Minneapolis detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska have seen just about everything there is to see when it comes to human depravity, so much that they no longer expect to be surprised. But, surprised is what they are about to be, although not nearly as surprised as the limo driver who suddenly crashes into a zombie in the middle of a Minneapolis freeway.

The first question Kovac and Liska have to answer is whether Zombie Doe, as she comes to be called, was already dead when she popped out of the trunk of a car and directly into the path of the speeding limousine. But that might be the easy part. The real question is whether the young woman is serial killer Doc Holiday's ninth victim or the victim of some other mad killer stalking the city. This is not the area’s first exposure to Doc Holiday, the killer who has earned his name by killing eight young women already - always on, or around, a national holiday. He has already dumped some of his victims in Minneapolis and, initially, it looks like Zombie Doe is his kill. But soon, there are some disturbing indications that the Minneapolis police may be looking for a second killer.

The 9th Girl, the fourth of Tami Hoag's Kovac and Liska novels, works just as well as a standalone novel as it does as continuation of the series. Readers unfamiliar with the series characters are quickly intrigued by the touching, but sometimes complicated, relationship between Kovac (the older, more experienced male detective) and Liska (now a recently divorced mother of two boys she is raising pretty much on her own). Kovac and Liska are as close off the job as they are on it, but when the investigation becomes eerily personal for one of them, their relationship will be tested.

Bottom Line: Tami Hoag's books are always suspenseful and fast moving thrillers centered on well-crafted plots and believable characters. The 9th Girl is no exception. Readers should not be afraid to pick this one up even if it is their first exposure to the series (I have only read two of the four myself) - just be warned that you will probably be putting the three earlier books on your "To Be Read" stack as well.

Typical mystery. Nothing particularly memorable here. Parts of the story felt repetitive and dragged along while others were better.

Well-written detective mystery featuring Nicki Liska and Sam Kovac, which, I gather, are the main characters in a couple of other novels as well. Some twists and turns in the plot and good character development made this a fun listen.

Solid, fun read.

Fantastic mystery/murder genre book. I was hooked from the start and could not put the book down. I found it very interesting, as well, that the book centers on the subject of teenagers, social media, and how cruel teens can be to one another. This book is well written and spell binding. 5 stars, +!

Another extremely suspenseful book in Tami Hoag's Kovac and Liska series. This one wraps up the serial murders first written about in Hoag's short story, The 1st Victim. This book also touches on the topic of bullying, and Liska has to handle the balancing act that working women deal with daily - how to find the quality time for their kids while working full time.

I actually really liked this one. The story wasn’t bogged down by Kovack’s love interest in a main character. I found the teens to be believable. My only real nitpick was that the ending of the Doc Holliday storyline seemed rather abrupt and too neatly wrapped up. Other than that, it was one of her better Kovack and Liska books.

Tami Hoag returns to Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska in "The 9th Girl". For those who did not read The 1st Victim: A Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska Story, featuring an excerpt of The 9th Girl (A Penguin Special from Dutton I would suggest that you do so, so that you can get background on the killings that Sam and Nikki are investigating in the 9th Girl. If this is your first Kovac and Liska novels I would suggest that readers start with Ashes to Ashes. Though the focus of the novel is really on Kate Conlan and John Quinn it still also stars Sam and Nikki giving you a great background on their working relationship and personal lives.

On New Year's Liska and Kovac are brought to a scene of a Jane Doe who matches the M.O. of a unidentified serial killer they have dubbed Doc Holiday due to his kidnapping females in one city and leaving them to be found in other cities on major holidays. In The 1st Girl we had Liska and Kovac investigating the first Jane Doe that the serial killer captured and killed. Now it has been a year and in that time 8 other Jane Doe's have been kidnapped and murdered by Doc Holiday with no end in sight.

I can honestly say I don't have any real issues with this novel. My only very minor quibble is that it has been several years since Prior Bad Acts and though we do get reference to Judge Carey Moore we did not get her physically appearing in this installment which disappointed me to no end. I want Kovac to be happy with someone already! Also due to the serial killings Hoag brings John Quinn back into the mix though I was disappointed we did not get any appearances by Kate which would have been nice.

This novel was definitely similar to meeting up with an old friend you have not seen in years and taking up exactly where you left off.

I was happy to see that Sam is still being traumatized by his next door neighbor's Christmas lights and yard decorations and Nikki is still trying to be a tough but fair mother to her now teenage boys. The camaraderie between Kovac and Liska is still crackling as well as both of the duos ability to read other people and still have compassion for the victims of the violent crime that they are investigating. Hoag including a timely subject such as teen and cyber bulling was also interesting to read as well. The ending was a definite surprise though I thought that Hoag called back to Prior Bad Acts once again with the ending.

I 100 percent recommend to long time fans of this series!