When a senator's daughter is murdered at a religious revival in Washington, FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell, a criminal profiler, and R.J. Tully, her partner, suspect that it's the work of a serial killer. They soon discover that the girl's murder is connected to the suicides of five young men during a Waco-like standoff in a rural Massachusetts cabin--even if they're not sure how. But then Maggie learns that the minister who seems to have turned her alcoholic mother's life around and Revered Joseph Everett, the charismatic sect leader whose followers died in the standoff, are the same person, and he may have drawn her into his deadly web to get at Maggie herself. Is the serial killer one of Everett's acolytes--and will Tully's daughter and Maggie be his next victims? Kava's third thriller (after Split Second and A Perfect Evil) showcases her gifts of pacing, plotting, and characterization; Maggie O'Dell is a smart, likable protagonist. She and Tully deserve a return engagement.

to be read