There was something almost admirable in the Braycott’s commitment to anarchy and disrepute, a commitment that seemed to have been passed down from owner to owner along with the deeds and keys. The hotel first opened its doors on July 25, 1888, just one month after Union Station itself. By then Maine’s embrace of Prohibition, which had commenced nearly seventy years before the passage of the Volstead Act, was tightening. The sale of alcohol was illegal in the state, which drove the business underground—literally, in the case of the Braycott Arms, whose principal developer, Normand Braycott, had the foresight to devise a bar in the basement, albeit one omitted from the official plans. Bribes rendered it largely immune from raids, except for cosmetic purposes, although a two-hundred-foot tunnel behind the keg storage bay was kept clear in case of real emergencies, with a point of egress in a Braycott-owned property on the other side of Park. Decades later, when the rest of the United States followed Maine’s lead in attempting to dry out its population by force, the Braycott’s tunnel and bar became a staging point for the rum runners bringing liquor into Portland Harbor, where the bottles would be concealed in boxes of Moxie soda, later to become the state’s official soft drink, possibly in part for services rendered to its populace during Prohibition. The Furies by John Connolly is actually two novellas connected by theme and a somewhat disreputable hotel. In the first story, The Sisters Strange, Charlie Parker is hired by a man to protect the woman he loves from a dangerous man. Trouble is, this dangerous man not only has a relationship with the woman in question but with her sister as well. In his attempt to help the sisters, Charlie finds himself drawn into what should be a simple theft of some valuable coins but this is a Charlie Parker thriller so of course nothing is as simple as it seems. Chaos and murder arrive in Charlie Parker’s hometown of Portland, Maine, with two connected crimes in the latest novel in #1 nationally bestselling author John Connolly’s “flawless and highly suspenseful” ( PopSugar ) series. The Sisters Strange is the longer of the two, and begins with the seemingly simple murder of a coin collector. But this is John Connolly, and nothing stays simple for long – Charlie Parker is pulled into the increasingly twisty case by an outsider concerned for one of the two sisters the expanding mystery threatens to consume. This story is lighter on the supernatural elements that have come to be this author’s trademark, but not without them entirely. Good news then if you, like me, have been waiting all year to spend time with Parker because here are two episodes in a single volume. I suppose, for accuracy’s sake, we should refer to them as novellas, but there's a substantial amount of eating and drinking to be had here. Admirers may already be somewhat familiar with 'The Sisters Strange' which Connolly serialised on the web during the pandemic to keep us all going. Now expanded into a director’s cut, it’s ostensibly a tale of small time crooks doing over a numismatist but, true to form, there are more sinister forces at work, driven by a possibly possessed Celtic coin that may add years to the life of the bearer. The caper revolves around the seemingly ancient coin collector Kepler, a character capable of haunting the dreams of the waitress who’s serving him breakfast and scaring people into accepting a dollar for goods that are worth roughly a couple of hundred thousand times as much.

The Furies: mythological snake-haired goddesses of vengeance, pursuers of those who have committed unavenged crimes. Now, private investigator Charlie Parker is drawn into a world of modern furies in two linked stories. While they are separate stories, they're linked by the familiar setting of Parker's Portland, as well as welcome cameos from recurring characters the Fulcis and Charlie’s assassin pals Louis and Angel, and the aforementioned hotel run by Bonny Waldin, although the reader might wonder why Parker has never had cause to make inquiries in such a den of iniquity before. 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. :D

Need Help?

Women figure predominantly in both novels, Charlie being caught up in issues/problems/dilemmas involving women. (Not romantically or sexually, though he does have a woman friend who I'd like to see him get it on with more than he does!) Charlie Parker, former police, now PI working mostly out of a bar, takes on some seriously weird and unusual problems in both novels. In the first: The Braycott Arms was a stain on the character of the city of Portland, a blight on its inhabitants, and a repository for criminality, both aggressively active and relatively passive, the latter frequently due only to the temporary requirements of a parole board. It had always been thus, even beyond recall. The Braycott was one of a number of railroad hotels that had sprung up in the vicinity of Union Station, now departed these sixty years, of which only the Inn at St. John and the Braycott survived. But while the former was comfortable, hospitable, and carefully maintained, the Braycott catered to those who were less than particular about their surroundings, and valued the company of rough men and rougher women over clean sheets and a peaceful night’s sleep. In “The Sisters Strange”, Parker learns a lot about the rare coins market. Career criminal Raum Buker stole a unique coin from the wrong man and this crime brings danger to Dolors and Ambar Strange. Raum has a tendency to dare his enemies “which bespoke a degree of confidence in himself to which he had no right”. In “The Furies”, a widow asks Parker to recover some mementos of her dead daughter. A pair of murderous thugs are holding them for ransom. Another mother asks Parker to help her daughter escape from an abusive boyfriend. Both of these stories make it clear that even when investigating smaller cases – at least compared to some of the previous books in the series – Charlie Parker is a force for good and a character with plenty of stories left to tell. The Furies is an excellent example of a series that delights in horrifying and uplifting its readers simultaneously; long may it continue to do so.

I enjoyed both novellas, but I am ready for this series to finally move forward, as it has been at a standstill since the events of book 18. As always, Connolly’s writing is well-crafted, and I loved spending time with Parker, Angel, Louis, and other favorite characters. I am ready to see where this series is headed and cannot wait to find out in book #21.In The Sisters Strange, the return of the criminal Raum Buker to Portland, Maine brings with it chaos and murder, as an act of theft threatens not only to tear apart his own existence but also that of Raum’s former lovers, the enigmatic sisters Dolors and Ambar Strange.

Connolly does it again! While both of these stories are solid entries into the Parker mythos, I found The Sisters Strange to be the stronger of the two. Also, I feel slightly rewarded for holding out on reading the original publication as I knew it would eventually find its way into a future book or collection; I just didn’t expect it to be so soon and also to be expanded. The Sisters Strange” introduces readers to two spinster sisters, Dolors and Ambar Strange. Each has been romantically linked to Raum Buker, who is newly released from prison. Parker is hired by Will Quinn, who is currently involved with Dolors and fears that Buker’s presence on the outside could cause her trouble and possible harm. 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. Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer team up to exonerate a woman who’s already served five years for killing her ex-husband. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot.The Braycott’s decline commenced after the repeal of the Volstead Act. In common with many such downturns, it was gradual at first, but accelerated rapidly. So regular were the fights, the beatings, and the knifings in its bar that it was proposed, not entirely in jest, the police should consider opening a substation there just to save money on gas. Eventually, after a commercial salesman was gutted in 1972 in an argument over a hat, and a woman was subsequently shot dead in a disagreement concerning the same commercial salesman—and, by extension, the same hat—the Braycott lost its bar license, and the basement den closed its doors to drinkers, never to reopen. 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. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. This is 5 stars and more. Absolutely recommend. And if you have never read this series and read this book, you are in for a Treat. From the First Charlie Parker book- Every Dead Thing - to this book, it’s a journey. These characters become real to the reader and Connolly is one of the best suspense novelist (maybe the best). Meanwhile, Melissa Thombs is in an abusive relationship that she is trying to get out of with Parker’s assistance. However, he will learn that she is far from a victim, and her own aggression and determination will be more invaluable than any help he could provide her.