To enjoy this novel, one must first wade through the large number of characters introduced in the first few pages. The heroine, Annie Broussard, outwardly tough, inwardly vulnerable is a deputy sheriff who is trying to work her way up to detective. Her love interest, Detective Nick Fourcade is a fallen hero seeking redemption in the same sheriff's office. The tension between Annie and Nick builds through Annie because the reader never really gets to know Nick.

Bayou Breaux had been shocked by the very violent murder of Pam Bichon. Detective Fourcade and his partner Stokes have arrested Marcus Renard, a local architect, and charged him with the crime. The book opens with the judge dismissing the case against Renard for a defective search warrant. As Renard leaves the courthouse, in front of everyone, Pam's father attempts to kill him. Annie and Nick prevent the murder. Later that night, Stokes works Nick into a rage, and Nick assaults Renard and almost kills him. Annie stops this fight as well, and arrests Nick for felonious assault. This naturally makes her a pariah in the Sheriff's Office and she is thereafter subjected to various reprisals.

The convoluted twisting and curving of Hoag's plot lines through many more crimes deserve points for creativity, but she loses much of her forward motion by poorly developed characters. The incredibly large cast of characters and the complexity of her story precludes much attention to any one person.

In addition, Hoag weaves throughout the plot and subplots, treatment of such topics as: racism, autism, lesbianism, tai chi, stalking, syndicate criminals, punishment for pariahs, competition among law enforcement offices and effects of extensive media coverage. Are you exhausted yet?

To Hoag's credit the dialog is crisp, believable and flavored with Cajun French. Her foreshadowing is so good that at almost any point one can make a case for one of 4 or 5 people as the evildoer/evildoers. The strength of the book is the author's manipulation of the reader through events, and for this reason this reviewer is reluctant to spoil the effect by revealing any more of the story.

Fewer people, fewer crimes, fewer issues would have enabled Hoag to create a notable work; unfortunately A Thin Dark Line suffers from an abundance of riches.

--Thea Davis