Still Waters

by Tami Hoag

When Elizabeth Stuart starts looking for a new home for herself and her son, somewhere she can recover from a particularly bruising divorce, Still Creek seems the answer to her dreams. Hidden in the lush Amish farmlands of Minnesota, Still Creek offers a sanctuary to the splintered family who look forward to settling down there. But on their arrival the locals are distinctly cool to the newcomers. And when Elizabeth becomes involved in a murder case, she realises that there is a lot more to life in Still Creek than meets the eye.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Romance, Crime

448 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Tami Hoag is the #1 internationally bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers—BITTER SEASON, COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. 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 leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting.


Visit her at www.tamihoag.com, Facebook.com/TamiHoag and on Twitter @TamiHoag

Reviews

[CD {Boulder Blvd} · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the mystery in this one and I like Ms. Hoag's writing, but I wasn't enamored with the leading MCs.

What kept me reading was the plot of who killed the wealthy sleazeball in the town of Still Creek. The suspense is well paced and with some additional deaths and attacks and missing tourist, the mystery keeps you guessing.

Elizabeth has just gone through a horror of a divorce with her ex-husband making her look like a slut who will sleep with anything. With looks and a reputation every guy she meets is making passes with the assumption that she will sleep with them. In reality, she's a struggling single mom just trying to create a life for herself and her troubled son. I thought Ms. Hoag did a really good job with how the son was woven into the plot. Elizabeth is involved from two standpoints, first she discovered the dead body and second she owns the local paper. Elizabeth herself should have been a likable character but with her calling everyone she meets "Sugar" as part of her southern characterization, I got where I didn't want her in a scene. One two many "Sugars" for me.

Dane is the Sheriff and is responsible for solving the crime(s). He doesn't do a very good job as he wants to blame a transient and not do his due diligence. He doesn't want to look at any of the citizens in his town. Also, he is a complete jerk to Elizabeth believing all the lies and treating her like a slut. But he feels he's justified as his ex-wife did a number on him. Aside from looks, he didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities. I really disliked him.

The romance didn't work for me. He was such a jerk/ass that I just can't see falling for him. He treats her poorly so she has the hots for him. It came off as just hot sex and not a relationship. Definitely not romantic.

The suspense was 5 stars, but Dane was a 1 star and Elizabeth was a 2 star - so I averaged it out to a 3 star rating. As I really did like Ms. Hoag's writing and the plot, I will definitely give her books another go.

[Jess☺️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still Waters by Tami Hoga is a great romantic thriller which hits right from the first page.
We have an Amish community,a normal close knit town, 2 killers ( one so unlikely 😬) murders (obviously) a police sheriff and a new outsider newspaper editor who slowly falls in love so we get a HEA. There are many many up and downs twists and turns which all links together to make the grand final.
It's been a while since I've read this author and I can't wait to read and re-read her other books.
I'm definitely recommending this 📖

[Obsidian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this wasn't my favorite Tami Hoag. Probably because I hated the male lead (Dane) in this one. Going through a bad divorce years earlier and deciding the female lead (Elizabeth) must be a gold digger and only want one thing from men was gross. The murder mystery seemed to be getting overlooked a lot I thought in order for them to spar and then of course they end up in bed. Also the character development of both Dane and Elizabeth was poor. And Hoag for some bizarre reason kept having Elizabeth run around talking like a cliche since she was from Texas. When we get the reveal of who murdered the town's bully and overall scumbag I went really? Not a very good showing of Hoag's writing skills I thought.

"Still Waters" follows divorcee Elizabeth who has moved from Texas to Minnesota to start over again. Her teenage son and her are looking for a fresh start after the tabloid press hounded Elizabeth out of town. Elizabeth now runs the local paper and is hoping that she can eventually get her house together and grow closer to her son. After dealing with a car mishap, Elizabeth goes for help at a nearby construction site. Once there she finds Jarrold Jarvis who had his throat slashed and was left in his car. The town sheriff, Dane, is a local boy who made it to the NFL but then had to return home again. He finds himself angry and distrustful of women and reporters so as far as he is concerned Elizabeth isn't someone that can be trusted and he decides that she must know more than she is telling. When attacks ramp up and the guilty party that everyone thinks did it turns up dead, the town of Still Creek is left wondering if the person who murdered Jarrold is one of them.

I can't say much besides Elizabeth being a reporter made zero sense with her background. She got a divorce settlement, but deciding to move to Minnesota to buy a paper made zero sense to me. It didn't help that we didn't really see her off there reporting or anything.

Dane was terrible. He pretty much decides after a while that he and Elizabeth are going to have sex with each other and this is after he's pretty awful to her for the first half of the book.

Both leads have teens who have more sense than their parents.

The other characters in this one are not given much to do. The book just flips flops between people and you keep forgetting that there's a murder to solve. There's even an Amish carpenter in this one and I have to say that there's no way any Amish person would work for the "English" so that whole thing kept taking me out of the book.

The writing was okay but the flow was pretty bad. I think after a while the book was just spinning it's wheels.

The ending was a letdown. We find out who did it, but it didn't make much sense to me and I have to say that the book left some plot holes open that I don't even want to know they would get addressed.

[Ravi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book at a sale since I wanted to read a new author , the book was cheap , and the blurb was not too bad and then I read the book.

It is the very first book that I can remember where I skipped lines in paragraphs and whole paragraphs themselves without missing a single significant event.

I just wanted the misery of reading this to come to end.

It reads like a love story with 2 of the main characters 'sparring' with each other like they are at war but in their hearts they are like soul mates. The entire book is all about that.

The book is approximately 450 pages long but if the writing was to the point without overly exaggerating every single line on people's faces, it would have been done in 30 pages.

The irritating part is the level of detail that the author goes into without any real value add.

For example, the son of the heroine goes for an interview and rides his 12 speed bike and reaches the spot all sweaty. So he goes into the Texaco washroom , washes his face , tries to use the tissue paper to wipe himself , looks at the mirror, untucks his shirt , then wipes himself with the tissue as then retucks his shirt , looks at himself again in the mirror, curses his life cause he is 16 and going through some tumoil, walks out of the washroom and walks down to the place of the interview.

Phew!!!!!! what exact value does this line add to the reader other than getting really irritated.

The main characters need a real shake down in parenting and leading their lives cause even a fairy tale has a better story line.

If there was a negative 'star' , this would have deserved a place there.

Tami Hoag, I am sure you are a very nice person but I am really irritated cause you took time off from me reading a much better piece of work.

This is going into my "do not ever buy again author" list.

Conclusion: If you are on a desert island and don't have any recreation, you can read it and let it swim out to sea. If not , don't ever read it.

[Regan]

Little old lady dressed all in pink, on a bench near the water on the Greek island Skopelos

[Bruno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este foi o primeiro livro que decidi experimentar a autora Tami Hoag. Foi a elucidação da capa e também a sinopse que me deixaram algo curioso. Imaginava que esta autora fosse como a Patrícia MacDonald ou a Mary Higgins Clark, e afinal não tem comparação com uma nem com a outra. O estilo de escrita é mais elástico, digamos mais descritivo.

Neste livro, a carga psicológica sobressai mais à carga policial que é quase nula, ou seja, a história centra-se mais propriamente nos personagens da cidade rural onde houve um homicídio: a vida de cada um, os seus sentimentos mais profundos como desilusões, receios, traições. O ritmo é lento como passo de caracol, não há acção que vibrasse o enredo, mas a forma de como os personagens são despidos em palavras e como se relacionam uns com os outros, é interessante. Fiquei bastante familiarizado com a Elizabeth e o seu filho, com o Dane e a sua filha, com a Joyln, entre outros. Senti como se eu próprio estivesse a viver nessa cidade rural, e ainda fiquei a saber mais sobre a cultura dos amish.

Quem matou o magnata local? Todos guardam os segredos e são suspeitos. E só no último capitulo é que é revelado o assassino.

Gostei muito e pretendo ler mais livros da autora.

[Awilk -never sleeps- · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly enjoyable romantic suspense, although I didn't particularly enjoy either of the main characters. I felt the book was a little slow in places, but this is an author I will be reading more of.

[Andrea C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous book if you love the court room/CSI type books like me. I also like that they add in just a little twist of romance to it. Not enough to make you wanna put it down and puke but just enough to keep you interested in that part of the story.

[Annika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tami Hoag is quickly becoming a favorite author. I like a shivery, suspenseful murder mystery without being bogged down with details and gore. (I'll save Kay Scarpetta for the best medical examiner ever, though...).

I don't think "Still Waters" is part of any series, like her Elena Estes series or the Bayou Breaux series (both are worth a read).

Elizabeth Stuart is a twice-divorced Texan who has gone from poor to rich back to poor and has packed up her life (after her rich second-ex-husband shredded her name and reputation to Atlanta society) and her teenage son and moved to Minnesota. Still Creek, Minnesota. The only tie she has there is a college roommate who was like a sister to her, since Elizabeth has no family. Elizabeth buys the town's newspaper, thus becoming an outsider and a reporter, neither of which earn her much trust in the town. The last big mistake she made was stumbling upon the body of Jarrold Jarvis, his throat slashed and his body slumped over in his car.

Somewhere in the mess, she reports the truth, her son is a suspect, an Amishman gets a little (forbidden) crush on her as he repairs her house, and the local sheriff butts heads with her. It doesn't help that the sheriff's teenage daughter and her teenage son decide they like each other.

As far as characters go, I like all of the ones thrown in. There aren't too many to try to sort out, but enough to pick your suspects from. (I was right by the way, I just don't think it was believable, if that makes sense).

Pace, timing, setting, Hoag's got it. I wouldn't mind a little more forensics since we ARE dealing with a modern day murder mystery.

Intriguing enough to pick up another book by this author. Don't expect too much and you'll be fine.

[Simoloverosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quando scelgo di leggere queste storie pubblicate nel passato sono sempre consapevole di non restarne mai delusa. Tami Haog è eccezionale in questo romance suspense uscito nel lontano 1994 ma incredibilmente ancora molto attuale. Elizabeth è una giovane donna single e amareggiata dall' amore, sentimento dal quale è uscita sempre sconfitta. Seppur si ritrova, dopo l' ultimo clamoroso e spiacevole divorzio, dalle stelle alle stalle lei ha la forza di ricominciare e di credere fermamente che la cittadina dove ha scelto di vivere sia finalmente un posto sereno per lei e suo figlio adolescente . Ma la mentalità chiusa, piuttosto provinciale e gretta della gente non abituata all' ospitalità con gli estranei le impedisce di inserirsi nonostante partecipi attivamente nella comunità come nuova proprietaria del giornale cittadino. A metter ancora più distanza tra lei e la comunità è l' assassinio di uno fra i principali e famosi abitanti del luogo che la vede suo malgrado protagonista come testimone. Dane è lo sceriffo che si occupa delle indagini, il suo modo arrogante di porsi subito nei confronti di lei nasconde in realtà un passato pieno di delusioni sia dal punto di vista sentimentale che professionale quindi, appena conosce la bella e conturbante Elizabeth, la sua reazione è subito quella di proteggersi chiudendosi a riccio per non permettere alla vivacità esplosiva della donna di rompere collaudati equilibri che regolarizzano la sua vita ormai da anni. Questa è una storia che va assaporata pagina dopo pagina e per comprenderne le dinamiche bisogna prima conoscere attentamente tutti i personaggi che ruotano intorno ai fatti e che l' autrice definisce e caratterizza ognuno in maniera ben distinta associando loro anche comportamenti legati agli usi e costumi dell'ambiente in cui vivono e si muovono. Vi dico subito che la parte suspense è certamente quella che mi ha avvinta di più, l' autrice è riuscita a tramare un assassinio collocandolo tra una serie di fatti credibili confondendo costantemente le acque, nel momento stesso che pensate di aver capito chi è il colpevole esce fuori un nuovo indizio che capovolge la situazione quindi per dipanare bene gli elementi fate attenzione ai particolari che semina sapientemente nel corso della storia. La parte romance è sicuramente più debole, mi ha convinta di meno sarà che non ho apprezzato molto Dane, il protagonista maschile, ne come uomo ma soprattutto ne come sceriffo. Mi è sembrato insicuro e infantile per come conduce la sua vita sentimentale e un inetto per come ha condotto le indagini mostrando di essere non solo inesperto ma anche retrogada e menefreghista della verità per un incomprensibile bene della comunità in cui vive ed esercita. Fortunatamente grazie ad Elizabeth matura, nonostante sia adulto già da un bel pezzo, ampliando la sua visione fin troppo ristretta del mondo. Certamente la protagonista assoluta è proprio Elizabeth personaggio che ho apprezzato per la sua forza di credere che nella vita ci sia sempre una speranza di ricominciare e di essere apprezzati nonostante il destino ti prenda continuamente a schiaffi. Nel complesso una gran bella storia da leggere assolutamente

[Ela (Mouse333) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was fine, but there were a lot of things that could have been done in a better way.

There were a lot of descriptions, which made the book slow and a bit boring. I wanted to see more interactions with the different characters.

The first chapter is Elizabeth walking and thinking about her life, and the next one is Dane sleeping with some other woman. I didn’t think that it needed to be shown, especially since it seemed to be the most detailed scene out of this whole book.

Both Dane and Elizabeth had a child, but they don’t really interact with them. The only time Elizabeth really notices that she has a son is when he doesn’t come home until late. Dane doesn’t notice that he has a daughter until she actually appears in a scene.

This book was fine, but it wasn’t for me as it focused on the things that interested me the least.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book from my stacks to take to the beach on vacation. It's more than water logged and still in Florida :) I really enjoy Hoag's books but this one, while enjoyable, annoyed me a bit.

Elizabeth and her teenage son, Trace, flee Atlanta and end up in small town Still Creek. Naturally, Elizabeth is gorgeous and dislikes men. The sheriff in town, Dane, is gorgeous and dislikes women. And they end up in bed together. Naturally.

Elizabeth happens on a dead body, the first murder in this town in decades. The sheriff is surly and lusty towards her (if he grabbed her by the arm and steered her one more time....seriously) and she's determined to find the killer, despite never having done anything like that before.

Also, enter the Amish with their dislike of the "English".

I know quite a few Southern people and have never heard the word "sugar" in conversation as Elizabeth.

Enjoyable, but somewhat annoying :)

[Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 or 3

just once i wish a murder mystery would have me stumped but i knew it was aaron immediately, i guess i'm just sherlock holmes. knew rich did some shit too. the murder mystery wasn't even the focus it seemed like she forgot that the book was a murder mystery and not a love story.

[Tiara Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book's problems weren't just because it was written in the early '90s, which was definitely a different time to be sure. I picked it up because it came up randomly in my "books I own but haven't read" list that I'm charging through. (I have a pile of Tami Hoag books that I picked up in college) and I finished it simply because I wanted to find out if it was as predictable as I thought it would be.

I honestly don't mind if I can predict the mystery in a book early. I could forgive the misogyny as something from another time. What I hate is relationship conflict that could be fixed by a single conversation where all parties say just one honest thing to one another. The romance here isn't romantic. It's frustrating. It's toxic. I don't want these characters to get together. (Except I'm 1000% on Team Jolynn, who I really wanted to read more about.)

So much of this book is tied up in toxic masculinity, and I know, I know, it's from the early '90s. It just shines a spotlight on the messed up ideas of what Americans think a relationship should look like. It's a story that doesn't hold up in 2018 at all.

[Kyrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish it. I gave it my 10% try - I read 10% of the story. While the mystery had promise, I didn't think I wanted to wade through another 400+ pages of people being in bed with people they can't stand just because they have an itch to scratch I got the point that the heroine is from a big city and had also lived in rough and tumble Texas (which is nothing like Amish Minnesota where no one locks their doors, and nothing ever happens)therefore, she will have insights that the locals will not. Got the whole good ol' boy sheriff thing, which is weird, if they have no crime.

I read the last chapter, felt vindicated that I'd already made a good guess as to who the murderer was, and decided I'd rather read a book I enjoy.



This one was part of our library's "blind date" offerings - a book in a brown paper wrapper - so you don't know what you're getting. It's a cute idea. I might try it again, but this one was too much like a blind date - ugh.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great mystery, so-so romance. I really love Tami Hoag's early romances and I am puzzled how an author who does romance so well and mystery so well, can't seem to blend to two in this book.

Elizabeth has been kicked to the curb by her SOB, rich ex-husband. She and her son land in Still Creek, MI and she buys the local paper. She also has to fend off everything with a dick due to the SOB ex and his lies during their media circus divorce. She finds the dead body of the town's wealthy sleaze and everyone assumes she slept with him and most believe she killed him including the county Sheriff, Dane. He believes everything the media wrote about her, until he gets to know her and then he changes his mind. But his ex did a number on him and he wants nothing but sex from any woman, even Elizabeth.

[Dorsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a possible 3 1/2 stars. It was a bit on the predictable fluffy side. The character development was pretty decent. The twist wasn't bad...it was a good idea although I figured it out long before it was revealed. One thing that grated on my nerves a bit was the main character's use of the term of endearment "sugar". I realize she was southern but she ran it in the ground a bit. I listened to this one and the narration was fantastic. It was read by Joyce Bean.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for the mystery. 1 Star for the romance.

No shocking twists, but a decent enough mystery to keep me guessing. Some exciting moments towards the end. One scene that could have been quite the thriller, but was skipped over with only a brief recap after it happened, I wish she had spent more time on. (the junkyard)
The biggest problem, it took 10+ chapters of the two main characters hating each other, and him being a jerk, to even get to the mystery.
I usually wouldn't mind the build up of the relationship, but this one I could never get into. He started as a jerk, and she seemed fake. Like she was this one person on the inside, then put on the southern girl act for others. Which is why so many reviewers probably had an issue with the "Sugar" usage. It did feel fake or forced.

I usually like Tami Hoag, but this one was my least favorite so far.

[Marta Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este livro começa com um crime que assola uma pequena e pacata cidade dos EUA, o que o torna cheio de suspense, de mistério e intrigas.
Ao longo da sua narrativa tentamos descobrir quem é o verdadeiro culpado no meio dos vários suspeitos que vão surgindo e no final somos surpreendidos (pelo menos eu fiquei) com quem é o verdadeiro assassino.
Uma vez mais gostei muito de ler um livro da Tami Hoag.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I was especially surprised because in the past I haven't found myself liking too many murder mysteries, but I think that the touches of romance in this novel helped me to like it significantly more. I will say, I was a bit bored of it at about 25% of the way through, but once I pushed through that short bit, I found the rest very engaging and interesting. I do feel a bit embarrassed at how long it ended up taking me to read this though, as usually I can finish a book in a day or two, but this one took me a little over a week! Anyways, I would recommend this book if you enjoy murder mysteries and romance.

***Spoilers***
I know it was a little ridiculous (especially after seeing the ending) but I had really hoped that Elizabeth and Aaron would get together =(. I thought that maybe he could convert or something, but then that would've separated him from everyone he had really known. I don't know, I was just a bit sad to see she ended up with Janzten; though they seem like a cute match at the end and maybe they can help each other with the traumas of their past.

[Eileen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely a fluff read, but it was fairly enjoyable. The characters were not exactly believable and her Southern accent just seemed so stereotypical, but it was still a fun read. I would say that the murder mystery part of it was predictable, and looking back at the story, it should have been, but I didn't predict who murdered the disliked businessman or why, perhaps in part, because I didn't want that person to be the murderer.

[Jessica Kaiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheesy romance meets thriller. Stereotypical closed up macho sheriff falls for a outspoken southern bell as a murderer lurks under there noses. It was more about their relationship development than the actually murder and that was disappointing. Overall a fun afternoon read.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable but not memorable.

[msleighm]

Audiobook. DNF.

Too much "bodice ripping" Romance for my taste.

[Natalia thompson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful, cliche and boring characters. I didn’t care about a single one of them. Redundant and repetitive language- could have easily been a 75 page book. Reading this book was like a punishment.

[Kara Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. While I’ve read several of Hoag’s books, and am a big fan, this was the first stand alone story of hers. I believe this was written as she was going from romance books to more of the thriller genre. The first 200 pages really dragged on- a murder investigation that was going no where, and a potential romance that was so frustrating! Fast forward to the last 100 pages where things finally picked up. Predictable ending.
I’ll be tackling another of Hoag’s series soon, so hoping that I’ll be back to reading her page turning stuff!

[Emily Higgins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Stuart and her son, Travis, moved to Minnesota after a bitter divorce to start over. Almost the first thing, Elizabeth discovers the body of a prominent local man who had been murdered. Determined to find the killer as part of her efforts to breathe life into the newspaper she just bought, Elizabeth keeps runnung into roadblocks.

[Tammi Looney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Stuart and her troubled, teenage son, Trace, move to the small town of Still Waters. She is running from an ugly divorce/scandal thanks to a wealth ex that drug her and her son through the proverbial mud. Elizabeth buys a floundering newspaper business to start fresh and resides in an old farmhouse in need of desperate repair. Right from the start of the book, Elizabeth stumbles across the murdered body of Jarrold Jarvis, a most disliked individual in the community. Enter Sheriff Dane Jantzen. He and Elizabeth clash from the get-go. He believes the rumors about her and passes judgment immediately about her character. As the story progresses and Elizabeth digs into the details of the murdered Jarvis, her life becomes threatened, making her a target. Her path and Dane's cross constantly as they both look into the death of Jarvis. Dane finds himself having feelings for Elizabeth even as she pushes his patience level. He takes a deeper look into her character and realizes he was wrong to judge and his previous assessment of her was wrong. Dane becomes protective of her even when she drives him to his limit. A killer is on the loose and watching their every move. More lives are taken and the plot thickens. I enjoyed the mystery of the book and the banter/love interest between Dane and Elizabeth. It had quite a few twists as the story unfolded. Caught myself wanting to read just one more page, one more chapter, to see what would happen to the characters I fell in love with.

[Lucy Qhuay · Rating 1 out of 5]

These days one cannot want to read a thriller without taking the risk of it being a romance.

And what a boring romance it was, full of stupid, flat characters and annoying clichés. Really, I spent most of my time rolling my eyes. Let's see:

* disgraced heroine - check
* heroine tries to pick up the pieces of her life by moving out to a forgotten place known only to the people who live there - check
* basic murder - check
* physically attractive, athletic hero, with a past connected to sports - check
* hero in a position of authority - check
* asshole hero who treats the heroine like shit because he thinks she's a golddigger skank like his ex - check
* hate/lust at first sight - check
* basic drama - check
*the killer is a religious lunatic - check
* silly confrontation with the 'villain' - check
* the end - check

[Jocelyn Rhindress · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 I struggled with my rating because it was a good read, but I had a few issues with it overall. Elizabeth, our main character - supposedly the most beautiful woman alive - but is hated because of her reputation from her previous marriage to a rich guy.... well, everyone can see she is dirt broke now. I think she may not have been well liked because she frigging smoked everywhere defiantly even when there was a no smoking sign (Police station...hospital???). Ew. Just ew. Dane - sexy sherif- also the most unprofessional sherif I ever read. He is terrible at his job! There was the original enounter between Liz and Dane in the kitchen where I am sure she told him no several times before she gave in.... didn't feel that consentual to me as a reader. Finally, Dane, do your job! I think everyone in town but Dane solved this murder.