The Reapers: A Thriller | John Connolly

The Reapers: A Thriller | John Connolly | not the usual Parker thriller, but. . .

books:

The Reapers: A Thr...

	The Reapers: A Thriller John Connolly Atria, 2008 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 29 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

Reapers Creepers

I would begin by saying that I've read as much of John Connolly's published work as found available. That includes: all of the Charlie Parker novels, The Book of Lost Things, and Nocturnes (Mister Connolly's outstanding anthology of short stories, of which the tale The New Daughter, from the short story of the same name, receives a retelling in the form of a soon to be released motion picture starring Kevin Costner and Ivana Banquero, the beguiling daughter in Pan's Labyrinth).

This stand alone novel is every bit as engrossing as the other tales involving Charlie Parker, erstwhile NYPD Detective and guilt ridden (while otherwise occupied) survivor of the butchery that claimed his wife and daughter. Thing is... this latest volume does not focus on the character of Charlie Parker so much as it concentrates on his friends, and sometime accomplices and cohorts, Louis and Angel.

Both of these characters figure large in novels concerning PI Charlie Parker. But not much has been issued by way of explaining their genesis (and especially Louis). All of that territory is covered in this distinct volume (and with barely so much as an utterance, and even less of a presence, of Charlie Parker).

To mention much of the story would be to mention a lot. Let's just say that it is a tale of menace and authority, and of retribution and reaction, and of hunters being hunted. There is much room here for betrayal and false starts turning into dead ends turning into blind corners, the likes of which you should be ever mindful of turning.

Bottom line is the fact that, as always, Mr. Connolly does not disappoint. He has a certain knack for providing lyricism midst chaos and with ever the ear for crisply delivered dialogue delivered as if it were being spoken directly. There is also the proper amount of hyperbole, injected whenever needed, while providing pause within the context of whatever background information is being provided. That said, Mr. Connolly is a master at pacing his stories and at always providing the proper mix of `telling and showing'.

If you enjoyed the previous Charlie Parker novels, and hunger for more of the same, you can't go wrong. And if you are new to the `crime' scene and seeking something other than hammered phrasing and rat-a-tat-prose, you are in for a treat.

for more information click here

not the usual Parker thriller, but. . .

Before I say anything else, I will tell you that I am a great fan of Mr. Connolly's Charlie Parker series. In fact, I'm a huge fan of all of Mr. Connolly's writing. My fondness for his books stems from the simple fact that I have found them all incredibly satisfying reads. Not a one has ever disappointed me, and lest you think I'm a blindly enthusiastic fan, I'll tell you that I fully expected NOT to like this one as much as the others, or at least to like it for a whole slew of different reasons.

I'd read that this book was focused on Louis and Angel (Charlie Parker's homicidal, hilarious, homosexual "sidekicks"); I'd read that Parker played only a peripheral role here. So, being the huge Parker fan that I am, I wondered if I'd find this read as satisfying or as well-written when it focused on two people whose dark natures were, at least to me, so much more developed and hard to deny.

I needn't have worried. I finished it in record time and was well-pleased with the book as a whole.

Parker does indeed play a peripheral role. He probably appears in less than 1/6 of the book, and only in a reversal of his usual place in things. He's the Angel/Louis here. He's the one who comes in when trouble hits, but whose character is basically secondary throughout except as it affects other characters (in fact, he is referred to as "the Detective" throughout most of the pages upon which he appears, the result of being seen primarily through the eyes of Willie Brew).

The result of Parker's relative absence is a lighter book, even when it covers the darkest of topics. Parker, you see, might have his funny moments, but his is a tortured spirit. He does terrible things, usually for all the right reasons, but the terrible nature of what he feels compelled to do is never far from him. As a result, spending time with him is often exhausting, sometimes depressing, always thought-provoking. I have loved every Parker book, but I'm not blind to the spiritual challenge reading about him puts before me.

One of the reasons I believe Angel and Louis are so popular is that they can do terrible things as well, but the moral toughness doesn't swallow them whole, doesn't cling to them the way it does to Parker. Their humor, their banter, their cool loyalty--these are all appealing to so many of us.

In this book, we get a lot of background that I, for one, have long wanted. How did Louis become a hired killer? How clearly does Angel see his partner and the violence he holds within him? And, just as important in a National Enquirer kind of way: what kind of life do Louis and Angel live when they're not backing Parker up in some guns-a-blazing way? Do they have any other friends, for crying out loud? Why on earth does Angel wear such incredibly awful clothes? How do he and Angel reconcile their vastly different musical tastes? Does Louis really have such contempt for his partner's humor and clothing?

As Louis tries to deal with a threat on his and his loved ones' lives (and yes, believe it or not, there is more than one loved one in his life, although you won't ever hear him admitting it), we learn about his relationship to his "handler," Gabriel. We learn a bit more about the love Louis and Angel hold for each other (although there's nothing explicit here, folks; I don't imagine we'll ever get taken into that territory by Mr. Connolly, and that's a good thing, in my opinion; the story of these two men isn't, I don't think, one that would show up in the gay equivalent of a Harlequin romance).

More than anything, I really enjoyed the fact that Parker gets to explain a bit about himself without. . .well, without all that angst. His is a (deceptively) simple life here (when this novel begins, Parker has lost his PI license and is tending bar, his personal life still in a kind of limbo), the ultimate role reversal, as I said before.

The novel includes some really tough scenes and some hard-to-stomach history (that's one of Mr. Connolly's strongest skills--his research, and the way he weaves history into his stories--wow) about sundown towns, but this book is far less bleak than the other seven in this series. Usually, the history we get is tied to something that will affect Parker directly, that will in some way add to his moral burden or flesh out (no pun intended) some part of the mystery he's trying to solve in that given book. The result of this is often an oppressive weight, and I can honestly say that I rarely find myself happy at the end of a Parker book; there's just been so much weighing on my spirit as well throughout. Not so here. I do feel the weight of the history that defined who Louis is (both as a black man and as a killer), but it's just. . .different.

Overall--I really enjoyed this. Pick it up, especially if you're a Louis and Angel fan. If you're more a Charlie Parker fan, pick it up so that you can see him through different eyes.

Enjoy!

for more information click here

great thriller

Assassins Louis and Angel kill a Russian trafficker who peddled young children to pedophiles. Bliss kills a predator in a bar's bathroom. A wealthy dying recluse murders a man who was involved in the death of his son. All these crimes are linked in a surprising way. Gabriel and his lover Angel will learn that crimes from their past have come back to haunt them in the present.

In 1983 Louis was assigned to kill Luther Berger, but what he didn't know was that his victim was really Jon Leahagen, son of Arthur. Mr. Hoyle, is helping the duo with people coming after them. Arthur is dying, but before he passes on he wants to take with him to the grave everyone who was involved in the homicide of his offspring. Hoyle wants Arthur dead because he killed his daughter. He hires Louis and Angel to kill Arthur and his son; they agree not because of the money, but instead want Leahagen to stop trying to kill them. When they get to Leahagen's estate, they realize they walked into a trap, but Charlie Parker is on the way to assist them.

The REAPERS is a great thriller as the readers get a deep look at the workings of Louis and Angel. When he was young Louis a black man watched whites lynch his father and set fire to kill him. Angel was sold repeatedly to pedophiles by his father to pay for his booze. Surprisingly they have traces of humanity left inside them although for the most part their human flame is barely flickering. They receive reader empathy in spite of being condemned for their actions, as John Connolly provides a strong crime caper fueled by these two outsiders.

Harriet Klausner

for more information click here

Review: The Reapers

If you like Connolly, you will like this one.Good background story on Louis, a few logic flaws but a god read. Not as dark as some of Connolly's
work

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6

products you might be interested in