81. A Perfect Evil by Alex Kava

#1 Maggie O'Dell
listened on Audible
narrated by Richard Rowan
Unabridged audio (10:42)
originally 2000
480 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 5/20/2020
Goodreads rating:  4.03 - 16,982 ratings
My rating: 2
Setting: contemporary Nebraska

First line/s:  "Nick Morelli wished the woman beneath him wore less makeup."

My comments: I'm going to start with a spoiler:  the murderer gets away with it.  We know who he is and they know who he is, but he is slick and good at his evil.  The book also ends with Albert Stuckey, the horrible, grizzly murderer who had captured Maggie previously, escaping from prison.  Book two will continue with this part of the storyline.  I have no interest in it at all and will not be reading it.  I don't think there is a single character in this book that I liked, other than a little kid who gets kidnapped and whose thoughts we are able to access.  Definitely not a favorite, nor an author I will return to.

Goodreads synopsis:  A killer is watching . . .
          The brutal murders of three young boys paralyze the citizens of Platte City, Nebraska. What's worse is the grim realization that the man recently executed for the crimes was a copycat. When Sheriff Nick Morrelli is called to the scene of another grisly murder, it becomes clear that the real predator is still at large, waiting to kill again.
          Morreli understands the urgency of the case terrorizing his community, but it's the experienced eye of FBI criminal profiler Maggie O'Dell that pinpoints the true nature of the evil behind the killings -- a revelation made all the more horrific when Morrelli's own nephew goes missing.
          Maggie understands something else: the killer is enjoying himself, relishing his ability to stay one step ahead of her, making this case more personal by the hour. Because out there, watching, is a killer with a heart of pure and perfect evil.