Exposed (2008)

Exposed
4 Stars

Synopsis:
An act of terrorism or a personal vendetta…
On a seemingly routine morning at the FBI behavioral sciences unit, agent Maggie O’Dell and her superior find a threat hidden in the doughnut box and are subsequently exposed to a deadly virus. Is this the work of a fanatic or someone with a grudge? How many will die before Maggie and her partner uncover the truth?

Review:
A thrilling premise delivered with style. A little different from the other books in the series, Exposure is more of a medical thriller than a serial killer novel. The plot is reminiscent of the 1995 film “Outbreak” with Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Rene Russo in which a diseased monkey is smuggled into the US and ends up infecting a small town.

Characterization is definitely Kava's strong suit and she doesn't disappoint with the revelations about Tully's past. Maggie, on the other hand, is still a strong and intelligent heroine but does not seem able to learn from her mistakes either personally or professionally. The secondary characters are also well-developed and clever hints are included in the details so that the careful reader can work out the nature of the threat and the identity of the villain, whose motivation turns out to be very intriguing.

In general, the book is well written and I particularly enjoyed the true crime trivia interspersed throughout. Nevertheless, there are moments, particularly in the first half, where the plot lags and the suspense is lacking; it ultimately picks up and progresses rapidly in the second half and from then on becomes “unputdownable”. It must be noted that the story relies heavily on information provided in earlier installments and as such this is not the book to read if you are new to the Maggie O’Dell series.

The surprises in this book should make the next one even more interesting. ( )

A good quick read, but could have been better. ( )

Maggie O’Dell is an FBI profiler caught up in a home-grown terrorist attack. While following a lead placed in a box of donuts, Maggie and her supervisor are exposed to an unknown virus and quarantined. Although she has yet to feel any symptoms, one of the victim’s dies. Maggie is able to follow leads through a laptop she is given and notices similarities to the names of the victims and the names from previous unsolved cases. She realizes someone is playing with the FBI and it is someone close to the previous cases. There are some characters I wasn’t familiar with since I have missed a couple of the books in the series. But the plot moves pretty quickly, reminiscent of the movie OUTBREAK. An enjoyable thriller. ( )

This book is every bit as good as Kava gets. Psychological thriller!!!
People are getting mysterious packages of money in the mail. And then are exposed to a nasty....(I'll leave that for the book)
I love the Maggie O'Dell books. The characters are well defined. Kava gives the reader just enough clues that you can almost figure it out. After she reveals the conclusion, I like to re-read it and see how the clues are all there if I was just smart enough to put them together.
Can't wait until I get her next book ( )

First book by this author that I have read. I really liked it a lot. Just enough twists and turns to keep me involved. I found myself neglecting the housework in order to find out what was going to happen next. Will be looking for the rest of the books in this series for sure. ( )