Black Friday
By Alex Kava
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
On the busiest shopping day of the year, a group of idealistic college students believe they're about to carry out an elaborate media stunt at the largest mall in America. They think the equipment in their backpacks will disrupt stores' computer systems, causing delays and chaos, disrupting capitalism, if only for a moment.
What they don't realize is that instead of jamming devices, their backpacks contain explosives. And they're about to become unwitting suicide bombers.
FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell must put her own political troubles aside to work with Nick Morrelli and figure out who's behind this terrorist plot—a massacre that's all the more frightening when a tip reveals that Maggie's brother is one of the doomed protestors.
Alex Kava
ALEX KAVA GREW UP IN THE COUNTRY outside Silver Creek, Nebraska. She earned a bachelor's degree in art and English from College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska. She has done a variety of jobs, from working as a hospital tech, cleaning and sterilizing utensils from surgery, pathology and the morgue, to running her own graphic design firm, designing national food labels and directing television and radio commercials. IN 1996 SHE QUIT HER JOB as a public relations director to dedicate herself to writing a novel and getting published. To pay the bills, she refinanced her home, maxed out her credit cards and even took on a newspaper delivery route. TODAY, ALEX IS A NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR of psychological suspense novels. Her Maggie O'Dell series, comprised of A Perfect Evil, Split Second, The Soul Catcher, At the Stroke of Madness, A Necessary Evil, Exposed and Black Friday along with her stand-alone novels, One False Move and Whitewash, have been widely praised by critics and fans. They have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her books have been published in twenty-four countries and have hit the bestseller lists in Australia, Germany, Poland, Italy and the UK. She is also one of the featured writers in the anthology Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night, edited by James Patterson. ONE FALSE MOVE WAS SELECTED AS Nebraska's 2006 One Book One Nebraska. (My Antonia by Willa Cather was the 2005 selection). In 2007 Alex was awarded the Mari Sandoz Award by the Nebraska Library Association. Whitewash made January Magazine's list of best thrillers for 2007. Exposed,Black Friday and 2011's DAMAGED received starred reviews by Publishers Weekly. 2010 marked Alex's ten year anniversary as an author with the publication of her tenth novel, Damaged (Doubleday, July 13th). HOTWIRE, her ninth Maggie O'Dell will be released July 12th, 2011. She also has co-authored two short stories in anthologies to be published in June and August: First Thrills, edited by Lee Child (After Dark, co-authored with Deb Carlin) and Florida Heat Wave, edited by Michael Lister (A Breath of Hot Air, co-authored with Patricia Bremmer is now on KINDLE. ALEX WRITES FULL-TIME AND LIVES IN Omaha, Nebraska and Pensacola, Florida (where her 2010 book, Damaged is set). She is a member of International Thrillers Writers.
Read more from Alex Kava
Goodnight, Sweet Mother Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5One False Move Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Off the Grid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Black Friday
100 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was a good read however I do not enjoy trying to follow 5 story lines that all turn out to be connected. I know many people enjoy this style of writing but it does not appeal to me.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Really enjoyed this story of a terrorist attack on the Mall of America on the day after Thanksgiving.Things are not quite what they seem, though, and Maggie O'Dell must work through her personal and professional problems to solve the case.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Black Friday
3 Stars
Synopsis
Black Friday, the busiest shopping day in America, and three young men are about to wreak havoc by detonating an EMP pulse in the Mall of America. Unbeknownst to them, they are actually pawns in a much larger and deadlier conspiracy that will leave dozens dead and FBI profiler, Maggie O'Dell in a race against time to prevent an even more catastrophic terror attack.
Review
A good premise but the execution is poor and the finale does not deliver.
This is supposed to be a "race against time" scenario but the pace is slow and there is no sense of urgency. The book also finishes with too many loose ends and unanswered questions - As with "A Perfect Evil", I gather we will be seeing more of the villain of this piece.
The writing is choppy with events occurring out of the blue with no exposition or development i.e., Dixon and Becca's sudden rescue by SWAT. The chapters are also very short, often 2-3 pages, which makes it difficult to became engaged with the storyline.
Once again, there is little to no character growth - the cat and mouse between Maggie and Nick is getting old - too many hurt feelings and lack of trust. It is time to either put up or shut up with this relationship. On the other hand, Maggie's half-brother, Patrick Murphy, is given some much needed page time and the sections about him are enjoyable.
One positive aspect of the plot involves the exploration of the John Doe #2 conspiracy theory following the Oklahoma Bombing - as a non-American, this is my first time hearing about this and it added an interesting element to the terrorist plot.
On a final note, the book references numerous events from previous installments and it might be difficult for first time readers of the series to follow.
Overall, a disappointing addition and I hope that the next one will be better. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Maggie O'Dell is sent to Minnesota to investigate after a bomb explodes inside the Mall of America on the busiest shopping day of the year. Could a group of college students, including her half-brother, be to blame, or is something more sinister happening? Seventh in the Maggie O'Dell FBI profiler series. An interesting and all too plausible possible explanation for the Oklahoma City bombings as well as 9/11 are given as part of the plot. Highly recommend the series.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love Alex Kava's books. I'm biased so this is my love-fest review. Having just finished "Exposed", this was definitely a continuation even though the story can stand alone. Maggie O'Dell is having a get-together with the normal main characters in the books - her partner R.J. Tulley, Gwen Patterson (psychiatrist and Tulley's girlfriend)Tulley's daughter Emma and Harvey -Maggie's dog. New to the group is Ben Platt - the doctor who treated Maggie in "Exposed". It's the day after Thanksgiving. A phone call interrupts the day. Three bombs have exploded at the Mall of America in Minneapolis and the new director wants Maggie to go with him. When she arrives, she runs into Nick Morellii, who is in all the books I've read. He's in love with Maggie. This time he's the head of the security firm that is contracted with the shopping center. Three bombs, two bombers killed, one escapes and it may be Maggie's half-brother Patrick. Kava does a wonderful job of weaving the story together using references we all know - the Oklahoma City bombing and John Doe #2. I like that Kava is letting the readers know more about some of the secondary characters. I almost wanted to drag out the reading of this book so that when I finished it I could start her next book, but once again this is a book I just couldn't put down and I have no idea when her next book is coming out - let's just hope it's soon.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Very pedestrian book. It tells the tale of a man who tricks college kids into carrying backpacks around the Mall of America on Black Friday. These backpacks have devices in them that will wirelessly disrupt commerce. But it's a ruse—the backpacks have bombs in them. The majority of the book is about the FBI trying to find the mastermind. It tries to bring in high-level government conspiracies, evil corporate owners, etc. but does so quite poorly.