Instead, Hoag brings up an entire new set of clichéd characters-the eager reporter, the mysterious writer, the evil defending lawyer, the bumbling country boss-that aren't in the least bit interesting or realistic. The other problem is that the characters from the prequels, who we had come to at least be interested in, are completely relegated to the background, showing up every now and then to do absolutely nothing. We know because we read the whole damned prequel, and it's just plain boring and frustrating to read the stupid roadblocks Hoag throws in Ellen's way.

The biggest problem with the book, really, is that we know that the guy is guilty. There is a reason why people read your books, and it ain't for your insights of the judicial system. It's full of dead ends and 'surprise' twists that are completely ineffective and predictable, and only one sex scene.

The whole book is a slow, painful dullfest as Ellen tries to build her case against the suspect while the cops try to find the guy's accomplice and solve another kidnapping. No one around her thinks that Ellen can convict this guy, except of course the two cops who captured him as he was fleeing the scene and a handsome, rugged and mysterious(what…again?!) writer with a past who is constantly attempting to seduce this woman. She is practically all alone as the handsome, shark-like defending attorney (a walking cliché if I ever saw one) woos a painfully stupid judge to his side as well as the press and most of the community. The likely kidnapper from the first book has been arrested, and it is up to tough, independent (what…again?) assistant County Attorney Ellen North to get him convicted. The interesting story that was left in a cliffhanger in the first book is taken up again in 'Night Sins' and changed into a dull, uninteresting, predictable courtroom drama that I almost didn't finish reading. I was expecting a fast-paced, well thought-out plot hidden beneath a layer of soap opera characters and horrible dialogue, something that would be as mindlessly entertaining as the first part of this series. After the hilarious, I-can't-believe-I'm-reading-this monstrosity, it's-so-bad-it's-awesome tour de force that was 'Night Sins', I was expecting a lot more out of you, Miss Hoag.

Night sins guilty as sin tami hoag