Night Sins (Deer Lake, #1)

Night Sins (Deer Lake #1)

3.89 of 5 stars 3.89  ·  rating details  ·  4,419 ratings  ·  177 reviews
A sensational New York Times bestseller and subject of a CBS-TV miniseries, Night Sins has confirmed Tami Hoag's reputation as the new modern master of suspense.

This gripping tale unfolds in a peaceful Minnesota town, where crime is something that just doesn't happen. But when a young boy disappears, it marks the beginning of a unspeakable nightmare. There are no witnesses...more
Mass Market Paperback
Published October 7th 1996 by Orion (first published 1995)
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Night Sins by Tami HoagGuilty as Sin by Tami HoagLucky's Lady by Tami HoagA Thin Dark Line by Tami HoagDark Paradise by Tami Hoag
Favorite Tami Hoag Novels
1st out of 8 books — 28 voters
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I Like Serial Killers
342nd out of 415 books — 553 voters


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Community Reviews

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Sara
Jan 10, 2008 Sara rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: nobody
The best way I can describe this novel is pure disappointment. It seems the author got carried away with the numerous characters in this story and didn't know how to end the mystery. The final chapter was annoying in the sense that it left me completely hanging on why the kidnapping occurred, what the reasoning was behind the culprit and would the killer strike again? Hoag left the novel hanging so I figured a sequel might be written to extend the characters, but there isn't anything. I will not...more
Anirban
In this book, a kid , Josh Kirkwood, is abducted when his mother forgets to pick him up from his hockey practise. A lady officer, Megan O Mally is sent by BCA to Deer Lake to help the local police, led by Mitch Holt to solve the case.
I never had any huge expectation from this book, the last few crime novels which I have read, which deals with kidnapping, the culprit invariably turns out to be a psycho who just kidnaps, to satisfy his lust for power and he has no intention to demand any ransom. S...more
Bob Corrigan
Actually, it's a major achievement for me to FINISH a book of this length (500+ pages). I've been tossing books aside for months now - and this one I read to the end. I *did* resort to skimming starting about halfway through, something I never have done before, but ... as one other reviewer pointed out, the digressions and lengthy explanations of every word and action became overwhelming at times. Annoying, to tell the truth.

And yes, the ending wasn't quite the neat wrap-up one likes to see afte...more
Linda
Tami Hoag has written some decent novels, but alas, Night Sins does not fit into that category. This novel is ostensibly a mystery, set around the abduction of a young boy from a hockey rink in remote Deer Lake, MI. But what should be the focus of the plot, which might have been pretty compelling, takes second place to a romance that could not have been more of a cliche, but could have served well as two years of episodes for a TV soap opera. Sexy Megan O'Malley, a petite bundle of sass, breezes...more
Dylan Rostek
I really dug this book. I went into it skeptical as this type of book was never really something I'd bothered reading before (outside of the Hannibal Lecter series.)
It's about FBI agent Megan O'Malley who is sent to a small Minnesota town to help Chief of Police Mitch Holt find a local boy who was kidnapped by a clue leaving madman.
The writing was very well done, each character had plenty of dimension, and the book kept me guessing until the very end. The only part of the book that didn't seem t...more
Carol Waters
The best line is on page 300;

"She breathed in the waxy scent of crayons and felt as if one had been driven through her heart."


Hah. I'm on page 404 and so far there have been three official clues and the MOST TEDIOUS characters. The woman who broke the sex barrier for females in her position in law enforcement broke her "no dating cops" rule and slept with the chief the second day she knew him, putting her job at risk and looking like an idiot to all working women to boot. I no longer care about...more
Jonetta
When an eight-year old boy goes missing from a small Minnesota town in the dead of winter, Special Agent Megan Malloy works to assist Mitch Holt, the town's chief of police, in locating him. She's newly promoted to the position as the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's (BCA) regional agent and as the first woman in that role, she's also got a lot to prove.

There was a lot going on in this story in addition to solving the abduction. Megan has a fast and firm rule against dating cops and...more
Bob
A young boy disappears after hockey practice in a small Minnesota town. His mother, a Dr. got tied up in and emergency and his father did not answer his phone at work. The whole town turns out in the search and Megan O'Malley, the first female field agent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is new on the job. Deer Lake chief of police Mitchell Holt trying to adjust to small town life after the big time in Florida and the loss of his wife and son in a robbery gone bad is trying to ge...more
Jan
Jul 07, 2009 Jan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those who enjoy suspense
Recommended to Jan by: NL - Crystal
I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful book and the little asides sprinkled throughout kept your interest sparked even more! Great characters! You had to love Megan's mouth; she never knew when to keep it shut, to her detriment at times. It was good to see the relationship develop between her and Mitch. I really liked Hannah and, as much as I liked her, I disliked her husband, Paul. What a putz! One of the best parts of the book was Hannah telling him to leave! She thought she wasn't strong but s...more
Barner

Taking place in a small MN town, the novel's chapter headings highlight the temperature and wind chill figures, an intersting feature making the reader colder and colder as she reads. This novel, dealing with the kidnapping of a small boy scout is a wondeful page turner. I even ignored my planned outdoor work Friday afternoon and keep saying "just a few more pages" as I read and read and read. The book is well written, the suspense is continuous and the character development is believeable.

In ad...more
Tariq
Honestly speaking I would have rated this book better had it been ended conclusively by the author.
The story started on a promising note and even though a little bit slower yet interesting twists keeps one interested. However, when just a few pages were left and still nothing conclusive had come up, I became a bit wary if the climax is gonna be very short. Only that I didnt know that the end would just pose few more questions like not properly clarifying on the intention behind abduction and ex...more
Deana M
Josh Kirkwood is an 8 year old boy who is taken away from his family after hockey practice. Besides his parents, the entire town of Deer Lake, MN is scared and in shock that such a thing could happen in their small town. Chief of Police Mitch Holt and newly assigned BCA Agent Megan O'Malley work together to find the person who has taken Josh away. With their two personalities, work ethics, and very strong physical attraction getting in their way, they will stop at nothing until the case in solve...more
Tim
This wasn't the first Hoag book I have read and it was quite the page turner, great characters well written and suspenseful. Like so many books however it left a little bit too much hanging at the end. Sure we all recognise the appeal of sequels. But the prologue made it obvious that the real mystery is far from unravelled and the explanations are unexplored. Whether "Guilty as Sin" will answer some of those questions I will have to wait and see, but I am doubtful. Firstly I gave this book four...more
Max Anadon
More books I've had on my shelf for years...this one I bought after seeing the movie on Lifetime (no I don't watch Lifetime, I usually stay far away from the channel, but sometimes I get caught by something). I liked the movie although there were a lot of gaps...gaps that I wanted filled by reading.

Unfortunately, the movie followed the book pretty true. In a small midwestern town in Minnesota, Josh, a boy of 8, gets kidnapped by a psychopath(s) who taunt the police. Expectedly, there are many f...more
Magpie67
I loved this book strictly for the cat and mouse chase. The everyday pursuit and what police and agents must do to wade through the clues was where the games began for me. I had two sets of whodunit and with the explosive writing of Tami Hoag they changed continuously. I knew the moment only one was in jail that "We" would be dropping off the kid. I could feel the sequel was coming and I was thrilled!!!! Tami had me turning the pages faster towards the end with the thrill of the hunt. The clues,...more
Jon
This is about the Tami Hoag books in general.
I originally got them because a friend recommended them, and many of them are set in Minnesota. I liked the first one I read, and taken alone they are good stories.
Where I went wrong was I read several of them in a row, and a pattern started to emerge:
In every one of her books I read you had the same main character. The heroine was always a strong, independent woman fighting for equality in a male dominated world, a woman who thinks she doesn't need...more
Books-treasureortrash
Book Review:1 Treasure Box

I found that the characters were somewhat one-sided, although there was more depth in Megan and Mitch's characters. The story takes place in the mid 1990s and so it is a bit dated. I liked the sexual tension build-up between these two, although I am not sure it is believable. The book takes us on a roller coaster ride as we follow Megan as she tracks down the kidnapper. The ending was ambivalent but still satisfactory. Although it did not answer all the questions, it le...more
Kavya
It was Tami Hoag's "kill the messenger" which prompted me to pick up this and its sequel " guilty as sins". However, the book turned out to be a huge disappointment.
Its a story drawn from real life. A kidnapping of a little boy in a sleepy old small town in the middle of winter. The character sketches of the boy's mother and father were right on. But the investigating officer and BCA's in-charge were both too cliched and d romance between them even more so. The plot felt much too dragging at ti...more
Jess
This book was great! I picked it up, and from that point on I couldn't put it down. It was fast paced with a lot of suspense and it kept me guessing until the last few chapters as to who the criminal was.

There was a nice romantic element to the story, and I really fell in love with some of the characters. There were also characters that Hoag forced you to love to hate. I couldn't help disliking them, I actually enjoyed hating them and kept wishing dreadful things on them lol. But I think that's...more
Amanda
This is my first Tami Hoag novel. I liked the fast pace of the events but thought that the love interest between the lead characters moved much too quickly (they were dissecting their attractions towards each other on their first meeting!). Too, this is one of those novels that has the leading lady doing daring but idiotic deeds (she knows what's best and bedamn the consequences), a character trait that makes my brain itch. But these are my own personal pet peeves. On the whole, a pretty decent...more
Kelsea
It is a slow book until the last 100 pages. I just wanted to stop reading it, but knew I had to finish it since I hate not knowing how books end if I don't finish them. I would like to know everything comes to an end in the sequel to Night Sins, but knowing that the second book doesn't invlove the same characters and how slow the first book was I'm not sure I will choose to read the second one. Honestly, I would not recommend this book, but if you are looking for a mystery book I would recommend...more
Isabel Maia
Era mais um dia como tantos outros na pacata cidade de Deer Lake, Minesotta. Um grupo de rapazes terminou o seu treino de hóquei e esperavam no exterior do rinque que os viessem buscar. Todos vieram menos a mãe de Josh Kirkwood. Hannah Garrison é a chefe do Serviço de Urgências no Hospital local e já no fim do seu turno surge um grupo de feridos, vítimas de um acidente rodoviário. Quando Hannah chega ao rinque, Josh tinha desaparecido. Toda a comunidade é mobilizada para ajudar nas buscas e Mega...more
Xie
it was an amazing book, for real, to think that it was written at 1994?
that gripping feeling of hating the author because the anticipation of catching the criminal is killing you, yet loving the author at the same time because of the way she tells the twist that unfolds. also the twisted lives of the people whose live got tangled together because of a tragedy. and the story behind the characters of how happy, perfect, yet crumbling down their lives are is just perfect.
LJ
NIGHT SINS - Ex
Hoag, Tami - 1st in Deer lake series

Deer Lake is a small Minnesota town where people know their neighbours and crime is something that happens on the evening news. But the illusion of safety is shattered when eight-year-old Josh Kirkwood disappears from a hockey rink as he waits for his mother to pick him up after practice. The only thing the police find is his duffel bag with a note stuffed inside, `Ignorance is not innocence but SIN`. With each passing hour the search for Josh t...more
Martha
I loved this book. It gets its claws into you and you have to finish it. Some people are mad that this book and the next,guilty as sin, were made into 2 books and not one. I am glad. Sure some things could have been cut out and reduced to one book, but it gets to prolong the story, you find out about Josh, and keep up with the other characters. They just seem real, I feel like I'm reading stories off ID channel or 20/20.
I've started Guilty as sin and look forward to sitting back down to read it.
Aprile
I read this book for my book club and now I remember why I don't read this kind of book. First of all, the book was really slow. Even 100 pages in, I didn't want to read anymore, but I figured since it was the only book I had left from the library I should read it. The plot sucked, and the ending was horrible. The only redeeming part of this novel was the characters. I would not recommend this to anyone.
Pam
I enjoyed the storyline except the ongoing love-hate relationship between Mitch and Megan. I find it hard to believe with the kidnapping and all the things happening they had time for a personal relationship. The end of the story was very inconclusive and in reading other reviews it seems there's a sequel. Not what I wanted to find at the end of the story.
Sandy
I enjoyed every moment of reading this book. Not quite sure how much I like how at the end you're not quite sure what exactly happened to Josh or who was involved with his abduction... But that's the fun of it: it keeps you thinking well after you've turned the last page! A long book, but I give a 5 star for keeping me focused and making me think while reading. Looking forward to reading more of Tami Hoag's books!
Terry Cohoe
I made the mistake of reading this novel after the second novel in the series and that marred the book for me. I already knew what happened at the end, but I felt like I owed the author to read the book. Having said that, this is a fabulous book, filled with suspension and great character development, and I completely enjoyed the read. The ending is a bit disappointing in that it really runs into the next novel without having a big resolution. If you went in knowing that you needed to read the s...more
Michelle
Mar 24, 2011 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Romance and Thriller lovers!
The book may have been a little drawn out.. but all in all I absolutely loved it. Another one of Tami Hoags books that I could not put down. The whole story was amazing, I loved all of the characters and am hoping that they will alwso take part in Guilty as Sin, which of coarse will be the next book I read. I have definetly found myself a favorite author!
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Night Sins (Deer Lake #1)
Night Sins (Deer Lake, #1)
Night Sins (Mass Market Paperback)
Night Sins (Hardcover)
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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...
Ashes to Ashes (Kovac/Liska, #1) Deeper Than the Dead (Oak Knoll, #1) Secrets to the Grave (Oak Knoll, #2) Guilty as Sin  (Deer Lake #2) Prior Bad Acts (Kovac/Liska, #3)

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“Mitch shook his head. "Amazing. You'd literally do anything wouldn't you?" Turning a pointed look on her hand, he lifted it from his arm and dropped it. "Frankly, Ms. Price, I'd sooner stick my dick in a meat grinder. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a stolen child to find. Impossible as it may for you to comprehend, he's a hell of a lot more important than you.” 1 person liked it
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