New York Times best seller, Tami Hoag does not disappoint with her latest book Bad Liar. In a small Bayou town in Louisiana a dead body is found, but it turns out there is more than one missing man, so who is the dead body in the morgue? Detectives Broussard and Fourcade are on the case navigating the small town where everyone seems to know everyone's business, or do they?

Fourcade and Broussard, much improved.

4.5 stars rounded up.

A male corpse with a gunshot wound to the head that makes it hard to identify him is found in the Louisiana swamp. The gruesome murder leads detective Nick Fourcade to discover that a local hometown hero is missing. Meanwhile his wife, detective Annie Broussard, back on the job after a traumatic incident, stumbles upon her own missing persons case - a young addict who may or may not have been in recovery at the time of his disappearance. It soon becomes apparent that the three cases are connected by a web of lies.

This is the third case featuring detectives Fourcade and Broussard, who are now married and have a five-year old son. While these may work as standalone books, I previously read the first book in the series, „A Thin Dark Line“, and that definitely helped to understand the characters better. On the other hand, I couldn’t find the second book in my local library, so I skipped that one before diving into the last installment and didn’t feel like I missed a crucial part of the story. Some things from that past case are alluded to and, when necessary, spelled out (like the cause for Annie’s PTSD), and as a result, I had no trouble picking up where the previous case left off (bonus points for not completely spoiling the second book in the follow-up, so I can still go back and read it at some later point).

While the author’s writing has always been good, I’ll admit that I wasn’t crazy about the series’ initial installment, „A Thin Dark Line“. However, I am happy to report that the series has much improved. For starters, „Bad Liar“ is a lot more concise - the story, while still providing some atmospheric background from the bayou, moves along quickly and doesn’t drag unnecessarily. I also much appreciated the character overhaul Detective Fourcade received. And while the couple now has a young son, I found it refreshing how much of a - barely featured, in fact - side character the child was; it didn’t distract from the detective work.

The book features some heavy topics, namely drug abuse / the opioid crisis, and domestic violence. While I wasn’t too thrilled to read a domestic violence victim being described as „a cute, sassy little thing with a flirty smile“ who „goaded [her husband] a little“, for the most part, those topics were broached sensibly. The heartbreaking, all too real storyline of Robbie Fontenot, an up-and-coming high school athlete who was derailed by an injury only to slip into drug addiction, was especially well done.

Finally, while the identity of the faceless murder victim wasn’t hard to guess, the author still did a very good job of keeping up the suspense, weaving the different threads together into a satisfying conclusion.

An engaging, well-crafted police procedural with depth. I am looking forward to reading the next installment!

TW: domestic violence, sexual assault (attempted), drug abuse.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

„Bad Liar“ is slated to be published on September 24, 2024.

First want to give a huge Thank You to Penguin Group - Dutton publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy of Tami Hoag’s “ Bad Liar”. I am an auto-buy for this author and was on pins and needles awaiting her next release. I devoured this book.

Tami’s writing style is beyond unique. The way she can weave a story and keep you, the reader, locked in is a talent not many posses. I tend to loose interest quickly and do not normally enjoy a back and forth story line between multiple characters. HOWEVER with Queen Tami, I have zero issue staying the course! It’s seamless.

This story has several twists and turns, lots of action taking place, with it all linked together by past history, jealousy, family bonds and drives to succeed.

A small town, with lots of history. A brutalized body found by the swamp, unrecognizable, sets the wheels in motion. A desperate Mom looking for her lost son has the detectives on the look out for not one, but several missing persons. Folks missing, a body found that has been brutally disfigured and zero way to obtain identification. Is it Robbie, battling a bad drug habit for years, whose mom reported him missing? Is it Marc who is the Home Town Hero, gone missing with a jealous brother and unhappy wife? Who is it and why was this person murdered? So much going on within this never ending roller coaster of a tale and I promise you, you won’t see it coming. I could not put this book down and now I am going to be so depressed while I wait for her next book. However, you don’t need to be as coming to a bookstore soon, this one will be waiting for you! Enjoy!

Release date is 9/24/2024 and I recommend you Pre-Order this baby so she can be on your doorstep that day!

The was my first but not last Tami Hoag publication. I already have a few friends eager to read it once released. Thanks so much!

Marc Mercier left home for a weekend hunting trip and hasn’t been seen since.

Robbie Fortenot has been missing for 8 days.

As Annie and Nick investigate the cases, the hit many brick walls in the form of family secrets, jealousy and unhelpful local police force.

A straight forward police procedural in Louisiana which I absolutely loved. It will grab your attention from the very first chapter.

RECOMMEND

Thank you #NetGalley for the complimentary copy of #BadLiar in exchange for an honest review.

Tami Hoag has always been one of my favorite authors! I haven't read anything from Tami in a long time, soI was so excited to see this book available on NetGally for review! I was even more excited to see that I was approved for an advance copy! I was unaware when I signed up for this book that it was the 3rd book in a series. I can't say if having read the first 2 books would have helped my rating in this book or not. I didn't feel like I was missing any information by not reading the first two.

Overall, the book was just ok. it starts out with a body being found. It's unable to be identified without forensic testing due to the nature of death. As we progress through the book, we find out that more than one person fits the description and is also missing. The majority of the book is slow moving. It gets more interesting in the last third of the book. I don't know if I would have kept reading had I not made a commitment to do so. If the whole book has been like the last third, it would have been a 3 or 4 star read for me.

Bad Liar is full of twists and surprises. I generally don't seek out police procedural type stories, but I couldn't get to the end of this book fast enough, to find out who did what and why

Tami Hoag’s welcome return features Detective Lt Nick Fourcade and his wife Detective Annie, first seen on Thin Dark Line and most recently in The Boy. One unidentifiable dead body and two desperate mothers, one hometown hero and one fallen into drugs, Annie’s compassion for broken lives and Nick’s relentless passion for justice all combine in a page-turner. I enjoyed the balancing act between the roles of husband/wife and LT/detective as well as the details that immerse me in the setting. Hoag has entwined a mystery with deep characters in a thriller that made me not only question who done it but also look at how labels from younger days impact how actions are perceived. This can easily stand alone and is sure to have a large audience. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I've read almost all of Tami Hoags books and loved them. This one was no different. I love Nick and Annie. This story kept me turning the pages to see what was gonna happen next. I guessed early on who the culprits were but didn't hurt my enjoyment of the book. Will recommend this one- I wish she would write faster. Gave it 4 stars.

I like this author and have yet to dislike a book by them! Overall a great read and interesting plot.

Bad Liar is set in the bayou's of Louisiana with sheriff detectives, Nick Fourcade and his wife Annie Broussard. It’s Annie’s first day back on the job after a traumatic event which was covered in the previous book. Annie, first day back, she is immediately faced with with a very distraught mother who's son, Robbie, has disappeared and no one seems to be investigating his disappearance. Well he is an adult and has every right to go where he wishes. Years ago, he was the big high school football superstar until an injury sidelined his dreams and left him addicted to pain meds. His years go by in a drug haze and failed stints in rehab. But, it seems he may have been clean and sober at the time of his disappearance.

Life for Annie and Nick are back to normal that is, for a couple of detectives, as she looks into Robbie's disappearance while Nick is investigating a murder, where a man's been found dead with his face blown off. It’s not going to be easy to identify the body without a face and both hands mutilated due to attempted defense from gun shots. He has no identification on him, just a scrap of paper from the the local junkyard. As the plot thickens it seems that not only is Robbie missing but so is Marc Mercier the one who became the town’s golden boy after Robbie Fontanot's dreams were crushed after his football accident. Marc is back in town to help run his aging father’s business. He was loved and admired by almost everyone in the town! So who would want to hurt him?

The plot is thick with two missing men, one unidentified body, and a whole lot of details that aren’t adding up. This paired with with small hometown secrets, can turn the least suspected into a Bad Liar.

This was a another great Tami Hoag mystery although I wasn’t bonding with the characters. I believe this was due to the fact that Bad Liar is the third installment in the Broussard & Fourcade series. It read fairly well as a stand alone but I would have been more invested if I knew the background laid out in books one and two.

Held me from beginning end-from a mother’s missing son, to a dead body near a river. What someone will do to be forever the hero & popular, to an addict who was trying to clean up his life and make his mother proud. The small town secrets come to light, and affect a few families lives. The husband & wife dectective team were great! I may have to read the first two books.

This book, at times, was as slow as a well-fed gator in a Louisianna bayou! It is not until you get to the last 30 percent or so that the story picks up, and you can see where all the twists and turns are leading. This was a very descriptive novel that has you almost smelling the bayou yet, at times, was over-filled with description.

While this book was not my glass of wine, I think many people looking for a gentle escape will love this novel.

*ARC was supplied by the publisher Penguin Publishing Group/Dutton, the author, and NetGalley.

Bad Liar by Tami Hoag is the third book in her Broussard and Fourcade series. She is the author of more than 30 books starting in the romance genre and then thrillers. Though I have read many of her books and enjoyed sharing them with my father, this is my first from this series. I will be reading the others as soon as possible. Bad Liar has a quick pace, some likeable characters and many villains including some of the local officers of the law. In a small, southern Louisiana town, Sheriff’s detectives, Annie Broussard and Nick Fourcade are working a murder and two missing men. Annie is trying to B’Lynn find her missing addict son and Nick is struggling with finding the missing ‘hometown hero’ and identifying a mutilated murder victim dumped at the edge of the swamp. Brilliant plotting and well developed characters made Bad Liar a hit for me.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the eARC and for the opportunity to read and review Bad Liar by Tami Hoag.
4 Stars- Pub. Date: 9-24-24
#NetGalley, # PenguinGroupDutton, #TamiHoag, #MurderThriller, #PoliceProcedural, #Louisiana

Once again, I am blown away by the writing of Tami Hoag. Bad Liar was a well-paced thriller that kept me guessing every step of the way. The twists and turns of this story made a page turner until the end. I can't wait for more!

Bad Liar is the newest installment in Tami Hoad's Broussard & Fourcade Series. It's been several years since the last book in this series (The Boy, 2018), and I had forgotten most of the details, but this can be read as a standalone.

Detective Nick Fourcade is called to a scene: a dead body has been found in the swamp. The nature of the injuries make identification impossible. Detective Annie Broussard (wife of Nick) is coming back to work after an injury when she sees a woman begging for help at the Sheriff's Office; her son is missing and the town PD won't help.

Are these two cases connected?

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to the author., the publisher, and Netgalley. I really enjoyed this book!

Like a roller coaster, 'Bad Liar' by Tami Hoag has a slow build followed by twists and turns. The third novel Hoag has written about Detectives Annie Broussard and Nick Fourcade, they are charged with solving two mysterious disappearances and one body missing it's hands and face. Lovers of mysteries and Hoag's writing will not be disappointed.

Thank you Penguin Book Dutton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. Author has been one of favs and really enjoyed this book as well. Easy to keep track of all the characters, I didn't guess the ending like I usually do. Good Book!

Bad Liars follows a husband (Nick) and wife (Annie) detective team in solving crimes in the Louisiana bayou. The story begins with an unidentified dead body and two missing men and continues to draw you in with one twist after another. The author does a fabulous job connecting the storylines and characters.

Since the story takes place in Louisiana, the author uses some Cajun French terms. Not being familiar with these terms, I felt the need to pause my reading and look them up to be sure I wasn’t missing an important part of the story. When I reached the end, I saw a Cajun French glossary was included. This would have been helpful at the beginning for ebook readers.

I went into Bad Liars blind and was unaware it is the third book of the Broussard and Fourcade series. While it can certainly be read as a standalone, having the history of the previous books would definitely have given more depth to the characters. I really enjoyed this installment and plan to read the first two books to have a better understanding of the main characters. Definitely a 4-star read!

I would like to thank Orion Publishing, Tamika Hoag, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three cases seemingly unconnected make their way into Nick's life. This twisty novel full of well developed characters takes the reader on a journey to solve cases that don't look like they seem