[Books 2008] ghost stories, new John Connolly
30. Ghost Stories of British Columbia by Barbara Smith
Not one of the best in the series, which is a disappointment as the history and geography of BC should make for some great ghost stories. There might well be some in here, but the way she tells them fails to excite.
31. The Reapers by John Connolly
I've been putting this off because I wanted to do this book justice, but my brain's not going to get into gear any time soon, so here goes:
It's not a secret that I'm a terminal fan girl when it comes to Connolly, so I've really been looking forward to this. The prose is, as always with Connolly, beautiful - he really makes you feel for characters that you really shouldn't care about, and the pacing is perfect.
Connolly's usual detective, Charlie Parker, is only a secondary character in this book, which is about Louis and Angel, who are Parker's closest friends, and Willie Brew, an elderly Queens-based mechanic who has a complex almost feudal-style relationship with Louis. Louis used to be an assassin in a group known as The Reapers, and his past finally catches up with him. It all goes pear-shaped, leaving only Parker and Brew to go to the rescue.
It's a great read, but, like Bad Men (the novel in which Parker makes only a cameo appearance), there's a lot of things that are morally dubious in ways I can't get past.
Not one of the best in the series, which is a disappointment as the history and geography of BC should make for some great ghost stories. There might well be some in here, but the way she tells them fails to excite.
31. The Reapers by John Connolly
I've been putting this off because I wanted to do this book justice, but my brain's not going to get into gear any time soon, so here goes:
It's not a secret that I'm a terminal fan girl when it comes to Connolly, so I've really been looking forward to this. The prose is, as always with Connolly, beautiful - he really makes you feel for characters that you really shouldn't care about, and the pacing is perfect.
Connolly's usual detective, Charlie Parker, is only a secondary character in this book, which is about Louis and Angel, who are Parker's closest friends, and Willie Brew, an elderly Queens-based mechanic who has a complex almost feudal-style relationship with Louis. Louis used to be an assassin in a group known as The Reapers, and his past finally catches up with him. It all goes pear-shaped, leaving only Parker and Brew to go to the rescue.
It's a great read, but, like Bad Men (the novel in which Parker makes only a cameo appearance), there's a lot of things that are morally dubious in ways I can't get past.