Customer Reviews

The Malcontenta: A Kathy Lolla and David Brock Mystery

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In spite of the rave reviews, I must have been one of the few that did not find Barry Maitland's first Kathy and Brock mystery, "The Marx Sisters", all that wonderful. The mystery itself was promising but the novel, in my opinion, tended to meander all over the place, and to get bogged down at times. Having confessed to that, I'll admit that this second Kathy and Brock mystery, The Malcontenta", is really good. Tightly paced and with very good character and plot development, this novel really gave you that 'at-the-edge-of-your-seat' feeling.

Bored with her temporary assignment to the Family and Juvenille Crime unit, Sergeant Kathy Kolla jumps at the chance to investigate a suspicious death at the Stanhope Naturopathic Clinic. From the very first Kathy has to contend with the clinic's staff and administrators whose first priority is naturally to protect the reputation of the clinic, themeselves and their rich and influential clients. Did the physiotherapist, Alex Petrou, commit siucide or is it a case of murder? Things are not adding up for Kathy, and Petrou himself seems to have been abit of a shady character. But just as it looks as if the case is about to break, Kathy is pulled off the case and reprimanded for incompetence.

Frustrated and not at all sure of what she should do, Kathy turns to Brock for advice and help, especially when the Petrou's death is glossed over as an unfortunate accident. Both Kathy and Brock begin to suspect some sort of cover up that reaches into the higher echelons of the county police. But how far up and how many are involved?

This mystery novel is a truly good read. I encourage those few who like me found "The Marx Sisters" disappionting to give this novel a go. You will not be sorry.

THE MALCONTENTA marks the return of Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla and Detective Chief Inspector David Brock where they join forces again to solve a murder.

Kathy has been working light duty for the last few months after recuperating from her injuries sustained in THE MARX SISTERS. Her commanding officer gives her and her partner instructions to go investigate an alleged suicide at a posh health spa. When Kathy starts to investigate she finds inconsistencies with the suicide finding and suffers from obstructions of justice brought by the staff of the spa. When Kathy starts creating waves she is yanked off the case by her commanding officer.

Kathy decides to visit Brock. Since their work together in the previous novel they share a mutual respect for each other. Kathy tells Brock about the case and her concerns and he decides to join the spa in order to find information.

Kathy grows in this novel after the foolhardy way she worked her previous case. I like that the author is taking his time in exploring her characters as he did with DS Kolla this time. He describes her home as well as her neighbors and introduces a possible love interest for Kathy. Brock is still mysterious and in every book we get to know a little more about him but not much about his personal life.

The supporting characters are rather diverse but very interesting. Everybody seemed to hate the dead victim and everyone had an opportunity to kill him in one way or another. It is interesting in this book how one person can affect a whole group of people in ways that affect them indirectly. The story is very involving till the very end.

My only complaint in this book was Kathy herself. There were several characters that were hindering her investigation that she should have arrested for obstruction. Maybe the English have a different way of doing things than the Americans or perhaps the author thought it would have served no purpose. No matter, I enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to reading THE CHALON HEADS.

After having read and enjoyed "The Marx Sisters" by Barry Maitland, I was eager to read "The Malcontenta". While entertaining, it is not as excellent as his previous work.

Kathy and Brock still make a good team and I am looking forward to reading more of these books.

"The Malcontenta" is set in a Health Spa. I have found, over many years, that although Health Spas and Cruise Ships would seem to be ideal settings for mysteries, they usually disappoint.

Nonetheless, this is a good read and I would not hesitate to recommend it, particularly to lovers of English mysteries.

Detective Inspector Kathy Kolla is on temporary assignment in the Southern Counties. Her mentor, David Brock of Scotland Yard, is at home in London preparing a paper for a conference in Rome. But Katie can't seem to stay out of trouble, and the team pair up again, this time outside officialdom.

It seems Katie has been saddled with a sexist superior officer. First he buries her in domestic abuse cases, and when she asks for something more challenging, he sends her off to check out a suicide.

A physiotherapist at a naturopathic clinic has apparently hanged himself. But Kathy finds some points about the condition of the body suspicious. She launches a full-scale investigation, only to be pulled off the case by her boss, who thinks she overreacting just to make herself important.

Kathy pays a late night visit to Brock to ask his advice, and he can't resist getting unofficially involved. He checks into the clinic, and finds himself increasingly disoriented by fasts, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, osteotherapy and acupuncture.

The title of the book comes from the chilling eighteenth century building that houses the clinic. It's modeled after a Palladian villa known as La Malcontenta.

I was charmed by the first Kathy and Brock mystery, The Marx Sisters. This is the second in the series and not especially charming, but a competent, engrossing thriller.

It goes without saying that tight plotting, suspense, and a good prose style are key components in writing a mystery novel. Barry Maitland's second mystery, "The Malcontenta", has all of that.

But what makes it an enjoyable five-stars is the wit and the characterization. Maitland sees his world from a distance, a perspective which allows him some irony and wry humor as the novel unfolds...and gives him the latitude to create a bevvy of characters who are charming, intriguing, and very human.

This is a suberb mystery. Don't miss it.

British author Maitland's second Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla and Chief Inspector David Brock mystery, "The Malcontenta," finds young Kathy chafing at mundane duties in the country, on rotation from her London base. Jumping at the chance to investigate the death of a physical therapist at an alternative-medicine spa, her zealousness in seeing murder where her superiors have determined suicide soon lands her in trouble.

Taking the case to Brock, she is delighted when he agrees to investigate unofficially, from the inside, as a patient. The narrative switches to Brock's point-of-view as he enters a regimen of fasting and acupuncture under the watchful eye of the charismatic, pretentious director and his coldly efficient wife while asking nosy questions of suspicious and vulnerable patients.

A second, horrific death, which points a bloody finger at Brock, spins the narrative back to Kathy, who is abruptly suspended and thrown onto the resources of her heretofore nonexistent private life (introducing new characters who will certainly flesh out the background of the next book). The pair teams up again for a spectacular and surprising finale with plenty of fast footwork and bloody drama.

Likeable protagonists, effective secondary characters, a wryly humorous style and a well-paced plot make Maitland's (The Marx Sisters") series a growing pleasure.

Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla and Detective Chief Inspector David Brock made a wonderful team when they worked on their first case together in The Marx Sisters. They had a synergy that allowed them to combine efficiently while working on the case. They return in another tense police procedural and that good relationship will be required again in The Malcontenta as Kolla faces a particularly frustrating case.

The story opens with a very perturbed Kathy Kolla making her way to DCI Brock's house to seek his advice. Brock, who is a highly regarded Scotland Yard detective, has been on leave as he prepares a paper for a conference in Rome and so is removed from the day to day police-work. DS Kolla usually works at the London Met but has been sent to the Southern Counties for a year's secondment possibly as a punishment for the events detailed in The Marx Sisters.

The case in question is the apparent suicide of a man employed at Stanhope Naturopath Clinic, a health farm style complex that basks in its isolation. The director of the clinic seems particularly reluctant to help with providing any information and in fact, even hinders the case. This is annoying and perhaps even a little suspicious but she receives a shock to be confronted and berated by the Deputy Chief Constable who happened to be staying at the clinic.

The Deputy Chief Constable's wrath notwithstanding, she carries on and begins to make progress on the case, suspecting strongly that the suicide is in fact a murder. Just when real breakthroughs are being made she and the constable she is working with are hauled into their superior's office, taken off the case and warned to leave the people from the clinic alone.

Sensing that there is some sort of cover-up going on and determined to find out what it is, it's at this point that she turns to Brock to see if he could come up with a plan. He can, an undercover operation, completely unofficial and against the rules, where he would pose as a patient and enter Stanhope himself. The results are not exactly what Kolla or Brock would have hoped for, but their actions certainly stir things into a delightful frenzy.

Starting off slowly as many police procedurals tend to do, the story builds in intensity developing a distinct us versus them feeling. Once the initial crime has been laid out for us and the main characters (suspects) are introduced, they are almost disregarded as the more troubling interference and discipline from within the police force takes over.

As readers we are kept in the dark during most of The Malcontenta just as the protagonists are. We are just as confused as Kolla and Brock when the case goes spinning out of control and there is a continuing sense of injustice about the events, even a feeling of outrage at the treatment that's being handed out. Barry Maitland has done a superb job of drawing me into the story by playing upon my own emotions, putting me in Kathy Kolla's predicament and effectively asking how I would feel in the same situation. It's a style that gave me the feeling that I held a stake in the outcome.

The Malcontenta is a strong follow-up to The Marx Sisters firmly establishing the partnership that was formed between DS Kolla and DCI Brock. We are given the benefit of learning a little more about both of them although the character development is probably the least strong aspect of the book. At this point I think they are still far from fully formed characters with the concentration placed more on their handling of the case. In particular it seems to me that Brock is yet to reach his full potential.

Insightful detective work while facing possibly career destroying opposition carries the story and is made consistently interesting by changing the lead character, first Kathy Kolla and then David Brock. Barry Maitland is definitely an author to follow for those who enjoy strong police procedurals.

THE MALCONTENTA by Barry Maitland will keep the reader thoroughly entertained on a long flight or wait at the doctor's office. The book has several strenghths and a few minor weaknesses.

First, Maitland creates relatively strong settings. Maitland teaches university level architecture and in THE MALCONTENTA he has inserted interesting material about 18th Century architecture -- the Italian influence on the English country house (Palladio)-- which will appeal to anyone familiar with the Italinate influence on the Neoclassical Age in England. And, despite what the reviewer says, the house in this story is based on an Italian design (Palladio) -- the original in Vicenza and known as The Malcontenta.

Second, Maitland does a pretty convincing job of developing his characters, though some are more adequately drawn than others. One character in THE MALCONTENTA, a woman with a serious illness is quite real and her discussions with Brock are so authentic I felt as if I was overhearing a conversation.

Maitland won't keep you in suspense for long. He has too many characters and they fall all over each other and drag down the action (Kathy's room mates and co-workers should be thinned out). The plot of THE MALCONTENTA is fairly believable although there are some nonplausible moments. I just don't think good cops travel without cell phones. However, Maitland is far better at avoiding mad plot twists than many of his contemporaries who boggle the mind at times.

All in all, this is a good and entertaining book, and I like it well enough to read other books by Maitland.

Australian author Maitland surprised the world five years ago with the Marx sisters, a wonderful little book about a neighbourhood in London and the human relationships between a number of immigrants against the historical background of the last house of Karl Marx. This book introduced us to DCI Brock and DS Kolla.

In the Malcontenta we see them back in a more sophisticated novel with a lot of room for development of other charachters.

The plot is very good and well paced. A murder in a high profile clinic is given to DS Kolla to investigate but in a later stage she is pulled from the investigation and the investigation is closed. Not satsified with that Kathy involves Brock and this leads to a whole new set of events in and around the clinic.

Maitland has this wonderful talent of taking you ( luring you even..) into a situation where nothing much seems to happen, where you start to feel as if you were listening to one of Poirots explanations and than...Boom it happens. This makes splendid reading.

This novel, more than the first, is also excellent in describing the backgrounds, the theathre, of where it all happens. In the description of the clinic you have the feeling of reading The Magic Mountain with different characters and in his description of the gay scene heis poignant and fair.

It is a pity that it takes such a long time to bring these books to the market. I bought the book four years ago in Australia and have re-read it again after all the publiciy on these pages.

It is well worth reading, however and I will certainly pick up the number three in this series as well.