Customer Reviews

Black Friday (A Maggie O'Dell Novel)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Black Friday by Alex Kava is the first book by her that I have read. I thought it was great! In our new world that includes terrorism, it is a scary thought that this could really happen!!!
It is a Maggie O'Dell novel. The story is about five college students that go to the Mall of America the day after Thanksgiving. The day the retail world calls Black Friday. Sounds normal right? Wrong! These students are called castaways by someone known as the Project Manager. This man talked three students into carrying a red backpack into the mall with "jamming devices" inside. They were told that these devices would screw up the store and mall computers. Being the busiest shopping day of the year, it would cause mass confusion. Little did the students know but they were being turned into suicide bombers.
One student named Dixon brought two friends along.He wound up being called from the mall by his Grandfather because his Grandmother had to have heart surgery. Thinking nothing of it he handed his backpack over to his friend Rebecca.
After Dixon left, Rebecca had to go to the bathroom. Their other friend Patrick waited for her in the food court. The other two students with the backpacks were walking seperately through the mall as instructed. Rebecca went to the bathroom but forget to get the backpack off the hook on the stall door when she left.
When she got back to the food court, she told Patrick she would be right back and left to retrieve it. As she approached the bathroom it happened. A huge explosion! The Project Manager had used his remote and detonated two of the bombs. The third would not go off for some reason.
Chaos...confusion...death...body parts was everywhere.
I have to stop so I do not give away who is involved and what happens next. Read the book! It was a fast reading page turner. It will make you really think about how vulnerable we really are.

I always wait for Alex Kava books. Wish we could get her to write 2 books a year. Her books are fast paced and each of the chapters leaves you wanting more. I find myself reading late into the night because of this. I enjoy how Kava writes true crime into her novels -- bits & pieces from the news, past & present. Its WOW, that she even considered "backpacks" for her crime -- and look how that was actually being considered???

In this latest thriller she brings in surrounding characters and their interaction with Maggie O'Dell is what we're all looking for - more Maggie. I was impressed that she's making something happen between Nick and Maggie. That's been important to my following her series. If you enjoy fast reads -- and like true life thrillers, this one couldn't have come at a better time. Read for entertainment!

I love Alex Kava books. I eagerly await the next novel however, this one was a disappointment for me. The story started off with a bang (literally) and I was hooked but as the story went along it lost my attention. Details seemed to be unresolved or very weak and took the story somewhere I was bored with. One thing I enjoy about Alex Kava is that the novels tell stories that are fictional yet have underlying truth which as a reader makes me feel there is a "chance" that these terrible things could happen and these characters could be real. But this story went from scary reality to a government conspiracy which I didn't find enough detail in to believe or even find enjoyable. It was sad not to have Cunningham but new characters were introduced andi look forward to see how they develop in future novels.I enjoy these novels for the crime-fighting and not the romance. I hope this is the final novel that develops the "possible" romance with Morelli. This novel it seemed like an after thougt just thrown in. All in all I still look forward to the next Maggie story but on the list of favorties Black Friday is at the bottom

I love the Maggie O'Dell books by Alex Kava. She grips your senses from the 1st page, and then you have to hang on from there.

This book was riveting and a great thriller, The Black Friday concept is what caught my attention. I would never have thought about when I go out to a mall the day after Thanksgiving, that there would be a bomb at a place I would be shopping. This book will make you think about that, with the way the world is today.

All in all I really enjoyed this book, but the ending fell a little flat. If you are a Kava fan and a fan of Maggie ODell then you will enjoy this book. I hope that this story will continue in another book to help tie up some loose ends!

I love the Maggie O'Dell novels by Alex Kava. She tells a great serial killer story without a lot of the gore. I love Maggie, but I'm hoping she will get a love interest that works for her.

I have been reading Alex Kava novels since 2003, and never before have I been disappointed. This book at just under 300 pages feels like almost 500. It is slow moving, and relies on conspiracy theories (and the fact that the reader knows these theories) to move the plot along. In this book, Special Agent Maggie O'Dell, a profiler for the FBI, is called in by the Interim Director to investigate a series of explosions inside the Mall of America on Black Friday (according to the book this was Nov. 23, but unless it takes place in 2007 that is not possible since 11/23/09 was a Monday). My first major problem came after Maggie received the phone call. Instead of immediately getting ready, she and her friends gather around her television to watch Fox News to see what is being reported. This makes little sense to me. It seems that if Kava wanted to create a sense of urgency, she would not have had her main character standing around talking to her friends about the Interim Director's reasons for bringing her in on the case. My next problem is that it seems that in order for Nick to be present in several of Maggie's investigations, he needs to change jobs left and right: Sheriff, lawyer, and now security consultant? This is starting to get ridiculous. Another problem was the lack of her circle of ancillary characters, which were only present at the beginning and end of the book. Yet another problem was the fact that unbeknowst to Maggie her half brother (referred to as her step-brother, although they have the same father) was tangentially involved in the bombing. It took more than half of the book for her to find that he was there, despite the fact she saw someone who looked like her father in the lobby of the hotel the investigation is headquarted at.

My biggest problem, however, is Kava's use of the Oklahoma City Bombing to further the plot. Technically, this is not a spoiler, but the antagonist is allegedly John Doe #2, the man believed to have helped McVeigh and Nichols plan and execute the attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. This wasn't the only national tragedy that she used either. She also mentions Columbine, Virginia Tech, 9/11, and the mass killings at a Nebraska mall a few years ago. These seemed to be present for shock value, and did little to help the plot along.

Further, there was almost no character growth in this novel. Maggie is still untrusting, especially of Nick, who doesn't trust her either. Patrick doesn't know or trust Maggie, going so far as to "think over" whether he wanted her help with his situation. This was so implausible to me. If you are a suspect in a terrorist bombing and your sister is part of the investigative team, wouldn't you run to her for help? No matter how little you know each other, there is no reason not to accept help when it is offered. In the end, he is the only one that seems to have grown.

Once again Alex Kava writes a wonderful Maggie O'Dell novel leaving us readers foaming at the mouth for another one! Anyone who is a fan of Alex Kava will love this book and anyone who is not needs to be one! I read it in one day, it was intense and very fast paced. I love Nick coming into the story, he brings a great bonus to the O'Dell books! Thank you Alex Kava for another fantastic book!

Ruckus. Mayhem. Panic. Pandemonium. These are just a few words to describe the busiest retail day of the year, the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday. As Alex Kava's latest book opens, three students are looking to crank the calamity dial up to 11. Upon entering the Mall of America, the country's largest mall, they prepare a device in their backpacks to emit a wireless signal that will disrupt some computer systems. Other than a few major retailers, no one is supposed to be hurt by the prank. Unfortunately, the contents of the backpacks are not as advertised, and a violent explosion leaves shoppers killed and maimed. This massacre drags FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell away from her own post-Thanksgiving celebration in Virginia --- a fete that includes newfound love interest Benjamin Platt --- to Minnesota to participate in the investigation.

But O'Dell may not be ready for the task at hand. She currently has a lot on her plate, and unfortunately none of it is leftover turkey. Still reeling from the death of her former boss, A. D. Cunningham, O'Dell must deal with her new boss, Assistant Director Ray Kunze, who is trying to peg her for Cunningham's death. Kunze is more than ready to throw O'Dell under the bus as a scapegoat; he sees her impulsive, difficult nature as a proverbial thorn in his organization's side. Despite their shared antagonism, the two are forced to work together to get to the bottom of who exactly bombed the Mall of America and why.

While O'Dell and Kunze are transported to the mall, Homeland Security Assistant Deputy Director Nick Morrelli is on a parallel course to the site as well. Morrelli, a representative of United Allied Security (which has the mall as a client), and O'Dell are not strangers, having worked together in the past. Furthermore, Morrelli has sought a more intimate relationship, an overture that O'Dell has declined. Morrelli, however, is tenacious, and their mutual investigation gives him further opportunity to press his case. But there is work to be done, and one of the most frightening aspects of the bombing is that no one has claimed responsibility for the terrorist act.

For O'Dell, the investigation almost immediately strikes too close to home. It appears to the investigators that O'Dell's brother, Patrick, who was at the mall when the bombing occurred, was with the students carrying the backpacks and possibly may have been involved. Patrick knows only that some of his acquaintances had planned a prank. And he may be able to provide the only lead as to the identity of an enigmatic, capable and extremely dangerous mastermind known as the Project Manager. When O'Dell and the other investigators learn that there are other attacks scheduled --- the next to occur in less than 24 hours --- it becomes imperative that she find her brother, not only to ascertain what he knows but also to keep him from becoming one of the next casualties.

Kava uses two techniques --- short chapters and frequent scene shifts --- to keep her well-crafted plot racing along against a clock that ticks louder with each page. O'Dell is a real and believable protagonist, and, unfortunately, one can foresee that if there is another successful terrorist attack on United States soil, it will probably unfold in the way that Kava describes and for the same reason. Read BLACK FRIDAY, and be both entertained and forewarned in equal measure. Although the subject matter may come off as ominous, Kava's writing balances that feeling of dread with its quiet, understated genius. Think of her as a personal driver who is set to take you on the ride of your life. Like the best of drivers, she knows when to speed up, when to slow down, and when to shift as she propels her readers along a straightforward plot line loaded with scenery that keeps one on edge from journey's beginning to end.

Clearly, I am jazzed by Kava's writing. And when you finish reading BLACK FRIDAY, you will be as well.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

A series of bombs goes off in the Heartland's famous Mall of America, and FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell is dispatched to the scene to assist the effort to catch the perpetrators. Is it a terrorist act? Or is some other dynamic in play?

I've generally enjoyed Kava's books. She's not a top-tier writer in the genre such as Kathy Reichs or Jeffrey Deaver; but her books are usually workman-like, an enjoyable light and fast read suitable for the pool or airliner, well-plotted and engaging.

Unfortunately, between her last book ("Exposed"; you can see my review on that product page) and this one, I'm starting to think she may have already passed her prime.

In "Black Friday" she starts out with a pretty good plot device: college kids misled into believing that they're helping make an idealistic gesture while being unknowingly manipulated by a cynical bad guy known as the Project Manager into carrying backpack bombs into the mall. By the way, that's not a SPOILER, as that information's right on the inside flap of the book jacket.

The problem here is that this entire book seemed rushed, with a lot of opportunities missed. Though the crime itself is horrific, that horror really wasn't emotionally transmitted to at least THIS reader. Yes, there are descriptions of mangled bodies and maimed victims... but somehow or another the actual emotional impact of that isn't adequately conveyed. Maybe that's the difference between a mediocre author and a gifted author.

She seems to invest more effort in describing Maggie's maybe-attraction to recurring character Nick Morelli than the actual story line, and even that aspect seems underserved.

There are a couple of characters who find themselves in perilous situations at the hands of some of the Bad Guys... but again, those situations are resolved very facilely. We only see two of the Bad Guys, and then only perfunctorily. There's no sense of real danger, the Bad Guys simply disappear, and the cavalry charges in AFTERWARDS to release the captives. Then the whole issue is simply dropped. It vanishes. No impact on the story line, no resolution with the Bad Guys, and no after-effect.

At the climax of the book, the penultimate baddie is revealed in such a matter-of-fact manner that it was simply a throw-away. "Okay, kiddies, here's the answer". No substantive consequences to this character, either. No emotional payoff.

The ultimate Bad Guy, the Project Manager... well, that's left COMPLETELY unresolved. Again, there's absolutely no emotional payoff whatsoever, good or bad. No sense of accomplishment, justice served, or even defeat. Nothing.

This "book" serves more as a blueprint of an actual "book" that might have been, but it doesn't strike me as a finished product. It doesn't engage emotionally at all, and that's poison in fiction.

I am hot and cold on Alex Kava - although, for the most part, I have enjoyed them. The firs thing I noticed about this book was the cover - its perfect and absolutely creepy and scary! The down escalotor into a blaze of fire!!! Perfect.

This novel once again features Maggie O'Dell - who is called in to assist after an absolutely horrific act of terrorism (domestic) is committed at one of the busiest malls in the country, on the busiest shopping Day of the year (hence the title).

This book is seriously scary and had me thinking that this could happen absolutely anywhere at anytime - especially if we factor in the idealistic and easily influenced young adults - which is what this book is partly based on. This mass murder is actually committed by a group of young adults who have been influenced by the Project Manager - a mysterious figure who somehow gets away with the deed.

There are alot of dead bodies and although the author does not go into huge, huge details, she gives us enough to make us use our imagination about what the end effect of bombing a mall would be. This is a strength with this author - less is more as she asks the reader to use their imagination.

Maggie, as always is very likeable and between herself, Nick and a supporting team, will work towards finding the "mastermind". There are some neat little twists in this story and I thought that was a nice touch. I could have done with less romance between Nick and Maggie as I thought it removed from the core story.

I am also a little confused as to the ending which gives us the "whoddunnit" but had me wondering about some of the loose ends.

Still, this was a weekend read that I enjoyed and look forward to more books by Kava. Having said that, I am not sure that I will be entering any malls between now and December 31, 2009 - too scary.