Detective Fiction, Women Detectives - Fiction, Police Stories

Dead Famous (Kathleen Mallory Series #7)

Name: Dead Famous (Kathleen Mallory Series #7)
Author: Carol O'Connell
ISBN: 9780425197974

by Carol O'Connell

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Overview

Jurors on a controversial trial are being killed off one by one, and only Detective Kathleen Mallory can figure out why. But the FBI has told her to lay off and leave it to the Feds. That's never stopped Mallory before.

Synopsis

Publishers Weekly

O'Connell's previous noirish novels featuring Kathleen Mallory (Crime School, etc.) wove together the NYPD detective's pursuits with glimpses of her past life, beginning with her semi-feral street urchin youth. This time, however, much of the book focuses on Riker, her crusty former partner, who's recuperating from a near-fatal shooting, and fascinating newcomer Dr. Johanna Apollo, the beautiful, deformed psychiatrist whom he loves. Apollo is the mysterious central player in a serpentine scheme that involves a vengeance-driven FBI agent, an obnoxious radio shock-jock, his unhinged assistant and The Reaper, a serial killer who's bumping off jurists who set a murderer free. The novel's convoluted, tricky plot is in need of audio clarification and that's what stage and television actress Bresnahan brings to the table. She wisely opts for a straightforward approach, presenting the book's lengthy descriptive passages in a clear, crisp manner and defining the cast of eccentric characters with subtle vocal shifts. (One notable and laudable exception is the supercilious, snarky tone she uses to nail the loathsome shock-jock.) The result is a compelling, smartly paced entertainment, as focused and coolly efficient as its affect-less heroine. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Forecasts, Aug. 4). (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Carol O'Connell

Carol O'Connell is the author of eight previous Mallory novels, including the national bestseller Winter House, and of Judas Child.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Library Journal

In the latest "Mallory" novel, police detective Kathy Mallory takes a supporting role while the action centers on her partner, P. Riker. As Riker recovers from injuries sustained in Crime School, he grows close to the enigmatic Dr. Johanna Apollo, a woman with beautiful legs, a disfigured back, and many secrets. Meanwhile, radio shock jock Ian Zachary is encouraging listeners to ferret out jurors from a controversial trial. One by one, the jurors are dying at the hands of a character named the Reaper, but the FCC, FBI, and NYPD seem powerless to shut down Zachary's program and stop his deadly game. As Mallory investigates the disc jockey, she becomes convinced that Johanna Apollo is at the center of the mystery surrounding the vicious murders, and that Riker might be in danger. Fast-paced and complex, this novel offers a twist ending that readers won't see coming. Recommended for public libraries and popular fiction collections. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/03.]-Leslie Madden, Georgia Inst. of Technology Lib., Atlanta Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In her eighth outing, iconic detective Kathy Mallory takes on the FBI, a serial killer, a powerful shock jock, the depression of her ex-partner, and a determined woman nearly as brilliant and devious as herself. Loner Johanna Apollo lives at the Chelsea Hotel and works as a crime-scene cleaner. A hunchback with long black hair and extra long legs, Johanna resembles a giant spider maneuvering Manhattan's dicey streets. She works for Mallory's scruffy partner Riker (currently on medical leave after an on-the-job shooting) and has, like her fellow characters, a closetful of secrets O'Connell shrewdly doles out piecemeal, tilting the landscape with each new revelation. FBI agent Marvin Argus is hounding her about an unsolved Chicago case, the killing of Timothy Kidd, another Fed, her psychiatric patient and/or lover and/or victim. Meanwhile, New York shock jock Ian Zachary pushes his popularity through the roof by fomenting public outrage against a jury that let an apparent killer go free. Stopping just short of criminal activity, he exhorts his audience to locate the jurors. As the tale opens, eight of them have been killed by someone identifying himself as The Reaper. After grappling with personal demons and mental stability in her last case (Crime School, 2002), superwoman Mallory returns with a vengeance, and in total control. But clever Johanna tests both her wits and her will. Memorable characters and blazingly original prose. Once again, O'Connell transcends the genre. First printing of 60,000; author tour