It’s been a couple hours now since the last page of this book and I am in the middle of a battle here, Curious One. Tami Hoag’s Still Waters is my discussion of choice today and I can’t believe I’m gonna say this, but I was a bit disappointed in it. If I’m asked who my top crime and suspense authors are, I would have definitively included Tami Hoag in my list. Still Waters, however, is definitely not among them.
Still Waters begins with the introduction of Elizabeth Stuart walking down a gravel road in expensive clothes with spike heels after her car broke down. She literally stumbles into a crime scene and a dead body falls onto her feet.
It continues on with some background information on her before we jump to the “miserable” county sheriff, Dane Jantzen.
It was a little nice to have the book focus more on the characters and less on the familial relationships with their respective kids, however, at the same time, it felt like the kids were just buffers to further the plot and background of the two main characters. To give them reasons as to why they act and react the way they do to commitment and passion and love. You know what I mean.
Truth vs. Convenience in Still Waters
There was a continual rebuttal process between Elizabeth and Dane that got tiring and old fast. I love how Hoag usually tracks conversations and perspectives, but for some reason, you would be in the middle of a tirade going on in the mind of one character and the next paragraph, no separation indicated, you would be getting the inner tirade of the other person in the room. It was surprisingly easy for me to follow, but I did find myself having to restart the last sentence of one paragraph that led into the new perspective in the following paragraph.
That took me away from the power of their interactions.
What is the Killer(s) Story?
Surprisingly, I called who the first killer was during the second interaction that Elizabeth had with him, but I was let down by how little we got into his story. I’m not sure if Hoag wasn’t able to do enough research into the Amish lifestyle to comfortably fully immerse us as a reader into his reasonings, but I was left wanting a lot more from his perspective. All we got was his view on Elizabeth’s sexuality and his shame at being attracted and aroused by her. It left a repetitive and partially dour viewpoint in my mind.
I was reeling so much from the events in chapters nineteen and twenty-one that I didn’t allow my brain to work too much on who could have killed Fox. It was obviously not Trace, as they were so determinedly trying to prove, but it could have been “anyone in the little black book.” My mind immediately went to Ellstrom and Rich as the potential killers of Fox and if I had given myself a chance, I would have pegged it on Rich (rightfully so).
Ellstrom was a complete narcissist and chauvinistic a-hole with a badge and I in no way liked him, but he had been a hardened cop for his whole life. I couldn’t see him killing someone over blackmail. Maybe booking him on made-up charges, but not blackmail. Rich though, he was a loose cannon. And he kept randomly appearing for one scene and disappearing for long intervals. It was obvious he had something to do with it, but only childish reactions until he killed Fox.
Southern Dialogue – How is it really?
The dialogue was a little of a struggle for me too. I will admit, I haven’t had the opportunity to be surrounded by southerners, but the way Elizabeth talked was exceedingly random. She would appear as a fully educated proper woman one moment, and then just throw in a southern “drawl” or word like calling someone sugar. It just didn’t seem to flow for me. Almost like Hoag kept forgetting she was building a southern Texas based character and she needed to keep her roots going, even though she had spent the last ten or so years in big city Atlanta. I don’t know, like I said, I’ve never been around the south too much, I figure their drawl has more vocabulary than just ‘sugar’ thrown into a sentence every so often. Just saying…
I will regrettably admit, I really did enjoy Aaron as a character. He had a sad past, was a silent and strong figure who had such complete faith in his beliefs that even though I figured him for the killer in the beginning of Still Waters, I was overly hopeful that I was going to be wrong.
(Remember to check out The Library if you’d like to support Time for a Book!)
Small Blessings in Disguise in Still Waters
It was a relief that even though religion was a strong motivator for Aaron himself, Hoag didn’t make that the focus of the reasoning. Aaron didn’t kill Jarvis because God told him to. He killed him because Jarvis was going to ruin the land that his entire family was buried on. Aaron killed him out of frustration and anger and sadness, just like any other guy. The fact that Aaron used his religion, saying “God used my hands to do his bidding” was almost glossed over and it was a relief for me.
There’s nothing more than the use of something other than your own emotions and feelings as a reasoning behind behavior to get me riled up beyond belief. I am endlessly relieved that it was almost glossed over. Endlessly relieved…
Amy and Trace Were Unreasonably Ignored
I mentioned earlier the random inclusion of Dane’s fifteen-year-old girl, Amy and Elizabeth’s seventeen-year-old son, Trace. They were important factors in the entire plot of Still Waters and yet, they seemed almost as if they were included only to give more fire to Dane and Elizabeth individually. There was almost no reasoning behind most of the interactions and aside from maybe a page total each, we never got to see their viewpoint on what was going on in their lives. Trace more so than Amy, but it still wasn’t enough.
Why exactly did Trace stick to Fox? How did Fox attach himself to Trace and for what reason? Why didn’t Amy fight for answers as to why Dane made his choices when she was a baby? What exactly did Amy do for 2 weeks while Dane ran around only sort of trying to find the truth in the murder? So many more questions about Trace and Amy that could have been included for a more well-rounded storyline.
By Chance
And so much back-and-forth on truth vs convenience and the struggle with Dane seeing his townsfolk as potential suspects. I don’t actually recall too much detective work being done to solve the murder. It was almost as if by chance things were getting solved.
It was by chance that Elizabeth’s car wouldn’t start. Chance that she had Jarvis’s body fall at her feet. Chance that she was the first new resident of Still Water, Minnesota in years, chance that it had been over 30 years since a murder had occurred in Still Water.
Chance that she had a troubled kid. Chance that she ran into trouble with vandalism. Chance that Aaron was working in her house. Chance that she heard gossip about a black book. Chance that Jolynn found the book. Chance that Rich killed Fox. Chance that they found out. Chance that he tried killing Jolynn. Chance that Trace was let off the hook of murder. Chance that Dane went to Aaron’s father. Chance that Elizabeth saw the bad in Aaron. And total chance that they even solved the murders!
A Fan Let Down by an Amazing Author
Suffice it to say, I am sorely disappointed in Still Waters. There was an abundance of information that suddenly changed for no reason and no explanation. It makes me wonder if she ran into a short deadline for this book and was struggling with writer’s block. 446 pages later, and I can sort of see it.
Especially when you realize that for most of the book, Elizabeth was determined to prove Rich the original killer.
Up until he came clean about killing Fox and now, suddenly, the kill method of Jarvis didn’t make sense or fit with Rich. I mean, really?
Yeah, the method didn’t fit a guy who came off as Rich did, but why did it take him confessing to one murder for her to suddenly see the light in that and question others? The flow of Still Waters just wasn’t a good one. Everything was solved in the last, probably 10 pages or so.
The vandalism, the break-in at Elizabeth’s office, the murder of Jarvis, the murder of Fox, the phone call Elizabeth got, the break in of her vehicle, the arrest of Trace, the location of the black book, both the killer’s identification, the reasoning behind each killing and the maturity of Amy. That’s just a whole lot of chance and coincidence if you ask me.
Epilogue Anyone?
I can’t believe I’m gonna say this, but I would have liked an epilogue or something at the end. I didn’t enjoy the ending at all. There was almost no conclusion. Dane and Elizabeth confessed their love and desire, sure, but what about everything else?
What happened with Amy? Trace? Is Trace thinking of going to college now in California so he can be closer to Amy? Will Amy want to spend more time with her father now? What about Aaron’s father? Will he suffer ramifications for having a son that inflicted not only violence, but murder? Did Ellstrom get fired? What about Jarvis’s widow and daughter? Will the daughter divorce Rich, even though divorce is unheard of in their community? Will Trace and Amy support the new relationship between their parents? What about Jolynn and Yeager?
I mean, so much was left at the mercy of the imagination that it was too much. I’m all for coming to your own conclusions and wanting to take away from the book what will make you feel best. However, only getting a conclusion for Elizabeth and Dane wasn’t such a good move for me. Still Waters certainly put a damper on my determined support of Hoag as a number one suspense writer.
Disappointed in Still Waters, but Not Giving Up
Granted, it takes more than one less-than-stellar book from an amazing writer to deter my passion, so keep an eye out for more discussions centering around Hoag!
She’s been writing bestsellers since her first hit, Night Sins in 1995. I love how much she takes care of details and procedure, pulling you into the world of her characters from the first word to the last. I think that’s why Still Waters left such a sad impression. It wasn’t as good as previous works I’ve read. But that just means I can’t wait to get my hands on another story to help wash this memory away. Her website had lots of good information and places to purchase every book she’s written. Check it out here at tamihoag.com and sign up for her newsletters!
Maybe I will take some time off of crime and suspense. The exploration of werewolves and shifters for a bit might be a good break for us both! Or maybe a bit of magic is in order?
I don’t know, but…
…it’s time for another book…
Check out Tami Hoag at Facebook, Twitter, and her website!
Support Time for a Book!
You can support Time for a Book by visiting The Library!
You can like us on Facebook, follow on Instagram, or follow on Twitter as well!
If you enjoyed this discussion, check out some other discussions in the Fantasy, Suspense/Thriller, and Other pages! Make sure to check out the Time for a Notebook as well for notes on things book related! Thanks!!
