SURVIVING THE LOCKDOWNS WITH CHARLIE PARKER, RATING AND RANKING THE JOHN CONNOLLY SERIES

29/3/2021

You could say this article is around twenty years in the making, as I read the first book in the Charlie Parker series, Every Dead Thing (1999) fully two decades ago! Amazingly, this unique series now spans eighteen books, with the nineteenth arriving in the summer. Strangely, I did not take to the series immediately and over the next couple of decades I picked up a couple of random titles but did not truly catch the bug. However, as the series consistently picked up stunning reviews across the board, I felt I was missing out on something special and when the first lockdown started, I decided to read the whole series in order, to see how far I got. As I had this article in mind from the outset, I reviewed the books as I completed them, so you might say around 150-175 hours of ‘research’ has gone into this chunky feature article.
Although horror is my favourite genre and the area in which I predominately review fiction, I do read a fair bit of crime, following numerous detectives over very long sequences of books. My favourites being Ian Rankin (John Rebus, 23 books), Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch, 24 books), Henning Mankell (Kurt Wallander, 11 books) and the Tudor Period lawyer Matthew Shardlake (CJ Sansom, 7 books). All four characters age beautifully as their series develop and the reader has the genuine sense of seeing the character grow and mature, Charlie Parker fits into this group perfectly. If anything, even though he is younger than Bosch and Rebus (who are now retired) he is significantly more world weary. I could even imagine Parker sharing a drink with John Rebus, but I feel the fiery Scotsman would drink him under the table!

There are many other examples of long-running detective series which are standalone mysteries rather than those which follow complex multi-book story arcs. The Charlie Parker books are significantly richer because they are the latter, starting out as standard murder mysteries, they get more complex and convoluted as the series progresses with a host of memorable recurring characters which are complimented by standout villains and killers who might feature only in single titles. The story arc which (almost) concludes in book seventeen is one of the finest in fiction and would surely leave new readers, who might have joined the series at a random moment scratching their heads.

I have given the lowest book 6.5/10 for purposes of ranking. This is on the ‘Charlie Parker Scale’ and if I were to rate any of these on Amazon or Good Reads, I would give them all five stars. They are all great and my personal favourite might not be yours. If you enjoy horror mixed with detective style stories you will love these. On the other hand (like my wife) if you love detective stories, but hate the supernatural, then these books are probably not for you. The supernatural elements of the novel definitely get more pronounced as the series develops and for a horror fan, the pitch and blend are second to none.

The eye for detail is remarkable, by that I mean Connolly seriously enjoys creating backstories and histories, not only for minor characters, but even more so for bars, small towns and other random locations. These are incredibly thorough and on occasions there was so much detail I simply presumed this bar or location was genuine. It might be too much for some, but once you get into the rhythm of this particular style the reader expects it.

The Scottish detective John Rebus is out of sorts whenever he abandons his home city of Edinburgh and Harry Bosch never leaves Los Angeles, except for the occasional trip to Vegas. How does Parker compare? Although the state of Maine beats at the heart of the novels Parker is more at home on the road than many of his literary detective contemporaries and even (almost) enjoyed himself when he visits London in the magnificent book seventeen. Connolly may be Irish, but he most certainly has a deep connection with Maine and truly brings it alive, from the isolated small towns to the vastness of the forests and the many lonely locations there are where a body can be buried without disturbance.

If you are currently reading this series, what follows is entirely spoiler free and on occasions reveals even less than the blurbs do. Also, as I have written the reviews as I have read them, I have used very little hindsight, except for the occasional lapse added via the rewrites.

The Wolf in Winter (Book 12 – 2012) 10/10

Book 11, The Wrath of Angels, was one of my least favourites, but the series bursts back to life in quite scintillating fashion in The Wolf in Winter, which is amongst the very best and a personal favourite of mine. Proceedings open with Charlie Parker and his friends hunting an old adversary from previous novels, but this is only a distraction for what lies ahead. Very cleverly, The Wolf in Winter lulls the reader with a false sense of security, as for the first 60% it reads like a standalone novel and avoids the numerous long and complex story arcs from its predecessors, but at a certain point, BANG, things begin to reconnect together, and the bigger picture develops. In this novel Connolly, in a roundabout way, returns to one of his favourite subjects, cults, in a novel which has both strong supernatural overtones and reflections back to the ancient mythology of the ‘Green Man’. The story revolves around the small (and very reclusive) Maine town of Prosperous, who will do anything to keep its secrets, including murder. However, after a friend of Parker ends up dead and the detective comes snooping, the town begins to infight, and they realise he is a threat to their personal security that runs deeper than any in their long history. Prosperous is also populated with outstanding support characters and we read the action also from their point of view whilst Parker continues his investigation. Prepare yourself for a stunning final sequence and truly moving scenes when old ghosts reappear. By this stage in the series, it was interesting this was the first book to finish with a genuine cliff-hanger. This was tough for old time readers as book 13 A Song of Shadows, did not appear for another three years. That was a long wait. One wonders whether Connolly considered ending the series after book 12? I am certainly glad he did not.

A Book of Bones (Book 17 - 2019) 10/10

Book 17, A Bag of Bones, was a sprawling stunner of a novel, picking up the action one month after The Woman in the Woods. Any newbie who randomly dropped in on the series at this point would surely struggle to figure what was going on, as it is a genuine sequel in that the long story arcs become more prominent and the vicious villains from book 16 are back and are even nastier than before. I read all these books on my kindle, so it is often difficult to figure out their true length, however, A Bag of Bones was clearly a very long book, Amazon lists it as 720-pages, but it never felt like it and never dragged. This was an incredibly ambitious late entry in the series which has a vast array of characters, even more than normal, with much of the action taking place in England after Charlie Parker and his sidekicks go hunting for revenge after the events at the conclusion of The Woman in the Woods. This novel also beautifully connects to The Wolf in Winter (book 12) which I gave 10/10 and loved the way this was integrated into this story. Having Charlie Parker wandering around London was a strange business and at one point his friends Angel and Louis are drinking in a pub in Balham (trying to buy a gun), about 20 minutes-walk from where I live! This is a long way from the forests and snow of Maine, USA. A massive amount is going on in this fantastic which involves the murder of a young woman on an ancient moor in north England, with the story also being seen from both the killer and the police’s perspective. The story is not about who the murderer is, and this plays out for the most part, without anything to do with Parker who heads to London to try to recover sections of an ancient book and find an old adversary. One might argue that some part of the larger story arc ended with this book, but there is still plenty of legs left! A real high point of the series and one of my (very) favourites.

A Song of Shadows (book 13 - 2015) 9.5/10

Connolly continues the incredible high standard of book 12, The Wolf in Winter, with an absolute knockout of a follow-up. Interestingly and stylistically this entry is written entirely in the third person which breaks from the usual model in which Parker is written in the first person and other characters in the third. However, this is ingenious and brilliantly effective as the change in style gives the reader some added distance from Parker as he recovers slowly and painfully from his troubles in the previous book. As Parker is lying low for much of the time this gives some of the other characters time to shine and the story is populated with superb faces, both long story arc characters and those who are only here for A Song of Shadows. For the most part this book reads like a standalone novel until the stunning ending which sneakily brings in a much longer story arc which leaves the reader gagging for book 14. The novel kicks off with Parker taking a break from the detective business and moves to a small seaside town on the Maine coastline, however, after a body is washed up close to where he lives, he is unwittingly sucked into a complex conspiracy which involves Nazi hunters and secrets which go back to the Second World War. With Parker taking the backseat for much of the story the Nazi story arc was fascinating and perfectly pieced together and along the way his young daughter begins to play a bigger role. Make sure you hang in there for the ending! Superb stuff.

A Time of Torment (book 14 - 2016) 9.5/10

The brutal A Time for Torment maintains the super high standard of its predecessor A Song of Shadows which also presents Charlie Parker in the third person (up until book 12 he was almost always written in the first person “I” tense). One wonders whether this is a tactic in presenting Parker as an all-together darker entity, a product of the shocking ending in book 12 The Wolf in Winter? If this is the case, Connelly nails it. Interestingly, Parker is absent for large chunks of this novel, but his presence is never far away in a superbly written thriller which, for the most part, dances around the longer story arc, but the ghosts (quite literally) of the past are never far away. Much of the early part of the story revolves around a recently released ex-convict Jerome Burnel who turns to Parker for help after six years in prison. He claims he was framed for having thousands of child pornography images for payback in an incident where he thwarted an armed robbery and killed the two gunmen. But why and by whom? Parker, his sidekicks Angel and Louis, believes the story and soon the trail connects to a remote and reclusive community in West Virginia, ‘The Cut’, which control the small county of Plassey, through intimidation, extortion, murder, and brutal violence. The complex and riveting plot takes in many characters and with Parker being portrayed almost as an avenging angel it is impossible not to get sucked in. And prepare yourself for a quite stunning final hour of reading. As if often the case with these books there are many sneaky turns and the references to the longer story arcs are terrific, in particular Parker’s young daughter Sam and the obvious key role she is going to play in future plot developments.

The Lovers (Book 8 – 2009) 9/10

After their star turn in book seven Angel and Louis are relegated back to the shadows in The Lovers, a novel which links together many loose ends from previous entries and, more crucially, sow the seeds for what might lie ahead. Charlie Parker books virtually never end of cliff-hangers however, this novel drops several very large plot bombs (in which not everything is revealed) and are areas which readers will be eager to see John Connolly return to. This was a fiendishly well plotted novel, with several strands, which delves deep into the personal history of Parker who, whilst his career is on hiatus, begins to investigate the circumstances behind why his father shot two unarmed teens and then committed suicide. Due to recent troubles Parker is trying to lie low and things are not helped by a true crime reporter who wants to write a book about Charlie’s life. This story has a strong supernatural element and is blended into a mystery which goes back several decades, however, some of the strongest scenes resonate from Parker’s more recent past and some of these send shivers down my spine. One you read “STAY AWAY FROM MY DADDY” and you will know exactly what I mean. This was a particularly haunting novel and Charlie Parker’s journey to uncover his true identity was equally moving and captivating.

The Woman in the Woods (Book 16 – 2018) 9/10

Book 16, The Woman in the Woods, picks up the pace after the slight lull in its predecessor with a story which effortlessly blends the complex long-term story arc with a terrific mystery, which has many strands and exquisitely comes together perfectly near the end. In actual fact, I would have been very happy to see the action play out for a further fifty pages. Once again, Parker is presented in the third person and even if he may have mellowed very slightly from the avenging angel character from the last few books, he remains a very dangerous and complex man. One might wonder what a casual reader who drops in on the series at this point might think. I would imagine the longer story arcs might be slightly confusing. The main plot revolves around a body of a young woman which is uncovered in a Maine forest, she had been in the ground for five years and gave birth shortly before death, however, there is no sign of the corpse of a child. Parker is hired by a lawyer friend to shadow the police investigation and try and figure out what happened to the baby. The story is seen from multiple points of view, including two very memorable villains who are also searching for the child, or is it something else? The developing supernatural angle was also terrific, including a toy telephone which rings from beyond the grave. Once again, the fascinating story of Parker’s daughter lurks in the background and I hope it plays a more prominent role in the next book.

The Killing Kind (Book 3 – 2001) 9/10

With Charlie well and truly beginning to get his life in order he begins to investigate the suicide of a young woman called Grace Peltier. He quickly realises that the death was murder and that it is connected to the discovery of a mass grave in northern Maine and a reclusive religious community and ultimately a shadow organisation known as the Fellowship. Prepare to meet a couple of the series greatest villains, whose story partially continues in book four, The White Road. If you do not like spiders avoid this book like the plague. Cults are a theme which are frequently revisited throughout the series and the example included in this story is a corker.

The Unquiet (Book 6 – 2006) 9/10

The Unquiet was the closest to a traditional murder-mystery novel in the series since the first couple, with Parker hired to protect a woman called Rebecca who is being stalked by a guy called Frank Merrick (who is an outstanding and totally menacing character). Merrick believes that Rebecca’s dead father, an eminent child abuse expert and psychologist, is still alive and has a bone to pick with him. When Parker begins to investigate Merrick’s motives, it takes him deep into the area of child abuse, revenge and the case becomes all too personal as it is unclear who is telling the truth and whether an old child abuse ring is still active. Although many of the usual characters pop up in The Unquiet, they have rather subdued roles and Parker’s own personal problems are also kept on the backburner. A great character from earlier in the season also makes a welcome return and the pain from Parker’s past is never far away. Interestingly, supernatural characters called Hollow Men are introduced, but you could argue not enough is done with them, and they lurk in the background as the darkness surrounds Parker and reappear in future novels. Although this was a beautifully written book, the subject matter was unquestionably dark, with the evil of man much worse than anything the supernatural world can give us. Also, the prologue featuring ‘Dave the Guesser’ was a quite simply outstanding piece of writing and one of the most striking sequences in the whole series.

The Whisperers (Book 9 – 2010) 8.5/10

For the first time in the series a real life ‘issue’ lies at the heart of the story, with Charlie Parker investigating the suicide of an Iraq War veteran whose death might be PTSD related. With flashbacks to the war and ex-military biting at his tale Charlie bites off much more than he can chew when a smuggling operation across the Canadian border takes a much more sinister and potentially supernatural turn. Although the otherworldly lurks in the shadows, at its heart, The Whisperers is an outstanding page-turner of a thriller which will have readers on the edge of their seat. Interestingly, it features for the first time in the sequence, an object which also has supernatural powers, and which would not have been out of place in an Indiana Jones film. As this object is so rare there are many dangerous people on the hunt for it, including an organisation from a previous novel and in particular, the return of a character who is prone to making scene stealing cameos, and in The Whisperers, raises the bar to new heights. ‘The Collector’ is a superb creation and let us hope we see more of him in future instalments. Interestingly, there are no mentions of the potentially explosive bombs dropped in book eight. John Connolly loves a very long story arc and I predict they are going to get longer and more complex.

A Game of Ghosts (Book 15 – 2017) 8/10

After the astonishingly high standard maintained in books 12-14, arguably the strongest trilogy in the sequence, A Game of Ghosts was a slight disappointment. There was nothing wrong with it and it was an entertaining read but compared to Connolly’s best very best work it came up a shade short. The series, as it has over the last few books continues to present Parker in the third person and this book seemed to have so many characters in it, I struggled remembering who some of them were. In comparison to the best of the recent books, many of these minor characters were not particularly memorable, and I found that the supernatural entity which lurked at the back of this book was slightly disappointing with an underwhelming ending which barely involved Charlie Parker. The series is at its strongest when Parker is up front, and centre and he seemed to be underutilised in A Game of Ghosts. The plot revolves around Parker’s search for a missing detective, hired by the FBI who have an agenda of their own, Parker begins to circle an ancient organisation which have made a pact with something very dodgy. Ultimately, my gripe with this book was the fact that for the most part it neglected the fascinating story arc with Parker’s young daughter Sam, which really deserved more page time. Perhaps this will be developed more substantially in the next book, but I felt a tad short changed. However, watch out for the demise of a major recurring character! I was with Parker here and was sorry to see him go.

Dark Hollow (Book 2 – 2000) 8/10

Although Charlie has begun his recovery from the murder of his family in book one Every Dead Thing he is still broken inside and returns to his family home of Maine only to be caught up in the murders of a young mother and her child, a crime that could be linked to the troubled history of Parker's own grandfather, an obsessive policeman, who eventually took his own life. Along the way this novel has fantastic gangster elements in which the resourceful Parker refuses to back down when faced with unsurmountable odds, with an undiagnosed supernatural feeling beginning to play a bigger part in proceedings. Hit man friends from book one, Angel and Louis, also return and prepare yourself for another truly excellent serial killer with Charlie fighting for his life in the middle of nowhere with the odds stacked heavily against him.

The Reapers (Book 7 – 2008) 8/10

The Reapers is undoubtedly one of the oddest books in the entire Charlie Parker series, mainly because Parker is a bit-player in this novel and for any casual reader who have randomly parachuted into this book, they might wonder why the series is called ‘Charlie Parker’. Instead, the story focusses upon two of Parker’s sidekicks, Angel and Louis, also the two mechanics who work in the garage used as a front by the pair. This was a fascinating change of direction seven books into a series, perhaps John Connolly was hoping to inject a new element into proceedings? For the most part it works, reading like a straight thriller, which has no supernatural elements as that part of the story normally revolves predominately around Parker. The Reapers also includes numerous flashbacks to the troubled childhood of Louis, which also takes in ‘The Burning Man’ which was a story thread from an earlier novel. As events progressed, I kept expecting the story to move onto Parker, but it never happened, and it was fascinating reading a thriller where Louis is the target of a complex hit which has revenge written all over it, where the past comes back to haunt him. I would guess this would be easy to read as a standalone thriller and might be compared to Michael Connelly or Ian Rankin who have both written distinct sequences of novels where the primary detective jumps into another series and take a backseat role.

The Burning Soul (Book 10 – 2011) 7.5/10

Book ten, The Burning Soul, was as close to standard police procedural as the series gets, with three separate story strands which the reader is certain are going to interconnect, with much of the fun being in how it happens. Parker finds himself working for the lawyer who has featured in the last few books and is investigating a series of threatening (potentially blackmail) messages her client, Randall Haight has received. Why has he not gone to the police? Many years ago, when he was fourteen, he and a friend killed a little girl and since being released from prison has been given a new identity. However, the blackmailer seems to know who he is. In a story top heavy with small town secrets, the second plot is very much in the present day, with the disappearance of a fourteen-year-old girl. The police have no clues, the FBI become involved and the two cases overlap. The third story was the least interesting, and took up too much page time, the downfall of a city gangster and his cohorts which have old family connections to the small Maine town shocked by the disappearance of the teenager. Although this was an entertaining page-turner it lacked the spark of the best of the series, Charlie himself is a bystander in much of the novel with much of the story going around him, with Angel and Louis having minor roles and the non-Charlie supernatural aspect of the story seemed unnecessary. John Connolly also fails to return to the big family revelations dropped a couple of novels ago.

The White Road (Book 4 – 2002) 7.5/10

Against his better judgement, Charlie has his arm twisted into helping an old lawyer friend defend a young black man faces the death penalty for the rape and murder of Marianne Larousse, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in South Carolina. All the evidence is stacked against the kid, but Charlie senses a coverup and is soon knee deep in another dangerous investigation which is much more complex than it originally seemed. Regular characters Rachel, Angel and Louis play smaller in this book and I found the two other main story strands significantly more interesting. The first concerns the fanatical preacher from Dark Hollow and the other the disappearance of a young woman which was worthy of more page time. Four books into the series, Charlie’s supernatural sense is really beginning to develop.

The Dirty South (Book 18 – 2020) 7/10

Some of you may feel 7/10 is too low a score of The Dirty South and if I revisit this article in a couple of years hindsight may prove you to be correct. I read this within two weeks of its predecessor and would probably have enjoyed it more if I had let the grass grow longer between books. In the afterward Connolly mentions that following the magnificent A Book of Bones (book 17) was nigh of impossible, so he decided to tackle a more traditional stand-alone mystery next, so as this is a type of ‘origins’ story it lacks the long story arcs and personal growth of the characters from the recent books. The Dirty South takes us right back to 1997 where Charlie Parker is dealing with the personal tragedy which he is attempting to revenge in the first book Every Dead Thing with the action being a side story which takes place in Arkansas, before he heads to New Orleans, following the trail of ‘The Travelling Man’. Parker stops in Arkansas as there have been murders which have some similarities to the modus operandum to the killer he is tracking. It is worth noting that the Arkansas tourist board will not be using this book for promotional material any time soon, as just about everybody seems to be corrupt! Parker finds himself helping the local police to solves the murders and faces obstacles all the way, mainly from a powerful local family who are trying to lure big business to the area. It is believed the murders were not investigated properly because the victims were all poor black women and there has been some sort of coverup. As a standalone mystery it was an entertaining enough novel, but it lacked some spark. All other recurring characters were absent to about 90%, the support characters were bland or unlikable, and the story lacked the brutal killers of recent novels. As I approached the end of the book, I found myself not particularly bothered who the killer was in what was a simple murder mystery which lacked the scope of most of the recent books in the series and if felt like a holding novel before the next big thing happens.

Every Dead Thing (Book 1 – 1999) 7/10

The series begins with the horrific murder of the wife and daughter of NYPD cop Charlie Parker, who no longer after, wracked with guilt, leaves the force. He was getting drunk the night they were tortured and killed and sees their ghosts everywhere, or is he just feeling their presence through his guilt? As the murders are unsolved, he is also consumed with the need for revenge which sends him on the tail of ‘The Travelling Man’ or is it the Travelling Man who is stalking Charlie? Either way, the mystery takes him to Louisiana and the disappearance of a missing girl where multiple story strands connect. The greatest detective writers of our time, from Rankin (Rebus) to Connelly (Bosch) did not start their epic series with their best work and neither does John Connolly. However, he does set strong seeds for what lies ahead. Funnily enough, there were many YEARS between book one and two for me as a reader. So, it obviously took a long time for the seeds to come to fruitarian and it was certainly worth the wait.

The Black Angel (Book 5 - 2005) 6.5/10

The Black Angel promised much more than it eventually delivered with a couple of key storylines kept on a frustratingly backburner. Charlie finds himself at a crossroads in his relationship and because of his life as a detective has complex family problems. However, they do not have the page time they deserve, and even though supernatural hints are dropped it is not explored fully in this novel. The Black Angel starts strong with an estranged prostitute relative of Charlie’s friend Louis disappearing, which leads to a bloodthirsty tale of revenge and the novels main plotline. Even though this was the most overtly supernatural of the five books so far, and features great villains in ‘The Believers’, it came across as a cross between Indiana Jones and Dan Brown, featuring too many long flashbacks which even lumped in a few Nazis. Even though this was loaded with great characters I felt this could have been much better, it lacked the relationship aspect and seemed to take too long to finish.

The Wrath of Angels (Book 11 – 2012) 6.5/10

The Wrath of Angels is a loose sequel, of sorts, to the fifth book in the series, The Black Angel, which was one of my least favourites of the sequence. This was also, possibly the most overtly supernatural of the series thus far and even the reappearance (and development) of ‘The Collector’ cannot save it from being bogged down by too many characters, sub-plots, and a serious sag in the middle of the book that had me frustrated. The villain from The Black Angel also returns, but he is sadly both underused and underdeveloped and although The Wrath of Angels does connect to both the wider multi-book story arc and a ghost from a previous novel, I found it stodgy. The story revolves around the discovery of a crashed plane in a remote part of the Maine wilderness, two local hunters find the wreck and steal the money they find and soon someone comes looking for both the money and a list of names. The names are all prominent and successful people and many years after the money is long spent Charlie Parker is called to investigate by a surviving relative and is more closely connected to the investigation than he ever thought possible. With the story returning to the very powerful and secret organisation hinted at in Black Angel, Charlie has his work cut out as the bodies begin to mount and the hunt for the list is on.

By Tony Jones

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