ISBN: 0-515-12086-3 Order from: Amazon.com
A slick, dark, police procedural, with a melodramatically attractive and capable heroine, a baffling mystery, and enough fast and cynical action to hold the reader's attention.
Reviewed by David on August 01, 1999
Genre: Mystery (Police Procedural)
Synopsis: This series which started in Mallory's Oracle continues the adventures of Kathy Mallory, the beautiful and ruthless NYPD detective.
Twevle years ago, a man was caught and convicted for the brutal murder of two people. Now, another slaying with grim resemblance to the old crime is puzzling the NYPD.
Mallory is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, even while the powerful movers and shakers, and even her own superior officers are lined up to stop her.
Full Review: This book, like the others in the series, portray the brutality of murder, and the pain and destruction it inflicts on the survivors. The fear, pain and rage surrounding the brutal double slaying are as strong as ever, and the never cleared-up doubts about the man convicted of the murder complicate the investigation.
This time, Mallory has the added complication of fighting her own superiors, who prove every bit as ruthless as the criminals she pursues. With her own peculiar ethics, the imlpausibly perfect detective fights for justice, while showing just enough hints of emotion to get the reader's sympathy.
While not overly realistic, the book is grimly visceral in protraying the pain of loss, and the petty but detructive face of evil, greed and fear that drives so many murders. There is enough entertaining value in the book to bring significant enjoyment, as long as one does not linger too long on any particulars.
Overall: 6; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 5; Originality: 5.5;
Copyright date 1996, Berkley Publishing Group (Jove), July 1997, Mass market paperback, 375 pages
ISBN: 0-515-12086-3 Order from: Amazon.com