In the 15th novel in the Charlie Parker series, the wily detective is investigating the recent disappearance of investigator Jaycob Eklund. Dubliner John Connolly's new thriller is welcomed with enthusiasm by Grace Keane.
John Connolly doesn’t disappoint in his latest thriller and paranormal mystery novel A Game of Ghosts.
Private Investigator Charlie Parker is approached by Federal Agent Edgar Ross to look into the recent disappearance of detective Jaycob Eklund. Parker doesn't understand why the FBI would be interested in a man like Eklund, or in funding the assignment, but he does know that Ross is not revealing all.
Prior to his disappearance, Eklund was exploring the links between murders and disappearances, with reports and sightings of ghosts and hauntings - an area of study with which Eklund is obsessed. Despite Parker’s own young daughter being not quite ordinary, Parker has his reservations about the supernatural dimension to Eklund's work, a relatively unusual concern for a detective.
Nonetheless, our sceptical protagonist must follow the trail of breadcrumbs which Eklund’s investigation has left behind. Thus it is that Parker embarks on a journey like no other, where he encounters menacing individuals such as Mother, The Collector, The Hallow Men and The Brethren; not only must he venture into the dark underbelly of criminal empires, but he must come to terms with historical atrocities, biblical bargains with the devil, and denizens of the shadow world, hovering between life and death.
Although a ghost story, Parker’s tale is unobtrusively set in reality, such is the expertise with which Connolly introduces the elements of the paranormal. The reader is slowly lured into a missing person’s case, only to find they can't quiet shake their growing sense of unease. The strange feeling of being watched encompasses you as the plot develops, leading to a few more cursory glances over the shoulder than is strictly necessary. An interesting and comprehensive plot guarantees the reader will be eagerly, and somewhat fearfully, turning from one page to the next anxious to discover the latest development in the case.
Drama, love, sacrifice, danger and humour can all be found within this 450-page book, and Connolly hits the nail on the head for every single one. It's a novel with pace and vigour told in a language so vivid that one can almost taste the smells and sounds while conjuring images so clearly in the mind's eye, as if watching a film. John Connolly has created something unique, believable and highly entertaining with A Game Of Ghosts.
A thoroughly enjoyable read that now has me on my own detective journey - hunting for more of his novels.
