My first experience with this author and I'll definitely be looking for more. Well written and captivating, it rushes from one grisly murder to another. The hunt for a serial killer has the local sheriff and Maggie (an FBI profiler) racing the clock to find him before he kills his next victim.

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FBI Agent Maggie O'Dell finds herself right smack dab in the midst of a quarry full of bodies...and, she's on vacation no less.

Kava makes the characters come alive with details and insights, yet strings you along as you continue to guess first one and then another potential serial killer.

Didn't know that Kava had written other Maggie O'Dell novels. But, now that I do, you can be assured that I will be reading others.

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Such a great book. The Maggie O'Dell series is great! The killer was a surprise (which is always a nice feeling for me) I totally recommend this book to anyone.

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great book

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I had to put some stars up to be able to review AT THE STROKE OF MADNESS, so I said I liked it, but the truth is that I only finished the first well-written chapter and then put the book down as waaaay too scary for me!

From back cover: In the tomblike silence of an abondoned 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 dismisses 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?

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Maggie responds to Dr. Gwen Patterson's request to locate a patient of hers who has disappeared after mentioning a meeting with a friend/love-interest named Sonny. Bodies, or parts of them, begin to show up in a quarry behind the home of Luc Racine, the father of detective Julia Racine and a sufferer of Alzheimers. Maggie has dealt with Julia in the past and is not very fond of her. Anthropologist Adam Bonzado and his students from the university help with the mystery of the the bones, becoming another possibility for a love interest. Appropriately so, there is a reason that butcher paper shows up along with the bodies.

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Good read

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Wonderful book! A real page-turner. Loved it.

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Good book

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It starts out as a favor for a friend. FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell is about to take sone hard-earned vacation time when she receives a call from psychologist Dr. Gwen Patterson. One of Gwens patients is missing--Joan Begley, who was in Connecticut to attend her grandmother's furneral. After leaving a distrubing message on Gwen's voice mail, Joan missen an appointment with Gwen and now her therapist is worried. Can Maggie look into the disappearance? At first Maggie, dismisses Gwen's concern. Soon bodies are being found in fifty-five gallon drums buried in an abandoned rock quarry in Connecticut. Maggie goes on "unofficial" business to see if there's a link between Gwen's missing patient and the murdered woman. Soon Maggie is drawn into a case that confounds both local law enforcement and seasoned crimainal profiler like Maggie. This is certainly the work of a serial killer, but his MO is so varied. But more pressing than a profile of this madman is the question: Where is Joan Begley? Is she the unwilling guest of a killer opbsessed with possessing an unimaginable prize from his victims?

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