Alex Kava...the Ryder Creed Series

I have been a fan of author Alex Kava for many years. She writes a series of books whose central character is an FBI Profiler named Maggie O’Dell.

Maggie is a complicated character, driven to find and stop serial killers. But the demons she chases are not all killers. She has issues, to say the least, and demons of her own.

There are many secondary characters, her boss at the FBI, her partner, and her friend, a psychologist she met at Quantico.

And then there are the men she meets along the way. First, the husband who makes her chose between him and the FBI. End of marriage ensues.

Then there’s the Sheriff she met on a case and sparks flew. He makes an appearance in several books, but the timing never seems right for these two. Exit the Sheriff.

Next there was the army doctor. Things looked promising, but he had issues of his own and through a number of books, their relationship seemed doomed for failure.

I’m rooting for Maggie, hoping she will find someone. Not that I think a woman has to have a man in her life to feel complete, but Maggie is young, and given what she does for a living, she deserves to have someone there for her.

Enter Ryder Creed. A wounded soul with a painful history. He operates a canine search and rescue operation and meets Maggie on a case when he is called in to do a search. Now I’m excited, because Ryder is just the man Maggie needs. And talk about instant attraction and heat. But nothing happens.

Next thing I know, Ryder Creed has his own series of books. I’m thinking No, not possible, he’s meant for Maggie. I buy the book and what do you know, Maggie is there. But so is the doctor, as he and Maggie are still uncertain friends, at the will they or won’t they stage.

But the first three Creed books had me frustrated. I wanted these two wounded souls to be together, and they aren’t.

I’m having a flashback to other books, movies, television shows, that drag out the sexual tension between characters. I know there is a risk, that once these characters...come together...the tension is lost and the readers/viewers will lose interest.

I did the preorder on book number four, anxious to see what happens, especially as this book promises answers to Ryder’s past.

After reading it, I was left in a quandary. Yes, Ryder and Maggie altered the dynamics of their relationship, but it was a bit of a let down. Not that I’m a peeping Tom kind of person, but I did expect to be party to these characters’ feelings, if not the details of their sexual exploits.

I suppose I should just give Alex Kava a high five for a job well done. As a reader I want more, I want to know how this will roll out in the future. Will these people ever find happiness?

What happens next, Alex? It better be good.