Book
The chalk girl / Carol O'Connell.
Summary:
Record details
- ISBN: 9780425250303 (pbk.) :
- ISBN: 042525030X (pbk.)
- Physical Description: 513 p. ; 19 cm.
- Publisher: New York : Berkley Books, 2012, c2011.
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- Subject:
- Mallory, Kathleen (Fictitious character) > Fiction.
Police > New York (State) > New York > Fiction.
Policewomen > Fiction.
Murder > Investigation > Fiction.
New York (N.Y.) > Fiction. - Genre:
- Mystery fiction.
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Available copies
- 3 of 3 copies available at BC Interlibrary Connect. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at Radium Hot Springs Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Holdable? | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radium Hot Springs Public Library | FIC OCO (Text) | 35130000036917 | Adult Fiction | Volume hold | Available | - |
- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2011 November #2
Kathy Mallory of the NYPD's Special Crimes Unit may be the Lord Byron of police detectives. Like Byron, the gorgeous and beyond-eccentric Mallory is "mad, bad, and dangerous to know." In this remarkable series, Mallory, wounded by a horrific childhood, concentrates her entire being on the vengeful pursuit of bad guys, using some well-developed criminal skills to flush them out of hiding. Mallory is pulled out of leave (brought on by the department psychiatrist's labeling her as "dangerously unstable") by a case her superiors think that only she, rocky as she is, can solve. The case turns on one witness, an eight-year-old girl with a rare genetic disorder that leaves her physically and emotionally vulnerable, who knew a serial killer's first victim, found hanging from a tree in Central Park. Victims range from a homeless man to a prep-school boy and his grieving parents. O'Connell delivers shock after shock, held together by exquisitely detailed police and forensic procedure and by the riveting, punishing figure of Mallory herself. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2011 December #1
A complex, gritty thriller that is at once hard to take and hard to put down. It opens with a woman taking a group of schoolchildren on a visit to Sheep Meadow, part of Manhattan's Central Park. After the children wander off, she collapses and dies from a massive stroke, and a horde of rats gnaw on her corpse. A mysterious 8-year-old waif named Coco appears and displays considerable knowledge of vermin. One of a series of novels featuring NYPD detective Kathy Mallory, this book has a number of surprising and grisly twists. The characters are fascinating, though, including crazy Mallory, who had once been a street urchin herself and now brings a unique perspective to her job. Coco has Williams Syndrome, a condition that manifests itself partly in excessive desire to be loved, even by strangers. Give her a hug and she's cool, but don't get her started talking about rats. Meanwhile, Mallory investigates the murder of a schoolboy named Ernest Nadler--Dead Ernest--who has been systematically tormented by a small group of other children. Who are they, and why did they do it? Has someone put them up to the crime? No doubt children exist who are capable of such evil, although they are hard to imagine. And perhaps such children--speaking of vermin--need no particular motivation to inflict themselves on a classmate. But the ultimate motivation for the crime and the deep, insane intrafamily hatred seem rather hard to believe. Hardly the craziest character in the story, Mallory pursues the case with a certain emotional detachment. She gets in the faces of powerful people even as she strives to protect the strange Coco, who doesn't seem surprised when rats fall from the sky. Readers who dislike tales of torture and murder of children will take a pass on this one, but those who relish justice will be glad they read to the end. Copyright Kirkus 2011 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ BookSmack
After way too many false starts, this story eventually boils down to some New York City cops tracking down a serial killer. Chapters begin with cryptic epigraphs from one Ernest Nadler, who may or may not be a serial killer who kidnaps his victims and, uh, disposes of them in Central Park. Cliché's aplenty clog the pages, including but not limited to: * the little orphan girl; * the fancy-pants psychologist-cum-expert-on-everything; * the street-wise Hispanic cleaning woman; * the shitload of swarming rats. Chief trope is a deadly dull title character, a kind of female Dirty Harry/cowboy cop. She operates on instinct! The commissioner is in fits, but what can he do when she's so good? She knows that departmental policies won't clear this case! She's one step away from getting jacked up by the captain! How much was that haircut anyway? Mallory's badass powers are so supernatural that cops with guns are frightened of her, and the air is colder near her desk. And no one has any fun in this boring-ass book. Some options: Robert B. Parker's Spenser books (fun), Elmore Leonard (unconcerned with hearing his own voice), and Ed McBain (entertaining). There's plenty of new original work, too, like Tom Franklin's Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. ["O'Connell offers more than a suspenseful tale; she portrays a complex world of dark and light, corruption and love, in a New York City that retains its grittiness," read the LJ starred review (coming in 11/15/11).-Ed.] - Douglas Lord, "Books for Dudes," Booksmack! 11/3/11 (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2011 November #2
It has been five years since O'Connell gave us a new novel in her Mallory series, but the action picks up only a few weeks after we last saw Mallory melting down in Find Me. Once again, a child is in jeopardy, one who may be a witness to a series of grisly crimes in New York's Central Park. Coco is an unusual child, but she charms even the antisocial detective Mallory, though her partner, Riker, and friend Charles Butler doubt how deeply she can care for the little girl. But Mallory, who predates both Dexter Morgan and Lisbeth Salander as an unlikely crime-stopping sociopath, does care for Cocoâin her own violently protective way. As Mallory and Riker unravel the mystery, older crimes are uncovered, along with the ways adults repeatedly fail the children around them. VERDICT O'Connell offers more than a suspenseful tale; she portrays a complex world of dark and light, corruption and love, in a New York City that retains its grittiness. Another must-read in a compelling and rich crime series. [See Prepub Alert, 7/11/11.]âDevon Thomas, DevIndexing, Chelsea, MI
[Page 68]. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2011 August #1
The little girl says that the blood on her shoulder came from the skyâand that her uncle has turned into a tree. In fact, there is a body in the tree, and Kathy Mallory, back in the Special Crimes Unit after three months and still feeling fragile, is the only one able to get through to the child. She discovers some truly nasty stuff going back 15 years. Important for mystery collections.
[Page 57]. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. - Publishers Weekly Reviews : PW Reviews 2011 October #5
Near the start of bestseller O'Connell outstanding 10th novel featuring New York City cop Kathy Mallory (after 2006's Find Me), the enigmatic Mallory, despite having been declared mentally unfit to return to duty following an unexplained three month long absence, nonchalantly reclaims her desk in the Special Crimes Unit. Nobody questions "Mallory the Machine," especially after she connects with a savantlike child found wandering alone in Central Park. Eight-year-old Coco has witnessed a kidnapping and murder, but the girl is incapable of describing the killer. The murder of Coco's uncle is one of three similar crimes that Mallory begins to suspect are linked to a couple of cold cases as well as to pervasive corruption among the city's elite. O'Connell's awesome ability to weave a taut, complex plot works with Mallory's equally awesome detective skills as she unearths each crystalline facet of crimes both past and present. Author tour. (Jan.)
[Page ]. Copyright 2011 PWxyz LLC