Winter House (Kathleen Mallory Novels (Hardcover))

Rating:
Summary: Byzantine mystery about a fifty-eight year old massacre.
Review: "Winter House" is the name of an old mansion in which a horrendous crime was committed almost sixty years earlier. Now it is the sad and lonely residence of an old lady, Nedda Winter, her cold-hearted brother and sister, Lionel and Cleo, and Cleo's mousy daughter, Bitty Smyth.

Fifty-eight years earlier, nine people died in Winter House, the victims of an ice-pick wielding intruder. The only survivors were Nedda, Lionel, Cleo, and a baby named Sally. Sally has disappeared and for many years Nedda was also missing. Now, Nedda is seventy-years old and she has returned to Winter House. She has also recently stabbed an intruder with an ice pick. Did Nedda kill this man in self-defense and is this incident somehow related to the nine murders that occurred so long ago?

Kathy Mallory, the cold and brilliant cop who takes every crime very personally, is on the case. Mallory and her detective partner, Riker, get to know the Winter family very well, and Mallory's friend, Charles Butler, lends his psychological expertise to assist the detectives. Riker is particularly handy to have around because he is an expert on ice pick murders, as were his father and grandfather before him.

Carol O'Connell has written an ingenious and intricate novel of psychological suspense. She gives us just enough information to pique our curiosity, but we do not get the whole picture until the author is ready to reveal her secrets. O'Connell has a darkly humorous and cynical style. Her best character is Mallory, a former street criminal turned cop, who uses her razor-sharp mind, ruthless interrogation skills, and her ability to lie with a straight face to good effect. She can ferret out the truth from the most closed-mouth and hardened criminals. The other characters, including the Winter family and Mallory's friends and colleagues, are also cleverly drawn. I was intrigued by the baroque and puzzling ending of "Winter House," which combines terrific police work, a touch of the supernatural, and enough twists and turns to send the inattentive reader into a tailspin. This one is an original.




Rating:
Summary: Much better than her last
Review: But not as good as her first two. Still, a vast improvement over the previous Mallory book - which had very little of Mallory in it. O'Connel sets up a great whodunit in this one, stretching back forty years. The plotting is intricate, and the characters are extremely well done. I would have liked to see more tension, however, and a little more growth in Mallory. And more of those "Mallory moments", you know the kind if you've read her before, where gorgeous sociopath takes on polite society and sends it scurrying away in confused fear while you snicker appreciatively, but it was a good read, nonetheless.


Rating:
Summary: The Road Not Taken
Review: Carol O'Connell's novels operate on two levels, at least. On the one hand, they are cleverly crafted mysteries that leave us guessing up to almost the final pages. On the other, they are explorations of the exceptional mind and, in the case of the Mallory novels, the spiritual biography of a sociopath.

Looking back over the eight Mallory novels, typically the real murderer, and the real crime, usually turn out to be much less interesting than any number of other elements. So here. The center of *Winter House* is Kathy's confrontation with a doppelganger, Nedda Winter, a woman she could become. Is Nedda insane? Did she kill her entire family in a childhood rampage? Is she killing now? As these questions are answered, questions about Kathy Mallory are answered.

Kathy's had a free ride for seven novels, with Riker, Charles, and the poker club making excuses for her while the reader looks on, titillated and aghast. Things changed in *Dead Famous* when Johanna Apollo said to Charles, "You know what she is?" and he nodded. Here, at last, he closes a door in her face, refuses to allow her to bully a victim, and says "No" when any sane person would. Riker and Charles have begun to demand that Kathy grow up. Whether she will, we'll see in another novel, I think.

The first four novels were a set that appeared to complete Kathy's story. The next three took us from where she came from to who she is. *Winter House* begins to explore who she can become. Of the eight books, one of the best.



Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I cried, I laughed, I stayed up late because i could not put the book down. Loved it!

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I find the plot of this novel intriguing but am having difficulty understanding Kathy Mallory. The author does not allow the reader into who this person actually is. We hear from other characters about who they think she is, but we never get inside her to know what actually motivates her. Does she have a life? Does she bond with anyone? Does she feel anything? I don't get the sense that she is a real person, which, for me, spoils the otherwise excellent writing and plot.

Rating:
Summary: Winter House - Magnificent
Review: I have read all of Carol O'Connell's books. Kathy Mallory is one scary lady and I dont know how she does it. It scares me to death that such a creature might exist, but I LOVE Charles Butler and this story features him in a big way.

The disfunctional family is memorable. Each has a good reason for the way they are and it is terribly sad.

Riker is right in the fray and he, believe it or not, stabilizes Mallory and Charles, but in the end it is Mallory and Charles who feel the most of this terrible crime.

I wait for each of Ms. O'Connell's books. They dont come soon enough.

Rating:
Summary: mallory oh mallory
Review: I read this book in about 6hrs and the thing that crushed me is that I have about a year to wait for the next. I have read the
mallory series from th beginning and it has become a family affair with my mom and sister joing in. All of the characters are jsut percious. My advice to anyone is start with the first and work your way up. This book has to do with 2nd major player in Mallory's life putting some limits on their relationship and making her tow his line for a while. I don't think it is a matter of Mallory growing up but more of her letting people really in and trusting. I think what we coming to see as readers with each book is that Mallory is letting people in but some out she doesn't trust herself hence the end with the music. She always takes care of those she loves. By the by does anyone ever read the dedications that Ms O'Connell writes they are just beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: Fanciful plotting, stiff character development disappointing
Review: Ms. O'Connell's latest starts out with great promise but quickly gets mired in tiresome description and justification for Kathy Mallory's aggressive and illegal policing. For example: what cop would lobby for a legal search warrant for financial records, then break the chain of evidence by taking those records for examination at the offices of her private investigative business, which the police department has already told her is a conflict of interest? And again, here's a cop who makes deals using the sanction of the police department then violates all the codes, Mallory sets up a polygraph test at the police station as a means of interrogating the prime suspect, then dismisses the polygrapher and his equipment as inepet/old technology, and proceeds to set up her own equipment and conduct her own 'testing'? This reader is not convinced.

The dynamics between Mallory, her police partner Riker and her private business partner Charles feel awkward -- the sense of family which the author wants to evoke is contrived. Ms. O'Connell would be well-served to study J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts)'s Eve Dallas and related characters closely to see what polished relationship development looks like.

The most engaging character in this tale is the prime suspect of the Winters family mass-murder, Nedda Winter. She'd be an interesting character to develop an entire series around.

Rating:
Summary: after a hard day's night....
Review: this is the perfect mystery! i had to stop myself from staying up all night and skipping work in order to savor the experience. rather than retelling the story in this review let me just say that all the elements of this book come together to give the reader a tremendous experience. it is precious time well spent. thank you carol o'connell!

Rating:
Summary: Mallory is back on track
Review: Winter House is the best Mallory novel in some time and essential reading for fans of the characters, who have been feeling neglected since Stone Angel. The story is setup around the death of an intruder at a New York mansion (the Winter House of the title). The victim is a serial killer, originally captured by Mallory (thus her involvement in the case) and the killer is a intriguing, old women who was supposed to have disappearied 58 years before when most of her family was massacred by an ice pick wielding assassin (who was the subject of a Riker family obsession).

The story goes through many twists and turns as should any good mystery, but ultimately it rests on the strengths of the characterizations. Mallory is presented as a feline force of nature. Despite the fact that the series bears her name it is interesting to note that we almost never receive her point of view, but rather observe her second hand through the perceptions of those who love and fear (for) her. Charles, in particular, is often center stage here, and more than ever his own inner strength and basic decency are on display. His love for Mallory is firmly at odds with her methods, and in this case he is willing to directly oppses her (and even usher her out of his home - which would have been a death sentence for many)based on principle. In Mallory's reaction to this we actually get some insight into her troubled psyche and the importance of Charles in her life. A highlight of this is in a brief point of view moment as Mallory is being thrown out, where we see for the first time that icy, young detective might avoid human contact (touch), but is not adverse to it, and perhaps even craves it (also the image of Mallory being put out like a house cat, instead of her usual tigress is quite amusing).

The first 4 Mallory novels represented a fairly tight character based arc, that dealt with events leading from her adopted father's death through the revelation of her past. Subsequent novels, like Shell Game and Crime School, have been entertaining, but were plot based and completely independent of each other, with no noticeable character growth. With Winter House I see the possibility that O'Connell may be back to work on developing these people and their relationships with each other. In order for me to enjoy a series progress has to occur. The mysteries are entertaining, but ultimately what keeps me coming back is my affection Mallory, Charles, Riker, and poker crew. I want them to live and breathe, not be trapped in the amber of a generic police procedural. My hope is the Winter House is a big step in that direction.