A twisty mystery. A duel between sociopaths. A hit man who loves a hooker. Random murders. Love the plots, love Mallory — who is a mystery herself. ( )

Mallory is what Mallory will be. What do a serial killer, a murdered monastic nun, and a kidnapped blind boy have in common? And what is the venal Mayor of New York's involvement in this horrific and sleazy set of crimes? Was there a message in the body dump at Gracie Mansion and the later delivery of four bloody hearts to the same address? ( )

This was okay/pretty good. Always some interesting elements in these stories, and the background characters are slowly gaining some, well, character.

I read the Large Print copy (all my library had) and never again!? So many errors. Wrong words, grammar, who is in charge of these editions? I'm so happy I'm not dependent on the larger fonts... and honestly, that's when I'll make the transition to ebooks.

I you like the series, read it. If you've not read the series? Don't start with this one. ( )

Not nearly as good as the others in this series. ( )

Blind Sight by Carol O’Connell is a 2016 Headline publication.

‘Mallory the Machine’ might be the most interesting female protagonist in crime fiction.

This twelfth installment in the Kathy Mallory series showcases Mallory’s .., er… unique personality as she plows through a grisly crime scene in which several bodies have been dumped at the mayor’s residence, with their hearts removed. To make matters even more perplexing, a nun with a very colorful past and her blind nephew disappear, possible kidnap victims, who could be in the clutches of cold blooded killer.
This dark crime story, told with O’Connell’s razor sharp dark humor, compliments Malloy’s odd investigative techniques as a lurid and political crime story unfolds. There is certainly a human element to the story with a young blind boy at risk, and the race against time is palpable.

I felt as though Mallory was particularly harsh in this installment, toying with people for fun, exhibiting a level of rudeness that went beyond her usual impatience and stoicism. New readers of this series may not know what to make of her, so reading this one as a stand alone might not be the best idea.
I liked the realism in portraying a blind person, which did not fall back on stereotypes, and it was interesting following Jonah’s thoughts as he duels it out with his captor, making him the hero of the story.
The ironies are thick, but the plot was not as tight as in previous installments and even got a little sloppy on occasion, but everything did manage to fit together by the conclusion of the book.
I enjoyed catching up with Mallory, after what has seemed like a pretty long pause between releases, but this is not the best representation of this series. Don’t get me wrong, this is a solid enough story, it’s just not up the usual standards I have come to expect from this series.

So, if you are thinking of trying this novel without having read at least a couple of the previous chapters in the series, I would suggest waiting until you can catch up a bit before tackling this one. If you are following the series or at least familiar enough with it to understand the characterizations and so forth, then, you will not want to pass up the chance to see what Mallory is up to and what kind of mood she mind be in this time around.
Overall -3.5 stars ( )