Hodder & Stoughton 2024, 450 pages
Available in hardcover
I am a big fan of John Connolly’s Charlie Parker novels, all of which I have read. This, unbelievably, is the twenty-first!
You would perhaps expect after so many tales for there to be a gradual lessening of originality but believe me The Instruments of Darkness reads as fresh as ever. With its subtle blend of crime and the supernatural, you are never quite sure where common criminality ends and worse takes over. And believe me however bad common criminality is the other is far, far worse.
This is certainly the case here where Parker is hired to look into the guilt or otherwise of Colleen Clark whose young son has disappeared, either kidnapped or murdered. The local district attorney, out to make a name for himself in an upcoming election to higher office, and his equally ambitious assistant, out to take his place when he steps up, are determined to prove Colleen is guilty of murdering her son and hiding his body. Compounding how bad things look for her, her estranged husband finds a bloodstained blanket in the boot of Colleen’s car and is outspoken in his belief his wife is their son’s killer. Things, indeed, look bad for Colleen, but she is lucky in having recurring character Moxie Castin as her lawyer, who wisely asks Parker to investigate what happened.
And so begins a darkening tale of mysteries, intrigues and malign influences.
Connolly has again given us a great cast of vividly depicted characters, whether they’re people you love, pity, despise or hate. Plus plenty of action. And we also have other recurring characters we are used to expect in any Charlie Parker novel, such as Angel and Louie.
The last Charlie Parker book, The Furies, was made up of two novellas, which I found less satisfying. Thankfully The Instruments of Darkness is one long, full-blooded novel, into which it is easy to become thoroughly absorbed. The only problem for me, despite being well over four hundred pages in length, is that I found it such a page-turner it didn’t take me long to finish it! Now I have at least another year, perhaps more, before I can dip into another.
This review was first published in Phantasmagoria Magazine Summer 2024
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