Hodder Paperbacks The Killing Kind: A Charlie Parker Thriller: 3

Arrived when expected and in good condition. I shall continue to add to my collection of John Connelly's Charlie Parker series as I read these years ago from the library and am now after having them all on my bookshelf.

This is another Charlie Parker. It is one of the first and is very violent and there is a lot of torture in it. I was fascinated and abhored with some of the contents. I was very happy with the ending I will say. John Connolly is a very realistic writer. Again, I wouldn't recommend this for everyone.

John Connolly is one fine writer: not only are plot and characters exceptionally well done, but his prose style is close to poetic. I re-read sections simply because the style was so grand. And he improves with each book. His protagonist in all three books is Charlie Parker, an ex-cop who left the force when his wife and child were brutally murdered in Connolly's first book, "Every Dead Thing". Characters introduced in this book follow through all three, so while "The Killing Kind" can be read on its own, many of the references to Parker's past can be better understood by a reading of the previous books. Which ain't all bad, folks, because, as I've said, this is one fine writer. Here, Parker is investigating the death of a young woman who was conducting research into a religious cult. No plot giveaways from your friendly reviewer, but be advised that the bad guy, "Mr. Pudd" is REALLY scary, and the uncertainty of the outcome persists to the very last page. I cannot recommend this book too much or praise Connolly's skills too highly. It's a "great read". And for fans, be advised that the fourth Parker novel, "The White Road", is available now from Amazon.com.uk. Trust me on this one, guys; enjoyment is guaranteed.

After EVERY DEAD THING it was hard to go on. John Connolly did it with DARK HOLLOW, a middleclass-thriller with little tension, an easy-see-through plot and no surprises. Really depressing. Now he turned back to the style from his first novel and created with Elias Pudd a character equal to the Traveling Man. The plot is better, the thinking cleverer. Connolly is still faithfull to his theme of dying and guilt, and he packed it in a new kind of storytelling - changing viewpoints, giving the story room to breathe and getting wiser with the telling, keeping the pace.I hope Connolly will go on in this (his special) style. I really like the anger in his novels, the characters change subtle, but they change and learn.THE KILLING KIND is superb story-telling, a lot of tension and many twists that make you forget to blink. I really liked it.

Don't read "The Killing Kind" if you have an aversion to spiders. Seriously. This book will make you itch and squirm and just plain freak out with the thought of eight-legged killers crawling all over you. John Connolly's third novel to feature his private eye, Charlie Parker, also introduces us to one of the most loathsome and creepy serial killers I have ever encountered, Mr. Pudd. Mr. Pudd loves spiders, especially black widows and brown recluses, both of which happen to be highly poisonous. He likes to put them in places that they shouldn't go, such as mailboxes, car glove compartments, or people's mouths... 'Nuff said. Parker is hired by a wealthy businessman to investigate the murder of a young girl named Grace, a college student who was investigating the disappearance of the Aroostock Baptists. The Aroostock Baptists were a group of families that followed the religious teachings of a man named Faulkner. In the 1970s, the entire group disappeared somewhere in the forests of Maine. Most believed that the group simply disbanded and went their separate ways, but when a highway construction team accidentally digs up a mass grave in northern Maine, thoughts of what happened to the Aroostock Baptists suddenly turn grim. Forensic evidence discovers that the victims had been tortured and killed. All of the bodies are accounted for, except for one: Faulkner's.