2018 Sep 1
The little girl appeared in Central Park: red-haired, blue-eyed, smiling, perfect-except for the blood on her shoulder. It fell from the sky, she said, while she was looking for her uncle, who turned into a tree. Poor child, people thought. And then they found the body in the tree.
For Mallory, newly returned to the Special Crimes Unit after three months’ lost time, there is something about the girl that she understands. Mallory is damaged, they say, but she can tell a kindred spirit. And this one will lead her to a story of extraordinary crimes: murders stretching back fifteen years, blackmail and complicity and a particular cruelty that only someone with Mallory’s history could fully recognize. In the next few weeks, she will deal with them all . . . in her own way.
If you’re looking for a psychological thriller that stands out from the rest, pick up a copy of The Chalk Girl! The novel is #10 in the Kathleen Mallory series, but it isn’t necessary to have read the previous novels first, so don’t let that stop you. The characters are multidimensional, believable, with strong personalities – especially that of the protagonist Kathleen Mallory.
The novel will keep you hooked from the beginning, right until the very end. The series and story itself is highly entertaining, unique, and something we’d definitely recommend. O’Connell’s writing is powerful, clean, and will keep you turning pages. Of all her novels, The Chalk Girl is one of the best, and ultimately a great place to start.
Rating: 4.5/5
