The Wolf in Winter by John Connolly

John Connolly is a brilliant author and with his creation Charlie Parker has produced one of the most complete series of books ever published. This is the 12^th outing for our great hero/ private detective and in this taut tale he is drawn to the town or Prosperous in an attempt to find what really happened to Annie Broyer.  Annie’s  estranged father Jude, living on the streets, has amassed the princely sum of $100+ that he hoped would entice the detective to help him....in Charlie’s own words that might have bought some 2 hours of this time. When however Jude is discovered dead, an apparent suicide, our hero knows that he must help discover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of Annie.

There is a solid and memorable list of characters that we meet as we travel with Charlie on his journey which is fraught with danger and in particular the evil Hayley Conyer the “voice” of Prosperous , her chief of police Morland who is no stranger to killing, and the wonderfully named Ronald Straydeer. If you add in the old favourites of Louis and Angel we have all the ingredients for a cracking story!

It is however the tormented mind of Charlie Parker that always holds the reader’s interest and never fails to draw me back. He is tortured by the death of his wife Rachel and in particular his daughter Samantha who appears to him throughout and always give the impression that she is calling him home. I don’t feel that CP will ever find peace and contentment until he can be with them again....wherever that may be...So once again Connolly has produced a masterpiece of crime combined with just the right amount of dark horror to entice the reader to return for the next instalment. Anything by John Connolly comes highly recommended and this is no exception...

Serial Killer book by which all others should be judged!

If you are a fan (and I use the term loosely) of serial killers such as Edmund Kemper the you will love By Reason of Insanity. The story of mass insane killer Thomas Bishop and the fixation of a young hungry reporter Adam Kenton to find Bishop and bring him to justice. This is a brutal and at times graphic story travelling deep into the mind of a mass murderer as he conducts his war against the world in his attempt to explain and show his hatred of women as he butchers his way across America. If I was to level one small criticism I would question the constant introduction of new characters (some remaining for a very short time) which tends to make the storyline a little over complicated causing the reader to have to refresh his memory on occasions. For a big novel the storyline moves at a frantic pace and makes for a fantastic read with a little unexpected and well thought out "sting in the tail" on the very last page.....I actually rated the book 4.5 stars and have bumped up to 5 stars simply because By Reason of Insanity was first published in 1978 and still has the power to shock and frighten many years later. Some will say this is the book by which all other serial killer novels should be compared and judged and they are not wrong!

Nostalgia read from an 80's icon...

Good nostalgia read from the mid 80's when some might argue saw Mr K  on top form. The story is a mix of horror and fantasy with at it's heart a rather lovey dovey story of Travis Cornell and the virginal Nora Devon...and of course the cute little dog Einstein. Einsteen is part of a secret gov experiment and he can actually communicate with humans although we do have the rather farcical 200 page interlude of Einstein learning to reading and playing scrabble (I kid you not!) Having said that there are some strong characters as always in the writing of Dean Koontz which makes Watchers an enjoyable read. Of special mention is the somewhat despicable Arthur (do people really still call their kids Arthur?).....unfortunately his appearance in the story was much too brief and the equally adventurous hired hitman/assassin Vincent Nasco. I am not sure I would agree with the quotation on the front of this 2015 addition "Not just a master of our darkest dreams but also a literary juggler" but a good read still the same.............