The Malcontenta

THE MALCONTENTA marks the return of Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla and Detective Chief Inspector David Brock where they join forces again to solve a murder.Kathy has been working light duty for the last few months after recuperating from her injuries sustained in THE MARX SISTERS. Her commanding officer gives her and her partner instructions to go investigate an alleged suicide at a posh health spa. When Kathy starts to investigate she finds inconsistencies with the suicide finding and suffers from obstructions of justice brought by the staff of the spa. When Kathy starts creating waves she is yanked off the case by her commanding officer.Kathy decides to visit Brock. Since their work together in the previous novel they share a mutual respect for each other. Kathy tells Brock about the case and her concerns and he decides to join the spa in order to find information.Kathy grows in this novel after the foolhardy way she worked her previous case. I like that the author is taking his time in exploring her characters as he did with DS Kolla this time. He describes her home as well as her neighbors and introduces a possible love interest for Kathy. Brock is still mysterious and in every book we get to know a little more about him but not much about his personal life.The supporting characters are rather diverse but very interesting. Everybody seemed to hate the dead victim and everyone had an opportunity to kill him in one way or another. It is interesting in this book how one person can affect a whole group of people in ways that affect them indirectly. The story is very involving till the very end.My only complaint in this book was Kathy herself. There were several characters that were hindering her investigation that she should have arrested for obstruction. Maybe the English have a different way of doing things than the Americans or perhaps the author thought it would have served no purpose. No matter, I enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to reading THE CHALON HEADS.

It goes without saying that tight plotting, suspense, and a good prose style are key components in writing a mystery novel. Barry Maitland's second mystery, "The Malcontenta", has all of that.But what makes it an enjoyable five-stars is the wit and the characterization. Maitland sees his world from a distance, a perspective which allows him some irony and wry humor as the novel unfolds...and gives him the latitude to create a bevvy of characters who are charming, intriguing, and very human.This is a suberb mystery. Don't miss it.

Australian author Maitland surprised the world five years ago with the Marx sisters, a wonderful little book about a neighbourhood in London and the human relationships between a number of immigrants against the historical background of the last house of Karl Marx. This book introduced us to DCI Brock and DS Kolla.In the Malcontenta we see them back in a more sophisticated novel with a lot of room for development of other charachters.The plot is very good and well paced. A murder in a high profile clinic is given to DS Kolla to investigate but in a later stage she is pulled from the investigation and the investigation is closed. Not satsified with that Kathy involves Brock and this leads to a whole new set of events in and around the clinic.Maitland has this wonderful talent of taking you ( luring you even..) into a situation where nothing much seems to happen, where you start to feel as if you were listening to one of Poirots explanations and than...Boom it happens. This makes splendid reading.This novel, more than the first, is also excellent in describing the backgrounds, the theathre, of where it all happens. In the description of the clinic you have the feeling of reading The Magic Mountain with different characters and in his description of the gay scene heis poignant and fair.It is a pity that it takes such a long time to bring these books to the market. I bought the book four years ago in Australia and have re-read it again after all the publiciy on these pages.It is well worth reading, however and I will certainly pick up the number three in this series as well.

In spite of the rave reviews, I must have been one of the few that did not find Barry Maitland's first Kathy and Brock mystery, "The Marx Sisters", all that wonderful. The mystery itself was promising but the novel, in my opinion, tended to meander all over the place, and to get bogged down at times. Having confessed to that, I'll admit that this second Kathy and Brock mystery, The Malcontenta", is really good. Tightly paced and with very good character and plot development, this novel really gave you that 'at-the-edge-of-your-seat' feeling.Bored with her temporary assignment to the Family and Juvenille Crime unit, Sergeant Kathy Kolla jumps at the chance to investigate a suspicious death at the Stanhope Naturopathic Clinic. From the very first Kathy has to contend with the clinic's staff and administrators whose first priority is naturally to protect the reputation of the clinic, themeselves and their rich and influential clients. Did the physiotherapist, Alex Petrou, commit siucide or is it a case of murder? Things are not adding up for Kathy, and Petrou himself seems to have been abit of a shady character. But just as it looks as if the case is about to break, Kathy is pulled off the case and reprimanded for incompetence.Frustrated and not at all sure of what she should do, Kathy turns to Brock for advice and help, especially when the Petrou's death is glossed over as an unfortunate accident. Both Kathy and Brock begin to suspect some sort of cover up that reaches into the higher echelons of the county police. But how far up and how many are involved?This mystery novel is a truly good read. I encourage those few who like me found "The Marx Sisters" disappionting to give this novel a go. You will not be sorry.

British author Maitland's second Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla and Chief Inspector David Brock mystery, "The Malcontenta," finds young Kathy chafing at mundane duties in the country, on rotation from her London base. Jumping at the chance to investigate the death of a physical therapist at an alternative-medicine spa, her zealousness in seeing murder where her superiors have determined suicide soon lands her in trouble.Taking the case to Brock, she is delighted when he agrees to investigate unofficially, from the inside, as a patient. The narrative switches to Brock's point-of-view as he enters a regimen of fasting and acupuncture under the watchful eye of the charismatic, pretentious director and his coldly efficient wife while asking nosy questions of suspicious and vulnerable patients.A second, horrific death, which points a bloody finger at Brock, spins the narrative back to Kathy, who is abruptly suspended and thrown onto the resources of her heretofore nonexistent private life (introducing new characters who will certainly flesh out the background of the next book). The pair teams up again for a spectacular and surprising finale with plenty of fast footwork and bloody drama.Likeable protagonists, effective secondary characters, a wryly humorous style and a well-paced plot make Maitland's (The Marx Sisters") series a growing pleasure.