Killing Critics
Carol O'Connell, Author Putnam Adult $23.95 (0p) ISBN 978-0-399-14168-3
O'Connell's driven and sharp-edged NYPD detective Kathleen Mallory revisits a 12-year-old double murder case first investigated by her beloved adoptive father, whose death was central to her notable debut in Mallory's Oracle (1994). The murder of a second-rate performance artist in mid-performance has many associations to the earlier, grisly and still unsolved homicides, which also touched the art world. Many of the same characters are involved in both killings: J.L. Quinn, the elegantly icy critic whose niece was one of the first victims; Avril Koozeman, whose galleries were murder scenes then and now; and Emma Sue Halloran, once a critic, now a culturecrat who forces hideous art into new buildings. Mallory and her partner, Sergeant Riker, must find keys to the new killing by prying memories from these witnesses. Hampering their efforts is the desire of the police brass to keep the old case closed. O'Connell's narrative force and character development are irresistible. Although the intense and private Mallory offers little to love until late in the story, her fierce determination draws the reader into her quest. Wacky artsy types and a flawed but sympathetic Riker leaven the heavy dose of misanthropy. O'Connell also delivers a cynical, funny lesson in art marketing, which sounds here less like culture than a pretentious pyramid scheme. 50,000 first printing; major ad/promo; author tour. (June)
Details
Reviewed on: 06/03/1996
Release date: 06/01/1996
Genre: Fiction
Hardcover - 308 pages - 9780399141683
Hardcover - 534 pages - 9780783819037
Mass Market Paperbound - 400 pages - 9780515120868
Open Ebook - 400 pages - 9781101458754
Mass Market Paperbound - 386 pages - 9780425238066
Paperback - 320 pages - 9780099163923