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ebonwilde's review
4.0
excellent copaganda, in that i will always love psychopathic women. mallory might be one of my favorite female characters ever—and that's just by reading one book. fast-paced, thrilling, and fully fleshed out characters and plot. very plot heavy, without any filler moments. it actually works as a standalone—many of these other cop mystery series rarely do, so that's a plus. of course, i'm going to read the other books anyway, after this excellent piece of literature, so i don't think that matters much.
4.5 stars.
4.5 stars.
lauramcg's review
4.0
3.5/5
If SVU and Criminal Minds was a book.
Not scary though, pretty good.
Kept me entertained for sure.
I liked that it jumped around among people/places.
A lot of characters to keep track of.
The payoff of the mystery wasn’t as grand as I was hoping for.
And the motive/plot revolves around financial trading, which I don’t know or care about.
If SVU and Criminal Minds was a book.
Not scary though, pretty good.
Kept me entertained for sure.
I liked that it jumped around among people/places.
A lot of characters to keep track of.
The payoff of the mystery wasn’t as grand as I was hoping for.
And the motive/plot revolves around financial trading, which I don’t know or care about.
felinity's review
4.0
Mallory is growing up. She remains true to herself, but bothers to work the system (sometimes, at least), and while Riker still stands between her and the other detectives, there seems to be some fondness for their little sociopath, along with admiration.
This case was particularly interesting. The interactions between the characters,, and Mallory's ability to make logical connections to break the case - all combined to keep me reading. This book was a long time coming, and I was not disappointed.
This case was particularly interesting. The interactions between the characters,
Spoiler
the discovery that the cold hit man had more human feelings than the mayorsdc46250's review against another edition
5.0
I just finished Blind Sight by Carol O'Connell, #12 in her Kathleen Mallory series. As I've coming to expect from her, it was an awesome read that just kept picking up speed. I was about 3/4 done this morning and had to finish it.
Mallory is an interesting and unique (I think) protagonist. She is often labeled as antisocial and she is at least asocial. There are only a handful of relationships that matter or have ever mattered to her. She is much more comfortable with and caring of machines--cars and computers--than with most people, Her only interest is in solving the crime and not much stands in her way.
This one is convoluted, with political shenanigans, a nun and her blind 12 year old nephew. The writing and plotting are complex and this is a series that really should be started with the first unless you're comfortable with a few puzzles about the characters and their motivations. If so, it would stand alone just fine.
Mallory is an interesting and unique (I think) protagonist. She is often labeled as antisocial and she is at least asocial. There are only a handful of relationships that matter or have ever mattered to her. She is much more comfortable with and caring of machines--cars and computers--than with most people, Her only interest is in solving the crime and not much stands in her way.
This one is convoluted, with political shenanigans, a nun and her blind 12 year old nephew. The writing and plotting are complex and this is a series that really should be started with the first unless you're comfortable with a few puzzles about the characters and their motivations. If so, it would stand alone just fine.
scnole2021's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
jason_as's review
2.0
Quite a disappointment. I don't even know why she bothered to write this tbh. There's nothing special about it, and if O'Connell just loved the (unexciting) storyline she should have done it as a standalone with new characters a la Judas Child/Bone by Bone.
The characterization is basically composed of bare-bones minimal sketches of the Mallory series stars - Charles Butler is a good guy who loves Mallory, Mallory is really cold and brilliant, Riker is a drunk - plus those directly involved with the main mystery who are all on the boring side.
The dead nun is the only one with potential, but...well, her being dead is a big obstacle to her presence having layers. Theoretically surmountable, but in practice, not really.
And of course the star should be Mallory, but like the last book there's almost zero of her POV. Annoying.
The prose is still good, but everything else could have been outlined and ghostwritten by pretty much any mystery author out there. Plus...I'm still convinced that the 9th book was a perfect series finale, even if I loved the 10th book. Perhaps I can retcon things and choose to believe that the 9th book while published before the last couple is in fact set after them.
The characterization is basically composed of bare-bones minimal sketches of the Mallory series stars - Charles Butler is a good guy who loves Mallory, Mallory is really cold and brilliant, Riker is a drunk - plus those directly involved with the main mystery who are all on the boring side.
The dead nun is the only one with potential, but...well, her being dead is a big obstacle to her presence having layers. Theoretically surmountable, but in practice, not really.
And of course the star should be Mallory, but like the last book there's almost zero of her POV. Annoying.
The prose is still good, but everything else could have been outlined and ghostwritten by pretty much any mystery author out there. Plus...I'm still convinced that the 9th book was a perfect series finale, even if I loved the 10th book. Perhaps I can retcon things and choose to believe that the 9th book while published before the last couple is in fact set after them.
rain_97's review
4.0
It's hard to believe this is the 12th book in a series, none of which I've read. This book stands alone very well with an interesting plot line; a kidnapped blind boy, the murder of a nun, a corrupt mayor, interesting detectives (Mallory) and a canny hit-man...wonderfully written and riveting.
jamread2021's review
4.0
I like Mallory as the main character. She continues to be fascinating as well as her interactions with others and their reactions. I did not find the murder mystery as interesting as some of the others in the series. I still plan to read the next one.
booksuperpower's review
4.0
Blind Sight by Carol O’Connell is a 2016 Headline publication.
‘Mallory the Machine’ might be the most interesting female protagonist in crime fiction.
This twelfth installment in the Kathy Mallory series showcases Mallory’s .., er… unique personality as she plows through a grisly crime scene in which several bodies have been dumped at the mayor’s residence, with their hearts removed. To make matters even more perplexing, a nun with a very colorful past and her blind nephew disappear, possibly kidnap victims, who could be in the clutches of a cold blooded killer.
This dark crime story, told with O’Connell’s razor sharp dark humor, compliments Malloy’s odd investigative techniques, as a lurid and political crime story unfolds. There is certainly a human element to the story with a young blind boy at risk, and the race against time is palpable.
Mallory is in a particularly nasty mood this time around, toying with people for fun, exhibiting a level of rudeness that went beyond her usual impatience and stoicism. Newcomers to the series may not know what to make of her, so reading this one as a stand alone might not be the best idea.
I liked the realistic portrayal of a blind person, which did not fall back on stereotypes, and following Jonah’s thoughts as he duels it out with his captor was intense, but made him the star of the show.
The ironies are thick, but the plot was not as tight as in previous installments and even got a little sloppy on occasion, but everything did manage to fit together by the conclusion of the book.
I enjoyed catching up with Mallory, after what has seemed like a pretty long pause between releases, but this addition might not be the best representation of this series. Don’t get me wrong, this is a solid enough story, it’s just not up the usual standards I have come to expect from this series.
So, if you are thinking of trying this novel without having read at least a couple of the previous chapters in the series, I would suggest waiting until you can catch up a bit before tackling this one.
If you are following the series, or at least familiar enough with it to understand the characterizations, and so forth, then, you will not want to pass up the chance to see what Mallory is up to and what kind of mood she mind be in this time around.
Overall -3.5 stars
‘Mallory the Machine’ might be the most interesting female protagonist in crime fiction.
This twelfth installment in the Kathy Mallory series showcases Mallory’s .., er… unique personality as she plows through a grisly crime scene in which several bodies have been dumped at the mayor’s residence, with their hearts removed. To make matters even more perplexing, a nun with a very colorful past and her blind nephew disappear, possibly kidnap victims, who could be in the clutches of a cold blooded killer.
This dark crime story, told with O’Connell’s razor sharp dark humor, compliments Malloy’s odd investigative techniques, as a lurid and political crime story unfolds. There is certainly a human element to the story with a young blind boy at risk, and the race against time is palpable.
Mallory is in a particularly nasty mood this time around, toying with people for fun, exhibiting a level of rudeness that went beyond her usual impatience and stoicism. Newcomers to the series may not know what to make of her, so reading this one as a stand alone might not be the best idea.
I liked the realistic portrayal of a blind person, which did not fall back on stereotypes, and following Jonah’s thoughts as he duels it out with his captor was intense, but made him the star of the show.
The ironies are thick, but the plot was not as tight as in previous installments and even got a little sloppy on occasion, but everything did manage to fit together by the conclusion of the book.
I enjoyed catching up with Mallory, after what has seemed like a pretty long pause between releases, but this addition might not be the best representation of this series. Don’t get me wrong, this is a solid enough story, it’s just not up the usual standards I have come to expect from this series.
So, if you are thinking of trying this novel without having read at least a couple of the previous chapters in the series, I would suggest waiting until you can catch up a bit before tackling this one.
If you are following the series, or at least familiar enough with it to understand the characterizations, and so forth, then, you will not want to pass up the chance to see what Mallory is up to and what kind of mood she mind be in this time around.
Overall -3.5 stars
jlrmac's review
2.0
The plot was full of nuanced dueling, especially between Detective Kathy Mallory and her colleagues, boss, persons of interest, and the people who were questioned about the crimes. No matter how hard I tried just couldn't "get" the unstated deductions and conclusions where they played one-up-manship. I didn't enjoy this book in large part because of this. This is the first I've read in this series, and I'm not planning on reading any more. It is interesting to know this character was first published in 1995, a precursor to the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the British TV series "The Tunnel"-- all involving attractive blond women with super-deductive powers and an icy demeanor.