Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Jove (1999), Edition: First Edition, 432 pages
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: It is three days before Christmas, and two young girls have disappeared from the local academy. This hasn�??t happened for fifteen years, since Rouge Kendall�??s twin sister was murdered. The killer was found, but now Rouge, twenty-five and a policeman, is forced to wonder: Was he really the one? Also wondering is a former classmate named Ali Cray, a forensic psychologist with scars of her own. The pattern is the same, she says: a child called out to meet a friend. The friend is the bait, the Judas child, and is quickly killed. But the primary victim lives longer...until Christmas Day. Rouge doesn�??t want to hear this. He�??s spent the last fifteen years trying to avoid the memories: drinking alone, lying low, washing out of school and a promising first career. Now he might abandon law enforcement too�??but something won�??t let him, not yet. A little girl has haunted his dreams all these years�??and he has three days finall… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member bearmountainbooks
Judas Child is a standalone--not part of the Mallory series. It's definitely a mystery/thriller, but there's a touch of otherworldliness in this tale of a child trying to escape from her abductor. Like all of O'connell's novels, it's a page turner.
LibraryThing member Bookshop_Lady
This book kept me reading! There were a few characters/plot lines that seemed to disappear or were lacking some details but those can wait until I've done a re-read.
The characters who were supposed to be likable, were. The characters who were supposed to give you the creeps, did a great job of it!
The relationship between Ali Cray and her former boyfriend, former stalker, FBI Special Agent Arnie Pyle, never did ring quite true and I don't think it really added anything to the story.
Gwen and Sadie were so real. Their adventures in the cellar, training the dog, hiding in the graves, talking over every horror movie they've watched, were very nicely crafted. The twist there at the end was something I didn't see coming, and I love for a book to spring a surprise or two on me like that!
This is a book that I will read again as well as recommend to others.
The characters who were supposed to be likable, were. The characters who were supposed to give you the creeps, did a great job of it!
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Rouge's mother, Ellen, was fun, and the girls Gwen and Sadie were absolutely delightful.The relationship between Ali Cray and her former boyfriend, former stalker, FBI Special Agent Arnie Pyle, never did ring quite true and I don't think it really added anything to the story.
Gwen and Sadie were so real. Their adventures in the cellar, training the dog, hiding in the graves, talking over every horror movie they've watched, were very nicely crafted. The twist there at the end was something I didn't see coming, and I love for a book to spring a surprise or two on me like that!
This is a book that I will read again as well as recommend to others.
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LibraryThing member Joycepa
Two 10 year old girls are missing in a small village in New York days before Christmas, and the fear is that a serial pedophile/killer has kidnapped the two girls. It is a brutal reminder for Detective Rouge Kendall, whose twin sister was kidnapped and then murdered 15 years before to the day.
That is the bare premise of an absolutely terrific plot, a gripping, tension-packed page-turner. But, as always with a Carol O’Connell novel in this genre, I run up against the way O’Connell creates her main characters and the resulting plot stratagems connected with them.
I dislike O’Connell’s very popular Mallory series, because in them I feel she has created set of freak protagonists who simply are not believable. In addition, Mallory is claimed to be what O’Connell never demonstrates but simply tells us--a sociopath; I was extremely annoyed with this particular weakness in the books. Also, in the plots, O’Connell has her characters show leaps of deduction that simply do not make sense to me. I always feel as if somehow I’ve missed something, some vital link; It makes me feel as if I need to reread sections of the book to see what I missed.
Unfortunately, she does some of the same in Judas Child. Kendall is not well-drawn; for one thing, he is too freakish--too calm, too possessed of insight that seems unreal because it comes out of nowhere. Same is true of some of the other characters--they simply know too much or guess too much from events and observations that seem to skimpy to lead to these conclusions.
However, the two girls are very well done, the best characters in the book, as is the dog that plays such a crucial role. These and the plot kept me reading the book, even over the annoyance of O’Connell’s nearly supernaturally-intelligent protagonist.
With the exceptions noted, the book is extremely well written; the twist is excellent and well done.
A stand-alone book, I think that this will delight fans of O’Connell’s Mallory series and probably more. But for me, my annoyance with some of O’Connell’s plot stratagems means that this will be the last one of her novels I will read.
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Supposedly, her killer was apprehended. Btu the convicted man, a priest, is in prison, and no one has any idea what has happened to the two girls.That is the bare premise of an absolutely terrific plot, a gripping, tension-packed page-turner. But, as always with a Carol O’Connell novel in this genre, I run up against the way O’Connell creates her main characters and the resulting plot stratagems connected with them.
I dislike O’Connell’s very popular Mallory series, because in them I feel she has created set of freak protagonists who simply are not believable. In addition, Mallory is claimed to be what O’Connell never demonstrates but simply tells us--a sociopath; I was extremely annoyed with this particular weakness in the books. Also, in the plots, O’Connell has her characters show leaps of deduction that simply do not make sense to me. I always feel as if somehow I’ve missed something, some vital link; It makes me feel as if I need to reread sections of the book to see what I missed.
Unfortunately, she does some of the same in Judas Child. Kendall is not well-drawn; for one thing, he is too freakish--too calm, too possessed of insight that seems unreal because it comes out of nowhere. Same is true of some of the other characters--they simply know too much or guess too much from events and observations that seem to skimpy to lead to these conclusions.
However, the two girls are very well done, the best characters in the book, as is the dog that plays such a crucial role. These and the plot kept me reading the book, even over the annoyance of O’Connell’s nearly supernaturally-intelligent protagonist.
With the exceptions noted, the book is extremely well written; the twist is excellent and well done.
A stand-alone book, I think that this will delight fans of O’Connell’s Mallory series and probably more. But for me, my annoyance with some of O’Connell’s plot stratagems means that this will be the last one of her novels I will read.
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LibraryThing member Darrol
The story was ok, if a little unlikely. (How could this stuff go on in a relatively small town for so long--less the killing, but the massive indoor tree growing operation?) I did not find the ending that surprising. I was hoping that the intersex, monozygotic twin, theme would have gotten more
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play. There may have been too many themes. Roman Catholic priesthood, prison survival, press ethics, professional ethics. (I think the 3 star rating is a little generous, but 2.5 would be too few.) Show Less
LibraryThing member tymfos
"Judas Child," a stand-alone novel by Carol O'Connell (author of the Mallory mysteries) is an amaziing piece of fiction. The characters are well-drawn and interesting. The plot is filled with puzzles and surprises. Once I got into reading this book, the main problem I had with it was that I needed
Even when it seems like the story is just about over, O'Connell still manages to pack in a few more surprises -- including one chilling and remarkable twist. I almost gave it a full 5-star rating -- my failure to do so was the result of only one scene in the book which left me scratching my head. (A case of , "how could a character who supposedly knew so much be faked out and tricked in that way?")
More than just a good mystery novel, this book left me thinking long after I finished reading, closed the cover, and put it down.
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to stop reading once in a while to tend to real life (job, family) -- and it was extremely hard to put down! Even when it seems like the story is just about over, O'Connell still manages to pack in a few more surprises -- including one chilling and remarkable twist. I almost gave it a full 5-star rating -- my failure to do so was the result of only one scene in the book which left me scratching my head. (A case of , "how could a character who supposedly knew so much be faked out and tricked in that way?")
More than just a good mystery novel, this book left me thinking long after I finished reading, closed the cover, and put it down.
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LibraryThing member busyreadin
Very good kidnapping story with more twists than an Arkansas back road. Lots of the time I'm not fond of stories with an abundance of twists, I find myself saying "oh come on". O'Connell did a very good job of challenging the reader (listener, in my case) without the confusion that comes from red
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herrings that just appear out of the blue in some stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member 4cebwu
I became interested in reading this author after reading "the Lineup" and I was not disappointed. While "The Judas Child" began with the standard mystery novel twists there was a point where the story become much more character driven then mystery driven which made this a much better book than your
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standard who done it. There is a lot in this story about the power of relationships both familial and friendship.I recommend "The Judas Child" to anyone who's interested in a mystery that's more than a who done it. There is more than one unexpected surprise that will keep this book on your mind long after you read the last page! Show Less
LibraryThing member kousouna
A great mystery novel! If you are a fan of the genre don't miss it!
LibraryThing member pidgeon92
Terrific kidnapping thriller. A little slow in spots, but ultimately worth the read.
LibraryThing member MickMcA
Along with Dennis Lehane's Darkness, Take My Hand and James Lee Burke's In the Electric Mist with the Confedrate Dead, this is an obvious candidate for the top ten crime fiction list.
LibraryThing member librarian1204
Read as a HB when it was published. One of the most haunting books I have ever read. Unforgettable .
LibraryThing member LARA335
Very visual novel. Could imagine this as a film, if the bizarre 'truffle' location could be built. Especially liked the girls' characters, really made me root for them. And the end was a complete surprise.
LibraryThing member bgknighton
She has a way of getting into a character's head that just gets to me. Even when you shouldn't like them.
Engrossing right up to the end.
Engrossing right up to the end.
LibraryThing member Carol420
Several days before Christmas, in a small, bucolic, tightly knit town, two ten year old girls, best friends, Sadie Green and Gwen Hubble, suddenly disappear. One of the local cops, Rouge Kendall, becomes involved in the investigation and manhunt that ensues. The case calls to mind his own brush
Carol O'Connell's adult characters are well drawn and sympathetic, but the little girls steal the show. Be warned--you will be late for work, stay up past your bedtime, let dinner burn on the stove, just to find out what happens to these engaging children. The tension is sometimes almost painful, but delicious at the same time. I thought I knew where the story was headed and how it was going to finish but, as it turned out, I was so far off base. It's pleasing to find a story that can continue to provoke thought long after you've closed it on the last page.
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with a madman, when fifteen years earlier his own ten year old, twin sister, Susan, had likewise been abducted. She was found murdered on Christmas Day, and his family never fully recovered from the blow they were dealt by Susan's untimely and grisly death. Carol O'Connell's adult characters are well drawn and sympathetic, but the little girls steal the show. Be warned--you will be late for work, stay up past your bedtime, let dinner burn on the stove, just to find out what happens to these engaging children. The tension is sometimes almost painful, but delicious at the same time. I thought I knew where the story was headed and how it was going to finish but, as it turned out, I was so far off base. It's pleasing to find a story that can continue to provoke thought long after you've closed it on the last page.
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LibraryThing member Lauren2013
Judas Child
4 Stars
Sharply drawn characters that evoke strong emotions. A well developed and thought provoking plot with an interesting twist at the end. A great read.
4 Stars
Sharply drawn characters that evoke strong emotions. A well developed and thought provoking plot with an interesting twist at the end. A great read.
Subjects
Awards
Barry Award (Nominee — Novel — 1999)
This Mystery is Amazing! (#6 — 2000)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1998
ISBN
0515125490 / 9780515125498