Customer Reviews

Split Second (Maggie O'Dell Novels)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Alex Kava's "Split Second", in my opinion, is a much better book than her debut, "A Perfect Evil." Although "Evil" was entertaining and intriguing, Kava didn't seem to have her finger fully on the characters and spent a lot of time with romantic fluff scenes. However, in this book Alex brings much more depth and understanding into some of her characters. Even though Maggie O'Dell starts out being a little hard to like, a little paranoid, and belligerent, by the end of the book, Maggie has finally come to grips with her ghosts. Her reunion with Nick Morelli is especially well done. In "Evil," Nick came across as a woman chasing stud, with only one thing on his mind. This time around, Nick seems to really have matured, and with his new job in Boston, he has a new outlook on how to show a woman he loves her. It was nice after the Barbara Caitlin scenarios Kava gave us last time. The supporting characters in this one are far from cardboard cut-outs, as one reviewer surmised. Tess McGowan is a strong female character, and almost steals the book away from Maggie. Complete with a horrendous childhood and a life as a prostitute, Tess has bounced back and come into her own as a real estate salesperson. Her current boyfriend, Daniel, is a real jerk, but Kava gives her a one-night stand with a young stud lawyer named Will Finley, and establishes an entirely different relationship for such a one-night stand. When Tess finds herself kidnapped by Stucky, she shows fortitude and strength, and refuses to let him control her. Maggie's partner, Tully, is also a well-drawn character: disorganized; a recent divorcee trying to understand his 14 year old daughter, but actually a genuinely nice guy. Some of the other characters do well, too: stuffy and stubborn Detective Manz; Maggie's psychiatrist friend, Gwen Peterson; FBI Chief Kyle Cunningham is both stern but compassionate. The villain or villains (?) in "Split Second" are completely despicable and even if one reviewer thinks Stucky's antics are implausible, this is fiction, and considering how the FBI bumbled some important cases (remember Timothy McVeigh), one can see how someone as brilliantly insane as Stucky could outwit them. I'm sure in her next adventure, Maggie will return to Father Michael Kelly, and hopefully, her relationship with Nick will continue to grow. I wouldn't mind having Tess and Will around as secondary characters, too. I liked this book a lot and recommend both Ms. Kava's novels.

Alex Kava is one of the best suspense authors that there is. She has only written two novels but both of them are on the same level of a Tami Hoag or Kay Hooper thriller. Make sure that you read Kava's first novel, "A Perfect Evil" before you read "Split Second." Both novels feature the hard-boiled and exciting FBI Agent Maggie O'Dell. She is a very enjoyable character to read about with a great attitude. Maggie put Albert Stuckey, a sociopath that loved to murder women and leave their entrails hanging out, away in prison about eight months ago after being forced to watch Stuckey perform one of his murders. Unfortunately, Stuckey has escaped from prison after overpowering two guards on the way from the jail to a psychiatric facility. He is now determined to make Agent O'Dell pay for putting him in prison. He is killing every woman who is an acquaintance of O'Dell, like the pizza delivery girl and a waitress. O'Dell is afraid of her own life and the lives of every woman she makes contact with. This is a pulse-pounding, non-stop action thriller, that keeps readers on the edge of their seat all the way until the shocking finale, that could easily be a major movie. Alex Kava will definitely make it "big" with this suspense masterpiece.

Many say that FBI agent Maggie O'Dell has lost it, but none of them know the mental torture she had endured while trying to capture killer Albert Stucky.

Since the capture of Stucky, Maggie has had to live with her fellow co-workers belittling her, as well as the images of the victims she could not save. But, as Maggie is getting a grip on her life, she learns the news that Stucky has escaped.

As the body count rises, and the trail seems to be leading directly to Maggie, The Bureau puts her back on the case, only this time the hunt will push her to the limits, as Stucky has his own twisted game he wants to play.

Under the supervision of Special Agent R.J. Tully, Maggie will follow the trail of victims, only to discover she is on the verge of crossing the line...one that separates her from the madman she is hunting down. And, she is left wondering one thing, has her need to stop Stucky turned her into a monster?

`Split Second' is an awesome follow- up to the thriller `A Perfect Evil'. The pages turn as fast as the bodies fall, and even though Alex Kava keeps the suspense pumped, she manages to detail the troubles of her heroine, giving readers an understanding of what is going through Maggie's mind.

With this, her second novel, Alex Kava has become an author to reckon with in the thriller genre. As many people are trying to write good serial killer novels, Ms. Kava is doing it. And, as with the novel before it, `Split Second' is a page-turning tale of cat and mouse that will further catapult the author to the forefront of thriller writers.

Nick Gonnella

Maggie O'Dell returns in Alex Kava's second book and this time, the horrors that were only hinted at in the first book are realised in full when Albert Stucky escapes from prison. And the horror he inflicted in the past resumes, but this time he seems to be homing in on Maggie.

Kava has turned up the horror level and preys heavily on the reader's insecurities. It seems that no-one is safe from Stucky.

The portrayal of Maggie O'Dell has been fleshed out in this book and we really get a solid feel for what makes her tick. We are given a greater understanding of what she has gone through in the past, and so, can understand why she appears so belligerent and closed to other people. She is becoming a much more likable character through the baring of her soul and fears, giving us even more reason to be terrified of the evil Albert Stucky.

This is right up the alley of anyone who loves the honest to goodness psychological thriller-type books complete with totally deranged psychopathic killer. It is strongly recommended that you read A Perfect Evil first (it's a cracking good read, too) in order to get to know the characters and their backgrounds a little better.

Ms. Kava is on her way to becoming a very good suspense writer. Her second book "Split Second" has the scary and chilling killer, the strong and willful heroine (Agent Maggie O'Dell from the first book) and plenty of spine chilling suspense that will keep you glued to the pages until the very end.

This was a fast paced read and one that I highly recommend. Ms. Kava is a fresh new voice to this genre and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

In this excellent follow up to Alex Kava's debut novel, "A Perfect Evil," FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell is again haunted (and hunted) by her crazed nemesis, Albert Stucky. O'Dell and Stucky have a sordid history together, as O'Dell spent two years studying the gory bodies and crime scenes left behind by Stucky, each one drawing her closer to him. His eventual arrest nearly cost O'Dell her life and has left her with deep physical and emotional scars. Now that he has escaped from prison, O'Dell is obsessed with stopping him and is convinced she has the best shot at succeeding.

Author Kava does an excellent job of weaving emotional development into this fast-paced, suspenseful pursuit of evil. Maggie O'Dell is a fascinating character, remaining strong and resourcesful while going through turmoil in both her personal and professional lives. She is only able to do this through the faith and support of her friends. Encounters with these supporting characters provide a glimpse into the life of the real Maggie O'Dell, the one behind the tough exterior she presents in her professional life. All the while, Maggie's character is both credible and likable.

Kava's writing is reminiscent of Patricia Cornwell's in her prime. Like many fans of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series who have been disappointed with the last couple of books, I have been searching for something similar in the suspense genre. Well, search no more. Kava picks up where Cornwell took a wrong turn, creating a fascinating character in Maggie O'Dell. Give Alex Kava a "Split Second" to win you over; you won't be disappointed.

Reviewed by Maili Montgomery, Mystery Ink

This one reads just as nicely as the first novel featuring these characters. Once again, our heroine is back, fighting internal demons as well as nasty seriel killers. The characters here are more developed than in 'Perfect Evil' and you can really feel the anguish that Maggie is going through. The reunion with Nick Morelli is nicely done and not sappy at all. The ending is truly creepy and lives up to the title of the book. I am highly recommending this one and can't wait for the next :)

Thanks for reading!

~Pandora

This was a much better book to the first, "A Perfect Evil". It reminded me a little bit of "Kiss the Girls" and thank goodness Maggie O'Dell hasn't fallen into the "I'm-so-perfect-you'll-end-up-hating-my-guts" Kay Scarpetta niche. You'll see just how fragile and strong O'Dell can be.
It's a page turner - once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down.

I won't deny the book has its thrilling moments hence the 3 star rating but overall it's formulaic write by numbers stuff where the world's stupidest serial killer is obsessed with the world's stupidest FBI profiler. Yes it certainly has some scarey and gory moments but if you actually start to think about the plot you might wonder why no-one in the FBI even the wonderful Maggie considers that it might be worth investigating the close business associate of an escaped serial killer? Where a killer sets out to implicate the man, whose identity he plans to assume, in a series of murders? Worst of all is Maggie who is supposed to be this hot shot profiler - despite the fact that the killer has targeted several women such as waitresses whom she had a friendly conversation with - it's only after the THIRD death that it occurs to her than - duh - it might be a good idea to stop bonding with every friendly shop assistant she meets! Nor does anyone think to use this pattern to trap the killer ...

Right from the beginning you can see how this story is headed - will this supposedly experienced FBI agent end up ignoring all protocol and common sense and confronting the killer on her own (like apparently she did in the last book and nearly got killed)?Alex Kava isn't a bad writer and I have to say her next book sounds better from the extract at the back but she was definitely crusing on autopilot when she wrote this one ...

To be fair to the author, Mira had given Sharon "Alex" Kava only six months to produce this followup to A PERFECT EVIL. This, unfortunately, is typical of the publishing industry and its "Strike while the iron is hot" mindset.

It's as obvious in SPLIT SECOND as it was in APE that Kava takes many of her cues from Thomas Harris and his now-legendary Hannibal Lecter series. Harris obviously benefited enormously from being able to take over a decade in writing HANNIBAL, while Kava's editor gave her only one twentieth the time. In fact, Kava had once told me that the first seventeen chapters were written in the first month alone.

Still, the so-called central theme of crossing the line separating good and evil in a "split second" isn't addressed at any appreciable length until the last 60 or so pages of the book. It's a theme that Kava could've explored in a more provocative way even given the brevity of her publishing window.

This is a fast read, with smooth pacing, and the return of Nick Morelli, perhaps the most incompetent sheriff in the annals of fiction, is nonetheless a comforting presence. However, many of the male characters, of which there are plenty, are cookie cutter constructs and I find it hard to believe that O'Dell would even still have a badge and a gun given her shrill, strident and paranoid nature throughout the book. AD Cunningham comes across as a washed-out version of Harris's Jack Crawford and Albert Stuckey, too, is a similarly generic serial killer, something that a hack would've created after reading a Writer's Digest book entitled HOW TO CREATE A SERIAL KILLER.

The conceit of a killer choosing victims in close proximity to the protagonist is a well-worn theme that has been better employed elsewhere. The denouement, also, is reminiscent of countless other serial killer thrillers in which the heroine has the final confrontation with the bad guy (WATCH ME, CATCH ME, LAST BREATH, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, etc.).

However, Kava seems to have finally done some research in order to make Maggie O'Dell a more believable profiler. However, the author's Catholic sensibilities are reflected in O'Dell and what could have been a rousing love scene (virtually an obligatory ingredient in a Mira book) degenerates into a sloppy handjob because O'Dell is still technically married to her estranged husband Greg.

As in the end of APE, Kava sets the stage for the next sequel by occasionally mentioning the Rev. Everett and alluding to Father Keller. I can't help but feel, however, that if Kava were allowed the time, she could create a real winner out of the first meeting between Maggie O'Dell and Albert Stucky that culminated in that Miami warehouse. With the proper treatment, she could make a viable sequel out of that backstory.

I'll wait until O'Dell's next adventure comes out in paperback next August or buy a used hard cover on [local store]. If Mira cannot give Kava the time to write a better book, then I cannot spend over [price] buying those books.