Wednesday, April 24, 2024

The Instruments of Darkness by John Connolly


From blurb: "In Maine, Colleen Clark stands accused of the worst crime a mother can commit: the abduction and possible murder of her child. Everyone—ambitious politicians in an election season, hardened police, ordinary folk—has an opinion on the case, and most believe she is guilty."
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Colleen's lawyer is Moxie Castin and those familiar with the series know that Moxie is good; any who underestimate him will regret it.  He may not look like much and he certainly fails at healthy eating, but Moxie wins cases and Charlie Parker trusts him.  

The case hinges on a bloody blanket.  No body.  The assumption is that the amount of blood assures that little Henry could not have survived, and when Colleen's husband makes comments about Colleen's "failures" as a mother, public sentiment turns against her.

Although the evidence is circumstantial, there are those who see this as slam dunk case that will elevate their careers.  Moxie turns to Charlie Parker, who is initially reluctant to get involved, but after meeting with Colleen, Parker agrees to work on the case.

All the usual suspects (the Fulci brothers, Louis, Angel, Dave, etc.) appear and lend a hand.  An appealing new character gets involved, Sabine Drew--medium/psychic, who has had successes in the past and one demoralizing failure.  Hope to see more of Sabine.

As usual, Charlie Parker is a winner for me.  Now I have to wait for the next book.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for this ARC.

Publication date:  May 7, 2024

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Poetry Month and Crime 


In Praise of Librarians


 

4 comments:

  1. I still haven't managed to read much of this series despite having enjoyed both the ones I read a while back. I need to read another one before the character gets any hazier in my memory, I think. Love the librarian poster at the end. I still remember the encouragement I got from a little old lady librarian when I was about nine years old. Changed my life.

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    1. I love librarians! My mother wanted me to major in library science, but I chose Engl. Lit. Now is not the best time for librarians, and they need all the support we can give. Funny, how many kids remember their librarians, which says a lot about their importance.

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  2. I have not read anything by John Connolly yet, even though I know other bloggers who love his books. I really should try one.

    That librarian drawing at the end is very good. It is strange, I have no memory of librarians from my childhood, although I went to the library a lot. Maybe I was too shy. We are friends with a couple who are both retired librarians, but still working part time as librarians at a community college.

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    1. We moved a lot when I was kid, and sometimes I remember the libraries better than the individual librarians, but their importance was always instilled in me. I also have librarian and retired librarian friends. :)

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