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Read The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (1996)

The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (1996)

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4.01 of 5 Votes: 3
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ISBN
0515118907 (ISBN13: 9780515118902)
Language
English
Publisher
jove

The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (1996) - Plot & Excerpts

The badly beaten and decomposed body of a tall blonde woman is found in a New York City park, and when a label inside her blazer states it belongs to Kathleen Mallory the entire NYPD seems to find out in minutes that Mallory is dead. It isn't till her erstwhile partner Riker actually sees the body that he can – with great relief – correct the ID – by which time the press has already gotten the news … The connection makes this personal for Mallory, and – suspension or no suspension (a separate entity from her bereavement leave of the first book), assignment or no assignment, she will be investigating this murder. The actual victim becomes another character in the cast, as Mallory discovers an unfinished novel on her computer which seems to be her own thinly veiled story – a tale of seduction, pregnancy, and loss, terminating abruptly in midsentence with the words YOU LIAR typed over and over. Mallory is certain that whoever the other half of the victim's real-life affair was had to be the killer; from there it is a matter of determining which of a handful of suspects he is, and what the lie was. There is a secondary storyline in which a boy whose IQ is off the charts is brought to Charles by his father and stepmother in hopes that a seemingly small but increasingly menacing mystery can be solved: objects have a tendency to fly through the air when the boy is around. His mother died; his first stepmother killed herself; stepmother #2 is growing hysterical with the situation, especially as some of the objects tend to fly toward her, and some of them are pointy. Charles, in his capacity as a genius who evaluates other emerging geniuses, is asked to look into this situation. Once again, as in Mallory's Oracle, there is an element of magic to the story, an almost paranormal edge, only beginning with the possible telekinesis. It's uncomfortable here, because … is what's happening evidence that a character I like is losing his mind, or is it what it starts out to be, a wildly unique method of investigation? We'll never really know, I suppose. Poor bugger. Mallory herself is an almost paranormal presence. She is repeatedly described as a sociopath, and this takes some getting used to: a sociopath on the side of the law. Conditioning makes me expect bloodshed and mayhem when I hear (or read) the word – which is not to say that Mallory blinks at either bloodshed or mayhem. However, her conditioning has trained her to distinguish the innocent from the guilty, and she knows – as schoolchildren know the state capitals, by rote – that one does not harm the innocent, annoying as they might be, and one ought not to harm the guilty either but merely apprehend them. The part of that she seems to like is that "ought not" is less rigid than "shalt not", which makes hunting and apprehending the guilty more her cup of tea. The writing is graceful and smart. If Mallory remains something of a cipher, the characters who surround her are wonderful – everyone should have such a support system. (It might be heart-breaking in reality to see such love and care squandered on someone who shows nothing in return, but in fiction it's a good plot device.) The story is handled in a manner unique to O'Connell. All in all, it's the supporting cast and the writing which keep me coming back.

The heroine of the Mallory books by Carol O'Connell is completely unique. She was a feral child, lost (but surviving) on the streets of New York from the age of 7 - and O'Connell makes this quite believable. By the time she's 11, Mallory gets caught breaking into a car, but instead of calling Child Protective Services, the cop who caught her takes her home to his wife, and they adopt Mallory. Adopt her, but not tame her. The novels take place when Mallory is grown (NEVER call her Kathy)and a member of NYPD. Extremely well-written, O'Connell never wavers from her vision of Mallory as a complete sociopath - luckily, on the side of the law. These books are stellar, and judging by the blurbs on the back by other thriller writers, she is very well respected by her peers.

What do You think about The Man Who Cast Two Shadows (1996)?

A Sgt. Mallory novel... Mallory was suspended from duty (she shot the gun out of a perp's hand rather than aiming at the wide part of the body, per regulations) and it seems she is temporarily in business with Charles. Charles is a genius with an eidetic memory, and investigates special talents and finds work (often with the government) for those who possess them. But a woman is killed in Central Park and the first detective on the scene finds Mallory's name-tag in the victim's blazer. Mallory takes the misidentification personally and sets out to solve the murder. And everyone else had just better get out of her way. Because Mallory doesn't approach a homicide investigation with any consideration of justice for the victim, or upholding the law for the sake of society, or anything like that. To her, murder is a game -- the "best game," as she once told Markowitz. The cops she works with describe her as a savage, with a killer's eyes. She's just not entirely, recognizably human. In any case, several of the possible suspects are very unpleasant people all on their on own, so Mallory decides to bring them all down. And she can do it, too, and, hopefully, without causing a massive lawsuit for the city.Meanwhile, Charles is dealing with a young boy suspected by his parents of engaging in dangerous psychokinetic pranks. Is it a paranormal ability? Or just skillful stage magic? Charles has a family background in professional sleight-of-hand himself, as it happens. And the two plots will gradually blend, of course.The dialogue and descriptions and supporting cast all are highly original and the book is, over all, a lot of fun to read (in a dark sort of way). Mallory is a little over the top as a police officer - and except for the fact that her adoptive father was the police chief - before he died - Mallory would probably never make it onto the police force.
—Linda Branham Greenwell

If you're the type of reader who prefers likable, touchy feely main characters, move away from this book (and the entire series). Kathy Mallory is not the character for you. Found living on the streets as a young child, she was taken in and raised by a police officer and his wife, both of whom soon realized that Mallory's sociopathic tendencies required special handling. Mallory does not form relationships like normal people. She doesn't bond; she doesn't chit chat; she doesn't smile; and she certainly doesn't laugh. She's like a hand grenade with a loose pin-- Handle With Care. A small portion of her past is revealed in The Man Who Cast Two Shadows, and although readers will be moved to feel compassion towards her, rest assured that Mallory herself will show none to anyone. The plot is tight and suspenseful, dealing with the woman's death, Mallory's toying with a killer, and a boy who may have telekinetic powers. The setting of New York City could be declared one of the cast of characters. O'Connell shows a touch of poetry now and again in her prose, but the tone of her poetry is bleak. More of the story could be told from Mallory's point of view, and there are a few too many times when we're told about her behavior rather than seeing it for ourselves. All in all, Mallory is like a black hole at the very heart of this book, and if you can withstand her gravitational pull and resist the need for her to change, you are in for a treat involving one of the most fascinating characters in crime fiction.
—Cathy Cole

I read Malory's Oracle when it debuted and didn't think much of it. After reading The Man Who Cast Two Shadows I'm wondering about the mistake I made. The more I think of this second outing for Sgt. Kathy Mallory, the more I keep grinning. This novel was well plotted and highly enjoyable. It was like a golden-age mystery puzzle in the guise of a police procedural. A corpse is discovered in Central Park with Mallory's name sewn into the label of the coat on the body. Even though it's not worthy of the Special Crimes Unit's resources, the sergeant takes it upon herself to find the killer rather than palm the case off to another precinct that may bury it altogether. As she works on the list of suspects for the murder, both in person and online, she is drawn into another mystery of a family with a child exhibiting telekinetic abilities. This novel was intellectually stimulating as well as visceral and I look forward to making Mallory's acquaintance again.
—Mark Shannon

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