One False Move (Mira S.) [Mass Market Paperback]

Alex Kava (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2005 | Series: Mira S.

Melanie Starks and her son, Charlie, have been running petty con jobs for as long as either can remember. Now, just as Melanie is ready to pull out and settle down, her brother, Jared Barnett, reenters their lives with a ballsy plan for the ultimate heist. Recently released after serving live years of a life sentence for murder, Jared is frighteningly high on the feeling of invincibility that comes from getting away with murder. Melanie and Charlie agree to Jared's plot to rob a local Nebraska bank, but during the holdup, everything goes terribly wrong and innocent people end up dead. Suddenly Melanie, Charlie and Jared are on the run, and more lives are at stake--now that the threesome have nothing left to lose.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Nebraskan suspense author Kava takes a break from her successful series featuring FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell (At the Stroke of Madness; Split Second) with this psychological thriller about the fallout from an abortive bank robbery. The principal players are Jared Barnett, just released by his shady attorney's machinations from a life sentence for murder; his docile sister, Melanie Starks; and her 17-year-old son, Charlie, to whom Jared is a father figure. Just as their lives seem to be approaching normalcy, Jared scopes out a bank heist and bullies his sister and nephew into helping him. Mel is designated driver in the high-risk chase that begins right after Jared and Charlie, empty-handed, flee the bank. In a remote state park cabin, Andrew Kane, a writer, happens to be alone when they appear and Mel, shocked, learns from his TV that four people were killed in the holdup. Then she remembers the childhood that she and Jared were cheated out of—a mother who washed down pills with vodka while their father mercilessly beat the children until Jared took matters into his own hands. Victims accumulate as fast as the escape route changes, while abbreviated chapters and truncated dialogue signal the approaching explosive climax. This is a one-night read with some unexplained loose ends that won't bother readers hooked on hair-raising car chases and gruesome murder scenes.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"An explosive climax." -- Publishers Weekly

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0778321894
• ISBN-13: 978-0778321897
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,106,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ALEX KAVA's two stand-alone novels and seven novels featuring FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell have been published in more than twenty countries, appearing on the bestseller lists in Britain, Australia, Poland, Germany, and Italy. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. Alex divides her time between Omaha, Nebraska, and Pensacola, Florida.
Photo credit Deborah Groh Carlin

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very enjoyable, August 30, 2004

By 

Tracy L. (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: One False Move (Kava, Alex) (Hardcover)

Reading this book is a great way to spend a rainy Sunday afternoon. While it was a quick read, it was still very intriguing and suspenseful and I never lost interest. The story came together quite nicely and I was pleased with the outcome (including a nice little twist at the end.) This is the kind of book you could read while waiting in line at the DMV. Definitely recommend this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Revolutionary, Just Good, September 26, 2006

By 

Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore" (Kearney, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One False Move (Kava, Alex) (Hardcover)

Alex Kava's first free-standing suspense novel freely adapts from the author's personal experience, adding on elements of the Charles Starkweather murder spree, to create a story of violence and confusion on a sprawl across Nebraska that harkens back to the bleak despair of Terrence Malick's "Badlands" and Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska."

Jared Barnett, freed from Death Row by a crooked lawyer and a coerced testimony, teams with his sister, a small-time con woman, and her son, a professional shoplifter. They arrange to rob a bank to pay off Jared's debts, but when shots are fired and four people are left for dead, they sprint for the country. Crime novelist Andrew Kane has isolated himself at Platte River State Park, trying to kick-start his newest novel, but his isolation turns on him when the three killers stumble on his nest and take him hostage.

Platte River State Park is real, as is the Nebraska Bank of Commerce branch the killers mishandle, and the towns of Auburn and Hastings, where key moments of the plot take place. It's disconcerting to think that I may have slept in the cabin where Andrew Kane was taken hostage. The novel clips along at a short pace, with scenes so cinematic that I can almost see the blackouts and the camera pulling focus. By releasing hints of the characters' past in measured amounts and making us wonder where their loyalties lie, Alex Kava keeps the pages turning to the end.

There's nothing really new or revolutionary in this novel. It's probably not a classic of the genre. But it is well-paced, intriguing, peopled with interesting characters, and a cracking good read. Good airport reading or something to keep in your desk for your coffee breaks, this novel is a worthwhile investment for fans of suspense fiction.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tarja, a Finn in Spain, January 10, 2005

By 

Tarja Laine "A Finn" (Fuengirola, Spain) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One False Move (Kava, Alex) (Hardcover)

Having been an enthusiastic fan ever since I accidently got a hold of her first book I now have to say that I was somewhat disappointed on her latest book.

The characters were "ok", but the entity certainly lacked certain elements of suspense and thrill. I really look forward hearing more of Maggie!