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    A Necessary Evil: A Maggie O'Dell Mystery
    A Necessary Evil: A Maggie O'Dell Mystery
    A Necessary Evil: A Maggie O'Dell Mystery
    Audiobook (abridged)4 hours

    A Necessary Evil: A Maggie O'Dell Mystery

    Written by Alex Kava

    Narrated by Lorelei King

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    As the killing spree continues unabated, it becomes clear to Maggie O'Dell—the FBI profiler assigned to the case—that more than one perpetrator is responsible. As she begins to drill down into the facts, Maggie discovers a disturbing Internet role-playing game for youths who have been victims of male authority figures—including Catholic priests.

    With the first real lead in the investigation, Maggie wonders if this group has turned cyberspace justice into reality by dispensing their own brand of vengeance. As the ritualistic killings leave America's heartland reeling, Maggie gets a second lead—one that leaves her stunned.

    For the past four years she has been driven by blind determination to find Father Michael Keller, the human monster whose acts of brutality continue to haunt her to this day. Sick and twisted, the priest seems to have vanished without a trace. But with an irony that only life can offer, now he has become a target.

    When Keller offers to help Maggie solve the crimes in exchange for protection, she has no choice but to ally herself with the elusive child killer—the person she despises with a conviction that's almost religious in its fervor. Maggie must cross a dangerous line into a world of malevolence and evil from which she may not return unscathed. Maggie knows the bargain is a necessary evil…one that may be made in blood...

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateJan 24, 2006
    ISBN9781593974459
    A Necessary Evil: A Maggie O'Dell Mystery
    Author

    Alex Kava

    ALEX KAVA GREW UP IN THE COUNTRY outside Silver Creek, Nebraska. She earned a bachelor's degree in art and English from College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska.  She has done a variety of jobs, from working as a hospital tech, cleaning and sterilizing utensils from surgery, pathology and the morgue, to running her own graphic design firm, designing national food labels and directing television and radio commercials. IN 1996 SHE QUIT HER JOB as a public relations director to dedicate herself to writing a novel and getting published. To pay the bills, she refinanced her home, maxed out her credit cards and even took on a newspaper delivery route. TODAY, ALEX IS A NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR of psychological suspense novels.  Her Maggie O'Dell series, comprised of A Perfect Evil, Split Second, The Soul Catcher, At the Stroke of Madness, A Necessary Evil, Exposed and Black Friday along with her stand-alone novels, One False Move and Whitewash, have been widely praised by critics and fans. They have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her books have been published in twenty-four countries and have hit the bestseller lists in Australia, Germany, Poland, Italy and the UK.  She is also one of the featured writers in the anthology Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night, edited by James Patterson. ONE FALSE MOVE WAS SELECTED AS Nebraska's 2006 One Book One Nebraska.  (My Antonia by Willa Cather was the 2005 selection).  In 2007 Alex was awarded the Mari Sandoz Award by the Nebraska Library Association. Whitewash made January Magazine's list of best thrillers for 2007. Exposed,Black Friday and 2011's DAMAGED received starred reviews by Publishers Weekly.   2010 marked Alex's ten year anniversary as an author with the publication of her tenth novel, Damaged (Doubleday, July 13th). HOTWIRE, her ninth Maggie O'Dell will be released July 12th, 2011. She also has co-authored two short stories in anthologies to be published in June and August: First Thrills, edited by Lee Child (After Dark, co-authored with Deb Carlin) and Florida Heat Wave, edited by Michael Lister (A Breath of Hot Air, co-authored with Patricia Bremmer is now on KINDLE. ALEX WRITES FULL-TIME AND LIVES IN Omaha, Nebraska and Pensacola, Florida (where her 2010 book, Damaged is set).  She is a member of International Thrillers Writers.    

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    Reviews for A Necessary Evil

    4/5

    156 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A Necessary Evil is a sequel to A Perfect Evil and is very fast-paced with lots of suspense and twists. Meeting up again with the evil Father Keller and Nick Morelli from the first book makes for an startling surprise ending. While Maggie is as vulnerable as she is strong, sparks continue to fly in her relationship with Nick. Looking forward to the next book to see what the future holds for Maggie and Nick.
    • 5/5
      This was a great book - a real page turner right to the end - if you love Alex Kava, then you'll love this book - kept me on the edge of what would happen next through each chapter - great
      read!
    • 4/5
      Fifth in a series, but works well as a stand-alone.Kava weaves together two waves of frightening murders -- a series of young women whose decapitated heads have been found in the Washington, D.C. area, and a series of murdered priests who have all been involved in pedophilia scandals.The observant reader will probably identify the Master Villain fairly early on, as Kava is generous with the clues and doesn't clutter things up with too many red herrings. At the heart of the novel, however, is a moral dilemma, dealing with the essential conflict between the law and true justice.
    • 4/5
      Priests are being killed and women are being decapitated. Related or not? FBI investigator is called in to solve this. Started slow. A bit gruesome. But interesting.
    • 4/5
      A Necessary Evil by Alex Kava
      Book #5 in the Maggie O’Dell series
      4 Stars

      Synopsis:
      The one that got away...
      FBI profiler, Maggie O'Dell is on the trail of two separate killers. One is leaving the decapitated heads of his victims all over the District and the other is killing priests in public. O’Dell has few leads when she receives an offer of assistance from a most unlikely source – her prime suspect in book one. Are these cases connected and will O’Dell accept the deal offered by a killer?

      Review:
      Another enjoyable addition to the series. While the plot starts off quite slow and there seem to be too many perspectives, the threads soon begin coming together in an intriguing way and the story comes to an extremely satisfying conclusion – I even found myself chuckling with glee at the end.
      I enjoy books where the reader can follow the clues and work things out but become frustrated when the hints are too obvious and the killer predictable. This was not the case here. The signs and evidence build up and while it is possible to figure out the killer’s identity, it takes some time and is not immediately clear.
      As always, the character development is superb, especially Gwen Patterson’s and it was delighted to see the return of Nick Morelli, who has been suspiciously absent from the past few books. Maggie and Nick’s relationship is particularly engaging and it was great seeing their reunion and interaction.
      Recommendation: An excellent thriller with all of my favorite elements: an intelligent plot, excellent characterization and no skimping on the gory bits. So beware as this book is not for the squeamish.
    • 4/5
      This was my first time with this author and I was very pleased. A serial killer of young boys who may be connected with the Catholic Church. I am surprised that the author didn't get booted out by the Vatican. A real page turner and keeps your attention right to the end ... and the end ... well, let's say it was a surprise !!
    • 3/5
      Not bad, but also not the best. Only one thing that I found awkward: almost all of the characters were abused as a child.