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A review by jonetta
A Necessary Evil by Alex Kava
4.0
FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell finds herself back in Nebraska after a priest is found murdered in the Omaha airport bathroom and it appears he's one of several being murdered around the country. She was pulled away from a case in Washington, D. C. where the heads of three women were found in different locations in the District. Unbeknownst to anyone, Maggie's friend psychologist Gwen Patterson is receiving communications from that killer, who she believes is one of her patients.
Maggie is actually doing quite a bit of profiling in this story, though still not as effectively as she could be. Both cases were initially very puzzling but it didn't take long to figure out who was committing both crimes. Father Michael Keller reappears in this story, finally drawing that storyline to a close. The cases were interesting, even though some of the science was a bit flawed. It was hard to square Gwen's behavior with how a psychologist would realistically have handled the situation, especially given her relationship with law enforcement. It rang hollow for me.
I enjoyed the story for the most part but thought it took too long to develop and the ending was rushed. I think my problem with Maggie is I've read other stories/series involving profilers who are much better skilled than I've seen her perform to date. I just wish the stories would focus more strongly on her as a profiler than all the other personal distractions. My rating, however, reflects my interest in the story and the strength of the secondary characters who made this compelling. 3.5 stars
Maggie is actually doing quite a bit of profiling in this story, though still not as effectively as she could be. Both cases were initially very puzzling but it didn't take long to figure out who was committing both crimes. Father Michael Keller reappears in this story, finally drawing that storyline to a close. The cases were interesting, even though some of the science was a bit flawed. It was hard to square Gwen's behavior with how a psychologist would realistically have handled the situation, especially given her relationship with law enforcement. It rang hollow for me.
I enjoyed the story for the most part but thought it took too long to develop and the ending was rushed. I think my problem with Maggie is I've read other stories/series involving profilers who are much better skilled than I've seen her perform to date. I just wish the stories would focus more strongly on her as a profiler than all the other personal distractions. My rating, however, reflects my interest in the story and the strength of the secondary characters who made this compelling. 3.5 stars