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Nebraska Author Alex Kava

NebraskaAuthorkavaphotoA list of works by Nebraska mystery author
Alex Kava

Alex Kava (a.k.a. Sharon Kava) was raised outside of rural Silver Creek in central Nebraska. Interested in writing from a young age, she sometimes had to hide her earliest works while growing up in a hard-working family where reading could be considered a bit frivilous. Among the jobs she held while working to pay her way through college, Kava was employed by a hospital, where she cleaned and sterilized the tools and equipment for the morgue and surgery departments. Graduating from Omaha’s College of St. Mary’s in 1982, Kava went on work in commercial design, copy writing and as a director of public relations.

In 1996, wishing to become a freelance writer, she quit her full-time job, falling back on a home-based graphic-design business and even delivering newspapers to make ends meet. In 2000, A Perfect Evil, her first FBI thriller featuring profiler Maggie O’Dell, was published. Inspired by the crimes of Nebraska serial killer John Joubert, it became a bestseller and has led to a series of O’Dell thrillers. Kava’s 2004 novel, One False Move (not in the O’Dell series) has been selected as the 2nd annual One Book One Nebraska title for 2006.

(Additional information about Alex Kava can be found at the following Web sites:)

Alex Kava’s books

perfectevilA Perfect Evil
(2000)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


splitsecondSplit Second
(2001)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


soulcatcherThe Soul Catcher
(2002)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


strokeofmadnessAt the Stroke of Madness
(2003)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


onefalsemoveOne False Move
(2004)

This book was the selected title for the 2006 One Book One Nebraska!


necessaryevilA Necessary Evil
(2006)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


whitewashWhitewash
(2007)


exposedExposed
(2008)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


blackfridayBlack Friday
(2009)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


damagedDamaged
(2010)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


hotwireHotwire
(2011)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


fireproofkavaFireproof
(2012)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


strandedStranded
(2013)

A Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller.


breakingcreedBreaking Creed
(2013)

First in the Ryder Creed series.


silentcreedSilent Creed
(2015)

Second in the Ryder Creed series.


strandedOff the Grid
(2013)

A collection of four shorter works by Kava, three of which are Maggie O’Dell FBI thrillers.


recklesscreedReckless Creed
(2016)

Third in the Ryder Creed series.


Slices of Night
(2017)

Trio of short works by three different authors, Alex Kava, J.T. Ellison and Erica Spindler, that all combine into a long novella that crosses together three different sleuths (including Kava’s Maggie O’Dell) in the pursuit of a serial killer that moves between cities.


Storm Season
(2017)

Trio of short works by three different authors, Alex Kava, J.T. Ellison and Erica Spindler, set during the same massive storm, in which three different sleuths (including Kava’s Maggie O’Dell) tracking three different diabolical killers.


Before EvilBefore Evil
(2017)

Prequel to the first Maggie O’Dell FBI thriller, A Perfect Evil (2000).


Goodnight, Sweet Mother
(2017)

A novella featuring Maggie O’Dell — previously published in the anthology Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night.


lostcreedLost Creed
(2018)

Fourth in the Ryder Creed series.


desperatecreedDesperate Creed
(2019)

Fifth in the Ryder Creed series.


desperatecreedHidden Creed
(2020)

Sixth in the Ryder Creed series.


desperatecreedFallen Creed
(2022)

Seventh in the Ryder Creed series.


Winter Creed
(2023 – not yet in library collection)

Eighth in the Ryder Creed series.



ADDITIONAL TITLES THAT ALEX KAVA HAS CONTRIBUTED TO:

thrillerThriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night
(2006)

>> Alex Kava contributed the short story “Goodnight, Sweet Mother” to this anthology edited by James Patterson.


A Breath of Hot Air
(2011)

>> Alex Kava and Patricia A. Bremmer co-wrote this short story, which teams up their respective sleuths Maggie O’Dell and Glen Karst on a case in Pensacola, Florida.


Storm Season
(2017)

>> Alex Kava joins authors Erica Spindler and J.T. Ellison to each contribute a novella to this anthology. Kava’s is a Maggie O’Dell story set in Pensacola, Florida.


Slices of Night: A Novella in Three Parts
(2017)

>> Alex Kava joins authors Erica Spindler and J.T. Ellison to each contribute a novella to this anthology, which crosses over sleuths from all three authors into an overarching storyline. Kava’s Maggie O’Dell joins forces with Spindler’s Detective Stacy Killian (from New Orleans) and Ellison’s  Nashville homicide detective Taylor Jackson.


Posted March 2006 sdc / last updated December 2023 sdc