Find me

This may very well be O’Connell’s best book yet. Over several novels (this is number 9) she has developed Mallory, a hard-nosed New York Police Detective—giving glimpses of the dark childhood years that helped formed her, all while solving difficult murder cases. Perhaps one of the reasons I didn’t totally love the book previous to this one, “Winter House,” was because the author chose not to develop Mallory and her interesting history as much.

O’Connell always has multiple plots running and almost always includes clues about the mysterious background of Mallory. For me a thriller is only as good as its characters, and those characters need to be affected and changed by the events around them. Too often an author strings a reader along with a larger story of a person’s life—and fails to ever advance that part of the story. In O’Connell’s case, her plots are compelling by themselves, but when you add in the superb characters and the changes in their lives, there is no stopping this series.

In “Find Me” Mallory is taken out of her comfort zone of New York and travels down Route 66—tracking clues from her past, parts of the road that no longer exist, and a child serial killer. The clues are thrown out fast and furious; the two cases intertwine, then separate, and just when you think you know where things are headed, you see another viewpoint and must explore yet another alleyway. In some ways, I was left unable to assimilate all the facts with only a single read.

O’Connell has a rare gift: you don’t just see the scenes she paints, you feel them. You know instantly whether the roadway is lonely or filled with the heartbeats of passing souls. I swear you feel warm blood dripping when one of her characters bleeds. Without exact words the cold dampness of an abandoned farmhouse seeps into your living room, drawing you away from safety to look at evidence you’d rather not see.

One of the strengths of the books is also a weakness: Mallory’s relationship with her long-time partner, Riker. Riker is a bit of a father or uncle figure to Mallory; he watches her back and tries to cover for her flaws, especially when she plays outside the edge of the law. You want these two to exist outside the police and personal head games, but Mallory is not so forgiving a character. She will manipulate events to suit her unless it actually endangers her partner’s life. This harsh part of her personality is a reality in all her relationships even though you hunger for her to put it aside with her partner. As a reader, I chase each exchange, hoping for the signs she will relent, getting teased now and then when she shows a kindness, but I’m always left wondering if she is too close to the edge and one day it might just cost her the friendship.

As for the serial killer plot, it’s a fascinating mix of old cases and new. A killer that had gone underground is back, but he has changed his killing pattern. It’s up to Mallory to not only find some of the bodies in the older cases, but tie them to the new killings. Then there’s the subplot of why the murders started up again and why they are different this time. In all the Mallory books, her companions are quite certain she is able to solve crimes because she can, in a very accurate and frightening manner, get inside the head of the killers. Riker is completely convinced she is a sociopath in her own right, but that doesn’t stop him from being one of her biggest supporters.

You don’t have to read the earlier books in the series to follow the serial killer plot of this one; however reading earlier books helps greatly in understanding Mallory’s personality. Knowing the character and her past triumphs and failures helps you anticipate her actions. The story of Mallory’s history is peppered throughout the series and is more important in some of the books than others. There are nine books now; I’d recommend reading at least the first three before this one. Reading the whole series makes the grand finale in "Find Me" all the more rewarding, but it is a book that is complete on its own.

If you want just a taste of O’Connell’s talent without starting the series from scratch, I highly recommend her stand alone: “Judas Child.” As Brian would say, "it’ll leave you sockless." Start any O’Connell book well before bedtime because you’ll not have time for sleep or food until you’re finished.