“Damaged” by Alex Kava; Doubleday (272 pages, $24.95)

In her intriguing and sometimes gruesome eighth outing with Maggie O’Dell, Alex Kava sets up seemingly unrelated plot threads. While at first blush each tale seems separate, Kava quickly weaves these stories together into a cohesive, exciting plot.

“Damaged” works as a briskly-paced thriller that delivers several unusual twists. It focuses more on a high-concept plot with a strong sense of realism rather than deep character studies.

Maggie, a FBI special agent, and Charlie Wurth, the Department of Homeland Security’s deputy director, are teamed up again, this time to investigate a number of stainless steel coolers containing body parts found floating in Florida’s Pensacola Bay. Maggie’s investigation includes partnering with the Coast Guard and especially Liz Bailey, the agency’s rescue swimmer.

Florida’s Panhandle also is the destination of Col. Benjamin Platt, investigating why a bacteria is killing soldiers recuperating from surgery. Meanwhile, a shadowy and sleazy man who calls himself a body-parts broker has arrived in Pensacola and is making friends with a financially-strapped funeral home director. All this is going on while the Panhandle prepares for a hurricane.

Kava keeps “Damaged” from falling under the weight of so many elements with her skillful storytelling. Kava vividly illustrates the dangers facing the Coast Guard members each time they attempt a rescue at sea. Kava makes you feel as if you are being lowered on that rope onto a boat that’s about ready to sink. Although they are brief, the scenes with the medical examiner and in the funeral home are not for the squeamish.

Maggie and Liz are fully developed characters who know their jobs but must constantly prove their skills to other. Liz deals with a double whammy as the newest member of her team – and the only woman. She wants her fellow officers to think of her as “their rescue swimmer” and not “the rescue swimmer.” Kava wisely leaves room for Maggie’s relationship with Benjamin to grow in future novels. However, the shifty funeral home director is only a sketch, as is the body-parts broker who goes by the silly name of Joe Black and tries to capitalize on the Brad Pitt movie.

While a hurricane adds to the tension, Kava doesn’t seem to know just how devastating a Category-4 storm can be for an area.

In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, “Damaged” has an unintentionally resonant title and still depicts a pristine paradise, but Kava shows there are many kinds of man-made disasters.