Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780399149283
ISBN number: 0399149287
Label: Putnam Adult
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 352
Printing Date: September 09, 2002
Publishing house: Putnam Adult
Release Date: September 12, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 822442
Studio: Putnam Adult
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Over the course of six novels, Carol O'Connell has become one of our most acclaimed writers of suspense. Her heroine, Kathy Mallory, is 'stunningly unique' (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). 'O'Connell conjures up a world of almost Faulkerian richness and complexity,' said People, and the Chicago Tribune wrote simply, 'O'Connell has raised the standard for psychological thrillers.'
A wild child turned New York City policewoman, Mallory was adopted off the streets as a small girl. Very little has ever really been known about what happened to her back then, how she lived-but the past is about to come alive. Crime School begins with the discovery of a woman found hanging in a burning apartment, tufts of her own blond hair stuck in her mouth and blue candles scattered all around. Immediately, Mallory knows several things. The fire was set so the woman would be discovered. The crime is identical to another one twenty years old. And she knows this woman. She is a prostitute named Sparrow, who took her in all those many years ago, and then betrayed her. There is unfinished business between Mallory and Sparrow, and the quest to settle it will send her spinning back to a time of secrets and desperation, and into the mind of a criminal whose work has only just begun.
Amazon.com Review:
Mallory, the feral street urchin adopted by an understanding police detective, grew up to be a tough, formidable cop herself, and in the five earlier thrillers featuring her exploits, Carol O'Connell has dropped few clues about her early life. Crime School fills in the blanks with this complex tale about Mallory's efforts to solve the attempted murder of the knife-wielding prostitute who once sheltered and later betrayed her--a copycat crime nearly identical to another that occurred two decades ago. Fans of this series and its unique, complicated, steely protagonist will welcome O'Connell back to the bestseller lists after a protracted absence, while those who've been waiting for the emergence of a kinder, gentler Mallory, able to return the affections of those who love her--like Charles Butler, the quirky criminologist whose unrequited adoration of Mallory knows no bounds, and her partner, Riker, who's known her since his old friend Markowitz plucked her off the streets--may be disappointed. --Jane Adams
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
Despite all the quibbling about how confusing O'Connell's writing can be, the often trite situations and escapes, I'm madly in love with Mallory (at 79 I'm entitled to act weird). She's the half-mad, sociopathic genius I alway wanted to meet and here we get to know her a lot better than before. Her off-the-wall character should be good for three or four more tales in her series.
Rated by buyers 
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This is one of the better books in the series though the writing was a little confusing some times. Mallory came out a little more in this book to me. I thought the ending could have been better, but it is still a five star book.
Rated by buyers -
What is it about Carol O'Connell's Kathy Mallory series? Kathy Mallory is about the least sympathetic heroine of any genre...a genuine anti-anti-anti heroine. And O'Connell's writing is moody and rough - kind of like its places-you've-never-been-in-New York setting. These are never easy reads and yet I can't put them down, especially Crime School. I think it may be because I like Charles Butler and Detective Riker so very much. And because they love Mallory despite everything. And because I want her to finally pay attention to Charles (which she never will). As usual, O'Connell's plots fly all around the past and present and you have to hang on for dear life. And, as usual, you end up wanting to know more. But isn't that the hallmark of a good book? I still think that O'Connell's best book was the standalone (not of the Mallory series) "Judas Child", wherein again she specializes in wounded characters. Who knows where these twisted humans come from in Carol O'Connell's brain, but she certainly does give them convincing life.
Rated by buyers 
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Not the best crime book I've ever read. Uses a lot of references to the past which becomes confusing. No satisfaction when the crime is solved; more like "Who cares?"
Rated by buyers -
I love the Kathy Mallory series, but this one tops the chart. Although I read it over a year ago, I can still recall every plot element. What's more, thinking about the last few pages of the book still makes me choke up. They don't get better than that.
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