Anna S. (annapi) reviewed on 1/2/2010 + 334 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I have mixed feelings about this book. It started out well, introduced an intriguing character in the hard-edged tough babe Kathleen Mallory, a computer genius cop with borderline ethics who nevertheless loves the law. Her adopted father, detective Louis Markowitz, is murdered by a serial killer he was pursuing. Mallory is determined to conduct her own investigation despite being put on bereavement leave.

I loved the fascinating characters in this book and the different flavor of the atmosphere, so dark and complex, particularly in its central figure. Yet as the convoluted mystery progresses, it occasionally got bogged down in circuitous language and scenes that seemed to be inserted for the sake of confusing the reader. While it is a typical ploy of authors to throw red herrings in one's path, it went overboard in the attempt to muddy the waters and weave a tangle of threads into a tapestry whose final picture is revealed in the end. It's a great first novel in what looks to be a promising series, but the author failed to completely endear me to her character and style by what I felt was a "trying too hard" attempt to produce a labyrinthine story that fell a little short in the climax it wanted to achieve, with the villain's motives a bit of a questionable stretch. Still, I would give another book in the series a try as authors need a few volumes to get in stride, and I hope O'Connell's writing improves with the next installments.

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