Mallory: A Mysterious Profile

By Carol O'Connell

The New York Times–bestselling author discusses her crime-solving hacker heroine, “surely one of the genre’s oddest and most interesting creations” (Chicago Tribune).
 
When the NYPD detective and sociopath known simply as Mallory made her series debut, John Sandford called her “one of the most interesting new characters to come along in years.” A homeless wild child who was taken in by a New York City cop and grew up to follow in his footsteps, she possesses a skill set—including a talent for computer hacking—that allows her to track down her prey like no one else. In this insightful essay, author Carol O’Connell shares fascinating insights about her origins, her psychology, and her strikingly different sense of right and wrong.
 
“Mallory is not your usual plucky and generally wholesome mystery solver. Jane Marple would probably cross the street to avoid making eye contact with her.” —The Washington Post Book World
 
“Mallory is a marvelous creation.” —Jonathan Kellerman, New York Times–bestselling author of the Alex Hunter novels

• Language: English
• Publisher: MysteriousPress.com Open Road
• Release date: May 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781504074506

Book preview

Mallory

A Mysterious Profile

Carol O’Connell

Mallory

In 1994, after my first book was published, I received a fan letter and a great deal of religious material from a woman who wanted to save me from eternal damnation. That was when I realized that I was on to something with my protagonist, who is an officer of the NYPD, a woman, and a sociopath. Call her Detective Mallory or just plain Mallory, neither Miss nor Ms., but never call her Kathy. She likes that chilly distance of the surname.

Aloof? Perhaps. In Stone Angel, she was likened to a cat:

The cat hissed and arched its back as Charles’s hand moved toward the sugar bowl. Apparently, he had violated some house rule of table manners. Slowly, his hand withdrew from the bowl and came to rest on the table by his cup. The cat lay down, stretching her lean body across the checkered cloth, and the tail ceased to switch and beat the wood. When his hand moved again, she bunched her muscles, set to spring, relaxing only while his hand was still. The cat controlled him.

Now who did that remind him