I had never read anything by Carol O'Connell before so I did not know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised.

Mallory, the detective in this series, finds an eight-year-old child in Central Park. She is dirty and extremely friendly. She tells a wild tale. She calls herself Coco. Coco is the first clue to a series of murders and attempted murder that lead Mallory back in time.

Years ago in a private school a little girl died by falling from the roof. Her body was outlined in chalk. In a strange tradition, every year the chalk drawing is repeated on the walkway.

How the present-day murders connect to students at that school long ago is what Mallory eventually finds out.

Mallory is an odd detective. She's unpredictable, has good instincts, tends to have something of an autistic personality. She likes to threaten people. She doesn't do anything half-ass. She's a bit of a comic character.

Her partner and her chief generally understand her and protect her from herself as well as from higher-ups who prefer that cops play by the rules. She's really a bit of a caricature, yet she's likable enough. I felt she was a bit over the top but I'd read another book in this series. ( )

This book starts off with a bang. I was totally engrossed. The writing is excellent. I stopped reading about 12% into it for two reasons. The story of the crime and descriptions were too upsetting for me. The other thing was that the main character is not at all likable. Her flaws are too much to be redeemed by her ability as a detective.

Stumbled upon this series ~years~ ago... may have read Judas Child (stand-alone) first. Was very taken with this authors style of psychological thriller/mystery. She does not disappoint, Mallory is still a cold psycho cop.... but we get the most minute hints that there might be more... maybe.
(would love to meet Charles Butler, still & always my favorite character) ( )

This was my first in the series. Interesting protagonist in Detective Kathy Mallory. Intricate plot, but am I to believe everyone in a family is a psychopath? I hadn't heard of Williams Syndrome before.

Excellent narration by Barbara Rosenblatt, as usual. ( )

Carol O'Connell non delude mai, bellissimo thriller con la detective Kathy Mallory. ( )