What do you think?
Rate this book
Maggie O'Dell #5
Zło konieczne
W wielu miejscach Ameryki prawie w tym samym czasie giną katoliccy księża. Niemal identyczny scenariusz rytualnych zbrodni wskazuje na jednego sprawcę. Maggie ODell, specjalistka od portretów psychologicznych seryjnych morderców, znów prowadzi dochodzenie. Poszlaki wskazują na to, że zamordowani księża za życia skrzywdzili wielu młodych mężczyzn. Jednak Maggie nie wie, że ofiary księży od pewnego czasu kontaktowały się ze sobą na specjalnym forum internetowym, planując zemstę. Tymczasem w życiu Maggie ponownie zjawia się ksiądz Keller. Podejrzany o potworne zbrodnie wymknął się wymiarowi sprawiedliwości. Teraz jemu ktoś grozi śmiercią. Ksiądz proponuje Maggie układ: w zamian za osobistą nietykalność pomoże schwytać seryjnego zabójcę.
512 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2004
253 people are currently reading
3475 people want to read
About the author
Alex Kava
51 books2,586 followersALEX KAVA IS A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR of the critically acclaimed Maggie O’Dell series and a new series featuring former Marine, Ryder Creed and his K9 dogs. Her stand-alone novel, One False Move, was the 2006 One Book One Nebraska. Published in over thirty countries, Kava’s novels have made the bestseller lists in the UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, Italy and Poland. Her novel Stranded was awarded both a Florida Book Award and the Nebraska Book Award. She is a member of the Nebraska Writers Guild and International Thriller Writers. Kava divides her time between Omaha, Nebraska and Pensacola, Florida.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 334 reviews
May 2, 2016
Number five in the series and I still cannot bump it up to four stars although it was close! The final part of the book was very exciting and I felt only good thoughts as I closed my iPad on it. But then I considered the earlier parts of the book which still contained all the things I do not like about this series. Maggie is still only marginally competent. Characters from previous books came back and were as hopeless as the first time around. And then the random coincidences which were used to pull all these unrelated people into the same place at the same time were totally unbelievable. And don't get me started on the over use of maggots and hot tea (not together though!). Sorry. Did not mean to rant. It is actually very readable, a pretty good story and exciting in parts.
May 16, 2016
FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell finds herself back in Nebraska after a priest is found murdered in the Omaha airport bathroom and it appears he's one of several being murdered around the country. She was pulled away from a case in Washington, D. C. where the heads of three women were found in different locations in the District. Unbeknownst to anyone, Maggie's friend psychologist Gwen Patterson is receiving communications from that killer, who she believes is one of her patients.
Maggie is actually doing quite a bit of profiling in this story, though still not as effectively as she could be. Both cases were initially very puzzling but it didn't take long to figure out who was committing both crimes. Father Michael Keller reappears in this story, finally drawing that storyline to a close. The cases were interesting, even though some of the science was a bit flawed. It was hard to square Gwen's behavior with how a psychologist would realistically have handled the situation, especially given her relationship with law enforcement. It rang hollow for me.
I enjoyed the story for the most part but thought it took too long to develop and the ending was rushed. I think my problem with Maggie is I've read other stories/series involving profilers who are much better skilled than I've seen her perform to date. I just wish the stories would focus more strongly on her as a profiler than all the other personal distractions. My rating, however, reflects my interest in the story and the strength of the secondary characters who made this compelling. 3.5 stars
Maggie is actually doing quite a bit of profiling in this story, though still not as effectively as she could be. Both cases were initially very puzzling but it didn't take long to figure out who was committing both crimes. Father Michael Keller reappears in this story, finally drawing that storyline to a close. The cases were interesting, even though some of the science was a bit flawed. It was hard to square Gwen's behavior with how a psychologist would realistically have handled the situation, especially given her relationship with law enforcement. It rang hollow for me.
I enjoyed the story for the most part but thought it took too long to develop and the ending was rushed. I think my problem with Maggie is I've read other stories/series involving profilers who are much better skilled than I've seen her perform to date. I just wish the stories would focus more strongly on her as a profiler than all the other personal distractions. My rating, however, reflects my interest in the story and the strength of the secondary characters who made this compelling. 3.5 stars
June 2, 2017
This was the best book in the series, up to date.
It was fast paced and intriguing, always keeping you turning the pages.
A good ending to the story that started in A Perfect Evil.
I will suggest only reading this book if you've read the previous books in the series, otherwise you will be lost and end up giving bad reviews.
It was fast paced and intriguing, always keeping you turning the pages.
A good ending to the story that started in A Perfect Evil.
I will suggest only reading this book if you've read the previous books in the series, otherwise you will be lost and end up giving bad reviews.
December 3, 2016
FBI profiler, Maggie O'Dell is back in the 5th book of this series.
Maggie is working on two cases that seem linked with each other....in DC, priests are being killed and in Omaha, women's heads are being discovered.
With the help of her friend, mentor and psychologists, Gwen Patterson and Detective Julia Racine, they begin searching for the connection between two different killers, which they believe is linked to a Internet computer game where young abused victims can kill the priests that abused them.
The killers are wicked and scary characters and Father Michael Keller, a serial killer, who was introduced in A Perfect Evil, comes back and offers to help Maggie if she helps him vanish to avoid being killed.
The two sub-plots move between each other at a fast pace and reach an exhilarating conclusion.
We get a look into Maggie's personal life, which I am really enjoying.
A must read.
Maggie is working on two cases that seem linked with each other....in DC, priests are being killed and in Omaha, women's heads are being discovered.
With the help of her friend, mentor and psychologists, Gwen Patterson and Detective Julia Racine, they begin searching for the connection between two different killers, which they believe is linked to a Internet computer game where young abused victims can kill the priests that abused them.
The killers are wicked and scary characters and Father Michael Keller, a serial killer, who was introduced in A Perfect Evil, comes back and offers to help Maggie if she helps him vanish to avoid being killed.
The two sub-plots move between each other at a fast pace and reach an exhilarating conclusion.
We get a look into Maggie's personal life, which I am really enjoying.
A must read.
June 10, 2020
My favorite Kava book so far. Finally wrapping up the Father Keller story in a very satisfying way, she still left plenty to continue with in the next O’Dell book.
This one was a little tricky but came into focus after the mid-point. The two cases folded nicely into one, but not too obviously. The subject matter being still too current today, no matter what those in the churches corner tell us. Kava developed a believable story of evil. Too believable actually.
These O’Dell books are excellent. I think it would be better if I don’t wait as long for the next one this time around. Another series I highly recommend.
This one was a little tricky but came into focus after the mid-point. The two cases folded nicely into one, but not too obviously. The subject matter being still too current today, no matter what those in the churches corner tell us. Kava developed a believable story of evil. Too believable actually.
These O’Dell books are excellent. I think it would be better if I don’t wait as long for the next one this time around. Another series I highly recommend.
July 23, 2008
As the killing spree continues unabated, it becomes clear to Maggie O'Dell—the FBI profiler assigned to the case—that more than one perpetrator is responsible. As she begins to drill down into the facts, Maggie discovers a disturbing Internet role-playing game for youths who have been victims of male authority figures—including Catholic priests.
With the first real lead in the investigation, Maggie wonders if this group has turned cyberspace justice into reality by dispensing their own brand of vengeance. As the ritualistic killings leave America's heartland reeling, Maggie gets a second lead—one that leaves her stunned.
For the past four years she has been driven by blind determination to find Father Michael Keller, the human monster whose acts of brutality continue to haunt her to this day. Sick and twisted, the priest seems to have vanished without a trace. But with an irony that only life can offer, now he has become a target.
When Keller offers to help Maggie solve the crimes in exchange for protection, she has no choice but to ally herself with the elusive child killer—the person she despises with a conviction that's almost religious in its fervor. Maggie must cross a dangerous line into a world of malevolence and evil from which she may not return unscathed. Maggie knows the bargain is a necessary evil…one that may be made in blood...
Alex Kava seems back in top form with her latest Maggie O'Dell novel. I'ts weird but here she brings back a lot of characters and some of the themes of her first book which had been my favorite - Nick Morrelli is back and so is Father Michael Keller. Child abuse is the main theme of the story and what motivates a series of murders of priests in several states.
Maggie is already involved in a case about young women being murdered when she is called to a case of a murdered bishop about which Nick Morreli's best friend may know something. Maggie and the police have a hard time discovering what is going on till her old nemesis Father Keller contacts her with the offer of giving her evidence if she will get him an antidote for the poison he has been given.
Unbeknownst to the detectives an online game computer played by invitation only has been made known to several people who suffered abuse at the hads of priest and who are invited to kill online the person who abused them but the truth is that those nominated start to die, killed by The Sin Eater.
There´s more suspense in the story than is previous books. The murderer is forever contacting Maggie's good friend Gwen (btw where's Tully) and leaving her clues about what was going to happen. Also soon it seems obvious that not all the murders can have been commited by the same person.
Much against her personal beliefs Maggie is forced to accept the deal with Father Keller but in the end was that a necessary evil? And can some murders be considered that one wonders from the ending presented...
Grade: B+
With the first real lead in the investigation, Maggie wonders if this group has turned cyberspace justice into reality by dispensing their own brand of vengeance. As the ritualistic killings leave America's heartland reeling, Maggie gets a second lead—one that leaves her stunned.
For the past four years she has been driven by blind determination to find Father Michael Keller, the human monster whose acts of brutality continue to haunt her to this day. Sick and twisted, the priest seems to have vanished without a trace. But with an irony that only life can offer, now he has become a target.
When Keller offers to help Maggie solve the crimes in exchange for protection, she has no choice but to ally herself with the elusive child killer—the person she despises with a conviction that's almost religious in its fervor. Maggie must cross a dangerous line into a world of malevolence and evil from which she may not return unscathed. Maggie knows the bargain is a necessary evil…one that may be made in blood...
Alex Kava seems back in top form with her latest Maggie O'Dell novel. I'ts weird but here she brings back a lot of characters and some of the themes of her first book which had been my favorite - Nick Morrelli is back and so is Father Michael Keller. Child abuse is the main theme of the story and what motivates a series of murders of priests in several states.
Maggie is already involved in a case about young women being murdered when she is called to a case of a murdered bishop about which Nick Morreli's best friend may know something. Maggie and the police have a hard time discovering what is going on till her old nemesis Father Keller contacts her with the offer of giving her evidence if she will get him an antidote for the poison he has been given.
Unbeknownst to the detectives an online game computer played by invitation only has been made known to several people who suffered abuse at the hads of priest and who are invited to kill online the person who abused them but the truth is that those nominated start to die, killed by The Sin Eater.
There´s more suspense in the story than is previous books. The murderer is forever contacting Maggie's good friend Gwen (btw where's Tully) and leaving her clues about what was going to happen. Also soon it seems obvious that not all the murders can have been commited by the same person.
Much against her personal beliefs Maggie is forced to accept the deal with Father Keller but in the end was that a necessary evil? And can some murders be considered that one wonders from the ending presented...
Grade: B+
November 28, 2013
Well, what an adventure this book is. Fairly fast paced, twists turns, red herrings (Elvan's term), and surprises left, right and center!
Alex Kava is moving right up there in being a favourite!
I don't want to say a whole lot about this book for those of you that haven't read it yet - just, hurry up and read it. It is so worth it!
2 thumbs up and 5 stars for making me think and puzzle things out and look over my shoulder at times :)
Onto "Exposed" #6 in the Maggie O'Dell series!
Alex Kava is moving right up there in being a favourite!
I don't want to say a whole lot about this book for those of you that haven't read it yet - just, hurry up and read it. It is so worth it!
2 thumbs up and 5 stars for making me think and puzzle things out and look over my shoulder at times :)
Onto "Exposed" #6 in the Maggie O'Dell series!
February 12, 2011
Profiler Maggie O'Dell is working two cases, one in DC where they are finding women's heads and another that is killing priests. Not to mention her friend Gwen is caught up in the situation as well.
Really enjoyed the story even though I figured the Priest Killer out pretty early. There were some nice twists.
Really enjoyed the story even though I figured the Priest Killer out pretty early. There were some nice twists.
August 4, 2015
WOW! Loved it!
December 17, 2013
Oh good grief. I might as well retire my less than shiny super sleuth badge after reading A Necessary Evil. I have to give her credit,
Kava dragged me around by the nose and I still didn't see the true killer until the last couple of pages.
After stopping and starting and not giving this book it's due until the 70% mark, I am glad I picked up the pace to enjoy the roller coaster ending. Good job on Kava's part responding to her fan requests to deal with the Father Keller storyline from book #1. I also enjoyed more page time from Racine and Gwen. Good read.
Kava dragged me around by the nose and I still didn't see the true killer until the last couple of pages.
After stopping and starting and not giving this book it's due until the 70% mark, I am glad I picked up the pace to enjoy the roller coaster ending. Good job on Kava's part responding to her fan requests to deal with the Father Keller storyline from book #1. I also enjoyed more page time from Racine and Gwen. Good read.
March 27, 2024
I enjoy these books but the story just ends. It needs more work to wrap the story line into a conclusion.
August 4, 2015
This was a great installment in the Maggie O'Dell series. I was very pleased with the way everything played out in this one, and I thought the resolution was appropriate. Maggie was great, as usual, and I really liked the way she worked with the Omaha detective, Pakula. I did miss Tully, and I hope to see him in the next book. I thought this book had a strong storyline, and it was sure a difficult one to put down.
April 15, 2014
I admit, I struggled through this book. For me, the story jumped around too much, I never knew which character was talking at the onset of the chapters because all you were given was a date and time. Nothing clear about most of it and I was spending more time on figuring out who was talking then enjoying what was going on. All very distracting. Even the ending was "blah."
February 11, 2018
Book #5 in Maggie O'Dell series. I have not read this series is awhile. I always wonder what takes me so long to get around to reading them. Such a great series. The plots are always excellent, and I love Maggie. Hope to get to the next one soon. 5 stars
September 21, 2015
A female FBI agent/profiler - a ritualistic serial killer of priests. Not a bad book by any means, but it has been done before. I did not find anything in this that lead me to follow Maggie O'Dell.
April 22, 2019
2.5 .... it was a bit of a chore to get through ... it felt so much longer than it should have been ... it was Ok .. not bad enough to give to on but took me longer than usual on a book .
December 13, 2020
I am not disappointed at all. Good book. I didn’t expect the end of the book🙊 But I must admit that the end is pretty rewarding. There could be more ‘things’ between Nick and Maggie and that’s why I am quiet unsatisfied.
October 11, 2022
Geht ähnlich unter die Haut wie Teil 1(?), da es wieder um missbrauchte Kinder geht. Es ist spannend, leicht verworren und am Ende fließt doch alles zusammen.
Ich shippe Maggie und Nick nachwievor, da kann der Prof einpacken. Bitte mehr!
Ich shippe Maggie und Nick nachwievor, da kann der Prof einpacken. Bitte mehr!
July 3, 2017
Distasteful theme well handled. Some minute facts could've been answered but plot moved on (better than stalling or lagging). Interesting read. Well narrated.
August 3, 2015
Another good entry into this series.
Once again the past comes back to haunt Maggie. I thought she did a good job with not letting things get to her too much. There were times she showed great restraint by only punching people in the nose and not killing them. I especially liked the choice that Maggie made at the end.
I think I may be off a bit, because I didn't feel sorry for most of the people that got killed. The men deserved what they got, it was just punishment. I also was glad that the Sineater wasn't found. Learning what we did about the person I have a feeling their words were true at the end.
With all that happened in this one there are bound to be some shake-ups coming. I want to see what happens in Maggie's personal life, how Gwen copes with her role in things and what happened to her.
Once again the past comes back to haunt Maggie. I thought she did a good job with not letting things get to her too much. There were times she showed great restraint by only punching people in the nose and not killing them. I especially liked the choice that Maggie made at the end.
I think I may be off a bit, because I didn't feel sorry for most of the people that got killed. The men deserved what they got, it was just punishment. I also was glad that the Sineater wasn't found. Learning what we did about the person I have a feeling their words were true at the end.
With all that happened in this one there are bound to be some shake-ups coming. I want to see what happens in Maggie's personal life, how Gwen copes with her role in things and what happened to her.
May 29, 2016
3 stars. I liked it well enough. Maggie still doesn't dazzle me much with her FBI skills, and I'm hoping that can change at some point in the series.
October 21, 2020
Heel goed boek!
November 19, 2019
A solid mystery, just missing a spark to turn it into a five star read.
The author did a great job of connecting all the plot points and characters, and the murderer had a satisfying identity and motive for the priest killings, but there was way too much time spent on romance and Maggie’s failings to make the book truly memorable.
If the author wants to add romance, fine, but to add it randomly in the middle, ruining the thrilling climax, and then IGNORING the romance in the ending just left an unfinished, bad taste in my mouth.
Maggie just came across as stupid. She couldn’t prove Keller was a murderer, again. She didn’t make an arrest for the priest killings, despite knowing who the murderer was.
And then the second murder mystery involving Maggie’s friend Gwen had an even more unsatisfying end. Especially since they used this murderer to solve both mysteries since the guy killed himself.
So no one did any police work. No one made any arrests. Really what was the point of either investigation? The guy just killed himself and solved it for them.
Spoilers—
We get confirmation that Keller killed the other boys but his sections had such a naive and innocent narration that he didn’t seem evil at all.
Turns out the nun was killing the child-loving priests. This was a GREAT plot line. Too bad not much time was dedicated to it and more time was dedicated to Maggie’s horrible love life.
Gwen is a horrible psychologist. She had no idea the guy who was raped by priests as a boy had an inner rage? How could she have missed that?
And is Maggie going to stop Nicks wedding now? Or is she just going to sit in her room and drink tea? Ugh.
The author did a great job of connecting all the plot points and characters, and the murderer had a satisfying identity and motive for the priest killings, but there was way too much time spent on romance and Maggie’s failings to make the book truly memorable.
If the author wants to add romance, fine, but to add it randomly in the middle, ruining the thrilling climax, and then IGNORING the romance in the ending just left an unfinished, bad taste in my mouth.
Maggie just came across as stupid. She couldn’t prove Keller was a murderer, again. She didn’t make an arrest for the priest killings, despite knowing who the murderer was.
And then the second murder mystery involving Maggie’s friend Gwen had an even more unsatisfying end. Especially since they used this murderer to solve both mysteries since the guy killed himself.
So no one did any police work. No one made any arrests. Really what was the point of either investigation? The guy just killed himself and solved it for them.
Spoilers—
We get confirmation that Keller killed the other boys but his sections had such a naive and innocent narration that he didn’t seem evil at all.
Turns out the nun was killing the child-loving priests. This was a GREAT plot line. Too bad not much time was dedicated to it and more time was dedicated to Maggie’s horrible love life.
Gwen is a horrible psychologist. She had no idea the guy who was raped by priests as a boy had an inner rage? How could she have missed that?
And is Maggie going to stop Nicks wedding now? Or is she just going to sit in her room and drink tea? Ugh.
July 10, 2017
Several young boys, abused by priests are contacted through the internet to partake in a game - to play the game you have to submit the name of your priest, and you cannot talk about it...
Maggie O'Dell is a FBI Profiler investigating a possible serial killer that leaves only the heads of he's victims for the FBI to find. At the same time she's called in to assist on what seems to be a serial killer or multiple killers publically killing Catholic priests.
I found the plot very interesting and had a good feeling about the ending and the book in general once I finished it.
However, the build up was very slow and because I came in halfway in the series, had to find my feet with some of the characters first. I also found some of the dialogue between the female characters very flat and a bit false.
That said, I still really enjoyed this and will make time to catch up on the other books in the series.
Maggie O'Dell is a FBI Profiler investigating a possible serial killer that leaves only the heads of he's victims for the FBI to find. At the same time she's called in to assist on what seems to be a serial killer or multiple killers publically killing Catholic priests.
I found the plot very interesting and had a good feeling about the ending and the book in general once I finished it.
However, the build up was very slow and because I came in halfway in the series, had to find my feet with some of the characters first. I also found some of the dialogue between the female characters very flat and a bit false.
That said, I still really enjoyed this and will make time to catch up on the other books in the series.
September 28, 2025
4.3
Ogólnie bardzo dobra, dająca do myślenia, zwłaszcza zakończenie, które było dosyć filozoficzne. Mogłaby być dłuższa o jeden rozdział, żeby mieć całkowitą pewnosc co do końca, chociaż pewnie było to zamierzone, żeby móc ewentualnie wrócić do bohaterów.
Osobiście nie lubie, kiedy Kościół/księża grają dużą rolę w fabule, więc mimo że było to świetnie zrobione, przez zwłaszcza pierwszą połowę męczyłam się, czytając to.
Moje wszystkie podejrzenia były słuszne.
Ogólnie bardzo dobra, dająca do myślenia, zwłaszcza zakończenie, które było dosyć filozoficzne. Mogłaby być dłuższa o jeden rozdział, żeby mieć całkowitą pewnosc co do końca, chociaż pewnie było to zamierzone, żeby móc ewentualnie wrócić do bohaterów.
Osobiście nie lubie, kiedy Kościół/księża grają dużą rolę w fabule, więc mimo że było to świetnie zrobione, przez zwłaszcza pierwszą połowę męczyłam się, czytając to.
Moje wszystkie podejrzenia były słuszne.
Read
July 13, 2019I am not rating this because it's on me, not the book, that I borrowed #5 in the series before reading 1-4. So I was a tad confused. Actually I thought I was borrowing #2 which I thought I would be able to handle. Anyway aside from that, it was also an abridged edition so who knows what was left out. Confusion reigned.
I do have to say, though, that I loved how it ended with Maggie making a momentous, shocking decision about the killer. It was a great addition to my morning commute.
I do have to say, though, that I loved how it ended with Maggie making a momentous, shocking decision about the killer. It was a great addition to my morning commute.
August 17, 2018
Better than the previous part, although hints to the end you find in the middle. I like detective O'Dell even more for being a human being, not a crystal clear hero. And of course killer killing pedophiles - that's an interesting issue.
July 25, 2023
3/5
Przeczytana praktycznie na raz. Całkiem w porządku. Maggie w tej części jakoś bardziej jak ona.
Przeczytana praktycznie na raz. Całkiem w porządku. Maggie w tej części jakoś bardziej jak ona.
March 13, 2025
The ending had me grinning like the Cheshire Cat!! Loved it!
October 2, 2023
Oooh! This was a nail biter!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 334 reviews