Killing Critics (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

Rating:
Summary: gripping, breathless,and thoroughly satisfying
Review: This is my favorite in the Mallory series so far. Mallory is getting a bit more vulnerable as we come to know her - like anything, you have to work at it and it makes it the more satisfying. The premise was a bit confusing - or maybe i lack the necessary insight to get it in one take, but I found that as I re-read the book I picked up on things that I missed in my haste to absorb the novel. The extra cast were delightfully well-designed - I particularly enjoyed the character of Quinn, who seems to be sort of Mallory-like himself. The book is thoroughly entertaining and ultimately very satisfying. I've read some less-than-generous reviews and I urge those readers to try again. There are a few things that feel awkward the first time... so, once more, from the top. The writing is good enough to stand alone without the complex plot and intiguing characters. Maybe it's just too much of a good thing, literary overload for the faint of heart. Don't give up, you will be rewarded.

Rating:
Summary: An Intense Read!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Please just keep 'em coming O'Connell
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: This was the first book that I have read by Carol O'Connell. I cannot wait to read the next. The characters in this book are so interesting and well developed. The story was so gripping that I counld not put it down! I had a little problem with the confession of what really happened, but it still was a great mystery book

Rating:
Summary: Chilling blend of horror and heartache
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Killing Critics Will Slay You
Review: 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 ([e-mail]