I finished the ARC of Carol O'Connell's latest Kathy Mallory book, "It Happens In The Dark", and I really enjoyed it. Our favorite sociopathic detective this time is investigating a series of deaths that occur during a new Broadway play, one in which a ghostwriter has managed to re-write on-the-fly another playwright's work into a story about a family massacre in the Mid-West. The usual cast of characters are all present (Riker, Charles Butler, Lt. Coffey, Lou Markowitz' poker buddies) and a couple more detectives get fleshed out a bit. There is a rivalry with another precinct over the case. The play's personnel are quirky and have secrets of their own. I enjoyed the understated humor in it as the real world tries to operate around Mallory's universe and her rules, and the eternal question - is Mallory developing any real human emotions or is it all just a stratagem?
I think that I'll pick up the audio version when it's released.
