Book Review: One False Move

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

One False Move     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Alex Kava
Class/Genre:   Mystery
Mira, Aug 2004, $19.95, 320 pp.

Lawyer Max Kramer bribes an eyewitness to recant testimony so that a homicidal conviction is overturned, freeing Jared Barnett. Detective Tommy Pakula and attorney Grace Wenninghoff know that Jared is a serial killer.

Jared visits his sister Melody and his seventeen year old nephew Charlie. While Melody is un happy to see her brother, Charlie worships his uncle. Jared informs his two relatives that they will rob a bank. Jared and Charlie enter the bank and shots are fired. The two men race out with Charlie having blood all over his clothing. Tommy receives a call that a bank robbery turned violent. He calls Grace to tell her there are five dead at the bank.

A sheriff and a police copter chase the criminals, but a storm halts their efforts. Melody crashes the car, but the trio walks to the nearby state park cabins where Jared shoots Andrew Kane grazing his head. While the police give chase, Jared begins a murder spree with Andrew held hostage.

The key to this exhilarating police procedural crime thriller is the powerful cast whether the character is a cop, lawyer, murderer, writer, etc. They all come across as real and their interactions genuine. This depth makes the chase more exhilarating though quite bloody (innocent people are killed) as the audience sees it from the perspective of various participants. Some fans will feel a letdown with the final showdown; albeit realistic, as no High Noon occurred (instead more like Bakshi’s Wizards). Still, readers will enjoy this terse chase thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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