Book Review: A Necessary Evil

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

A Necessary Evil     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Alex Kava
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Serial Killer   Police Procedural   FBI
Series: Maggie O'Dell # 5
Mira, Feb 2006, $21.95, 416 pp.

In DC and in Nebraska someone is killing men who have abused power with an emphasis on priests. Though the M.O. is similar and the victims all tainted, FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell begins to think two different perpetrators are at work with a common bond. That assumption leads her with the help of her mentor Dr. Gwen Patterson and Detective Julia Racine to search for the link between the killers, which she believes, is an Internet role-playing game for those who have suffered abuse at the hands powerful males.

As Maggie worries about her friend Gwen who is acting strange and wants distance from Julia, the case takes a weird spin when the man she hates most in the world, brutal Father Michael Keller, is forced to return based on a package he received while hiding in a remote part of South America, with an offer to help her stop the killings in return for his ability to vanish once again in Venezuela. Maggie debates making a Faustian deal with the child killing devil while vengeance continues.

Alex Kava’s latest exhilarating O’Dell thriller showcases the profiler struggling with a complex case made more difficult by the actions of her beloved teacher Gwen, whose fears of field work hampers her ability to help. The fast-paced story line for the most part contains the two subplots that move back and forth between Omaha and DC before tying together in an exciting action-packed tale. Fans of the series will enjoy Maggie’s dilemma as to whether to deal with A NECESSARY EVIL or not.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner

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