Stranded (Maggie O'Dell)
*Starred Review* A serial killer who finds his victims—preferably two at a time—at interstate-highway rest stops takes a shine to FBI Special Agent Maggie O’Dell and starts leaving her clues. A map left in Maggie’s burned-down house in the Washington, D.C., area sends her, with partner R. J. Tully, to a deserted farm in Sioux City, Iowa. Here, with the help of Ryder Creed’s cadaver-hunting dog, they find one of the killer’s prime dumping grounds, as the perpetrator himself watches. Then comes a clue from Manhattan, Kansas, where a college student who survived the killer is terrorized by his memory of his best friend being savagely murdered and threats of what could happen to him. In her eleventh Maggie O’Dell entry, Kava shows mastery in constructing a plot with nonstop action, covering a time span of just over a week, with suspense rising to a nearly unbearable level in a climax in the Florida backwaters. Maggie is indomitable—slogging through mud or water in search of clues and perps, inured to the sight of decapitated or eviserated bodies, cool in facing a canny killer—with a loyal supporting cast and hints of a new romantic interest. Prime escapism for thriller fans with strong stomachs. --Michele Leber