Kill the Messenger

June 21, 2004
Hoag's success (Dark Horse
; Guilty as Sin
), evidenced once again in this engaging new thriller, is the triumph of substance over style. In a genre overrun with self-conscious jargon, brooding descriptions and fragments masquerading as sentences, her clean, measured prose—full, balanced sentences delivered at a steady pace—doesn't so much create an ominous mood as draw the reader into the worlds of her characters. Here, before they know it, readers are invested in the dilemma of Los Angeles bike messenger Jace (J.C.) Damon, on the run after picking up a package from high-powered attorney Lenny Lowell, who is subsequently murdered. Orphaned Jace lives under society's radar in Chinatown, with his 10-year-old brother, Tyler; his surrogate family includes sassy dispatcher Eta Fitzgerald and the Chen clan, the boy's closest neighbors. Similarly, the police in pursuit are an unconventional, if dysfunctional, family: long-suffering lead detective Kev Parker; his annoying and ambitious new partner, Renee Ruiz; squabbling second-string detectives Jimmy Chew and Bradley Kyle; and coroner Diane Nicholson, who is also Kev's lover. The wild card in the game is Lowell's daughter, Abby, volatile and full of secrets, which Hoag reveals at appropriate intervals. A link to Hollywood provides a burst of fresh energy in the later chapters of this character-driven, solidly constructed thriller. Agent, Andrea Cirillo.

March 1, 2004
An innocent bike messenger ends up being chased by both the good guys and the bad guys (but which are which?) after the murder of a lawyer for whom he was delivering a package.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2004
Nineteen-year-old Jace Damon has had a hard life. His mother died when he was just 13, and since then he has been struggling to raise his younger brother, all while staying beneath the radar of Child Protective Services. With the help of an understanding Chinese benefactress, Madam Chan, the two have been living in L.A.'s Chinatown, where Jace works as a bike messenger. One dark and rainy night, Jace agrees to do a last delivery. He picks up a package from a shady lawyer, but when he gets to the delivery address, he finds an empty lot; suddenly, someone attacks him and tries to grab the package. The bike messenger takes off, but the attacker pursues him, nearly runs him over with a car, and takes a couple of shots at him. Injured and frightened, Jace returns to Lowell's office only to find the place swarming with cops and the attorney murdered. The plot thickens as Jace attempts to elude both homicide detective Ken Parker, who wants some answers, and a menacing, shadowy figure, who is trying to get that package. Although this novel is a little heavy on the stereotypes, with its preponderance of macho, chauvinistic male cops and lusty, fiery female cops, Hoag's loyal readers and fans of police procedural suspense novels will definitely love it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)