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4.0 out of 5 stars
"Guilty" of Many Sins, But Still a Fun Read, April 17 2004
"Guilty as Sin" is possibly more of a page-turner than it's soapy predecessor, "Night Sins." There are so many twists and surprises that its a wonder they can all be contained in a mere 606 pages (paperback edition). In fact, this time out, the story of the prosecution of a kidnapper who may or may not be guilty reaches a near histrionic level, with murders, car chases, exploding cars and, of course, romantic intrigue. Thankfully, Hoag doesn't spend quite as much time on romantic subplots as she did in "Night Sins." Actually, given that apparently almost every man in Deer Lake, Minnesota, is either a slimy, self-absorbed male chauvinist pig (Judge Grabko, Paul Kirkwood, hot-shot defense attorney Tony Costello--OK, he's an import from Minneapolis, but still...) or ineffectual weenie (County Attorney Rudy Stovich, a few sheriff's deputies), its a wonder the women there bother with the opposite sex at all. That's why Hoag has to have a visitor like true crime author Jay Butler Brooks, whose motives are as suspect as his frequent references to an Uncle Hooter. When he goes after Assistant County Attorney Ellen North, the fact that he wants to get into her pants more than into her filing cabinet is supposed to illustrate how he's really an honorable man. In a mating ritual usually only encountered in movies or on TV, he sets about winning Ms. North's heart by alternately scaring her or by being relentlessly irritating. Also like in movies or on TV, this tactic works.Like "Night Sins," Hoag uses a broad brush to paint "Guilty as Sin." There is much exposition about the evil lurking in this innocent little town, about how kidnapping and murdering people is evil (in case you didn't know) and how all this evil has changed lives forever. And when it comes to portraying the media--well, I think the Bush administration would paint a more flattering picture of reporters than Hoag does in either of her "Sin" novels. Apparently news-gathering is evil, too. Nevertheless, for sheer entertainment value, I enjoyed "Guilty as Sin." Hoag is a gifted storyteller and I was glad to lose sleep staying up to read "just one more chapter" of her engrossing, if a bit flawed, suspense novel.
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