At the Stroke of Madness

I had never read Alexa Kava but I started with her first Maggie O'dell novel. I really enjoy the way she writes. Maggie is an FBI profiler hunting a serial killer. After I finished the first I sent it to my sister.

The small town of Meriden, Connecticut, doesn't see much crime, and that's the way Sheriff Henry Watermeier likes it. The former New York cop is looking to retire soon, and he would like to do so with an unblemished record--no unsolved cases. So when a body turns up in a rusted barrel at an abandoned quarry, he's not happy about it. He's less happy when an examination of the scene turns up several more bodies, each more hideously mutilated than the next. Someone is collecting body parts. FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell, now through the worst of her divorce, is supposed to be on vacation. But her psychologist friend has asked her to look into a missing patient, Joan Begley, who was in Meriden when she disappeared. It doesn't look good for Joan. Henry and Maggie are just two of the players in this complex story of a twisted serial killer. There's Luc Racine, a victim of early-onset Alzheimer's who is trying to hold on to his sanity and avoid becoming the killer's next victim. There's Lillian, mystery-novel fan and amateur profiler, whose brother might be the killer. And all sorts of delicious suspects and an amusing love interest for Maggie who cooks up his vegetable beef soup on the same stove as the one he uses to boil down the bones of corpses (he's a forensic anthropologist). This story is fast-paced, absorbing, and lots of fun, with just enough gritty detail to provide realism. This author reminds me of Kathy Reichs or even Patricia Cornwell. Great characters, great mystery and a villain you love to hate.

The FBI relies on the predictibility of serial killers. Each one has their own signiture, their own pattern that allows the authorities to eventually end their terrifying game. When one comes along with no pattern, and no motive, the job ahead becomes deadlier. Maggie O'Dell gets drawn into such a case when one of her friends calls, frantic about a missing patient. Although she is supposed to be on leave, Maggie finds herself in pursuit of a madman. Her best lead lies in the tangled thoughts of an old man with Alzheimer's. With the clock ticking away before the unsub kills again, Maggie races to piece together the scant clues.***** Ms. Kava takes a daring move and spends only a passing moment on Maggie's star crossed lovelife, making her heroine one not dependent on romantic tension to have a good story to tell. Maggie's strength and capability in dealing with the most terrifyingly twisted minds shines through every page. This series is fascinating as Patricia Cornwall's, for example, yet less graphic, thus reaching a more sensitive audience. *****Reviewed by Amanda

AT THE STROKE OF MADNESSAlex KavaMira HardcoverAugust 2003A Maggie O'Dell NovelFBI Agent Maggie O'Dell is looking forward to a few days off from her job when her friend, psychologist Gwen Patterson, asks her to try to find one of Gwen's patients, Joan Begley, who has disappeared. Joan had gone to Wallingford, Connecticut for her grandmother's funeral and left a voice mail to Gwen that she had met a wonderful man; that was several days ago and no one has heard from her since. A reluctant, off duty, Maggie is drawn into one of the most bizarre cases in her career when she arrives in Wallingford. Bodies sealed in barrels have been unearthed in a deserted rock quarry; each body has a different vital organ removed. The good news is that none of the bodies found is Joan Begley; the bad news is that a serial killer has been at work in the area for several years.Luc Racine, father of D.C. Detective Julia Racine who we met in "The Soul Catcher", is a retired postman. Luc's little dog, Scrapple, unearthed a badly composed human foot and brought it home to Luc. The foot undoubtedly came from the quarry, according to Sheriff Henry Watermeier. Luc is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, a fact he is hiding from his daughter, and admits that Scrapple has brought home several bones in the past that he, Luc, believed were from dead coyotes. Luc was the last person to see Joan Begley when he gave her directions to an address she was looking for. The killer is afraid that Luc might remember more about the bodies that were dumped and about seeing Joan; Luc is now a target because his body contains something the slaughterer would like to have for his eerie collection.AT THE STROKE OF MADNESS is another "wow" thriller by the talented Alex Kava. The killer walks among the cast of characters assembled in this superbly told story, and Ms. Kava deftly drops subtle hints as to his identity. Maggie is now officially divorced and is ready to get on with the rest of her life, which is looking good on the personal side in more ways than one. AT THE STROKE OF MADNESS is a fast moving, intelligent, intriguing, and vastly entertaining story spun by a master storyteller.Betty Cox for readertoreader.comMember of Reviewer's Intenational Organization

D.C. based artist Joan Begley already felt lonely when the only person she felt cared about her died. Joan heads to middle Connecticut for the funeral. While in the Wallingford area she meets Sonny who has befriended her over the Internet. However, instead of showing Joan kindness he abducts her.Joan's psychiatrist Dr. Gwen Patterson worries about her patient who she is quite fond of when she seemingly fails to check out of her room or catch her flight home. She calls her best friend FBI Special Agent, profiling expert Maggie O'Dell to see if she can learn what happened to Joan. When a female corpse is found in the area, Maggie uses her vacation time to see what happened. As other bodies are found it looks like a serial killer seems to operating in the area. Maggie takes charge of the investigation even though her superior tells her to keep her butt out. Local Sheriff Watermeir is pleased to see her on the case so she can be his fall guy if all goes wrong.The latest O'Dell police procedural is an exciting suspense laden tale. The serial killer story line hooks the audience because of the strong cast working the law enforcement side. In many ways the culprit is typical of the serial killer tale. However, Alex Kava enables the audience to see inside the head of the heroine and several other characters, especially an Alzheimer's victim and the sheriff, so that AT THE STROKE OF MADNESS turns into a fast-paced, one sitting novel.Harriet Klausner