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punkgremlin's review against another edition
4.0
It was an interesting book. Agent O’Dell is one of the most perfectly human characters I’ve had the pleasure of reading in a while. I did guess a couple of the twists before they happened but it didn’t make them any less enjoyable. The writing was really good and held my interests up to the end.
susanchac's review against another edition
1.0
So, I read this book. My reaction- Meh.
Quick summary: The brutal murders of three young boys paralyze the citizens of Platte City, Nebraska. It would seem that someone they tried and recently executed for the similar crimes turns out to be a copycat. And the real killer is back in action.
Great police work, BTW.
Anyhoo, they bring in Special Agent Maggie O'Dell, a criminal profiler with the FBI. Sheriff Nick Morelli and Agent O'Dell begin investigating the crimes and things get more complicated with Sheriff Morelli's own nephew is taken.
The novel was OK. I won't say bad, just OK. I am sure I won't read it again though. The plot was predictable. The author tried a bluff in the beginning but I didn't fall for it. It was quite obvious who the bad guy was. Sheriff Morelli and Agent O'Dell would also have been able to figure it out, if they hadn't been so distracted by the fact that they had the hots for each other. In fact, the good Sheriff's reporter sister does more investigating than he does. Every scene with the two of them was ooh he touched my arm or oooh she has a knockout body.
Their will they, won't they dynamic was just annoying. I mean, come on. There were more pressing matters at hand.
And then there was this-
O'Dell: I haven't slept much for a month now. If I do, I have nightmares.
Morelli: I have a remedy for nightmares.
O'Dell: What's that? Brandy?
Morelli: No. You hang on to someone else real tight while you fall asleep.
So cheesy.
Quick summary: The brutal murders of three young boys paralyze the citizens of Platte City, Nebraska. It would seem that someone they tried and recently executed for the similar crimes turns out to be a copycat. And the real killer is back in action.
Great police work, BTW.
Anyhoo, they bring in Special Agent Maggie O'Dell, a criminal profiler with the FBI. Sheriff Nick Morelli and Agent O'Dell begin investigating the crimes and things get more complicated with Sheriff Morelli's own nephew is taken.
The novel was OK. I won't say bad, just OK. I am sure I won't read it again though. The plot was predictable. The author tried a bluff in the beginning but I didn't fall for it. It was quite obvious who the bad guy was. Sheriff Morelli and Agent O'Dell would also have been able to figure it out, if they hadn't been so distracted by the fact that they had the hots for each other. In fact, the good Sheriff's reporter sister does more investigating than he does. Every scene with the two of them was ooh he touched my arm or oooh she has a knockout body.
Their will they, won't they dynamic was just annoying. I mean, come on. There were more pressing matters at hand.
And then there was this-
O'Dell: I haven't slept much for a month now. If I do, I have nightmares.
Morelli: I have a remedy for nightmares.
O'Dell: What's that? Brandy?
Morelli: No. You hang on to someone else real tight while you fall asleep.
So cheesy.
Spoiler
No wonder they couldn't catch the bad guy, Father Keller. Yeah. They rescued the nephew (he rescued himself actually). And when everyone was recovering in the hospital, the bad guy decides to come around to finish the job. He was right there. Did they catch him then? Nope. They just let him waltz out of there.dkayinthedesert's review against another edition
3.0
I read a few positive reviews on this book, so I gave it a read. It's the first of a series of Maggie O'Dell books. It was pretty suspenseful in spots , but also predictable in others. It also left some loose ends which I don't like in a thriller.
thisistrashpsyd's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting, although cliche book. As the first book in a series I can give it the benefit of the doubt that Alex Kava is just honing her craft and there are bound to be some things that will be improved upon during the run of the series.
Her heroine is a jaded FBI agent with 8 years of experience and a chip on her shoulder from the last case she worked on. She stumbles onto a case in Nebraska dealing with small town mentalities, the church, and little boys being kidnapped. This novel suffered from a villain who was too easy to figure out, a love story that seemed a bit too rushed, and an ending that leaves you disappointed with the outcome (even if they're prepping for the next book).
Overall it was an average thriller but I think I still might give the next book a try because I believe it has so much possibility to be something great.
Her heroine is a jaded FBI agent with 8 years of experience and a chip on her shoulder from the last case she worked on. She stumbles onto a case in Nebraska dealing with small town mentalities, the church, and little boys being kidnapped. This novel suffered from a villain who was too easy to figure out, a love story that seemed a bit too rushed, and an ending that leaves you disappointed with the outcome (even if they're prepping for the next book).
Overall it was an average thriller but I think I still might give the next book a try because I believe it has so much possibility to be something great.
cordillia's review against another edition
4.0
ספר מתח קצבי ומעניין. היה יכול להיות מעולה לולא נחשפה זהות הרוצח בפני הקוראים כבר בתחילת הספר.
jonetta's review against another edition
4.0
When a young boy goes missing and is found brutally murdered in Platte City Nebraska days later, Sheriff Nick Morelli is advised to get help from FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell, especially after it appears to match previous crimes of a serial killer who was executed months earlier. O'Dell, however, is still reeling from a harrowing capture of a vicious killer a month ago where she almost lost her life.
The case was extremely interesting and captured my interest immediately. However, I found the relationship between Nick and Maggie to be a distraction. She's a highly touted profiler but never really created a strong imprint on the case. Nick came across as supremely incompetent and vacuous. And, I think that was the intent.
What saved the story were the actual cases (especially the last abduction) and the points of view provided by the killer. They were chilling and well crafted. I wasn't fond of the ending as it left me floundering...it wasn't clever nor was it a compelling twist. It just felt unfinished. Since I think this story was a victim of what I consider "first-book-itis," I'm looking forward to continuing because there were quite a few elements that worked. 3.5 stars
The case was extremely interesting and captured my interest immediately. However, I found the relationship between Nick and Maggie to be a distraction. She's a highly touted profiler but never really created a strong imprint on the case. Nick came across as supremely incompetent and vacuous. And, I think that was the intent.
What saved the story were the actual cases (especially the last abduction) and the points of view provided by the killer. They were chilling and well crafted. I wasn't fond of the ending as it left me floundering...it wasn't clever nor was it a compelling twist. It just felt unfinished. Since I think this story was a victim of what I consider "first-book-itis," I'm looking forward to continuing because there were quite a few elements that worked. 3.5 stars
drew5287's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
mi_amors_wife's review against another edition
4.0
a great book. a great start to what i hope will be a great series. maggie finds herself in a small town trying to profile a child murderer. what she finds is haunting. this is a real page turner and will keep you guessing till the end. and then the end!!!! it makes you want to hurry and start the next in the series.
lexywrites1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I thought that this book was good