cover image Stranded: A Maggie O’Dell Novel

Stranded: A Maggie O’Dell Novel

Alex Kava. Doubleday, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 978-0-385-53554-0

In bestseller Kava’s 11th hair-raising thriller featuring FBI agent Maggie O’Dell (after 2012’s Fireproof), Maggie and her partner, R.J. Tully, pursue a vicious serial killer who likes to torment his victims before doing them in. The killer appears to haunt interstate truck stops and rest stops, but aside from that meager clue, Maggie and Tully struggle to discern a pattern, even after discovering his barnyard dumping ground in rural Iowa. What’s worse, they don’t realize that the killer may already know all about Maggie. Their search takes them to a lucky but traumatized college student, who barely escaped from the killer with his life, while handsome Ryder Creed and Creed’s trained K-9 dogs also lend their assistance. Kava adds a human touch to the heart-thumping chase, and though sharp-eyed readers may foresee the predictable twists, this won’t take away from their enjoyment. 6-city author tour. (July)