Rating: 
Summary: A Minor ALIENIST.
Review: When Ms. Kava had sent me the first nine chapters of this novel in an email ms last spring, I had to admit that I was hooked by page one. It was agonizing for me to have to wait another year and a half to read the rest of my friend's book. However, I had guessed at the killer's identity and Jefferys's relationship to him after reading the first nine chapters. I'm glad (and sorry) to say that I was right.Kava sets up a compelling, if thread-worn story (the book's crimes are based on an actual series of child-murders in Kava's small Nebraska hometown. Even the date for Jefferys's execution is slavishly cribbed from the original date), using a near-expert POV that threatens to rival Jeffery Deaver's. The book, despite the annoying pseudo-romantic distractions, still maintains a pace like a Mac truck on a steep grade with the brakes out. The backstory, too, regarding Albert Stuckey and FBI profiler Maggie O'Dell is compelling and Kava expertly sets up an immediate demand for the sequel in the last page. What bothers me about this book, and these points have been brought up time and again by earlier reviewers, is that Ms. Kava knows nothing or next-to-nothing about FBI profiling and protocol, municipal law enforcement procedure and a hundred other topics. There isn't enough actual romance to make the relationship between Nick and Maggie to qualify A PERFECT EVIL as a romance (even though Mira is an imprint of Harlequin). Yet Maggie's pheramonal reaction to the lady killer sheriff merely subtracts from her already fading credibility as an FBI profiler and an independent, professional woman . In the end, I have to say that A PERFECT EVIL, while it confirmed my suspicions regarding the killer's identity (which, regardless of the plethora of obligatory red herrings, is easily discernible long before the end), it fell far short of my expectations. Hopefully, Ms. Kava's sequel, SPLIT SECOND, will be a more mature and accomplished effort.
Rating: 
Summary: DAMN, THIS WOMEN CAN WRITE AND IT'S HER FIRST NOVEL!
Review: I was shocked to read that "A Perfect Evil" was Alex Kava's debut novel! She can write like she is a Mary Higgins Clark and a Patricia Cornwell. I read the whole book in a day. It was hard to put down because Kava kept the twists and turns coming around every little chapter. The characters Nick and Maggie were extremely well developed and interesting to read about. They worked together trying to deduce who was the killer, while at the same time, trying to keep their hormones contained. The killer was identified earlier on in the book but Kava kept casting doubt throughtout the whole novel making the reader reallly wonder. The sequel, Split Second, will be in stores August 1. Everyone has to read that one since the killer got away at the end of "A Perfect Evil." Alex Kava has EXTREME potential for making it HUGE in the writing world. If "Split Second" is just as good then she may lead the female serial killer genre. Brad Stonecipher
Rating: 
Summary: No Sleeping here
Review: A great book, I really enjoyed reading it non-stop..suspenseful
Rating:
Summary: DAMN, THIS WOMEN CAN WRITE AND IT'S HER FIRST NOVEL!
Review: I was shocked to read that "A Perfect Evil" was Alex Kava's debut novel! She can write like she is a Mary Higgins Clark and a Patricia Cornwell. I read the whole book in a day. It was hard to put down because Kava kept the twists and turns coming around every little chapter. The characters Nick and Maggie were extremely well developed and interesting to read about. They worked together trying to deduce who was the killer, while at the same time, trying to keep their hormones contained. The killer was identified earlier on in the book but Kava kept casting doubt throughtout the whole novel making the reader reallly wonder. The sequel, Split Second, will be in stores August 1. Everyone has to read that one since the killer got away at the end of "A Perfect Evil." Alex Kava has EXTREME potential for making it HUGE in the writing world. If "Split Second" is just as good then she may lead the female serial killer genre. Brad Stonecipher
Rating:
Summary: It's A Debut Novel And Not As Bad As Previously Reviewed!
Review: First off you should know that this is a debut novel and who knows how much Ms. Kava has penned before getting published the point is she is just getting a feel for what sells and what her fan base will be. With that said on to the review. For the most part I found this story to be a fine read and not as bad as previously reviewed. Yes, it's a no brainer on who the killer is almost right from the start but I think the challange of reading about the crime being solved was just as entertaining. So what if you know who did it...read on and see how he gets caught. As for the romance yes the dreaded idea of romance is introduced but falls way short on what I would call a secondary plot to the story. Both Nick and Maggie have their own personal issues that have helped to define who they are and in my opinion Ms. Kava was true to the developing relationship between the two of them and how they interacted with other characters. Be prepared to really not like Christine Nick's sister. She was in my opinion one of the most annoying characters that I've ever read and as a result really did not give a fig about what happened to her. Then again perhaps that's exactly what Ms. Kava wanted us to feel. Nick is clearly out of his league in his current profession but then again it helps to prove that although he may be perfect and yummy to look at, he is at the same time human with all the flaws that come with that distiction. This book did have some flaws but again no one is perfect, as for reading Ms. Kava again sure why not her debut is worthy of a first time read and is entertaining enough and even though it won't make it onto my keeper shelf she is not an author that I will go out of my to avoid.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad story, but obviously a first book
Review: Like many other reviewers, I did finish this book in one day. The plot was good, and though it was quite obvious to me who the killer was from the early chapters, I had to know how or if they'd get him. But, like some other reviewers, I felt that the writing itself wasn't quite the best. The characters were likeable, but I found myself frustrated with them. Hints of Nick & Maggie's deeper psyches would surface, then drown - or the reader was hit over the head with them. Some bits were feeling like they were set up for the sequel from the first chapters, and some felt like the author (or the editor) couldn't decide if this was going to be a romance/thriller along the lines of a Tami Hoag, or a straight, gritty mystery a la Patricia Cornwall. Go ahead and read it if you like mysteries that have a little romance - it's certainly not awful. I am going to give the second book a try, but am not hurrying to buy all her books until I see if this book's identity problem is a freshman book issue, or if it happens in more than this one.
Rating: 
Summary: why was this recommended to me?
Review: The characters in this book were so unrealistic; I felt no bond with them. I really did not care how they ended up. I was so disappointed in this book that I did not even finish it--and that NEVER happens.
Rating:
Summary: Amateurish at best
Review: The writing would have benefitted from some editing. There was always a sense of the writing being incomplete. Hard to believe that this book was recommended to me. I found the writing exceptionally amateurish and unorginally.
Rating:
Summary: A very disappointing book
Review: I was very disappointed with A Perfect Evil. I was expecting a good, enjoyable novel, based on the reviews I had read here. First, the prose is quite weak. Much of the book reads like bad entries to the "It was a dark and stormy night" contests. Second, the characters are shallow and one-dimensional, and we often learn about their "true nature" in 1 brief paragraph. If only life were so simple! Third, the characters are often too stupid for words. For people (like Agent O'Dell) who are supposed to be experts in their field, they are not realistic. They do things that you would expect from brainless people in a C quality horror film. Finally, I found the ending disappointing and annoying. I was going to give the book one star before getting to the ending, based on the things above. The ending did nothing to sway my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy debut
Review: I can usually guess "whodunit" long before the last few chapters of a book, but with this thriller I was never quite sure. Kava gives the reader a few likely suspects and just when you thought you'd figured it out--bam--another twist in the story! Suspenseful, fast-paced and disturbing--are the words I would use to describe this incredible debut. The romance was a bit out of place, but fortunately it occupied only a few pages here and there, and it made for great character development. If you like Patterson you'll love Kava!
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