Customer Reviews

Killing Critics (Kathleen Mallory Novels)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Carol O'Connell's Killing Critics is her third Kathleen Mallory mystery, and they just continue to get better. This book has it all: complex plot, memorable characters and some brilliant detective work.

An artist, Dean Starr, is discovered murdered in the middle of an art gallery exhibition. His death is made to look like performance art. NYPD Special Crimes Unit detectives Mallory and Ricker are called in to investigate. Twelve years previous, there was a brutal double homicide in an art gallery owned by the same man, and the circumstances are very similar. Mallory's late father, Markowitz, was on that case and although he got a confession and a conviction, he never for a minute believed that he had the right man. As Mallory and Riker find out more about this new murder, the more parallels there are to the old one. Yet, the NYPD considers the old case closed, and will not allow them to "officially" investigate. The list of suspects is very long, and there are also a good number of people who would like to see the murders remain unsolved. Those in high ranking office are vulnerable including the police commission and a state senator.

In Killing Critics, O'Connell gives us a crash course on the New York City art world, including artists, works of art, galleries, gallery owners, art shows, art critics, art patrons and art investors. It truly is fascinating. She also opens the door wider into Mallory's troubled childhood, and we better understand why she remains so scarred. All the major characters (Mallory, Riker and Butler) are fleshed out in greater detail.

Two things kept me from giving this book five stars. First, I thought it was a bit slow at the beginning, although it quickly picked up speed and the ending will blow you away. Second, I thought it stretched O'Connell's credibility to have Mallory challenge a former Olympic gold medalist to a fencing duel (she only had one semester of fencing in college). Still, these criticisms aside, this is an awesome story and O'Connell is one of the few writers who gives us mysteries with meat.

In Killing Critics, Carol O'Connell's lead character Kathy Mallory continues to evolve into one of the most fascinating heroines in the genre. In each of her three appearances, (Mallory's Oracle, The Man Who Cast Two Shadows, and Killing Critics), Mallory reveals slivers of her past, intriguing insights into her missing childhood, even as she regains the memories that torment her. The mystery of Mallory is as compelling as any of the murders found in these tales, and will be the reason I will keep reading O'Connell's new works. Kathy Mallory isn't finished yet, and I look forward to seeing her deal with her demons.

This book did not disappoint. After reading her previous books I couldn't wait to read Mallory's latest adventure. O'Connell gives us more background into why Mallory has turned into the detective she is. Some of the characters I Idid not care for(Bliss for instance, and Emma Sue Halloran) but I like Charles,Riker, and Coffey. These people are true to life. Sometimes O'Connell is hard to follow as she brings in caharacters and events in The Big Apple that don't seem to tie in with the story. Here's hoping her next novel The Stone Angel is a continuation of Sgt. Mallory.I would like to know more about the elusive Carol O'Connell

You know a mystery is good when you can overlook some problems in the plot and still come away relishing the whole thing. Carol O'Connell's latest Katherine Mallory book Killing Critics falls in this category. The book opens with a murder that ties to a 12-year old murder, both of artists/art critics. The final solution is one so unlikely, you have to gulp and shake your head. One critic seals himself off on the roof of Bloomingdale's, as unlikely a scenario as you will find, and the plot is strangely reminiscent to one by Agatha Christie, but O'Connell miraculously pulls the whole thing off. The characters, however eccentric, come across as real, which is one key to greatness. The reader who loves detective Kathy Mallory will want to stand up and shout "Wait a minute!" when Mallory heads off out of New York at the book's end. The real mystery: is Mallory finished as a series character or will she be back in a new location? After this flawed gem, readers will clamor for more. If Ms O'Connell thinks she's going to get rid of Mallory so easily, she may find herself bumping into the legend of Sherlock Holmes... Jorge Ribeiro (jribe2285@aol.com

This was the first Carol O'Connell book I read and still one of my favorites. It's the only book that ever scared the hell out of me while making me cry for so many characters who were irreversibly devastated by their loss. Carol O'Connell has a wonderful way of creating characters who are rarely likable or sympathetic but who are almost always interesting.

O'Connell has a sick mind. The murders are detailed and punch the senses. Feel the pain and insanity of a victim's surviving family. Try to catch a breath during a killer's detailed confession. And along the way be presented with an amusing, realities check on the business of art. Mallory, her fellow detectives and friends remain colorful and intriguing, while uniquely progressing from the first two novels in this series. I did not rate 5 stars only because the whereabouts of a few characters were left open-ended, and I personally prefer earlier clues and foreshadowing in detective novels.

Wonderful service....I had ordered two books at the same time....one came and Killing Critics did not...they were from different sellers...when I contacted the seller of Killing Critics I had an answer the next day, they were very gracious and my book arrived the next day!! EXCELLENT SERVICE

Carol O'Connell is an excellent writer. If you haven't read any of her books, you are definitely in for a treat.

I have enjoyed every book she has written thus far and am looking forward to her next one .

Try her, you will be delighted--- all her books are worth the 5 star rating, in my opinion. Keep in mind, her characters (especially the "heroine" are tough.

Frances Jessup

This third book in the series is just as great as all the others, maybe even a little more so. All the characters I've come to love are here as well as the introduction of J.L. Quinn (pretty please let him reappear). This was an intensely emotional story that ends with a bang. Art cricits are being killed off and it has something to do with an old crime handled by her late foster father. All hell breaks loose when a determined Mallory reinvestigates. We've gotten to know these characters so well by now that when Riker's past is delved into or Mallory is proven to be as destructible as the next person, the reader is there. The ending left a quite a blow and I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next one in this series (The Stone Angel). I really can't praise this series enough for it's deep character development, unusual as well as strong heroine and well written plots.

This is my third venture into Kathy Mallory's world. Descriptions of crime scenes are gory. Neverending tension! Thank heaven for the men around her to balance her out. She's intense and seemingly invulnerable. I could not put the book down! What a ride! On to the next!