Secrets to the Grave »

Bestselling author Tami Hoag’s novels have appeared regularly on national bestseller lists since the publication of her first book in 1988. She lives in Los Angeles.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag returns with her second thriller in the Deeper than the Dead microseries, exploring the early days of forensic investigation, the characteristics of innocence-and the nature of evil.

Marissa Fordham had a past full of secrets, a present full of lies. Everyone knew of her, but no one knew her.

When Marissa is found brutally murdered, with her young daughter, Haley, resting her head on her mother's bloody breast, she sends the idyllic California town of Oak Knoll into a tailspin. Already on edge with the upcoming trial of the See- No-Evil killer, residents are shocked by reports of the crime scene, which might not have been discovered for days had it not been for a chilling 911 call: a small child's voice saying, "My daddy hurt my mommy."

Sheriff's detective Tony Mendez faces a puzzle with nothing but pieces that won't fit. To assist with his witness, Haley, he calls teacher-turned-child advocate Anne Leone. Anne's life is hectic enough-she's a newlywed and a part- time student in child psychology, and she's the star witness in the See-No-Evil trial. But one look at Haley, alone and terrified, and Anne's heart is stolen.

As Tony and Anne begin to peel back the layers of Marissa Fordham's life, they find a clue fragment here, another there. And just when it seems Marissa has taken her secrets to the grave, they uncover a fact that puts Anne and Haley directly in the sights of a killer: Marissa Fordham never existed.

Publishers Weekly

A horrific murder rocks the town of Oak Knoll, Calif., in the chilling sequel to Hoag's Deeper than the Dead), set in 1986. The victim is 28-year-old artist Marissa Fordham, the single mother of Haley, a four-year-old found partially strangled and barely clinging to life next to her mother's stabbed and mutilated body. Det. Tony Mendez and his capable crew investigate the crime, while child advocate Anne Leone and her husband, former FBI special agent Vince Leone, take temporary custody of Haley. Among the several suspects is attorney Steve Morgan, the estranged husband of Sara Morgan, whose daughter, Wendy, found a victim of the accused See-No-Evil killer, Peter Crane, who's about to go on trial. Adding extra tension are Anne's efforts to help disturbed 12-year-old Dennis Farnham and the disappearance of Marissa's best friend, Gina Kemmer. Newcomers will have no trouble getting into this suspense novel rich in pre-DNA detecting methods. (Dec. 28)