New York Times best selling author, Tami Hoag, (one of my long time favorite authors) has once again created in her novel, Still Waters, a riveting tale centered around the darker side of small town life. As the author begins her tale she vividly describes the small town bigotry and narrow mindedness that unwelcome newcomers face as they attempt to create a life among a, judgmental,  suspicious, local populace. 

The plot begins with Elizabeth Stuart a thirty-four- year-old, mother fleeing undeserved notoriety in Atlanta that was caused by a high-profiled divorce from a rich husband, only to find herself in Still Water, Minnesota, where she literally has one of the town’s richest residents fall dead at her feet. This event places her under suspicion for his murder and brings her into contact with the town’s sheriff, Dane Jantzen, a divorced, ex-pro baseball player, who is living his orderly life without emotional ties and is angry when he cannot come to terms with his wanton feelings for Elizabeth. Add to this mixture an Amish community with trouble of its own and Elizabeth’s troubled sixteen-year-old son who falls in with the town’s resident bad boy and you find yourself up to your teeth in suspects and possible accomplices. This searing tale is intensified as Elizabeth, owner of the local newspaper, decides to search beneath the placid surface of the town to find the truth about the murders only to find herself a target not only of the sheriff’s department but also of others in the community who have reasons for the truth to stay buried.  

Hoag has once again written a murder-romance thriller that graphically grabs the reader keeping them intent on finding out who-dun-it, why, and will the girl end up with the right fellow in the end. Probably my favorite aspects of this book included Hoag portraying both Elizabeth and Dane as flawed but independent and believable people who, while carrying a lot of baggage, managed to put it aside long enough to discover their love for one another. Additionally, I enjoyed her inclusion of the Amish Community that showed how their beliefs, perceptions, and customs color their lives just as much as those in other communities across the world tend to do.  Overall, Still Waters is a novel that will keep you up reading late into the night and wishing that the story line could continue past the closing paragraph. A definite must read for Tami Hoag fans.

Tags: book review, still waters, tami hoag, mystery, romance, suspense, amish, murder, intrigue