Book Review: Dead Famous

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Dead Famous     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Carol O'Connell
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller
Series: Kathy Mallory # 7
Putnam, Sept 2003, $24.95, 304 pp.

It has been many months since New York homicide detective P. Riker was shot in the chest four times by a psychopath who was found not guilty of homicide in a trial in which Riker was the key witness. Although he has healed physically, the psychological trauma prevents him from going back to work. He currently runs his brother’s business Ned’s Crime Scene Cleaners where he meets the Hunchback Joanna Apollo.

Joanna is a psychiatrist who was on the jury that found shock jock radio host Ian Zachary not guilty in a Chicago homicide case. Now a serial killer known as the Reaper is murdering the Zachary jury members. Zachary, who relocated to New York, eggs on his listeners to find out where the remaining jurors live. Joanna comes to New York to stop the killings but she doesn’t count on Riker’s growing feelings for her or the complicated plan, Kathy Mallory, Riker’s partner, puts in motion to bring him past the crisis point. Mallory, Riker and Apollo become pawns in a game they may not survive.

Kathy Mallory is one of crime fiction’s most unusual heroine’s a sociopath who work in the NYPD and is able to stay within the law (usually) to solve a case. There are several sub-plots that tie into the main story line in a complex but realistic fashion. The heroine meets her match in Joanna, a woman and a doctor who not only understands her but also is able to stay one step ahead of her. A Carol O’Connell police procedural is always great and DEAD FAMOUS provides proof of that axiom.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner

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