- Paperback: 1 pages
- Publisher: Jove (MM); 1st mmpb edition (Mar 7 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0515125490
- ISBN-13: 978-0515125498
- Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 10.7 x 3.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,405,332 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Readers familiar with Mallory, the intriguing and original heroine of O'Connell's four previous suspense novels, will recognize familiar themes of loss and abandonment in the brilliant, enigmatic forensic psychologist Ali Cray, whose scarred face only hints at the emotional residue of a childhood trauma. Ali ties the mysterious disappearance of two young girls to the rape and murder long ago of Susan Kendall, the twin sister of a small-town New York policeman, Rouge. Realizing that the priest who was convicted of Susan Kendall's murder is probably innocent, Rouge has a personal as well as professional reason for joining Ali in tracking down Susan's killer before he completes the ritual murder of at least one of the missing girls.
The protagonists of Judas Child are direct literary descendants of Mallory, the author's earlier creation; like her, their childhood suffering illuminates their adult character and motivation. But while Mallory can only react to the past, Rouge and Ali find in each other a mirror that lights up the dark corners of their past and frees them of the survivor guilt both suffer. O'Connell's same penetrating psychological insight animates the novel's other characters: Dr. Mortimer Cray, Ali's uncle, a psychiatrist who bears the awful burden of knowing who the killer is but is constrained by professional ethics from revealing it; gutsy, clever Sadie Green, the Judas child of the title, and her irritating, annoying, desperate mother, Becca; FBI agent Arnie Pyle, who's dying to know how Ali got her scar; and Father Paul Marie, jailed for 15 years for a crime he may not have committed. The opening sentence grabs the reader, and doesn't let go till the last page. In her skilled rendering of psychological suspense, O'Connell is on a par with Barbara Vine and Frances Fyfield; like Jonathan Kellerman, she is also an astute observer of children, especially those who survive the most terrifying youthful traumas and betrayals. Judas Child may be O'Connell's "breakout" book, and it will surely send readers who've just discovered her in search of her backlist while they await her next one. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
In a departure from her popular Kathleen Mallory suspense series (most recently Stone Angel), O'Connell's chilling tale of a murderer who preys on children compensates for a muddled plot with its clear-eyed look at the heights and depths of human behavior. When two remarkable fifth-grade girlsAGwen Hubble, the beautiful daughter of the lieutenant governor, and Sadie Green, an imaginative and plucky child obsessed with horror comics and moviesAare kidnapped from the St. Ursula's Academy, two adults afflicted by their own tragedies are drawn into the investigation. Forensic psychologist Ali Cray draws stares both for her slit skirts and for a disfiguring facial scar, the result of a secret childhood trauma. Policeman Rouge Kendall is haunted by the memory of his twin sister's murder 15 years earlier. The killer was supposedly caught, but similarities between the old murder and the current case make Cray begin to doubt. In the earlier case, the killer used a note from one captured child (the Judas child) to lure a friend; the reader knows that this is again the pattern, just as we knowAor think we knowAwhere the girls are being held. As the investigation continues and the girls attempt to escape, O'Connell introduces vivid minor characters, including a 10-year-old boy almost too shy to speak and one of Cray's ex-lovers, a cop who expresses his thwarted yearning for her through insult contests. O'Connell's prose occasionally veers toward the florid, but the main problem here is a supernatural twist (perhaps a trend? see Firebird above) that leaves readers somewhat adrift. In the end, however, O'Connell's subtle characterization of people who face tragedy with resilience and spirit makes for a moving novel.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Did You Get It?,
By Free Spirit (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Judas Child (Paperback)
I'm giving this book just four stars because I'm inclined to agree with the other reviewers who say it starts out too slow and stays that way too long. (I originally thought it might just seem that way to me because I was expecting the intensity of the Mallory series.)I'm so glad I stuck with it. First, although it takes her awhile in this novel, O'Connell creates really great characters, especially female characters. Second, I've read a lot of mystery and suspense novels in my time. It's rare for one to really surprise me, but this one absolutely stunned me. I think the readers who rated it low either didn't finish it or didn't get it. It's easy to see how the latter could happen. You want to find out who the bad guy is and whether the girls are rescued in time. Once you do, you think, okay, that was pretty good, or not. But believe me, there's a lot more to this story--you need to THINK about it. I can't say more without spoiling it...
5.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting and unforgettable,
By Zade (Lawrence, KS United States) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Judas Child (Paperback)
O'Connell's Mallory series is good. This book is great. Unlike most thrillers, which mingle in memory with a hundred other books like them, this novel lingers on your mind for years. O'Connell's adult characters are well drawn and sympathetic, but the little girls steal the show. Be warned--you will be late for work, stay up past your bedtime, let dinner burn on the stove, just to find out what happens to these engaging children. The tension is sometimes almost painful, but delicious at the same time. I have never read another book that made me actually want to jump into the pages and help a character. I hate to use a cliche, but this is a must read.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good until the end,
By
Ce commentaire est de: Judas Child (Audio Cassette)
I liked this book until I got to the end - I felt it a little too drawn out - but it still kept me interested. However, the author does not wrap things up too well. She leaves us too much in the "lurch". Like what is this whole thing about the priest and Arnie and their eyes? And what about the conversation between Rouge and Mortimer - what was that all about? And what about Sadie?I really HATE it when an author keeps me going and then leaves me FLAT - which is exactly the way I felt when I finished this book! It's kind of like the Grisham novels - he's got you going all over the place - than blam! - Nothing! This is the first novel I've read by Carol O'Connell and it will likely be my last! I only read it because a friend gave it to me a couple of years ago, and I ran out of things to read. What a waste of time!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
