Carol O'Connell (1)Reseñas

mystery. First in series of Kathy Mallory, NYPD. Good read.

I had a hard time with this one. I blame part of my issue on the eBook format - I think there were times when the scene would shift from place to place and I would get confused. I'm guessing that in the printed book there would be white space to indicate the shift but that was missing from the eBook.

I thought the mystery was interesting and I didn't guess the killer but I also had trouble connecting the dots even when it was being explained to me.

I was warned that Mallory is a hard character to like and sure enough, I didn't like her. I didn't like anyone else either, unfortunately.

Will probably not continue with the series but you never know...

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.½

I felt a kindred spirit to the adult/child Mallory. Carol O'Connell is one of the best writers ever. I am shocked that O'Connell is not as famous as other mainstream authors. I am a long-time, die-hard fan.

I enjoyed this character and a few really delightful lines. I wish I'd discovered the series sooner. This particular volume seems to reveal a lot of backstory and answer questions about the main character, which makes me reluctant to go back and read previous entries in the series.

426

I wasn’t aware, until I received this book from the Publisher that it was in fact part of a long running series. And to be honest, if they hadn’t taken great pains to point this out in the accompanying letter, I would never have guessed that the main protagonist had appeared in so many previous novels.

Let me start with the main protagonist. I imagine the Author intended her to come off the page as a strong and independent woman, but ultimately the image portrayed is of a woman who is moneyed, opinionated and knows she’s beautiful; and the reader is reminded of this in almost every chapter of the book. I’m not sure what the intent of the Author was when they wrote this in every chapter, but after a while it becomes boorish and monotonous, and it doesn’t stop with the main character. Others that, I assume, have appeared in previous novels are treated in much the same manner, and by the time I was halfway through reading this I felt very much as if the Author were treating me like a sufferer of memory loss that needed to be reminded at every page turn what makes her characters tick; either that or they are trying to justify keeping these tired persona alive. As this book was number 11 in the series, I was expecting the Author to have got into their stride with providing some step forward in character growth during each novel, but if this one was anything to go by it has not happened.

Although the story had quite an interesting plot line, this too was not up to the standard I have read in some books by Authors just starting out, and I expected better from an established Author; it was choppy and rambling to the point where many times I felt my attention wandering to whether I should walk my dogs or do laundry. In my opinion, if the Author feels they have reached a dead-end with this character and series, they may need to consider do their readers a favour and either bringing it to an end or revamping the characters to make it more enjoyable.

I’m sorry but this is one book I just can’t recommend, not only do I feel it would be a waste of money and time but, if the series has a fan base, it is bordering on the insulting to those loyal readers.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/01/20/review-it-happens-in-the-dark-kathleen-mal...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Shark Music promises much in the first few pages-but which serial killer novel doesn't?-and delivers an exceptionally high dose of virtually nothing. At times the distinctions between antagonist and protagonist are so rapidly blurred that Kathleen Mallory might as well be the elusive serial killer she's hunting for (given her background she might as well be in the habit of chasing her own tail). After the middle point, it becomes a strange amalgamation of hybrid Nightmare on Elm Street vs. Michael Myers vs. Jason Voorhees with a few churches thrown into the midst and kind-hearted priests leaving us with the impression that maybe O' Connell too likes to run around in circles.

At the end, an updated jousting match is concluded when Mallory literally impales the serial killer with a metal pole-points for innovation? Anyone?-and we find out that the serial killer was disguised as a parent traveling with a caravan of parents whose children were killed by him.

Two stars because while the genre and the first part of the book promises much; it delivers nothing other than a migraine.

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?½

Mallory is at her paranoidal best, being and causing same in this mystery within a play emanating from a mystery. Every time the show goes on somebody dies; getting to the second act is quite problematic. Painstakingly, especially for her superiors, Mallory penetrates the current evils to their roots in the past.

Habe es nach einem Drittel abgebrochen, was gar nicht meine Art ist.
Ein absolut wirrer Plot, die Autorin springt hin und her, selbst nach 70 Seiten
findet man sich nicht wirklich zurecht.
Ein Buch sol unterhalten und die Phantasie anregen, dies hier ist einfach nur öde.
Wie heißt es so schön: Das Leben ist zu kurz für schlechte Bücher....Yep!!½

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12549018

What a way to complicate an unlikely serial killer scenario!

I have read far too many novels about serial killers that operate in such methodical ways that others can actually define what they are looking for and why. In real life it is rarely that straightforward and the killers are probably as confused as we are. Here we have another one - a killer who has killed young girls and strewn their graves along route 66, starting many years ago. And now it appears there is a new wrinkle in the killer's routine.

Even more unlikely: a therapist treats families of lost children through online groups. He organizes a caravan that travels along route 66, spreading "have you seen my child?" posters along the way, and of course talking to each other about their losses. People join the caravan when they can and leave it when they must so its size is not stable.

Enter Mallory. A detective with her own deep, dark past, Mallory disappears for an unknown reason, leaving the apparent suicide of a woman in Mallory's apartment. Her partner does what he must to track her down without sending out alarm bells in the department. She is not an easy person to get along with but her detecting skills are top-notch. He does not initially know where to find her but he is a pretty good detective himself and finally catches a whiff.

The two work on the missing children case, alongside FBI agents who behave in a suspicious manner, to say the least.

The book is not written in a straightforward manner. We learn, along with Mallory's partner, Detective Sergeant Riker, just what set Mallory on her route 66 quest in the first place, and take that quest to its natural conclusion. We get to know a few of the members of the caravan and can guess whether one of them might be a killer. We learn quite a bit about Mallory and what made her the hardcore person she is.

I had never read anything by Carol O'Connell before so I did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised.

Mallory, the detective in this series, finds an eight-year-old child in Central Park. She is dirty and extremely friendly. She tells a wild tale. She calls herself Coco. Coco is the first clue to a series of murders and attempted murder that lead Mallory back in time.

Years ago in a private school a little girl died by falling from the roof. Her body was outlined in chalk. In a strange tradition, every year the chalk drawing is repeated on the walkway.

How the present-day murders connect to students at that school long ago is what Mallory eventually finds out.

Mallory is an odd detective. She's unpredictable, has good instincts, tends to have something of an autistic personality. She likes to threaten people. She doesn't do anything half-ass. She's a bit of a comic character.

Her partner and her chief generally understand her and protect her from herself as well as from higher-ups who prefer that cops play by the rules. She's really a bit of a caricature, yet she's likable enough. I felt she was a bit over the top but I'd read another book in this series.

Very readable with some great characters, but the mystery itself didn't have quite the payout I was hoping for. Might read more in the series though.

Another twisted Mallory tale.

My second foray into the world of detective Kathy Mallory. I'm still not in love with this remote, cold, but brilliant character - though she had a rough childhood, there's not much to like about her as an adult. However, she does solve crimes....this one a series of murders of children over many years and the bodies are now being found all along Route 66.

In addition to working the case, she's also on a personal journey...retracing her unknown father's steps as he drove and wrote about Route 66. Her faithful partner and friend of the family still manage to help her and care about her in spite of her treatment of them which is somewhat unbelievable.

This is a new author to me, recommended by a friend. Turns out it was an excellent recommendation. It's my favorite type of murder mystery....lots of suspects, twists and turns, but so well written that it doesn't confuse me with outlandish situations. Secrets from the past catch up to the present and a small town is immersed in a mystery. Highly recommended.

The investigation of a series of murders of wealthy, elderly women from the Gramercy Park area intensifies when Louis Markowitz, the head of the NYPD Special Crimes Section, is found dead with the third victim. Kathleen Mallory, his adopted daughter and a policewoman assigned to office duty, is beautiful, intelligent, fiercely independent, and obsessed with finding the killer. Mallory's computer skills supplement the street-survival savvy she learned before her adoption and the "wall" of clues and case details left by Markowitz. All of this leads her to seances, magic acts, dysfunctional families, insider trading, and, eventually, the knowledge her father had at his death. (fr Amazon)

Although I enjoyed the mystery, I didn't particularly like the main character - I felt she was too emotionless and disconnected. We aren't given any reason to like or be intrigued by her. Some of the auxiliary characters had more personality than she did!

Intricately plotted twisty suspense novel about the search for the truth behind the 20-year-old disappearance of a teenage photographer.

Set in a small town on the remote coast of northern California, the story begins with the homecoming of Oren Hobbs, brother of the long-vanished Josh Hobbs. In a suitably creepy beginning, Josh Hobbs is finally coming home ... one bone at a time.

Oren's investigation digs deep into the psyche of a small town, where nearly everyone seems to be harboring a nasty little secret. O'Connell presents a huge menu of possible suspects, garnished with various motivations as appetizers. The truth, when it finally emerges, is both horrifying and banal, as evil so often is.

The romance sub-plot never really took off for this reviewer, but the rest of the book is a first-rate, compelling read.

I wasn’t aware, until I received this book from the Publisher that it was in fact part of a long running series. And to be honest, if they hadn’t taken great pains to point this out in the accompanying letter, I would never have guessed that the main protagonist had appeared in so many previous novels.

Let me start with the main protagonist. I imagine the Author intended her to come off the page as a strong and independent woman, but ultimately the image portrayed is of a woman who is moneyed, opinionated and knows she’s beautiful; and the reader is reminded of this in almost every chapter of the book. I’m not sure what the intent of the Author was when they wrote this in every chapter, but after a while it becomes boorish and monotonous, and it doesn’t stop with the main character. Others that, I assume, have appeared in previous novels are treated in much the same manner, and by the time I was halfway through reading this I felt very much as if the Author were treating me like a sufferer of memory loss that needed to be reminded at every page turn what makes her characters tick; either that or they are trying to justify keeping these tired persona alive. As this book was number 11 in the series, I was expecting the Author to have got into their stride with providing some step forward in character growth during each novel, but if this one was anything to go by it has not happened.

Although the story had quite an interesting plot line, this too was not up to the standard I have read in some books by Authors just starting out, and I expected better from an established Author; it was choppy and rambling to the point where many times I felt my attention wandering to whether I should walk my dogs or do laundry. In my opinion, if the Author feels they have reached a dead-end with this character and series, they may need to consider do their readers a favour and either bringing it to an end or revamping the characters to make it more enjoyable.

I’m sorry but this is one book I just can’t recommend, not only do I feel it would be a waste of money and time but, if the series has a fan base, it is bordering on the insulting to those loyal readers.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/01/20/review-it-happens-in-the-dark-kathleen-mal...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

This book starts off with a bang. I was totally engrossed. The writing is excellent. I stopped reading about 12% into it for two reasons. The story of the crime and descriptions were too upsetting for me. The other thing was that the main character is not at all likable. Her flaws are too much to be redeemed by her ability as a detective.

Judas Child
4 Stars

Sharply drawn characters that evoke strong emotions. A well developed and thought provoking plot with an interesting twist at the end. A great read.

Mallory's Oracle
2 Stars

Synopsis:
Kathleen Mallory began life as a thief on the streets of New York City until she was taken in my detective Louis Mankowitz and his wife. Now a police sergeant with an expertise in computer crimes, Mallory must investigate a particularly difficult homicide – the murder of her adoptive father – which is linked to the deaths of several elderly and wealthy women.

Review:
I really wanted to like this book but failed in almost every respect. The writing is elliptical and convoluted with too many narrative threads that are difficult to follow and never seem to form a cohesive whole.

None of the characters is particularly likeable, especially the heroine who is a borderline sociopath. Her characterization is too reminiscent of the hero in the television show Dexter, which I stopped watching after three episodes because it is impossible for me to identify with a serial killer no matter how noble his intentions.

The serial killer plot is intriguing and has potential but the paucity of clues makes it virtually impossible for readers to figure it out for themselves. Moreover, the irrelevant subplots involving magicians, mediums and séances add nothing to the suspense, and detract from the murder mystery. In addition, while the identity of the murderer is ultimately revealed, the explanations for his actions are vague and imprecise.

Overall, the disagreeable characters, the excessive number of superfluous conversations and the lack of action make this a difficult book to trudge through. I do, however, recommend another of O'Connell's books - The Judas Child.

I like this series.... Kathy Mallory is NOT a likable person, but the characters have been well-built, and I care. That's successful writing. Good plots too, not easy to pre-guess.

Stumbled upon this series ~years~ ago... may have read Judas Child (stand-alone) first. Was very taken with this authors style of psychological thriller/mystery. She does not disappoint, Mallory is still a cold psycho cop.... but we get the most minute hints that there might be more... maybe.
(would love to meet Charles Butler, still & always my favorite character)