Katia Billings, EMT with the Buxton Beach EMS, is one of the first to respond after a hurricane rips through the small island comunity. As she helps search for survivors, she and her fellow responders uncover something that will haunt Katia the rest of her life.
Lurking beneath the sand dunes is an evil that no one could have suspected.
A sandy grave not connected to the storm leads investigators to find the burial grounds of a serial killer. Literally beneath their feet, hidden for years from the residents of the tight community.
For Katia, it’s personal because she knows one of the victims. Katia enlists help from K-9 search expert Paige, and Katia’s on and off lover, Zahra, in her attempt to find the killer, dubbed Sandman, and stop him from killing again.
Will the three women survive the physical, emotional, and psychological attack being waged against their small slice of sand? What small town secrets will they unbury in their pursuit of the truth? Or will they become the next victims of Sandman?
kmiwanci –
This book is amazing. I couldn’t put it down- I had to know what would happen next. Well-developed characters that I cared about. I hope Tammy Bird writes another book with these characters.
lisa –
This psychological thriller will make you think twice about your simple familiar surroundings and those you thought you knew. From the very beginning you will be drawn into the turmoil that this quiet little beach town finds itself in and the secrets that lie just beneath their feet. Page after page you will stay engaged and won’t want to put it down, because just when you think you know the answers, you will find yourself questioning your theory.
The author draws you into the characters and their lives in such a vivid way that you will be asking, just as I am, when do we get more.
abster555 –
This book held me spell-bound! I can’t remember the last time I read a book that was so hard to put down. I thought I had figured out who the killer was several times, but oh, was I WRONG! If you can guess, you are smarter than I am. ;)
One of my favorite things about the characters is how three-dimensional they are. Even fairly minor characters are so realistic and believable. The amount of detail used in descriptions of the Katia’s brother, who is on the autism spectrum, is incredible. It is clear that the author is either familiar with autistic children or did a great deal of research on the subject.
I just cannot recommend this book highly enough. I’m already looking forward to the next book by this amazing new author!
BethWritesStuff –
I should note first that I don’t normally read thrillers. I read this one because I heard the author read a five-minute snippet from this book at a reading and it was visceral enough to make me want to check out the book. It took me a little while to get into it – the first couple of chapters – but once I was in, I was deeply in. The characters are well-rounded and interesting with their individual foibles and their real human conversations. I love how the author delved into the psyches of the different characters, especially when dealing with people who don’t normally get a voice in fiction. The book gave me several gasp-out-loud moments. There were enough twists to keep it interesting and, without giving anything away, a couple of times when I was sure the author was going to do one thing and they took it another direction instead. I liked the bits of comic relief and the human stories behind the mystery. I look forward to more from this author.
seapir8 –
Sandman is a rich tapestry of twisted emotion and characters who will be woven into your psyche. Katia is the damaged protagonist who you will love and yearn to protect as she navigates the investigation of the serial killer who creates havoc in her small beach town in North Carolina. With each warped move of the killer, the reader will need one more chapter to satisfy the need to know the outcome of this thriller. This is the perfect book to curl up with and finish in one sitting because these characters will stay with you until you finish this twisted tale. At times it felt like a rollercoaster gut-wrenching ride – but it’s the kind of thrill that cuts deep but feels so good! You will not regret the time you spend with these characters!
rose –
I met Tammy Bird, author of Sandman, about three years ago. Our acquaintance, primarily professional in the beginning, has grown into a warm friendship. When I began to read Sandman, because Tammy and I are both academics, over the course of the first few pages, I was dissecting the book, looking for patterns, clichés, and all the other things I do when I read a colleague’s work, or a student’s essay. Suddenly, however, I was transported to an entirely different place. In my new reality, I forgot all about my colleague, and my friend, and I became transfixed by Katia, Paige, and Zahra, who all were born in my friend’s soul. Likewise, I have visited their hometown, Buxton, NC, so many times over the course of my life, I have lost count, but I was not in the Buxton of my memory, but in their Buxton. I walked among them, feeling what they felt. I tasted the salt of their tears, felt the wind on their faces, and experienced their fears that grew deeper and deeper inside me. I was literally and truly, “not in Kansas” anymore. I am a voracious reader, and my tastes encompass broad works of fiction and nonfiction. When I read, regardless of the genre, nothing is as satisfying as being carried away, often against my will, but for a time, to a place that will reside in my spirit forever. That is the best read of all for me. I started out trying to fight it, but Tammy Bird’s Sandman gave me that ultimate gift. Surrender yourself to Sandman! You will not be disappointed.
sbanks –
A serial killer. Lesbians. An autistic boy. 3 different worlds mixed together and waiting to explode in your face like a chemical reaction as the pages turn. You will hold your breath. You will laugh. You will cry. You will want to turn away but the words will hold you captive as if watching a psychological thriller on the big screen with your eyes taped open. The characters are like colorful strands intertwined with barbed wire, creating a tapestry of love, suspense…and kills. Hold on reader, you’re in for quite a ride.
maddie –
highly recommend! It sucks you in immediately and keeps you turning those pages. Sometimes the romance takes over books like these and the mystery is obvious or the other characters fall flat but the twists always were set-up while still surprising me and the side characters all had distinct personalities and motivations. I hope she writes more books, I lovedddd this one!
marina g. –
Just finished reading Sandman by Tammy Bird, and it was fantastic! A serial killer murders “bad” women for their sexual proclivities, buries their bodies in the sand of the beaches of North Carolina, and his focus has honed in on our protagonist, Katia, an EMT because of her own sexual choices. Fast moving novel, beautifully written, and full of strong female characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Highly recommend it!
mgregor13 –
Tammy Bird’s debut novel, Sandman, is a twisted psycho-thriller from start to finish, and I mean that in the best of ways! I found the characters relatable and genuine. The killer isn’t revealed until the end and it was mind blowing! I’ll never be able to be at the beach now without looking very carefully at the dunes and imagining what they might be hiding! Well done, Ms Bird! Keep ‘em coming!