Product Description

New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag returns with a thriller that begins with a shocking crime scene you’ll never forget and follows two relentless detectives on a manhunt that ends in a chilling confrontation with the essence of human evil.

It was a crime so brutal, it changed the lives of even the most hardened homicide cops. The Haas family murders left a scar on the community nothing can erase, but everyone agrees that convicting the killer, Karl Dahl, is a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl’s prior criminal record is inadmissible raises a public outcry—and puts the judge in grave danger.

When an unknown assailant attacks Judge Moore in a parking garage, two of Minneapolis’s top cops are called upon to solve the crime and keep the judge from further harm. Detective Sam Kovac is as hard-boiled as they come, and his wisecracking partner, Nikki Liska, isn’t far behind. Neither one wants to be on this case, but when Karl Dahl escapes from custody, everything changes, and a seemingly straightforward case cartwheels out of control.

The stakes go even higher when the judge is kidnapped—snatched out of her own bed even as the police sit outside, watching her house. Now Kovac and Liska must navigate through a maze of suspects that includes the stepson of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge where the justice system failed.

With no time to spare, the detectives are pulled down a strange dark trail of smoke and mirrors, where no one is who they seem and everyone is guilty of Prior Bad Acts.


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73522 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-27
• Released on: 2007-02-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 560 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. A simple court hearing explodes into a multifaceted case at the start of this stunning meld of thriller and police procedural from bestseller Hoag. Shortly after Minneapolis judge Carey Moore decides that the many "prior bad acts" of accused serial killer Karl Dahl can't be used in his trial, Dahl escapes from jail and someone attacks Moore. Homicide cops Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, introduced in Ashes to Ashes (1999), are assigned to protect the judge, whom the police hate for her liberal views. Moore's disintegrating marriage and her husband's shady business dealings lead the investigation in new directions, while more murders exacerbate the hunt for Dahl. Hoag, who began her career as a romance writer, has experimented with several mystery subgenres. Here she stands above the competition, creating complex characters who evolve more than those in most thrillers. The breathtaking plot twists are perfectly paced in this compulsive page-turner, which ends on a romantic note. (On sale Mar. 28)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Law-enforcement officials throughout Hennepin County thought they'd have an advocate on the bench when one of their own--former state prosecutor Carey Moore--became a criminal-court judge. Her Honor, however, knows that she will be scrutinized for favoring the prosecution, so she makes sure to rule evenly. But "even" is not the way the D.A.'s office would describe her handling of the case against defendant Karl Dahl. The cops and prosecutors are sure that Dahl is the one who brutally raped and murdered a mother and her two children, but they recognize that the evidence is highly circumstantial. Admitting Dahl's "prior bad acts" into evidence, they argue, would establish a pattern of behavior, whereas Dahl's attorney maintains that the evidence would be prejudicial. When Carey sides with the defense, her decision ignites a series of events that begins with her being brutally attacked. Then Dahl escapes, and homicide detectives Sam Kovak and Nikki Liska give chase. A first-rate thriller with an ending that will knock your socks off. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Hoag's cliffhanger scene endings and jump cuts leave the reader panting and turning the pages as fast as possible."—Boston Globe

"Chilling thriller with a romantic chaser."—New York Daily News

"The breathtaking plot twists are perfectly paced.... [A] stunning meld of thrilller and police procedural."—Publishers Weekly, starred review


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

WOW! This one kept me up all night!
I've been a Tami Hoag fan for years and she has never let me down when I want an enjoyable, fast-paced thrilling read. In Prior Bad Acts she gives you enough twists and turns you'll feel you're on a roller coaster without brakes!

I love Tami's humor and realistic dialogue, and her character development is 4-dimensional. I was `in love' with these characters in Ashes to Ashes, and then Dust to Dust, and am ecstatic that they're back. Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are awesome protagonists with sizzling chemistry. Hoag has a winning team!

Prior Bad Acts is one of my favorites and if you're new to Tami's novels, I highly recommend you pick up a copy, curl up in a chair with the doors locked and settle in for a suspenseful ride. She really knows how to tell a good story! Kudos, Tami!

~ Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Author of Divine Intervention

One of the Best
This is one of the best mysteries I've read in a long time. I love the characters Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska and hope they appear in future Tami Hoag books. Prior Bad Acts was one of those where you aren't sure who the bad guy is until near the end. The book is clear and well written with a superb plot, and I highly recommended it.

Be Prepared To Get Your Thrill On!
An Evil act scars a community. Every one has a past, yet it is Karl Dahl's criminal history that's held to a higher scrutiny when a judge rules his prior acts inadmissible. The community is outraged, Dahl escapes, and the judge finds herself a target of a killer who is among a community with a growing list of suspects. Detectives Sam Kovak and Nikki Liska are assigned to the case which takes them on a hunt with leads that spiral into the community where everyone's prior acts are called into question.

If you haven't experienced a Hoag novel, here's one that'll fulfill your thrill! Her writing is intense and as always she grabs your attention from the beginning and never lets up. Be prepared to get your thrill on!