Night Sins by Tami Hoag (Deer Lake #1)

Hello, beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, I get into the first of Tami Hoag’s two-book series, Deer Lake, the first being Night Sins. The book follows characters in a small town who are rocked when a prominent community figure’s young son is kidnapped while waiting to be picked up after hockey practice. With limited clues and signs of who took him, the local chief and outside authorities scramble to try and find him before he is lost forever. I will acknowledge that I have also already read the second book in the series, Guilty as Sin, and while some may not like a mystery that plays out in two books, I personally would recommend checking this one out. This book does leave you with questions, but those questions drive us into book two.

Main Characters:

Hannah and Paul: Parents to Josh, there whole world is tossed upside down when Hannah a well-known doctor in the community gets caught up at the hospital and forgets to pick up Josh from his hockey practice and upon arriving finds there is no trace of him, desperate to get their son back Hannah and Paul are forced to look at themselves and their own choices and if any of them played a role

Josh: A kind 8-year-old who finds himself being the topic of the town in ways that will change everyone forever

Mitch Holt: The local chief of police who grapples with his own personal struggles while trying to find Josh, which was the type of crime he worked to escape from in the big city

Megan O’Malley: A BCA Agent sent to the town to assist in trying to find out who took Josh and why, struggles to make her voice heard in the male-dominated field and grapples with misogyny while trying to find this young boy alive

My Review

This is the second Tami Hoag series I have had the pleasure to check out, and so far it’s been a hit after hit. I would argue that maybe her style of breaking up a mystery into multiple books may not be everyone’s favourite, but her ability to build strong characters and a riveting plot makes it worth going through multiple books to find out all the answers. It’s personally never bothered me because I am always willing to put the work in for a good mystery, but not everyone is that way, so it’s a good thing to mention. Further with that being said, if you pick up this book expecting to find out what happened to Josh at the end, change your perspective real quick, cause we don’t find it out until book two so don’t go into this book thinking all the questions will be answered because they sure are not.

Night Sins by Tami Hoag is a riveting mystery revolving around a cushy small town lifestyle and how the bubble can be popped without any warning or ability to stop it before it happens. Deer Lake is well known for its peaceful, slow-moving ways, but everyone is forced to pick it up when Josh Kirkwood goes missing in the darkness of the night. His mom, Dr. Hannah, well-known in the community, was supposed to pick up Josh after his hockey practice. Getting held up at the hospital, she eventually forgets that she was supposed to get Josh. From the rink, Josh calls his dad to come and get him instead. Her husband, Paul, never gets the message because he’s too busy at the house next door, cheating on his wife with their neighbour Karen. Hannah’s world is turned upside down when she eventually realizes that no one ever picked Josh up, and he is gone without a trace. All the blame falls on Hannah’s shoulders because Paul can’t possibly admit that he missed a call from Josh because he was being a dog. With Josh’s disappearance, the local sheriff, Mitch Holt, calls in for assistance, bringing in BCA Megan O’Malley to help him try to find Josh alive. In the small town, Josh’s disappearance brings up a lot of demons for all involved and forces everyone to uncover the dark secrets that hide within the homes of Deer Lake. Who took Josh, and why?

As I was saying before, I overall really enjoyed the series, but definitely did enjoy Night Sins. I gave the book a 7/10 rating. I will say that Night Sins is not as exciting as the second book, but a lot goes on in this book to be able to understand what goes on in the next, so I really don’t think you can read one without the other. Given that most of this book is investigation and a deeper look into the people in Josh’s life, it’s still incredibly riveting and interesting and really pulls you in to want to check out the second book to see how all of this will further progress.

What really pulled me into Night Sins wasn’t just the mystery, it was the characters. Tami Hoag has a way of writing people who feel deeply real and layered, and it’s their development that makes this book stick with you long after the final page.

Megan and Mitch’s dynamic was a standout for me. In a world (and a workplace) where Megan is constantly underestimated or dismissed, Mitch chooses to uplift her. He listens. He trusts her judgment. He sees her ability and gives her the space to own her role in the investigation. That support allows Megan to lean into her strengths and take charge. It’s refreshing to see a male character in a crime novel who doesn’t feel threatened by a strong woman, but instead recognizes her value and helps her rise.

Mitch himself is more than just the classic brooding male lead. We get glimpses into his past, his pain, and what shaped him. Megan is the perfect counterbalance to him, sharp and skilled, but more introspective and emotionally open. Her softer side isn’t a weakness; it’s part of what makes her so powerful. As someone new to the town, she brings a fresh lens and isn’t weighed down by the baggage everyone else carries. She wants to be respected in her field, but she also wants to be feminine, to embrace her own version of womanhood without apology. I saw a lot of myself in her.

Hannah was another character I connected with, and I found a lot of the same qualities in her that I loved in Megan. She’s a mother who’s also fighting to be respected in her profession. People are so quick to blame her for what happened to Josh, and that infuriated me. She trusted her husband to be a partner, and when he dropped the ball, she carried all the guilt. What makes it worse is that she doesn’t even know Josh called Paul that day, only Paul and Karen know that, and they stay silent. It’s heartbreaking watching her internalize all that pain while trying to hold her life together.

And don’t even get me started on Paul. His refusal to take any accountability is maddening. He constantly points fingers, deflects, and hides things from the police, all while making Hannah carry the emotional burden. I had no sympathy for him.

Overall, Night Sins isn’t just a suspenseful crime novel, it’s a story about the emotional and psychological toll that trauma, guilt, and societal expectations take on people, especially women. And Hoag’s characters are what make that story so compelling.

There won’t be a spoiler section in this one because there isn’t much to spoil as of yet, but the book leaves tons of unanswered questions and accusations that become clear in the second book.

If you enjoy a good mystery and are willing to put in the work for two books, I would definitely recommend checking this series out!

I hope you enjoyed this review, and thank you for checking it out! Feel free to add yourself to the email list at the bottom of the page to be the first to know when I release a new review!