One False Move (MIRA Backlist) - Softcover

Alex Kava

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0778302148 ISBN 13: 9780778302148

Publisher: Mira Books, 2007

Synopsis

Internationally bestselling author Alex Kava delivers a searing thriller of one woman’s encounter with her past which could jeopardize her future

Melanie Starks has never lived life by the rules. She and her seventeen-year-old son, Charlie, have been running one con job or another for as long as she can remember, justifying the petty crimes as the necessary survival moves of a single mother. But Melanie is ready to give it up. Then Jared Barnett reappears in her life. Fresh out of prison after serving five years of a life sentence for murder, Jared is released on a technicality that by no means proves his innocence. And he’s feeling more invincible than ever. He has the perfect plan for a big score and he needs Melanie’s help. But everything goes terribly wrong. Only one thing is clear: A line has been crossed. Suddenly there’s no turning back, and there is nothing left to lose.

About this title

About the Author

Alex Kava has a bachelor’s degree in art and English. Before writing novels full-time, she ran her own graphic design firm and later was director of public relations for one of the last all-women’s colleges in the Midwest. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the Mystery Writers of America. Kava lives in Omaha, Nebraska.

Reviews

Nebraskan suspense author Kava takes a break from her successful series featuring FBI Special Agent Maggie O'Dell (At the Stroke of Madness; Split Second) with this psychological thriller about the fallout from an abortive bank robbery. The principal players are Jared Barnett, just released by his shady attorney's machinations from a life sentence for murder; his docile sister, Melanie Starks; and her 17-year-old son, Charlie, to whom Jared is a father figure. Just as their lives seem to be approaching normalcy, Jared scopes out a bank heist and bullies his sister and nephew into helping him. Mel is designated driver in the high-risk chase that begins right after Jared and Charlie, empty-handed, flee the bank. In a remote state park cabin, Andrew Kane, a writer, happens to be alone when they appear and Mel, shocked, learns from his TV that four people were killed in the holdup. Then she remembers the childhood that she and Jared were cheated out of—a mother who washed down pills with vodka while their father mercilessly beat the children until Jared took matters into his own hands. Victims accumulate as fast as the escape route changes, while abbreviated chapters and truncated dialogue signal the approaching explosive climax. This is a one-night read with some unexplained loose ends that won't bother readers hooked on hair-raising car chases and gruesome murder scenes.
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After Jared Barnett is released from death row on a technicality, he hooks up with his sister, Melanie Starks, and her son, Charlie. Jared and Charlie are on a crime spree when in "one false move" they rob a bank, shoot people, and involve Melanie, who is driving the getaway car. Can their luck get any worse? Maggie-Meg Reed narrates this story of murder, mayhem ,and kidnapping with a single voice that pulls at listeners, dragging them into the action. The lack of differentiation between characters keeps the violence and cold-heartedness that pervade this work at a distance. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Edition details

• Publisher: Mira Books
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0778302148
• ISBN 13: 9780778302148
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 345