suspense, hope and betrayal, begins...and it simply doesn't let up.
I like Tami Hoag's writing. Love the way she builds characters and our caring for them. She writes exciting scenes and she kills off people that I want to live, which makes it sad but also scary and exciting because maybe she's going to kill off more people you like and so the scary scenes are scary! "No, don't kill grandma! No, don't kill...." you get it. Anyway, love these books on tape.
I liked this story. While I could see all the regular character cliches that have been mentioned in other reviews, I liked it all just the same. I think it helped that I was listening to it as an audio book, which means I got the inflection of tone that went with the quips. Maybe not the most epic or masterful piece of writing, but it got the job done. There were parts where I went :( and parts where I lol'd.
Which is amusing when you are driving down a highway in rush hour traffic. Certainly not...more
Which is amusing when you are driving down a highway in rush hour traffic. Certainly not...more
A friend of mine told me about this book so I picked it up, it was really good! It's the story of a bike messenger who gets wrapped up in a bad situation and finds himself a suspect for the murder of his latest pickup. It's told from the view of the messenger and the detective who is investigating the case and both are equally awesome. I'm going to check out more of her books.
This is the first book I ever read of Tami Hoag, and I was so much in love with it that I began a quest to read everything else she had ever written. Unfortunately,her books tend to be very similar and after reading 10 or so of them I lost interest in the pursuit. But this book is and remains fabulous in my mind. A definite must read if you like mysteries and crime. :)
My sisters have tried to get me to read Tami Hoag for years, but I never seemed to have enough times with all my studies. But, now that I am break and on a mystery kick, I thought I would try it out. It was great. The characters were sharp and engaging, the mystery plausible and the twist at the end was worth the time I spent time reading. I really liked this book.
I listened to the audio CD on a recent road trip. It was 5 CDs and took about 5 hours. The story was compelling and I must admit that I was surprised by the twists the story took at the end ... however, in retrospect the ending made sense on a number of levels. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from Tami Hoag in the future.
This was kind of a forgettable whodunnit. I think I picked it up because I love bike messengers. Other that him getting hit at the beginning of the book, bike messengering didn't really have much to do with it. I probably won't read any more of this author unless a book comes highly recommended. But hey - at least all the chicks were super hot.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of thirty books. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times bestseller list with Night Sins, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. She lives in Southern California and Florida.
More about Tami Hoag...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“They don't matter. I thought I had to prove something, and I did, to myself. There's nothing left for me to prove. I can move on with my life.”
—
7 people liked it
“I'm telling you, you did what you believed you had to do through all of this. Not what was easiest or best for you. You did what you did, and you're owning it. And I don't know ten men who would be brave enough to do that.”
—
6 people liked it
More quotes…
