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Fiction. Thriller. HTML: The brutal murders of three young boys paralyze the citizens of Platte City, Nebraska. What's worse is the grim realization that the man recently executed for the crimes was a copycat. When Sheriff Nick Morrelli is called to the scene of another grisly murder, it becomes clear that the real predator is still at large, waiting to kill again. Morrelli understands the urgency of the case terrorizing his community, but it's the experienced eye of FBI criminal profiler Maggie O'Dell that pinpoints the true nature of the evil behind the killings--a revelation made all the more horrific when Morrelli's own nephew goes missing. Maggie understands something else: the killer is enjoying himself, relishing his ability to stay one step ahead of her, making this case more personal by the hour. Because out there, watching, is a killer with a heart of pure and perfect evil..… (more)
User reviews
The story is set in the close-knit community of Platte City in Nebraska. A killer has been executed, convicted of killing 3 people in a most horrific manner. He knew the truth but no one would listen. Maggie O'Dell is called in 3 months later when a body turned up killed in the same style as executed Jeffreys' victims.
A kidnap, another victim and more people discovering the truth - where does it end? A fabulous plot and great writing from Kava. I will certainly be looking out for her other books.
A Perfect Evil is a thriller that begins when a young boy is found murdered after he had gone missing a few days earlier. The murder is eerily similar to a couple of previous killings with the problem being that the convicted murderer for those crimes has been recently executed. The question remains if the police have a copycat killer on their hands. And then another boy goes missing....
I'm going to admit that at first I didn't think that I was going to like this book. As a parent it is never easy for me to read books where the crimes being perpetrated are against children. Plus, the author isn't afraid to share all of the gory details that went along with the killings and I started to pull away a bit as a reader. The saving grace of the book for me was Maggie O'Dell and Sheriff Nick Morrelli. Both main characters came across so realistically to me and both were flawed. I loved that! I found it all too easy to connect with both of the main characters which is always a positive in my opinion. I found that for me these two made the book. I loved the chemistry that developed between them, I appreciated the obstacles that they were up against, and I cannot wait to see what future books have in store for them. Because nothing in this book was easy to figure out including the mystery itself. And just when I thought that it was done and everything was figured out, I realized that there was more. And maybe even a little more after that. Let me tell you that these twists and turns really had me turning the pages. I've already mentioned the ending but it bears repeating that the ending left me wanting. I'm so eager to continue on that I'm already planning on grabbing the 2nd book when I visit the used bookstore next time. Or if I decide I can't wait until then a library trip will be in order.
Overall, this was a very solid thriller that was made better because of the main characters. I liked that the author didn't give us all of the answers, and I found that it just made me more curious about future books. My only warning before recommending this book is the violence against children issue. If you are squeamish at all (and I was at times) when it comes to this, then you might not enjoy this book as much as I did. I was able to get past it though mainly because of my curiosity and connection to the characters. Otherwise, highly recommended!
Bottom Line: A thriller that made me wish I had book 2 instantly!
Disclosure: I bought my copy of this book from the used bookstore. I just passed it on to my Mom because I thought it was that good :)
The book is fast-paced with enough details to keep the story moving quickly along. Both Maggie and Nick have their own physical and emotional scars. If you're a fan of “serial killer tracked by the FBI” there's not much new here, but the characters are interesting enough for me to try the second book in the series,Split Second, which supposedly picks right up after this one and deals with Maggie's back story.
The main characters are outlined well and there are hints of an underlying story that is still to come.
O’Dell is a profiler who assists in the identification and apprehension of violent criminals and, specifically, serial killers. She is assigned to assist a Nebraska county sheriff in solving the murder of a young boy. O’Dell quickly determines that the murderer had earlier killed two young boys whose deaths were mistakenly attributed to another person. Soon another boy is abducted and murdered, and O’Dell begins to develop romantic feelings for the sheriff while helping him investigate. The situation becomes dire when the sheriff’s nephew is abducted. O’Dell has personally met young Timmy, making the search more personal than in past cases.
Series writers often repeat plot elements and over time they become predictable, boring, and irritating. For example, Sara Paretky’s novels come to mind as a series in which sleep deprivation is evoked repeatedly as a ploy for increasing tension.
In the preceding novel in this series O’Dell was captured by the serial killer and slashed with a knife. The same thing happened to her in this novel. The likelihood is high that Kava will repeat this and other dramatic elements from her previous books in her next book—“A Necessary Evil.” The two-chapter teaser published at the end of this book strongly hints that O’Dell and the sheriff failed to apprehended the actual killer and that he escaped to Venezuela. Furthermore, in this book O’Dell has nightmares as a result of her capture in the preceding book and in a concluding plot twist the serial killer who is the cause of O’Dell’s nightmares escaped from prison.
I was also troubled by one element of “A Perfect Evil” that did not ring true. The county sheriff is a former star University of Nebraska quarterback. He received expressions of interest from NFL teams, but chose to obtain a law degree from Harvard University Law School. However, Kava portrays him as lacking self-confidence and unable to handle criticism. Nonsense. Successful quarterbacks at Power Five universities rank high in self-confidence and the ability to perform effectively despite criticism.
It is perhaps too early to draw comparisons based on a single novel, but I am struck by the similarity of this work to that of Tami Hoag, one of my favorite writers. Several of Hoag’s plots revolve around efforts to identify and apprehend a serial killer, but Hoag manages to bring a fresh approach to each situation. Hopefully, Kava will not fall into a rut and repeat herself in book after book.
The book is fast-paced with enough details to keep the story moving quickly along. Both Maggie and Nick have their own physical and emotional scars. If you're a fan of books feTuring serial killer tracked by the FBI there's not much new here. I did think the characters are interesting enough for me to try the second book in the series,Split Second, which supposedly picks right up after this one and deals with Maggie's back story.