The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (Kathleen Mallory Novels) [Mass Market Paperback]

Carol O'Connell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kathleen Mallory Novels | Publication Date: July 1, 1996

Brilliant computer hacker and NYPD sergeant Kathleen Mallory is forced to test the limits of her intelligence when she confronts a deadly killer who strikes close to home in more ways than one. Reprint. K.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

O'Connell's second novel (after Mallory's Oracle) brings back NYPD Sergeant Kathy Mallory, plunging this tough-minded yet soulful heroine into another convoluted case. When a woman killed in Central Park is mistakenly identified as Mallory, the former street urchin and computer whiz sets herself up as bait by moving into the apartment building that houses her three main suspects. Using a computer and the building's electronic bulletin board to psych out the killer, she stirs up more than she bargained for?including someone who wants her dead. Other elements in the intelligent plot include a crime of passion, a suspenseful cat-and-mouse game and a boy who may be telekinetic and whose stepmothers keep dying. The dialogue is crisp, the prose supple, but the overall tone is dour, sometimes, in fact, mournful. Not enough of the story is told from Mallory's point of view, however, and O'Connell tends to evoke her mysterious behavior through description rather than through action. As a result, Mallory?who with her bitter youth, street smarts and rough edges carries echoes of Andrew Vachss's Burke?remains an enigma, a major absence at the center of the plot. BOMC and QPB selection.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Few mysteries embody the intensity of O'Connell's second Kathy Mallory title. Mallory, a street urchin fostered by a now-dead New York cop and his wife, follows in her father's footsteps as a primo detective. Taken off suspension to cover the murder of a woman at first identified as Mallory herself, she pits her uncanny intelligence and formidable computer skills against a compulsive and evasive adversary. Moments of wry humor invade the author's incisive prose, tempering an admirable female protagonist sure to gather a following. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Jove (July 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0515118907
• ISBN-13: 978-0515118902
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Police Procedurals

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This series just keeps getting better and better, July 10, 2004

By 

Margaux Paschke - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (Kathleen Mallory Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

First off let me say that if you're looking for a touchy feely maiden in distress kind of heroine - you won't find it here! When a young woman is found murdered and mistakenly identified as Mallory, our Mallory moves in and uses her expert computer skills to try and trip up three suspects who all live in the same building. Some creepy moments ensue until all is resolved at the end. The whole gang reappears and their characters are further developed to this reader's delight. Once again the author serves up a fascinating suspense that I hated to see end. Some reviewers seem to think that Mallory is this inhuman character that makes the story and author heartless and if you have one shred of decency, you won't like this book. Ummm, what version were they reading? Mallory is a little ruthless and heartless at times (she certainly maintains a "ends justify the means" mentality) but don't mistake that for having no emotion. Knowing her background of having to survive on the streets as a very young kid, the death of her foster parents who kept her somewhat grounded, and you begin to see the tight control she maintains over her emotions as a necessary function. Mallory is so intricate a character that she seems to be a real human being, albeit a flawed one, and not on of those cookie cutter females that pass as heroines.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New series 2nd excellent read!, October 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (Kathleen Mallory Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

Kathy Mallory is an enigma! I am a big fan of the "in Death" series by Nora Roberts and this is slowly but surely becoming my next favorite female lead.

The characters are becoming familiar to me. But 'Mallory' is the puzzlement and it is fascinating to read this progress. I am reading them in order and it is hard to put the book down. Gory in spots, but always fascinating! I love 'good' bad guys and Mallory is betwixt and between. Several reactions here! This heroine is different from what we are used to. On to the next...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good addition to the series..., December 14, 2006

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Contradiction - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (Kathleen Mallory Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

O'Connell knows how to write mysteries. I have found surprises and suspense galore in all of the Mallory books. But I have never understood the characterizations in these books. Everyone is basically an idiot around the amazingly beautiful, intense and threatening Kathleen Mallory whose mere stare can reduce most people to quivering jello. Only Mallory -- don't call her Kathleen if you value your life -- seems to know what's going on. Staying just inside the law, or at least not getting caught, Mallory is a very strange NY police officer with her own troubling ideas of right and wrong.

Once, just once, I would love to see a character in these books who doesn't completely wilt in Mallory's presence after meeting her. In fact, I have repeatedly resolved never to buy another Mallory book because of this quality. It's hard to get into a book when the core characters are so completely unlikeable. But, ultimately, I love mystery novels. And O'Connell knows how to churn out some deft plotting. So I return. Maybe that's why I like O'Connell's Judas Child so much. No Mallory. She's ruthless. We get it.

All in all, a solid addition to the series. If you liked the first one, Mallory's Oracle, you'll like this one. If you didn't like that one, you will definitely not like this one since Mallory is even more of a black hole in this one. Not too many happy endings in the Mallory series.