Kovac & Liska is a series of Mystery Novels by Tami Hoag, set in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area involving the gruff detective Sam Kovac and his partner, the snarky Nikki Liska.
As of 2015, there were 6 novels and one novella:
Works:
Novels:- Ashes to Ashes: FBI Agent turned victim's advocate Kate Conlan investigates the case of "The Cremator" when an alleged witness won't talk, working tensely alongside Investigators Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska.
- Dust to Dust: When an internal affairs Investigator dies in an apparent suicide, Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska investigate the suspicious circumstances.
- Prior Bad Acts: When a judge is assaulted in the wake of her decision regarding a home invasion case, Kovac and Liska investigate and try to protect the judge. The situation is complicated by an escaped suspect.
- The 9th Girl: When the ninth unidentified body from "The First Victim" turns up in Minneapolis, Kovac and Liska delve into the life of a girl who just wanted a normal life.
- Cold, Cold Heart: Reporter Dana Nolan has trouble adjusting to the return home, having survived an attempt on her life by a serial killer.
- The Bitter Season: Kovac and Liska try to find the connection between the death of a couple, and the home death of a police officer in his own backyard.
Novellas
- 3.5. The 1st Victim: Kovac and Liska try to find the family of the latest Jane Doe so they can inform them of the bad news, while a frantic mother worries for her daughter. (Continued in The 9th Girl.)
Every trope is guilty of something.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Kovac and Liska only become more prominent after the second book, and the protagonist of the first book is a victim's advocate named Kate Conlan.
- Fame Through Infamy: "Doc Holiday" wants notoriety for the murders he commits.
- Hard Truckin': Murderer and rapist "Doc Holiday" is actually a trucker named Fitz.
- Never Suicide: In Dust to Dust, Investigator Andy Fallon dies in an apparent suicide, but his ex suspects foul play.
- Pater Familicide: By the end of Prior Bad Acts, Bobby Haas has killed his stepmother, stepsiblings, and adoptive father. Liska barely manages to apprehend him.
- Pyromaniac: As his monicker would indicate, "The Cremator" from Ashes to Ashes enjoys playing with fire, in particular burning women alive.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Judge Carey Moore wants to give suspected home invader Karl Dahl a fair trial, and considers drudging up Dahl's criminal past to be detrimental. Unfortunately for the Judge, Dahl manages to escape, and becomes twistedly grateful towards her.
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: Sam Kovac is a gruff and mostly serious police detective with some soft spots. Nikki Liska is a big mouth detective in a small package.
- The Spook: Frank "Fitz" Fitzgerald, the killer known as "Doc Holiday" has multiple aliases, and his true identity is never revealed. Little of his background is revealed, either.
- Theme Serial Killer: "Doc Holiday" is known as such for performing acts of murder on holidays.
