Book Review - The Whisperers by John Connolly

Synopsis:  In his latest dark and chilling Charlie Parker thriller, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly takes us to the border between Maine and Canada. It is there, in the vast and porous Great North Woods, that a dangerous smuggling operation is taking place, run by a group of disenchanted former soldiers, newly returned from Iraq. Illicit goods—drugs, cash, weapons, even people—are changing hands.  And something else has changed hands. Something ancient and powerful and evil.

The authorities suspect something is amiss, but what they can’t know is that it is infinitely stranger and more terrifying than anyone can imagine. Anyone, that is, except private detective Charlie Parker, who has his own intimate knowledge of the darkness in men’s hearts. As the smugglers begin to die one after another in apparent suicides, Parker is called in to stop the bloodletting. The soldiers’ actions and the objects they have smuggled have attracted the attention of the reclusive Herod, a man with a taste for the strange. And where Herod goes, so too does the shadowy figure that he calls the Captain. To defeat them, Parker must form an uneasy alliance with a man he fears more than any other, the killer known as the Collector. . . .

First Line:  "It was Dr. Al-Daini who found the girl, abandoned in the long central corridor."

Random Quote:  "The Sailmaker was, not to put too find a point on it, a dump.  It was one of the last of the old wharf bars in Portland, the ones that were built to cater to the needs of lobstermen, dock workers, and all those whose livelihood depended on the grittier aspects of Portland's harbor.  It was there long before anyone thought that tourists might want to spend time on the waterfront, and when the tourists did eventually appear they gave the Sailmaker a wide berth."

Review:  John Connolly is an amazingly talented writer.  His Charlie Parker series is among the best of any detective series.  I have read these books over and over again and there are bits and pieces of Connolly's honeycomb world that haunt my dreams.

Maine - Image by Jim Dollar via Flickr

This latest in the series is both more political (in dealing with the after effects of the Iraq War, particularly PTSD and the treatment of returning veterans) and more explicitly paranormal than some of his books.  As always, Connolly builds a strong and compelling plot, peoples it with characters you can care about, and then blows the roof off. 

My only complaint about this book is the Louis and Angel, two of the absolute best secondary characters in any book ever written, make only a smallish cameo appearance.  More Louis and Angel, please!

I loved the shout-out to James Lee Burke in the book, as well.  One of my complaints about most books is that people don't seem to read in them - it's always nice to have a character who not only reads, but who reads great stuff!

As to the book, this was an excellent read, as always.  Mr. Connolly remains one of my all-time favorite writers.

FTC Disclosure:  Advance review copy from the publisher

Rating:  Purple

Reading Challenges:  ARC Reading Challenge

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• The Whisperers, By John Connolly (independent.co.uk)