Nocturnes (2004) – a collection of supernatural tales book-ended by two novellas, 9 of which are transcripts of stories written for presentation on BBC Radio Four: The Erlking, Mr Pettinger’s Demon, Mr Gray’s Folly, The Ritual of the Bones, Nocturne.

John Connolly writes some of the most beautiful prose I’ve ever read, and it’s another trademark of his that this beautiful writing captures some of the worst horrors to be found in the human imagination – always setting them off with Charlie Parker, the investigator who’s seen it all and still tries anyway. His determination to help, as well as the bonds and banter he shares with the widening cast of side characters he’s come to call friends, keep the series from ever sinking too far into despair, lightening such heavy topics with a ray of hope amid the darkness. Charlie gets involved in two separate issues here, ones he needs help with from his pals Louis, the big guy who's maybe done a lot bad stuff but is square and loyal to Charlie, and Angel, Louis' life partner, who was supposedly dying of cancer but now is in remission. The Fulci brothers are also present and anyone who reads this series KNOWS who they are.I preferred The Sisters Strange, but I enjoyed the entire book. The humor, combined with the excellent creation of atmosphere, is what keeps me reading these supernatural thrillers. The author also has a much broader vocabulary than most thriller writers. Parker’s colleagues Angel and Louis make only a few brief appearances in this book, but I was ok with that. Jeff Harding did an excellent job narrating the audiobook. 4.5 stars I first met John Connolly 20 years ago in a bar on Lower Abbey Street in Dublin, where I interviewed him for an RTÉ books programme whose name I can’t recall. (Ian Rankin was also a guest on the show, just before he broke big – that’s how long ago it was.) Connolly was already the talk of the town because his first novel, Every Dead Thing, had sold in the UK and the US for sums that would seem fantastical even now. We bonded over a shared love for the great novelist Ross Macdonald and became friends. New York Times bestselling author John Connolly pits Parker against two separate—but vitally connected—investigations, which prove to be among the most complicated of his entire career in this “must-read for the author’s fans and a good introduction to the series for newbie” ( Booklist).

Connolly writes so well that his books are always a pleasure to read. As well as mystery, horror and the supernatural, he also includes humour. There is some excellent and very entertaining dialogue as well as some of those 'must read aloud to anyone who will listen' moments. He: A Novel (2017) – An extraordinary reimagining of the life of one of the greatest screen comedians the world has ever known: a man who knew both adoration and humiliation; who loved, and was loved in turn; who betrayed, and was betrayed; who never sought to cause pain to others, yet left a trail of affairs and broken marriages in his wake . . . And whose life was ultimately defined by one relationship of such tenderness and devotion that only death could sever it: his partnership with the man he knew as Babe. he is Stan Laurel. But he did not really exist. Stan Laurel was a fiction. Bad Men (2003) – Three hundred years ago, the settlers on the small Maine island of Sanctuary were betrayed to their enemies and slaughtered. Since then, the island has known peace. Until now. A gang of four men is descending on Sanctuary, intent on committing a brutal and relentless massacre. All that stands in their way are rookie police officer Sharon Macie and the strange, troubled officer Joe Dupree. But Joe is no ordinary policeman. He knows the island has been steeped in blood once and that it will never again tolerate the shedding of innocent blood. The Furies” revolves around two women for whom Parker has taken on cases. The first is Sarah Abelli, who tragically lost her daughter, Kara. To add insult to injury, two men have robbed her of personal items that amounted to all she had left of Kara. Even though Sarah comes from a family with a criminal past that Parker is well aware of, it is important for him to retrieve her valuable possessions. He will get unexpected help when the specter of a little girl begins to haunt the culprits while they stay at the same flophouse as Buker did in the first story.

Who am I to try and tell you how magnificent an author John Connolly is, and how I’ve enjoyed The Furies? It’s hard enough to describe my feelings in my own language, let alone in English. So the only thing I’m going to say here is that I enjoyed every word, every sentence every minute I was reading this book. It left me a little breathless. Why he couldn’t just sit when he peed, like a sensible human being, she’d never been able to establish. Lord knows, he took every other opportunity to sit when it was offered, so there seemed to be no comprehensible reason why he couldn’t have extended that policy to peeing, too.” I press him on the book’s length, a particular bugbear of mine in contemporary crime fiction (although the truth remains: it’s never too long if, as here, the writing is good enough).

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. But to sum things up: Atmospheric. Loaded with great, unique, individual characters. Lots of introspection on Charlie's part, but he's clever and smart, so it never gets dull. Wonderful Maine settings with the water, marshes, woods, etc. This would make a great Halloween-time read, sorry I saved it for after the holiday, but there's always next year. :DBoth stories takes place around Portland, Maine and are dark and are a little supernatural thrillers. The Book of Lost Things (2006) – High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a land that is a strange reflection of his own world, populated by heroes and monsters, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book… The Book of Lost Things.