By John Connolly

Hodder, out now

Two linked investigations by Charlie Parker in his home town…

This book comprises two short novels – The Sisters Strange and The Furies – both centring on, and narrated by, Charlie Parker. The title of the first may feel familiar to longterm Parker fans: it’s based on the “chapter” book that John Connolly wrote and released during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic back in 2020, and while the bare bones of the plotline will feel familiar, this is a completely reworked version.

What it reminds me of most is the later Saint books by Leslie Charteris, where Simon Templar’s creator allowed other people to do the donkey work of writing the manuscript (usually based on a story in another medium in the first place) and then he would “Charterise” them, reworking it as he saw fit so that it sounded like him. Here it’s Connolly “Connollising” his own work, basically putting it through the same process that any other Parker story we’ve seen from him would already have been through. The descriptions and characterisations are noticeably sharper – losing none of the strengths of the original, which is no longer available, but now resonating in the way that these books do, sticking in your mind long after reading.

It feel much more of a “Parker the PI” investigation than some, but there’s still definitely that brand and smell of the supernatural, of sides of the world that Charlie Parker is susceptible to and noticed by, coming to the fore – and of course there are moments of horror (the description of an operation carried out by a drunk is shiver inducing).

The second book features one of the key characters from the first, and has its own really dark moments (there’s a trip to the cellar that is on the Lincoln Tunnel from The Stand level). As with the first book, the female characters are strongly drawn and drive much of the story – but Parker still dispenses his own brand of justice (which may or may not coincide with the law of the land), and there’s a familiar type of figure haunting the pages…

Throughout, Parker (or Connolly)’s dry asides pepper the stories – my favourite being the one about Morrissey – and it’s another one that you will want to read just one more chapter…

Verdict: A different format for Parker that incorporates a dark time for the world into his own dark places and keeps you enthralled. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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