Check out our Most Anticipated Books for 2025

Summary and Reviews of Dust To Dust by Tami Hoag

Dust To Dust by Tami Hoag

Dust To Dust

by Tami Hoag
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Aug 1, 2000, 496 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Mar 2002, 512 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Book Summary

Two hard-boiled cops dare to cross the thin and dangerous line that separates good and evil as they risk their lives to investigate the suspicious death of one of their own.

New York Times bestseller Tami Hoag is at the top of her form in her newest thriller, blending unforgettable characters, breakneck suspense, and chilling twists. It is the story of two hard-boiled cops who dare to cross the thin and dangerous line that separates good and evil as they risk their lives to investigate the suspicious death of one of their own.

Sorry. The single word was written on the mirror. In front of it hung the body of Andy Fallon, a Minneapolis Internal Affairs cop. Was it suicide? Or a kinky act turned tragic accident? Either way, his death wasn't a crime. The investigation will be a formality, a duty that veteran Homicide detective Sam Kovac isn't looking forward to. He doesn't want to spend any more time than he has to in the bleak, empty world of the victim's father, Iron Mike, Kovac's old mentor and a department legend. It's too much like looking into his own future. But Kovac has a sixth sense for crime, and it's burning.

Together with his partner, the wisecracking, ambitious Nikki Liska, Kovac begins to dig at the too-neat edges of Fallon's death, uncovering one motive and one suspect after another. The shadows of suspicion fall deeply not only on the city's power elite, but into the very heart of the police department itself.

But Fallon's death has been officially ruled an accident, and the department brass want the case to go away. Iron Mike, gunned down in the line of duty twenty years earlier and forced to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, has suffered enough, they say. They would much rather have the publicity spotlight remain on their latest legend, retiring Captain Ace Wyatt, who is headed for the bright lights of Hollywood.

Unfortunately, neither Kovac nor Liska believe Fallon died by his own hand--accidentally or otherwise. As the case unfolds, it seems more and more likely that his death is somehow tied to his work. The question is whether he was killed for a case two months old--the murder of a gay patrol officer--or a case twenty years closed--the one that left his father a paraplegic and made Ace Wyatt a hero.

As Kovac and Liska dig deeper, they find their careers and lives on the line, because a killer wants the truth left dead and buried. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.

"They oughta hang the son of a bitch came up with this shit," Sam Kovac groused, digging a piece of nicotine gum out of a crumpled foil pack.

"The gum or the wrapper?"

"Both. I can't open the damn package and I'd rather chew on a cat turd."

"And that would taste different from a cigarette how?" Nikki Liska asked.

They moved through a small throng of people in the wide white hall. Cops heading out onto the steps of the Minneapolis city hall for a cigarette, cops coming back in from having a cigarette, and the odd citizen looking for something for their tax dollar.

Kovac scowled down at her from the corner of one eye. Liska made five-five by sheer dint of will. He always figured God made her short because if she had the size of Janet Reno she'd take over the world. She had that kind of energy--and attitude out the wazoo.

"What do you know about it?" he challenged.

"My ex smoked. Lick an ashtray sometime. That's why we got divorced, you know. I wouldn&...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

People
One of the hottest names in the suspense game.

Chicago Tribune
Without a doubt...One of the most intense suspense writers around.

New York Post
The Queen Of The Crime Story.

USA Today
....a true turn-of-the-century tale.... The story is compelling and expertly told. Plot lines smolder and ignite as the suspense builds.

Booklist
Hoag, an immensely popular suspense novelist, is the author of nine New York Times best-sellers in just over three years. Her tenth book, with its carefully woven plot, will be just as pleasing to her fans.....A classic whodunit with many twists and turns and a surprise ending. Librarians should stock up.

Reader Reviews

??

this is the first book I've read by this author. It was great! I definately want to read all of her previous books.

Write your own review!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked Dust To Dust, try these:

  • The Scent of Rain and Lightning jacket

    The Scent of Rain and Lightning

    by Nancy Pickard

    Published 2011

    About this book

    Engrossing, lyrical, and suspenseful, The Scent of Rain and Lightning captures the essence of small-town America—its heartfelt intimacy and its darkest secrets—where through struggle and hardship people still dare to hope for a better future. For Jody Linder, maybe even love.

  • Cold Pursuit jacket

    Cold Pursuit

    by T Jefferson Parker

    Published 2004

    About this book

    More by this author

    A hard-hitting thriller of murder, vengeance, and secret passions that will keep readers spellbound.

We have 4 read-alikes for Dust To Dust, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Tami Hoag
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: The Sequel
    The Sequel
    by Jean Hanff Korelitz
    In Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Sequel, Anna Williams-Bonner, the wife of recently deceased author ...
  • Book Jacket: My Good Bright Wolf
    My Good Bright Wolf
    by Sarah Moss
    Sarah Moss has been afflicted with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa since her pre-teen years but...
  • Book Jacket
    Canoes
    by Maylis De Kerangal
    The short stories in Maylis de Kerangal's new collection, Canoes, translated from the French by ...
  • Book Jacket: Absolution
    Absolution
    by Jeff VanderMeer
    Ten years ago, the literary landscape was changed forever when Jeff VanderMeer became the "King of ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Our wisdom comes from our experience, and our experience comes from our foolishness

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

X M T S

and be entered to win..