Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska return to investigate the death of a Jane Doe
in New York Times bestseller Tami Hoag's short story "The 1st Victim."
New Year's Day is a time for new beginnings, but Minneapolis homicide
detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are focused on endings:
specifically, the tragic end of their latest murder victim, an
unidentified young woman discovered on the side of the freeway. Believed
to be the victim of a serial killer, Kovac and Liska are determined to
do the girl the small justice of returning her body to her family as
they investigate her case, but it is no simple task matching the broken
corpse to any of the scores of missing persons reports, especially when
no one seems to be looking for her.
Meanwhile, recent widow Jeannie Reiser is frantic when she is unable to
get in touch with her daughter, Rose, who, as an eighteen-year-old, is a
legal adult rather than a missing child in the eyes of the law.
Jeannie's desperate attempts to get the police to believe her child is
in trouble lead her closer and closer to the New Year's Doe and to an
evil even Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska may be unable to stop. Tami Hoag
once again proves her place as "one of the most intense suspense writers
around"* with "The 1st Victim."
*Chicago Tribune
