Search This Blog

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Whisperers by John Connolly

The Whisperers is a mystery, crime, and supernatural novel.  And an overdue library book.  I finished it a while back, but since it must be returned, it is time to review it.

First, I didn't realize when I checked it out that John Connolly is also the author of The Book of Lost Things in which a young boy is lost in the realm of fairy tales.  I read and reviewed it in 2007 and liked it very much.

This novel, however, is part of Connolly's Charlie (Bird) Parker series and a very different style.  Drawn by the cover, I really had no idea what to expect.  The novel is an intriguing mixture of a crime novel and the supernatural.  The surprising thing is how well Connolly makes it work.

P.I. Charlie Parker is asked to look into the suicide of an Iraqi war veteran, but discovers that the death has much wider implications.   The plundering of antiquities from the Iraq National Museum,  information about Post Traumatic Stress, treatment of war veterans, and villains, human and supernatural, are all mixed together.

Sometimes brutal, the novel still engaged me from beginning to end.  I know I read a blog entry somewhere that mentioned this series, but can't remember whose blog it was.  If you've read the series, let me know what you think.  This is the 9th in the series, so I've begun at the "end," so to speak. 

Fiction.  Crime/Mystery/Supernatural.  2010.  409 pages.

8 comments:

  1. I've heard of this author but not read anything by him. What is supernatural about the book? Email me privately if you like. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. I never put together his adult novels and young adult novels, either. Kinda silly of me since he uses the same name for both...

    Did you have any thoughts on our buddy review so we can get it up soon?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I still haven't read The Book of Lost Things and I know that's been a favorite among the blogosphere! I didn't realize he had a mystery series. I may have to suggest this one to my mystery book group.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kay - An artifact from the Iraq National Museum contains an ancient evil and there is a character from a previous novel that appears, The Collector, who is more or less than human. An interesting combination of the possible and the impossible!

    Kailiana - I really liked his The Book of Lost Things, although I abandoned The Gates. Unusual for an author to write such gritty adult novels and still be able to settle in and write for an YA audience, I think.

    I do want to get our review of The Shadow Hunt done! I've let my reviews back up so far that I'm in danger of forgetting! Do you want to exchange questions?

    Iliana - The Book of Lost Things is perfect for The Once Upon a Time challenge; I read it for that in 2007. The Whisperers is a bit dark, but a page turner.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This does sound like something I would like a lot. Interesting mix.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Caroline - :) I'm a sucker for this kind of book, but don't usually enjoy them as much as I anticipate. This one reminds of Lee Child's Jack Reacher getting caught up in the supernatural...and I love me some Jack Reacher!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm tepmted... I have never read a novel by Lee Child but greedily bought two a while back...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Caroline - I started reading Lee Childs last year and got hooked on the fast pace of his novels. Hope you enjoy them!

    ReplyDelete