When Kathleen Mallory was ten she was a street kid and a thief. Then a cop called Markowitz took her home to his wife to civilize her… Now Mallory is in charge of a complex database and a police officer herself, and someone has just murdered the man she considers her father – the only man she has ever loved. More used to the company of computers than people, Mallory descends into the urban nightmare of New York, to hunt down a cold-blooded killer. Mallory's Oracle is a dangerous chase through the city's underworld, down the fibre-optic cables of hi-tech computer networks and behind the blinds of genteel Gramercy Park – and an investigation into the chilly heart of its damaged and elusive heroine. "Something close to a masterwork" – THE TIMES "Sgt Kathleen Mallory is one of the most original and intriguing detectives you'll ever meet" – CARL HIASSEN "A stunning debut" – DAILY MIRROR "A deeply satisfying read" – TIME OUT