A big fan of Hoag, I was delighted to read about the characters from Deeper than the dead. Set in Santa Barbara, we get to touch base again with Vince and Anne Leone and Tony Mendez.

An unspeakable crime; the disappearance of a teenage girl, a person of interest, and a family is destroyed. Written in two styles, one as the mother of the girl writes her feelings down, and the other as the story unfolds. Lauren knows who took her daughter, but there is nothing the police can do about it. Set in 1990, DNA evidence is not fully developed. Lauren relocates to a remote town of Oak Knolls to get away from the tragedy that stole her daughter and killed her husband; with her remaining daughter unable to deal with her version of the tragedy.

Hoag again weaves an intelligent story, with characters that reel the reader in, and are highly fragile and human. I hope to see more stories with this group!