Publishers Weekly
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In bestseller Hoag's gripping fourth outing for Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, the two Minneapolis homicide cops (last seen in 2006's Prior Bad Acts) have a difficult time identifying the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent girl that popped from the trunk of a moving car on New Year's Eve. The unidentified girl is the ninth Jane Doe of the year in the Minneapolis area, possibly the victim of a serial killer who Kovac has dubbed "Doc Holiday" because all the murders were committed on or near a holiday. The task for Liska is magnified by the troubles her 15-year-old son, Kyle, is having at school with bullies. Kovac and Liska pursue leads jointly and separately as one sees the work of a serial killer and the other a crime perhaps unrelated to Doc Holiday. By the surprising conclusion, the investigation has uncovered chilling tragedy and banal evil in almost equal proportions. Agent: Andrea Cirillo. Jane Rotrosen Agency. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.