Carol O’Connell Books in Order
Carol O’Connell is an American crime fiction writer and the New York Times bestselling author of the Kathleen Mallory series, a 12-book series featuring one of crime fiction’s more unusual detectives. The debut, Mallory’s Oracle, published in 1994, was acquired by Putnam in an $800,000 two-book deal after finding its first publisher in the UK, and it launched a series that ran until 2016.
This page lists all Carol O’Connell books in order, including the complete Kathleen Mallory series, two standalone novels, and her contribution to the Mysterious Profiles anthology series.
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Kathleen Mallory Series (Books in Order)
The Kathleen Mallory series follows NYPD Special Crimes detective Kathy Mallory, a former street kid turned brilliant investigator with a talent for computers and a personality that spooks almost everyone around her. Raised by a police officer and his wife after years on New York’s streets, she grew into someone the series often describes as a functional sociopath: coldly effective, ruthless when pursuing a case, and quite indifferent to the usual norms of society. Her partner, Sergeant Riker, and the psychologist Charles Butler, become more important in the later books.
Reading Order
- Mallory’s Oracle, 1994
- The Man Who Lied to Women, 1995 (also titled The Man Who Cast Two Shadows)
- Killing Critics, 1996
- Flight of the Stone Angel, 1997 (also titled Stone Angel)
- Shell Game, 1999
- Crime School, 2002
- Dead Famous, 2003 (also titled The Jury Must Die)
- Winter House, 2004
- Shark Music, 2006 (also titled Find Me)
- The Chalk Girl, 2012
- It Happens in the Dark, 2013
- Blind Sight, 2016
Other Kathleen Mallory Books
Standalone Novels
- Judas Child, 1998
- Bone by Bone, 2008
Short Story Anthologies
- The Mighty Johns, 2002
- The Lineup, 2009
Carol O’Connell Biography
Carol O’Connell is an American crime fiction author whose wrote the 12-book Kathleen Mallory series and two standalone novels. She has published books since 1994.
Born on May 26, 1947, in New York, Carol O’Connell studied painting at the California Institute of Arts/Chouinard and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Arizona State University. Initially, she worked as a painter, proofreader, and copyeditor, and later became a writer, describing herself as someone who wrote novels quietly while trying to keep the appearances as a painter for gallery visitors. In an interview she mentioned “I was writing in the closet, and re-arranging my paintings in the living room in case any gallery owners came by, they would think I was still producing new work.”
Her first novel, Mallory’s Oracle, was rejected by American publishers and it instead got sold initially to British publisher Hutchinson, who auctioned it off in Europe to Dutch, French and German publishers. Next, Putnam bought the North American rights in a reported $800,000 two-book deal. The debut was often compared to Jonathan Kellerman and was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Dilys awards. Eleven more Mallory novels followed between 1995 and 2016. Alongside the series she published two standalones: The Judas Child, published in 1998 and Bone by Bone, released in 2008, the latter of which reached #1 on Japan’s Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! guide. Carol O’Connell lives in New York.
Carol O’Connell Awards and Honors
Nominations and Shortlists
- Mallory’s Oracle – Edgar Award, Best First Novel by an American Author (1995)
- Mallory’s Oracle – Anthony Award, Best First Mystery (1995)
- Mallory’s Oracle – Dilys Award, Best Mystery Novel (1995)
- The Judas Child – Barry Award, Best Novel (1999)
It’s been a few years, please say there’s another Mallory book coming soon.
I was hooked from the first book. I always search every month to see if there is a new one coming out. I hope she keeps writing as we are both 72. Love Love Love each and every one. Yes I do read them over again.
I suppose you get asked this a lot – But are there any more books to come? Anything you have written no matter what. Your books don’t go to type like others and I really enjoy the imperfections that the people have.
One section of the book I liked in The Chalk Girl was the section where the corrupt police leader is grasping for a glass that isn’t there anymore. I just stop and take that in and without you writing anything else – you know what he is thinking ‘his job, his marriage, his position, reputation etc – is not there anymore. You don’t have to spell it out. It is genius.