4 STARS"In the tomblike silence of an abandoned rock quarry, someone is trying to hide their dirty little secret. A secret that reveals the depths of human depravity. A secret that is about to be discovered. When FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell receives a call from Sheriff Henry Watermeier of New Haven County, Connecticut, she assumes it's a routine tip. She's working on the case of a missing D.C.-area woman, and it seems her body had been found. But Maggie's about to learn this is just the tip of the iceberg in what will be one of the most bizarre, cold-blooded and confounding cases of her career a a criminal profiler. During a cleanup excavation in the deserted quarry, a fifty-five-gallon drum was discovered, containing the remains of a woman. Then more barrels are found, containing more bodies: some of the dead have been brutally murdered, and some have already been buried. At this grisly discovery, Sheriff Watermeier calls in the FBI, as well as a forensic anthropologist, Dr. Adam "Bones" Bonzatto, in hopes of identifying the victims and ultimately the faceless killer. Maggie arrives in Connecticut and begins to profiles the killer -- and quickly recognizes a pattern to his madness. The victim range widely in age and include both men and women, but they have one thing in common: they all suffered from an illness or physical deformity of some sort. And the part of their body that was inflicting is missing. As bizarre as it seems, the killer appears to have a fascination, an obsession with his victims' imperfections. With only an old man who suffers from Alzheimer's as a witness to the killer's identity, Maggie realizes time is running out. Because another woman has gone missing, and the old man's illness has made him the next target. Determined to put an end to the killing, Maggie has to dig deeper into her own resources than she's ever done before to catch this killer of unparalleled madness." (From Amazon)I am loving this series and Maggie.
Read this one in one sitting, with a couple of tea breaks of course, but it is slightly shorter than the others, so I got through it pretty quickly. A good story, however, I have a little nit-picking to do here. Poor Nick Morelli waited patiently for Maggie's divorce to come through, 2 years, and in that time, they have had little or no contact. Not very realistic. However, Nick seems to have moved on, because Maggie called him on the phone, at last, and another woman answered and said he was in the shower. Good for you Nick, I say. Apart from this, Maggie is on vacation and is asked by her friend Gwen, to check out the disappearance of one of her patients. This takes Maggie to Connecticut, where bodies start turning up at a Quarry stuffed in barrels. Maggie has a new "love interest", in the form of Adam Bonzado, a forensic anthropologist. There is sparking and flirting, but if this goes the way Morelli did, I give up on her ever having a love life. And again, she walks right into the lions den, alone, surely she knows by now, that's not a smart thing to do?
What do You think about At The Stroke Of Madness (2003)?
This is the fourth book from author Alex Kava's Maggie O'Dell series. Not nearly as good as the first book in series but an enjoyable read. So far all of the books in this series have been quick reading mysteries. Not too complicated in the plot nor to much depth from it's characters. Somewhat like old fashioned "cozies", it's easy to root for FBI Profiler Maggie O'Dell as she tracks down the killer. Some small twits and turns with plot give it some jump. Just wish the characters would develop more life like. Too cardboard stiff. I know I'll real several books more from the series. Sometimes it's just fun to read an easy one and fly through it quickly. I'd recommend for those wanting a quick and uncomplicated read. Four stars out of a possible five stars for this one. It's a good series to read for summer.
—Jim
FBI-Agentin Maggie O'Dell hat eigentlich Urlaub, dann bekommt sie einen Anruf von einer Freundin. Ihre Patientin ist nicht zum Termin aufgetaucht und sie hat ihr eine Nachricht auf dem Anrufbeantworter hinterlassen, das sie sich mit einem Mann trifft. Zur gleichen Zeit wird in einem Steinbruch mehrere Tonnen gefunden die mit zerstückelten Leichen voll sind. Ist die Patientin der Freundin einer der Leichen?Band 4 der Reihe und wieder habe ich eine Reihe angefangen ohne es zu merken. Man kann das Buch auch so sehr gut lesen und macht keinen Abbruch in der Spannung, wenn man die vorherigen Bücher nicht gelesen hat. Beim Lesen hatte ich Stellen an der Gänsehaut sich auf meinen Armen gebildet hat. Sehr anschaulich beschrieben, manchmal zu viel des guten. Leichen bzw. Leichenteile sollten nicht so Detail beschrieben werden. Aber sonst war jede Seite voller Spannung, Action und Geheimnisse. Einmal angefangen konnte ich nicht aufhören bis ich das Buch fertig gelesen hatte. Denn die Wendung, Andeutungen machten es einem schwer das Buch aus der Hand zu legen. Da man ja unbedingt wissen will wer der Mörder ist. Die restlichen Bücher werde ich mir auch noch holen müssen. :)
—Dorothea Müller
Good read!From back cover:"In the tomblike silence of an abandoned rock quarry someone is trying to hide their dirty little secret. A secret that is about to be discovered.FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell is just starting a vacation when she gets a call from her friend, psychologist Dr. Gwen Patterson. One of Gwen's patients is missing on a trip to Connecticut. Can Maggie look into Joan Begley's disappearance?At first Maggie dismissed Gwen's concern. But when the body of a woman is discovered in an abandoned rock quarry in Connecticut, Maggie heads to the small town on "unofficial" business. Soon the shocking news surfaces that more bodies have been discovered, and Maggie is drawn into a case that confounds both local law enforcement and a seasoned criminal profiler like herself.But where is Joan Begley? Is she in fact the woman discovered buried in the quarry? Or is she the unwilling guest of a killer obsessed with possessing an unimaginable prize from his victims?"
—Louise
