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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The risks always lie in what is hidden
PI Charlie Parker is approached by an up-and-coming young artist of his acquaintance, Zetta Nadeau, to look into the disappearance of her new boyfriend Wyatt Riggins. Zetta doesn't believe that Wyatt has ghosted her, and as Parker is sympathetic to the driven and talented young woman who has fought hard to rise above her traumatic childhood he agrees to poke around a bit for her. As he searches through the cabin they shared, he finds two things which indicate that this is a more troubling case than he had suspected....a flip phone with only one piece of information on it, a message that reads, "Run", and a gun hidden behind the toilet. At the same time and at the behest of a Mexican cartel leader named Blas Urrea, a search is underway for four children who were stolen from Urrea. The tracks of those who committed the crime were well-hidden but slowly, one link at a time, the two people charged with finding the children and bringing them back are piecing together the trail. As each participant is located, whatever knowledge they possess about the crime is extracted from them...names, places, etc...and they are eliminated (rather gruesomely). Stolen pre-Hispanic antiquities, brutal cartel killers, and the search for the missing children all seem to lead to Maine...and Parker makes the decision that finding answers for Zetta is a worthy quest. Its a decision that may cost him more than he is willing to give.
The Children of Eve is book 22 in author John Connolly's series featuring Charlie Parker. Those who have read other installments in the series know to expect a hard-boiled crime novel complete with a quixotic, wise-cracking protagonist who is surrounded by a decidedly quirky group of allies. Their humorous banter provides moments of levity in an otherwise tense and dark atmosphere, and as the plot explodes out of the gate there are also the trademark elements of supernatural forces which hover over Parker...his daughter Jennifer, for example, is a very real character, she just happens to have died with her mother years earlier, a loss which still haunts Parker. There are many layers to the story, detailing issues from the very prosaic challenges of Parker raising his other daughter Sam with his ex-wife Rachel (who struggles to deal with the connection Sam and Parker have to Jennifer) to the economic changes facing downtown areas in Maine as locals struggle to afford homes in areas being taken over by wealthy out-of-towners as well as the sometimes shady forces funding the growth of stores selling legalized cannabis. There is more than a bit of dark and graphic violence within these pages...it would be hard to have a crime novel where one of the main villains is a drug cartel leader without them...and there are stories as well of the violence that has been done to children for centuries. That said, whether this is your first encounter with Charlie Parker or you have followed his previous exploits, this novel will grab your attention from the opening scene and not let you go until the very end....which isn't really an end at all, in the overall scheme of things. Readers of James Lee Burke, Dennis Lehane and Michael Koryta should also (in the unlikely event that they haven't picked up a John Connelly novel by now) grab a copy at the earliest opportunity. Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for allowing me access to this gripping and emotionally powerful novel from the talented Mr. Connolly in exchange for my honest review.
PI Charlie Parker is approached by an up-and-coming young artist of his acquaintance, Zetta Nadeau, to look into the disappearance of her new boyfriend Wyatt Riggins. Zetta doesn't believe that Wyatt has ghosted her, and as Parker is sympathetic to the driven and talented young woman who has fought hard to rise above her traumatic childhood he agrees to poke around a bit for her. As he searches through the cabin they shared, he finds two things which indicate that this is a more troubling case than he had suspected....a flip phone with only one piece of information on it, a message that reads, "Run", and a gun hidden behind the toilet. At the same time and at the behest of a Mexican cartel leader named Blas Urrea, a search is underway for four children who were stolen from Urrea. The tracks of those who committed the crime were well-hidden but slowly, one link at a time, the two people charged with finding the children and bringing them back are piecing together the trail. As each participant is located, whatever knowledge they possess about the crime is extracted from them...names, places, etc...and they are eliminated (rather gruesomely). Stolen pre-Hispanic antiquities, brutal cartel killers, and the search for the missing children all seem to lead to Maine...and Parker makes the decision that finding answers for Zetta is a worthy quest. Its a decision that may cost him more than he is willing to give.
The Children of Eve is book 22 in author John Connolly's series featuring Charlie Parker. Those who have read other installments in the series know to expect a hard-boiled crime novel complete with a quixotic, wise-cracking protagonist who is surrounded by a decidedly quirky group of allies. Their humorous banter provides moments of levity in an otherwise tense and dark atmosphere, and as the plot explodes out of the gate there are also the trademark elements of supernatural forces which hover over Parker...his daughter Jennifer, for example, is a very real character, she just happens to have died with her mother years earlier, a loss which still haunts Parker. There are many layers to the story, detailing issues from the very prosaic challenges of Parker raising his other daughter Sam with his ex-wife Rachel (who struggles to deal with the connection Sam and Parker have to Jennifer) to the economic changes facing downtown areas in Maine as locals struggle to afford homes in areas being taken over by wealthy out-of-towners as well as the sometimes shady forces funding the growth of stores selling legalized cannabis. There is more than a bit of dark and graphic violence within these pages...it would be hard to have a crime novel where one of the main villains is a drug cartel leader without them...and there are stories as well of the violence that has been done to children for centuries. That said, whether this is your first encounter with Charlie Parker or you have followed his previous exploits, this novel will grab your attention from the opening scene and not let you go until the very end....which isn't really an end at all, in the overall scheme of things. Readers of James Lee Burke, Dennis Lehane and Michael Koryta should also (in the unlikely event that they haven't picked up a John Connelly novel by now) grab a copy at the earliest opportunity. Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for allowing me access to this gripping and emotionally powerful novel from the talented Mr. Connolly in exchange for my honest review.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated