The Woman in the Woods: A Thriller (Charlie Parker Book 16)

Short review: read it. John Connolly is a must buy, must read author. This novel focuses more on the human spirit than the graphic violence of his other works. No editing errors, no gratuitous violence or drag-you-down drama. Perfect ending. Intriguing storyline with descriptive writing that draws the reader into each scene. Angel's health, Louis inability to fix things, and Charlie hurting for them and himself. The spirit of Charlie's daughter Jennifer plays a pivotal role providing protection and guidance. Believable characters with distinct personalities. Thought-provoking and memorable dialogue. “I haven’t been sleeping well.” "Bad dreams?” "I’m not sure I can always tell the difference between dreams and reality. Waking sometimes seems as bad as sleeping.” 'That was what life did: it slipped away, minute by minute, hour by hour, faster and faster, until at last it was gone. You could feel it drifting from you—that was the curse—and the harder you tried to hold on to it, the quicker it went. Which was why Leila Patton had invisible rope burns on the palms of her hands.' “Oh,” said Dobey, “I see folks jumping here and there, thinking they’re going to be happier in Fort Wayne or South Bend—” “—except they don’t realize what they’re trying to get away from is themselves.' 'Perhaps it was just a function of realizing, as the years went by, how little he really understood about very much at all.' I will re-read this story and always look forward to, pre-order when possible, new works by this author.

How can a book of Fairy tales lead to so many murders. Who would think that an underground railroad of sorts for abused women would be the center of the mystery of the rare book. Charlie Parker gets involved in this quest of finding the answers.

I'm a big John Connolly fan. I've read most of the Charlie Parker series and I think Connolly's way with the language is fantastic. He not only expands my vocabulary with well chosen though often obscure words, but the man can turn a phrase like few other authors of this genre. Speaking of genre, this is a violent murder mystery with heavy supernatural overtones, like many of the Parker series. The supernatural bad guys seem to be agents of the devil himself brought into this world to wreak havoc on anyone with whom they have contact and perhaps bring the world as we know it to an end. As in other Parker books there are spectral images of Parker's dead wife and child as well as some more recently deceased characters. A few negatives, I thought the haunted and haunting young Daniel was a trite character although his sensitivity to the spirit world could be due to the nature of his father. There were appearances of demons that were never explained and not involved in the plot. Sometimes Connolly's books lose their pacing and get bogged down for a few pages. All that being said, I truly enjoy the "regulars" in the cast and the villains in this book, Quayle and Pallida Mors, are just the best. With regard to many negative comments regarding Mr. Connolly's politics, as reflected in this story, I believe we unfortunately politicize too much of what we read, hear and see. I prefer to take at face value that Louis, a violent gay black man, would be outraged by the blatant display of confederate paraphernalia with which he is confronted and, as is his nature, take extreme action against it. The fact that Parker does nothing to stop him nor does he do more than mildly rebuke him speaks more to their relationship than to politics. Perhaps the readers who found that part of the book objectionable have forgotten that Parker does suffer consequences as a direct result of Louis's actions. So Connolly is not necessarily condoning those actions, nor in my opinion, making a political statement. This is a really good book that takes a little work to read, but is well worth it.

And there it is, another, 16th entry in this amazing series. John Connolly manages to, year after year, add another fantastic novel. This is a world of natural and supernatural effortlessly blended in till it becomes one and inseparable. There are some spirits and goblins, but the most dangerous villains are tainted humans, dabbling in the unsavory workings of a dark underworld. People who are corrupt and partial to all of seven deadly sins linger on the cusp of well-earned damnation. Mr. Connolly's novels never stray into cheap demonic theatrics. He weaves his multiple threads into a thick fabric that envelops the reader. Another winner.

A very good and intense thriller! As usual in Connolly’s Charlie Parker series, intriguing elements of the supernatural world intertwine with an engaging mortal mysteries. This book introduces readers to The Backers, whose ancestors made a bargain with the Buried God for power and wealth, but who are now reluctant to pay the price of they promised.. A few very good people die horribly, but it’s still a great and engrossing read. Goes into more depth about Angel and Louis’ relationship, and also introduces us to Quayle and Pallida Mors, as well as the spectral twisted Pale Child and the Fractured Atlas. I am a hardcore bibliophile and avid haunter of used and antiquarian bookstores — but for a week after reading this novel I gazed on my own crowded bookshelves with some unease!

Having read the entire Charlie Parker series by John Connolly, I found this installment to be the least deserving of praise. The positive: Connolly is one of the most literate and intellectual fiction writers around and he again displays that talent in "The Woman In The Woods" where he displays his talent for building credible senses of doom in people and places. He continues to paint clearly the black and white of good vs. evil while placing most of his characters, including Parker, in the murky gray between the extremes. In "The Woman In The Woods" a woman's unearthed body is found in the Maine woods with signs of a difficult childbirth, but no sign of a dead child. Parker is hired to shadow the police investigation in hopes of discovering who the woman was and what might have happened to the child if it lived. But someone much more evil is also seeking the woman's identity along with the missing child for much more sinister reasons. The deeper Parker digs, the more bodies begin piling up. Who was the woman, where is the child, and what is really going on here are ultimately answered, if not in a completely satisfying manner. The negative: The plot has pacing problems with an uneven flow of the narrative which drags at times. While the characters are fully fleshed, for the most part, the erratic flow of the story ensures that Angel and Louis are barely around. Additionally, he leaves a lot of untied strings in his climax and denouement that came across as a push for a new novel. Worse for those readers who are tired of authors and musicians of either political extreme injecting their personal political beliefs into their work and onto unsuspecting captive audiences is the fact that Connolly has joined those who think we readers of entertainment fiction care a whit about their view of politics in America--especially foreign born and foreign living authors like Connolly. We read for entertainment and relaxation-even escapism-and do not care what the author thinks about political issues in our country--I will read non-fiction for that. If Connolly continues this new direction, I suspect he will lose a lot of readers, including me.

I'm a big John Connolly fan, but this one was not a favorite. A bit slow to start and move through but had a sense of humor and the creepiness we all know and love from the series. Charlie Parker was at his melancholy best with the support of Louis (Angel is recovering from surgery). Together, Parker and Louis keep it light while solving a mystery and fighting the usual cadre of bad men. Overall, the mystery isn't that intriguing but the banter and scariness of the lawyer Quayle and the terror of his death-like companion Mors makes this a worthwhile read.

Another great read from Connolly in the Charlie Parker series with some great glimpses into the psyche of our familiar characters, assuming you've been following this series from the beginning. There's nothing to do now except move onto 17. I can't wait!

I loved this book. I'm going to have to say that this is most definitely one of the best yet and completely ticked all the boxes for me. Well - all but one but more on that later. Maybe. The Woman In The Woods really is the perfect combination of everything I have come to love about this series. The wonderfully complex investigation which provides the basis for each story, one which our dear hero, Charlie Parker, feels often honour bound to partake in, and the presence of the supernatural or otherworldly - not in a Ghostbusters kind of way - more spiritual in a fighting for your soul and to prevent the damnation of the world and the ending of our entire existence kind of way. In that respect this series is unapologetically biased towards that which cannot be easily explained, and will entertain and disturb, bringing forth both the macabre and mysterious in the most delectable melding of genres - the kind of thing that would happen if Horror and Crime started dating, breeding and having book babies. It is not gratuitous, although possibly still capable of turning your stomach if you are of a delicate disposition. It is, however, quite marvellous. On a very basic level - as there is always a very basic level in every book - this is the story of a young woman whose body has been discovered buried in the woods in a remote part of northern Maine - hence the title. There is every likelihood there is some connection between the woman and the Jewish faith and so in a fit of conscience, and it doesn't happen often, Parker's friend and sometime employer, Moxie Castin, asks Parker to try and identify the woman and what happened to the child she appears to have been carrying just prior to her burial. On a wider level ... oh it is so much more than that but I am not going to tell you how much more as the fun in this book is in the reading and gradual reveal of a most complicated and disturbing story. It links in beautifully with the ongoing narrative behind the series and sets Parker against a new and wholly disturbing foe - Quayle. What I love about these books is the way in which John Connolly weaves such diverse and colourful set of individual threads into what in the end becomes a very rich and beautiful tapestry. There is no doubt about it, these are long books, rich in narrative and deep in terms of language and, on occasion, explanation of history. And yet it never feels as though this is a long journey. If anything it never feels quite long enough. There are so many elements of the story to articulate, so many characters whose lives, at one time or another, seem to intersect with that of Parker and his friends, who inform and redirect the ongoing back story which filters through each preceding and subsequent tale, enriching your understanding of what has gone before and what is yet to come, that you cannot help but find yourself lost within the pages, often for hours at a time. This is a story, much like most of the others, that can be read on its own, but I would question why you would want to as to read them all is to fully understand the beauty of what you are reading. Parker himself is a very complex character. As I said earlier, I didn't immediately like him and yet he is someone I have grown increasingly attached too, in literary terms of course, and I am fully invested in his story and his quest to discover his true purpose, as this most surely is a quest. He is flawed, but those flaws make the man, and he will always fight for what is right, no matter the personal risk or cost. His partners in crime, Louis and Angel, are just the perfect antidote to Parker's occasional melancholy and between them the three possess such a keen sense of humour, sarcastic but astute, that you cannot help but love them. It is largely Louis and Parker in this book, Angel notably absent, which is my only regret (and unticked box) for the book as I do love Angel and I missed his hideous shirts and banter with Louis. His presence is mostly certainly felt in the few scenes in which he appears, his and the Fulci brothers who I am developing a soft spot for too, but with his larger than life persona his absence is also felt and he was greatly missed. Hopefully only a short term departure as I refuse to consider the alternative. Parker is always given a very dark antagonist to battle and it is no different in this book. I don't want to say too much about Quayle, but he is English (not British) and despite his vile nature, there are moments of mirth in his interactions with others. They are few but they are there. There is something inherently creepy about this man from the off, and the author excels at making this live upon the page without the character ever having to do anything in particular to make you wince or make your skin crawl. He is not the only person in this book to try to make Parker's life a living hell, and it is certainly a case of equal opportunities for the sexes in this book, with John Connolly demonstrating that when it comes to exacting pain, the female of the species - whatever species this may be exactly - is most definitely more deadly than the male. And then - oh that ending. Such promise. Such threat. Such a fantastic way to make me desperate for the next book and no mistake. Gah. I'm making such a horlicks of this review aren't I? Well this is for a good reason. I want to tell you how beautiful and lyrical, almost mythical, elements of this book are. There is just something so - I don't know - poetic maybe about the way Connolly forms his prose that it is so hard to review a book, refrain from spoilers and say all you want to say to do it justice. I know. I have tried so many times before. So I will just say this - if you love this series - buy this book. You will not be disappointed. If you haven't read this series - you could still buy this book - it's very good and can easily be read in isolation - but you will benefit so much more if you read the whole series in order. In each one you will find a puzzle piece and slowly they will fit together and a gradual picture will emerge. I still don't know yet what that final image will be, I'm not so sure that it matters, because right now the work in progress is pretty flipping fabulous and I'm loving every moment of it.

Encore un livre excellent dans la suite des "Charlie Parker"! Je recommande ce livre aux fans et aux futurs lecteurs. Merci John Connolly.

... Charlie "Bird" Parker and his sworn friends that goes in a direction that does not please me very much. And to pick up a story-line that had been touched for the first time in one of the novellas in his anthology Night Music: Nocturnes 2 (English Edition) - The Fractured Atlas - is not too friendly for the readers that didn't buy that collection published on Kindle in October of 2015. To be sincere... I personally think it would be very useful to read that story before starting this book. A woman's body is found in the woods of Maine. She had given birth short before she died of complications. But the baby is not near her. so she starts to get troubled about her surviving child and finds it very soon. The poor boy Daniel now gets calls from his dead but restless mother - over a toy telephone. Our hero Private detective Charlie Parker is engaged by the lawyer Moxie Castin to try to find the child. But there are forces around who want to find him as soon as possible. Because the mother-to-be had a very valuable asset with her when she fled her husband, some kind of necromancer. And those villains are the worst kind of demonic figures. Who do not count the bodies they leave behind. So Charlie Parker has a very motivated competition. Sorrily, in the same time Angel almost died of bowel cancer in advanced stage, with serious complications. But it is Louis who is slowly but surely falling apart, fearing the worst for his long-time and very beloved partner. And it is Louis who stupidly starts a series of absolutely unnecessary violence with some kind of Ku Klux Klan followers. That will lead to revenges that really nobody wanted to start in the first place. And THIS is the big fault in my eyes - the story-line that I absolutely could not understand. WHY did Louis had to complicate the life of himself, his seriously ill partner Angel and Charlie Parker, too? The consequences may very well influence in the long term the history of Portland and the State of Maine. But if the fears of the "Backers" about the completing of the "Fractured Atlas" are sound, this could easily be only of minor importance. For Portland, for Main, for the U.S. of A. and the whole world and her inhabitants - and our Universe and the Multiverse, too. Is Armageddon about to arrive? OK - it is a real thriller that may please a lot of friends of the hard-boiled genre. This time it is especially cruel to follow the fate of some of the protagonists - for their bodies, but also for their minds. For ME it was mostly the stupidity of Louis that makes me dislike this thriller a bit. But immediately followed by the two villains who are of the most unpleasant and disagreeable kind - shudder! And their actions are often really senseless or unnecessary - at least in MY eyes. So I wait as always for the next thriller to see what will happen to our Charlie Parker, Louis and Angel. But above all it the will be really interesting to follow the futures of Charlie's two daughters - one dead and one alive... "Only" four **** stars because of the above described inconsistencies. But still a very good thriller to read in a dark and stormy night...

This book continues the journey that Charlie Parker finds himself having to go on and the many aspects that make up his life. The book starts as they always do, with an incident that draws the reader in to continue reading to find out why this was happening, and then introducing what is going on in Charlie Parker's life and those of his friends who are involved with him. It slowly and terribly, but with humour, brings us to the end of the story, although we know that it won't be the end - but it will continue with another Charlie Parker story that will be even better than this one.

Soy un fan de John Connolly. No me pierdo ninguno de sus libros de la serie Charlie Parker.