Tami Hoag Books In Order – Complete List

Internationally bestselling and New York Times bestselling author Tami Hoag known for her intense thrillers and romantic stories. She has written over 30 mystery, thriller, romantic suspense, and romance novels in several series, including Broussard and Fourcade, Kovac & Liska, and Oak Knoll, as well as standalone novels, which have been translated into over 30 languages so far.

Her stories usually show how life in a picture-perfect California town can suddenly fall apart when unexpected things happen.

Here are the Tami Hoag books in order for her several crime mystery and thriller series and novels..

Latest Tami Hoag Books

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Quaid Horses Books in Publication Order

1. Rumor Has It, 1988
2. Man of Her Dreams, 1989
3. Tempestuous, 1990

Hennessy Books in Publication Order

The Hennessy novels often have as center characters people who lead a solitary life, which has a strong impact on their relationship and personal growth.

1. The Trouble with J.J., 1988
2. Magic, 1990

Rainbow Chasers Books in Publication Order

1. Heart of Gold, 1989
2. Keeping Company, 1990
3. Reilly’s Return, 1990
4. Magic, 1990

Doucet Books in Publication Order

1. The Restless Heart, 1991
2. Lucky’s Lady, 1992
3. Cry Wolf, 1993

Deer Lake Books in Publication Order

1. Night Sins, 1995
2. Guilty As Sin, 1996

Broussard and Fourcade Books in Publication Order

Annie Broussard and Nick Fourcade

1. A Thin Dark Line, 1997
2. The Boy, 2018
3. Bad Liar, 2024

Kovac and Liska Books in Publication Order

Sam Kovac and Kinni Liska

1. Ashes to Ashes, 1999
2. Dust to Dust, 2000
3. Prior Bad Acts (aka Dead Sky), 2006
   The 1st Victim (#3.5), 2013
4. The 9th Girl, 2013
5. The Bitter Season, 2015

Elena Estes Books in Publication Order

1. Dark Horse, 2002
2. The Alibi Man, 2007

Oak Knoll Books in Publication Order

1. Deeper Than the Dead, 2008
2. Secrets to the Grave, 2010
3. Down the Darkest Road, 2011

Standalone Novels in Publication Order

• McKnight in Shining Armor, 1988
• Mismatch, 1989
• Straight from the Heart, 1989
• Sarah’s Sin, 1991
• Heart of Dixie, 1991
• The Last White Knight, 1992
• Taken by Storm, 1992 (Heartthrobs series)
• Still Waters, 1992
• Dark Paradise, 1994
• Kill the Messenger, 2004
• Cold, Cold Heart, 2014

Short Story Collections / Anthologies in Publication Order

• The Putt at the End of the World, 2000
• Suspense Magazine, February 2010, 2010
• Suspense Magazine July 2013, 2013

Tami Hoag Biography

Tami Hoag, real name, Tami Mikkelson, was born in 1959 in Cresco, Iowa, and she grew up in Harmony, Minnesota, a place where her father worked as an insurance salesman.

Tami knew she wanted to become a writer from a very early on. She loved reading and fell in love with books since childhood. Her first-ever work of fiction was a third grade project featuring two children and a pony.

After graduating from high school, she went to work at the La Crosse Tribune circulation department, after which she held several jobs, including being a photographer’s assistant, show-horse trainer, and designer bathroom accessories salesperson.

She got her first novel, The Trouble With J.J., published by Bantam’s Loveswept line in 1988. It was a romance novel, and several others followed suit. She kept writing romances and romantic comedies with serious success, where she even wrote 16 novels in just five years.

But eventually, in the mid 90s, Tami Hoag started to shift her focus to more action-oriented writing, and decided to switch her focus from romance to romantic suspense, mystery and thrillers, genres in which she is writing even today.

Her shift from romances to suspense-thrillers happened gradually, with suspense elements popping up in books like Dark Paradise, Cry Wolf, and A Thin Dark Line.

In an interview, she mentioned that “It was a gradual progression in my work. I started adding bits of suspense to the romance back when I was doing little short romance books and as I grew as a writer and wanted to do bigger, more complex deeper stories that was the direction that was natural for me to go was to suspense.”

One point of hesitation was the fact that romance series deal with one couple in one book, so the rest of the series focus on separate protagonists (spin-offs).

However, romantic suspense and thriller series are the opposite: they focus on the same main characters throughout the entire series. Tami Hoag’s editor was hesitant about this shift, but eventually they did agree, and the change did happen.

She initially continued with romantic comedies, slowly trying to dabble in romantic suspense, and then transitioning to her future suspense novels set in Louisiana.

The first truly suspense novel was Night Sins in 1995, included in the Deer Lake series. In fact, her success with this transition gave her the push to re-edit some of her earlier work and add elements of mystery and suspense to them.

Over the years, she had thirteen consecutive New York Times bestselling novels, and five of them were within 20 months. Her first novel that ever hit the New York Times Bestseller list was Night Sins. Her major success pushed to create several other series, getting away more and more from her traditional romantic style.

Series like Oak Knoll, Elena Estes, Kovac / Liska, and Broussard and Fourcade are a testament to her successful transition to a well-known thriller author.

Tami Hoag writes stories that pull you in with strong plots and characters that actually feel real. Her books often mix suspense, mystery, and a bit of romance, even long after she has left her romance writing career behind.

She writes about people and their complicated lives, showing both the good and the bad sides of human nature. I really enjoy her twists and turns, and I know many readers come back because her stories are hard to put down.

Several of her latest books often feature intense storylines involving a young daughter and a cold blooded kidnapper.

With three other authors, Eileen Dreyer, Elizabeth Grayson, and Kimberly Cates, who switched from romances to thriller at about the same time as her, Tami Hoag formed the Divas, a group that aimed to help and support each other in their writing ventures.

When she writes her novels, Tami Hoag writes chronologically, i.e. from the beginning through to the end. She also likes to edit as she writes. In the morning she re-reads what she wrote the previous day, edits it, and then moves on to the new material.

She is also more of a seat of the pants writers in terms of plot rather than an outline writer. She knows the main premise and the crime to be committed, and she has a general idea of who the bad guy is.

However, she likes to unfold her story as she writes it. She might get unexpected twists and turns, and new characters might emerge where there were none before.

An interesting tidbit about Bad Liar is also the fact that there is a several-year gap between the second novel, The Boy, and Bad Liar. Tami Hoag’s main motivation to bring back Nick and Annie, the Broussard and Fourcade team was mainly the urge and consistent demand from her readers.

More than 40 million copies of Tami Hoag’s books are currently in print as of now. As a number one New York Times bestselling author multiple times, her books have reached a worldwide audience since they were translated into over 30 languages.

When she is not writing, Tami Hoag is taking care of her horses that she rides sometimes even competitively. At some point, she stopped riding horses due to an accident where she fell, leaving her with five vertebrae in her back broken. After fully recovering, she continued riding competitively.

An accomplished equestrienne, Tami Hoag also brought her knowledge and love for horses to Dark Horse, the first in the Elena Estes books.

While most of her previous books had their cover and title designed and given by the publisher, Bad Liar was given the title by the the author herself. In an interview, she mentioned that she got the inspiration for the title from music, specifically Bad Liar by Imagine Dragons.

In addition, she also enjoys mixed martial arts fighting. Her solitary lifestyle gave her a unique perspective that she can easily integrate into her character traits and her unique storytelling.

Tami Hoag currently lives in the greater Los Angeles area.

Tami Hoag Book Adaptations

Night Sins was adapted as a four-hour television mini-series starring Valerie Bertinelli and Harry Hamlin as main characters. The series was broadcast by the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1997.

Other characters are played by: Karen Sillas and Martin Donovan as the kidnapping victim’s parents, William Russ as a very pompous sheriff, Mariska Hargitay as an awful TV reporter, and several other actors like David Marshall Grant, Colm Feore, Michael Cumpsty, Tim DeKay and Jeffrey DeMunn as various suspects in town.

The script was written by John Leekley and the production was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman.

Some viewers mentioned that the film is downright creepy, maybe more so than the book itself.

Tami Hoag Awards and Nominations

Over the years, Tami Hoag received and was nominated for the following literary awards.

• The Alibi Man won the 2007 RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Suspense Novel
• Cry Wolf received the 1994 RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Romantic Suspense
• Lucky’s Lady earned the 1993 RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Contemporary Romance.
• Mismatch was honored with the 1989 RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Bantam Loveswept.
• Night Sins secured the 1995 RT Reviewers Choice Award for Best Suspense Novel
• Additionally, The Boy was nominated for the Audie Award for Best Female Narrator in 2020