Carol O’Connell’s Blind Sight is an older title, but now that we’re all housebound, maybe it’s time to catch up with some of those older audiobooks. Here’s Sandie Herron’s review of Blind Sight.
Blind Sight
Written by Carol O’Connell
Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Series: Kathy Mallory, Book 12
Unabridged Audiobook
Recorded Books (9/20/2016)
Listening Length: 13 hours 29 minutes
The cloistered nun was walking on St. Mark’s Place, stopping to talk with the man at the flower stall. A young boy, blind since birth, expertly weaved his way through the crowds. Suddenly, they were both gone. Within hours, the mayor and the church had reported the nun missing, and detective Kathy Mallory was on the case. She knows something is fishy when they send a priest to report the nun missing and the mayor’s office calls as well. They skip the police unit usually in charge of missing persons and go straight to Major Crimes, where Mallory works.
The nun’s body is later found on the lawn of the New York City mayor’s home, Gracie Mansion, along with three others, all with their hearts cut out. There were supposed to be five bodies, but the young boy was with the killer. He’s been told to hold back on this one. When the boy’s uncle comes to the police to report him missing, it doesn’t take Mallory long to make the connection between the two. Once she finds the mug shot for the nun when she was arrested years earlier for prostitution, she immediately sees the resemblance to the boy.
Mallory grew up on the streets of New York City until she was fostered by a New York City detective who often brought her to work to keep her off the streets. She learned young the ins and outs of computers, interrogation, observation, procedures. She learned how to twist suspects around until they revealed what she needed to know. We have gotten to know her through the series, yet there is enough explanation in this one entry to fill the reader in. Her tactics are in evidence and her personality shines, even though she is an extremely private person.
The author twists the reader about in her fingers. As she filled in details, I began to care about Jonah, the 12-year-old boy, during his captivity. He awakens from his drugged state, and his captor finally gives him food and water. He is no longer confined to a bathroom, and he begins to learn his surroundings despite being threatened by an old pit bull. His captor has begun to care about him too.
Carol O’Connell is a master storyteller. I was manipulated, twisted, and felt as if I had been right there with the detective as she worked. This is a police procedural, but it is unlike any I have read. It is because of Mallory, the detective who seems to have a sixth sense. She can draw motives seemingly from thin air that are spot on. Then she can supply the evidence to prove her theories. She hears more from what is not said than what is said. The author also has a wicked sense of humor. Some circumstances were so outrageous they were funny, but only if you caught the humor. The story was told in snippets from various perspectives, interwoven to keep the reader off balance and create even more suspense. Narrator Barbara Rosenblat brought the story even further to life. Her inflections were compelling. At first I found her hard to follow, but when I just let myself sit back and listen to her story, it came to life. She wasn’t just reading; she was sitting in my living room telling me all about it. I dared not stop her until the very end. This novel was that good. Highly recommended, along with the entire series.
