I wasn’t aware, until I received this book from the Publisher that it was in fact part of a long running series. And to be honest, if they hadn’t taken great pains to point this out in the accompanying letter, I would never have guessed that the main protagonist had appeared in so many previous novels.

Let me start with the main protagonist. I imagine the Author intended her to come off the page as a strong and independent woman, but ultimately the image portrayed is of a woman who is moneyed, opinionated and knows she’s beautiful; and the reader is reminded of this in almost every chapter of the book. I’m not sure what the intent of the Author was when they wrote this in every chapter, but after a while it becomes boorish and monotonous, and it doesn’t stop with the main character. Others that, I assume, have appeared in previous novels are treated in much the same manner, and by the time I was halfway through reading this I felt very much as if the Author were treating me like a sufferer of memory loss that needed to be reminded at every page turn what makes her characters tick; either that or they are trying to justify keeping these tired persona alive. As this book was number 11 in the series, I was expecting the Author to have got into their stride with providing some step forward in character growth during each novel, but if this one was anything to go by it has not happened.

Although the story had quite an interesting plot line, this too was not up to the standard I have read in some books by Authors just starting out, and I expected better from an established Author; it was choppy and rambling to the point where many times I felt my attention wandering to whether I should walk my dogs or do laundry. In my opinion, if the Author feels they have reached a dead-end with this character and series, they may need to consider do their readers a favour and either bringing it to an end or revamping the characters to make it more enjoyable.

I’m sorry but this is one book I just can’t recommend, not only do I feel it would be a waste of money and time but, if the series has a fan base, it is bordering on the insulting to those loyal readers.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/01/20/review-it-happens-in-the-dark-kathleen-mal...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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Mallory is at her paranoidal best, being and causing same in this mystery within a play emanating from a mystery. Every time the show goes on somebody dies; getting to the second act is quite problematic. Painstakingly, especially for her superiors, Mallory penetrates the current evils to their roots in the past. ( )

I wasn’t aware, until I received this book from the Publisher that it was in fact part of a long running series. And to be honest, if they hadn’t taken great pains to point this out in the accompanying letter, I would never have guessed that the main protagonist had appeared in so many previous novels.

Let me start with the main protagonist. I imagine the Author intended her to come off the page as a strong and independent woman, but ultimately the image portrayed is of a woman who is moneyed, opinionated and knows she’s beautiful; and the reader is reminded of this in almost every chapter of the book. I’m not sure what the intent of the Author was when they wrote this in every chapter, but after a while it becomes boorish and monotonous, and it doesn’t stop with the main character. Others that, I assume, have appeared in previous novels are treated in much the same manner, and by the time I was halfway through reading this I felt very much as if the Author were treating me like a sufferer of memory loss that needed to be reminded at every page turn what makes her characters tick; either that or they are trying to justify keeping these tired persona alive. As this book was number 11 in the series, I was expecting the Author to have got into their stride with providing some step forward in character growth during each novel, but if this one was anything to go by it has not happened.

Although the story had quite an interesting plot line, this too was not up to the standard I have read in some books by Authors just starting out, and I expected better from an established Author; it was choppy and rambling to the point where many times I felt my attention wandering to whether I should walk my dogs or do laundry. In my opinion, if the Author feels they have reached a dead-end with this character and series, they may need to consider do their readers a favour and either bringing it to an end or revamping the characters to make it more enjoyable.

I’m sorry but this is one book I just can’t recommend, not only do I feel it would be a waste of money and time but, if the series has a fan base, it is bordering on the insulting to those loyal readers.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/01/20/review-it-happens-in-the-dark-kathleen-mal...



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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I like this series.... Kathy Mallory is NOT a likable person, but the characters have been well-built, and I care. That's successful writing. Good plots too, not easy to pre-guess. ( )

The cast of the Broadway play, “The Brass Bed” finds itself dealing with a never-see ghostwriter who delights in changing their scripts and leaving cryptic messages on the backstage blackboard. And, to make matters worse, the cast can’t seem to get past the first act since the play is knocking them dead . . . literally.
On opening night, a woman in the front row dies of a heart attack. The following night, the playwright dies from something other than natural means. Meanwhile, the over-stressed cast deals with the never-ending rewrites, compliments of the ghostwriter, and frets over who will be the next front row victim.

Enter New York City detective Kathy Mallory. Will she unmask the ghostwriter in her headlong search for justice? And will she find the murderer before more bodies turn up in the first row?

The diverse members of the theater company add to the mayhem with a fair amount of histrionics and some muddying of the investigative waters. The cast is an engaging group, well-drawn and believable. The tight, twisty thriller will keep readers guessing as the killer wreaks havoc behind the scenes.

This macabre mystery, the eleventh in the Kathy Mallory mystery, will be a treat for fans of the series; newcomers to the series may find Detective Mallory’s abrasive rudeness a bit overwhelming. ( )