By Alex Kava
Ah, those toxic relationships. So difficult to end one tactfully, especially when the other party is a serial killer who sends body parts instead of bouquets. That, in essence, is the dilemma faced by beautiful FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell in Kava's sophomore thriller, a sequel to A Perfect Evil. Although the book bears an obvious resemblance to The Silence of the Lambs, Kava's killer, Albert Stucky, is less sophisticated than "Hannibal the Cannibal" Lecter and, if anything, bloodier. Maggie O'Dell has the psychological and physical scars of their last encounter as proof and knows that the only way to stick it to Stucky is to catch him herself.
There are some nice touches, such as Stucky's habit of leaving neatly packaged organs along with his victims. But we never figure out why Maggie, who seems more like Damsel in Distress model 3.0 than a gifted profiler, is the target of Stucky's obsession. After a while it's hard to care. (MIRA, $22.95)
Bottom Line: Silence of the lame
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