Mallory's Oracle

Carol O'Connell

11/7/2003

Police detective Louis Markowitz is found dead at a site where a serial killer also killed an elderly woman. The first police officer on the scene is his adopted daughter, Kathy Mallory. Although her expertise is in computers, Mallory (don't call her Kathy) is determined to find the person who killed these women and her father.

Mallory is given bereavement leave. She uses it to bully her father's friend, Charles Butler, to allow her to set up office with him. Suddenly, Charles is part of a private investigation team. She searches out the potential suspects and doesn't keep him in the loop. Louis and Helen Markowitz had taken in a thief, a broken child, and gave her a loving family. Mallory never lost the larceny in her heart. Instead, though, she followed her new father's example and used it within the police department. She is not a street cop, and doesn't have the skills. But she is a thief and a hard case - she'll fight her way through to a solution or her death. Charles and her friends in the police department want to keep her safe and make sure a solution is found.

Mallory uncovers more than a serial murder. She follows her father's mandate, "Follow the money." She discovers elderly women involved in more than seances and walks in the park. These women keep up with the times despite their appearance. Mallory now has to discover what they're doing that is getting their ranks murdered.

Mallory's Oracle is an intense book, pulling the reader into Kathy Mallory's unusual perception of life. She is a complex character, and I look forward to learning more about her. The mystery is involving and has a clever twist at the end. Mallory's sense of justice comes to play in full force. You won't be sorry when you've read this.

You can find more about this book at .

Mallory's Oracle
The Man Who Cast Two Shadows
Killing Critics
Stone Angel
Shell Game
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