Description
From Booklist Early on in this ninth Kathleen Mallory novel, O'Connell observes, "By definition, enigmas lacked clarity." That oracular sentence perfectly captures the cloudy world of the Mallory novels, starring the most unlikely of NYPD detectives, a "feral" child adopted and raised by another NYPD officer and his wife. The action here begins with Mallory having disappeared from New York, and Riker, her partner, wondering if the dead woman in Mallory's apartment is a suicide or the victim of the detective's long-feared sociopathic meltdown. Meanwhile, Mallory is hurtling toward Chicago and mythic Route 66 in a VW Beetle ragtop pumped up on Porsche steroids. She's on the trail of a serial child killer who shares her obsession with the road and has been burying the bodies of female children along the fabled highway for decades. When Mallory's manic passage along 66 brings her to a forlorn caravan of parents looking for their lost children under the leadership of a weary--and possibly weird--old psychologist, Find Me quickly becomes a stunning novel of loss, anguish, psychosis, love, and redemption. The narrative is onionlike: events, motives, and other narrative necessities are peeled away layer by layer. Some layers work, others don't; a monumentally bent FBI agent leading a platoon of "body snatchers" ahead of the caravan strains credulity. But the anguish of the sad searchers and Mallory's own obsession with 66, and with her own lost childhood, simply require the reader to share the obsessions and see the story through to its end. Dense, demanding, and very powerful. Thomas Gaughan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the audio_download edition. One of the most poetic yet tough-minded writers. --San Francisco Chronicle --This text refers to the audio_download edition. Carol O'Connell has been consistently praised as a gifted storyteller (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), the author of stylishly innovative (San Francisco Chronicle), immensely affecting (Miami Herald) novels with an irresistible narrative force (Publishers Weekly). Dead Famous is her eighth novel, the seventh in the Mallory series. She lives in New York City. Alyssa Bresnahan graduated from New York University, winning the Highest Achievement in Acting Award. Her credits include MacBeth at the Classic Stage Company, The Clearing at the New York Stage & Film Festival, and Hedda Galer at the Hudson Guild Theater in Los Angeles for which she received the DramaLogue Award. --This text refers to the audio_download edition. From Publishers Weekly A complex tale of murder, betrayal and unexpected revelations of self-discovery are some of the compelling elements that make up this exceptional entry into O'Connell's mystery series featuring a NYPD detective and ex-feral child, Kathy Mallory. While on a deeply personal road trip along Route 66, Mallory gets caught up in a manhunt for a serial killer. The investigating authorities believe Mack the Knife has been murdering children and burying them along the old highway for over a decade, with the death toll reaching more than 100. When adult bodies begin showing up, Mallory embarks on a mission to end the murder's killing streak, no matter what the cost. Bresnahan manages to balance multiple viewpoints and a wide variety of characters without resorting to over-the-top vocal theatrics. Her clear, matter-of-fact delivery keeps the plot moving at a steady pace and works well with the material. She is especially effective in her portrayal of the no-nonsense Mallory, a troubled character who never lets emotions get in the way of her job. Bresnahan's narration pulls the listener deep into this absorbing and suspenseful story. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the audio_download edition. From AudioFile Alyssa Bresnahan does a breathtaking job of making New York City Homicide Detective Kathie Mallory's weird, cold borderline personality appealing, and of maintaining pace in this baroque plot. I'm not convinced the disparate parts of Mallory's personality fit any realistic pathology, but she's riveting to watch as she goes after a serial murderer of little girls who has notched 100 kills and is now raising the ante with a new MO. It's unclear whether Mallory's own father is a suspect, and oh, also, when she left New York, there was a dead woman in her apartment, plus, scores of parents of murder victims are in the mix, playing moving targets as the death toll mounts. Bresnahan keeps scores of characters vivid and distinct, and the story boiling. B.G. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the audio_download edition. Read more
Features & Highlights
- 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.
