Synopses & Reviews
The astonishing new Mallory novel from the New York Timesbestselling author and one of the most acclaimed crime writers in America.
The reviews called it A Play to Die For” after the woman was found dead in the front row. It didnt seem so funny the next night, when another body was foundthis time the playwrigh himself, his throat slashed.
Detective Kathy Mallory from the NYPD Special Crimes Unit takes over, but no matter what she asks, no one seems to be giving her a straight answer. The only personif person” is the right wordwho seems to be clear with her is the ghostwriter. Every night, an unseen backstage hand chalks up line changes and messages on a blackboard. And the ghostwriter is now writing Mallory into the play itself, a play about a long-ago massacre that may not be at all fictional. MALLORY,” the blackboard reads. TONIGHTS THE NIGHT. NOTHING PERSONAL.”
If Mallory cant find out whos responsible, heads will roll. Unfortunately, one of them may be her own.
Review
“O’Connell has raised the standard for psychological thrillers.”—
Chicago Tribune “Before Salander took the world by storm, there was Mallory, the most gloriously original heroine to grace crime fiction’s meanest and darkest streets.” —Sarah Weinman, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind
“O’Connell’s wonderful Mallory novels are among the best crime fiction ever written.”—San Jose Mercury News
Review
Praise for It Happens in the Dark
“Mallory continues to be an enigmatic and fascinating character . . . [her] closest counterpoint in mystery fiction is Lisbeth Salander.”—Mystery Scene Magazine
“Dazzling.”—Publishers Weekly
“Fans wont want to miss another solid mystery from OConnell”—Library Journal
“NYPD Special Crimes Detective Kathy Mallory is one of the most intriguing characters in crime fiction today.”—New York Daily News
Praise for the Kathy Mallory series by Carol O'Connell
“The Chalk Girl is an event - any Mallory book is. She is as fine a fictional creation as the crime genre offers.” - Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“Like every mothers child, every authors detective is exceptional. But Carol OConnell takes it way over the top with the mythic scale of her mad-genius New York City cop, Kathy Mallory.” - Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
“OConnells awesome ability to weave a taut, complex plot works with Mallorys equally awesome detective skills as she unearths each crystalline facet of crimes both past and present.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A remarkable series. OConnell delivers shock after shock, held together by exquisitely detailed police and forensic procedure and by the riveting, punishing figure of Mallory herself.” - Booklist (starred review)
“OConnell offers more than a suspenseful tale; she portrays a complex world of dark and light, corruption and love. Another must-read in a compelling and rich crime series.” - Library Journal (starred review)
“My new favorite in a long line of mysteries by Carol OConnell that I have greatly admired and enjoyed. Mallory is one of the great characters ever in detective fiction. Shes tall, beautiful, scary smart and…just plain scary. A great read, filled with OConnells command of humor, pathos and drama.” - San Jose Mercury News
“OConnells writing is electric, her plots multilayered, and her cast of characters fascinating.” - Sacramento Bee
“Wow, my vote for the most terrifying and gripping January read. It will chill you to the bone with a plot rising right out of the Brothers Grimm.” - Barbara Peters, Poisoned Pen
“Mallory is one of the most fascinating characters in crime fiction. Before Lisbeth Salander, there was Mallory.” - Joanne Sinchuk, Murder on the Beach
Review
Praise for Carol OConnell and for the Mallory novels “...among the best crime fiction ever written.”—San Jose Mercury News
“Mallory…is as fine a fictional creation as the crime genre offers.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“OConnell has raised the standard for psychological thrillers.”—Chicago Tribune
“Pop fictions most compelling mystery series…[by] one of Americas finest, but too often overlooked, writers of mysteries.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Scores on all levels.”—Detroit Free Press
“Breaks the usual rules.”—The Baltimore Sun
“Easily one of the most original and striking crime fiction protagonists to appear in the last few years.”—St. Petersburg Times
“A hard-edged, brilliant, and indomitable heroine.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Darkly stylish…highly original…This is great fun.”—Chicago Tribune
“A tight, twisting mystery.”—Newsday
“Beautifully written.”—Harpers Bazaar
“Mallory is a marvelous creation.”—Jonathan Kellerman
“One of the most interesting new characters to come along in years.”—John Sandford
“One of the most unique, interesting, and surprising heroines youve ever come across in any work of fiction.”—Nelson DeMille
“An author who really involves you, and makes you care.”—James B. Patterson
“Wild, sly, and breathless—all the things that a good thriller ought to be.”—Carl Hiaasen
“One of those books you cant put down.”—The Boston Globe
“An author who can raise goosebumps with both her plot and her prose.”—Detroit Free Press
Synopsis
The astonishing new Mallory novel from the New York Times- bestselling author.
The little girl appeared in Central Park: red-haired, blue-eyed, smiling, perfect-except for the blood on her shoulder. It fell from the sky, she said, while she was looking for her uncle, who turned into a tree. Poor child, people thought. And then they found the body in the tree.
For Mallory, newly returned to the Special Crimes Unit after three months' lost time, there is something about the girl that she understands. Mallory is damaged, they say, but she can tell a kindred spirit. And this one will lead her to a story of extraordinary crimes: murders stretching back fifteen years, blackmail and complicity and a particular cruelty that only someone with Mallory's history could fully recognize. In the next few weeks, she will deal with them all . . . in her own way.
Synopsis
Brothers Oren and Josh disappear into the woods. Only Oren comes out. Twenty years later, the mystery of what happened to Josh is going to be exposed, and somebody is finally sending him home-bone by bone.
Synopsis
The eight-year-old girl appeared in New York’s Central Park one day: red-haired, blue-eyed, dirty-faced, smiling widely. She looked perfect, like a porcelain fairy—except for the blood on her shoulders. It fell from the sky, she told the police. It happened while she was looking for her Uncle Red, who had turned into a tree. Right, they thought, poor child. And then they found the body in the tree.
For Mallory, newly returned to the Special Crimes Unit after three months’ lost time, spent she will not say where, there is something about the girl that she understands. Mallory is damaged, they say, dangerously unstable, but she can tell a kindred spirit when she sees one. And this one will ultimately lead her to a story of extraordinary crimes, to murders stretching back fifteen years, to blackmail and complicity and a particular cruelty that perhaps only someone with Mallory’s history could fully recognize. In the next few weeks, she will deal with them all…in her own way.
Synopsis
On Route 66, as word travels that children's grave sites are being discovered along the road, the parents of missing children form a silent caravan. They are being shepherded by NYPD Detective Kathleen Mallory, who seeks a killer like none she has ever known-and a child unlike the others: herself.
Synopsis
The reviews called it A Play to Die For” after a woman was found dead in the front row. It didnt seem so funny the next night when another body was foundthis time the playwright himself, his throat slashed. Detective Kathy Mallory of the NYPD Special Crimes Unit takes over, but isnt getting a straight answer from anyone. Not the lead actor, a movie star fallen on hard luck; not the lead actress, a nervous sort with a dependence on pharmaceuticals; not even the wardrobe mistress, working under an alias; and certainly not the twin actors so unnervingly convincing playing psychos.
Now, backstage, someone has left Mallory a message on the blackboard: Tonights the night. Nothing personal. It appears that she is being written into the play itself, a play about a long-ago massacre that may not be fictional after all.
If Mallory can find out whos responsible, heads will roll. Unfortunately, one of them might be her own.
Synopsis
The astonishing new Mallory novel from the New York Timesbestselling author and one of the most acclaimed crime writers in America. The reviews called it A Play to Die For” after the woman was found dead in the front row. It didnt seem so funny the next night, when another body was foundthis time the playwrights, his throat slashed.
Detective Kathy Mallory takes over, but no matter what she asks, no one seems to be giving her a straight answer. The only personif person” is the right wordwho seems to be clear is the ghostwriter. Every night, an unseen backstage hand chalks up line changes and messages on a blackboard. And the ghostwriter is now writing Mallory into the play itself, a play about a long-ago massacre that may not be at all fictional. MALLORY,” the blackboard reads. TONIGHTS THE NIGHT. NOTHING PERSONAL.”
If Mallory cant find out whos responsible, heads will roll. Unfortunately, one of them may be her own.
About the Author
Carol OConnell is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve previous books, ten featuring Kathy Mallory, most recently The Chalk Girl, and the stand-alones Bone by Bone and The Judas Child. She lives in New York City.