At the Stroke of Madness (MIRA)

by Alex Kava | Mystery & Thrillers |
ISBN: 0778320553 Global Overview for this book
Registered by vavoice of Glen Allen, Virginia USA on 2/26/2005
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3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by vavoice from Glen Allen, Virginia USA on Saturday, February 26, 2005
Product Description:

In the tomblike silence of an abandoned rock quarry someone is trying to hide their dirty little secret. A secret that reveals the depths of human depravity. A secret that is about to be discovered.
FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell is just starting a hard-earned 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 buried in an abandoned rock quarry in Connecticut, Maggie heads to the small town on "unofficial" business to see if there's a connection to Joan Begley. Soon the shocking news surfaces that more bodies have been discovered. And before she realizes it, Maggie is drawn into a case that confounds both local law enforcement and a seasoned criminal profiler like herself.

The question remains: 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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I'm adding this book to Tribefan's No-Romance Bookbox. Happy Reading!

Journal Entry 2 by vavoice from Glen Allen, Virginia USA on Saturday, February 26, 2005
Pre-numbered label used for registration.

Journal Entry 3 by Pyan from Menasha, Wisconsin USA on Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Removing from Tribefan's No Romance Misc. Bookbox.

Journal Entry 4 by Pyan from Menasha, Wisconsin USA on Thursday, March 31, 2005
I found this this a bit too gruesome for my taste though the story was very fast-paced and suspenseful. If it weren't so gory, I'd probably have enjoyed it more & given it a higher rating.

Description from Publisher's Weekly:

The fourth novel in the Maggie O'Dell series (A Perfect Evil; Split Second; Soul Catcher) features a serial killer with a taste for grisly butchery.

At the outset of a long overdue vacation, FBI special agent O'Dell agrees to investigate a simple missing person case for her good friend, psychologist Gwen Patterson. Coincidentally, in the quiet Connecticut small town where Gwen's patient was last seen, a barrel containing a dead body is discovered in an abandoned rock quarry.

Maggie offers her services to the local sheriff because she needs to rule out the possibility that the victim is Gwen's patient. Professor Adam Bonzado, a forensic anthropologist and friend of the sheriff, is already at work; a dozen or more 55-gallon barrels have surfaced. As they're pried open, releasing the telltale nauseating stench, an odd assortment of cannibalized victims come to light, including a female breast cancer survivor -her breast implants cut out and removed - and an embalmed corpse, brain missing.

Chapters narrated from the point of view of Gwen's missing patient (she's alive but in dire straits) and the paranoid killer alternate with accounts of the tedious work of the coroner and the anthropologist.

As Maggie processes the information they provide, she also ministers to elderly but endearing Luc Racine, who lives near the quarry. His Jack Russell terrier keeps bringing him human bones, but since Luc is fighting Alzheimer's he may or may not be a viable witness.


Journal Entry 5 by Pyan at Book Relay in Book Relay, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases on Monday, April 25, 2005

Released 18 yrs ago (4/27/2005 UTC) at Book Relay in Book Relay, A Book Relay -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Will be sending out on 4/27/05 to awakeagain who accepted on the relay site.

Journal Entry 6 by awakeagain from Port Murray, New Jersey USA on Friday, May 6, 2005
Rec'd as a BookRelay request

Journal Entry 7 by awakeagain from Port Murray, New Jersey USA on Friday, May 13, 2005
Excellent thriller.

Released 18 yrs ago (5/13/2005 UTC) at Police Academy, 500 W. Hanover Road in Parsippany, New Jersey USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

Near the water fountain on the first floor.

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