Books
A Book of Bones

by John Connolly
Emily Bestler Books, October 2019, $28.99

Twenty years ago, Irish author John Connolly made immediate waves in the mystery-writing world with his first tale starring NYPD detective turned private eye Charlie Parker, a haunted man on several fronts. That debut, Every Dead Thing, earned Connolly a Shamus Award (becoming the first overseas author to ever win one), and over the two decades since, he’s built a stunningly vivid world around Parker.

A Book of Bones is the 17th Parker novel and a direct sequel to last year’s The Woman in the Woods. It brings to a head some ongoing arcs that have been building throughout the past several books (about since The Wolf in Winter in 2014). Parker is still on the hunt for the mysterious lawyer Quayle and his vicious consort Pallida Mors.

Parker’s longtime confederate Louis would also like another shot at Mors, literally, after she left him wounded in a shootout—though Louis also has his cancer-stricken partner, Angel, to worry about. The deadly trio of Parker, Louis, and Angel–a force for good in a world filled with plenty of evil–have been weakened and wounded, but so have those they chase.

As the trio track their prey to Europe, Quayle and Mors continue to prey on others. Sacrifices are made at ancient holy sites across the UK. How do the grisly murders link to a long-lost book? And just what infernal carnage is Quayle hoping to wreak?

Connolly delivers another masterful tale for longtime fans. A Book of Bones is a tome at 700 pages, but moves quickly and captivates throughout. It’s not the best entry point for those brand-new to the series, however, with its sprawling nature, many new characters, and Parker being off-screen more than usual. The rational traditions of mystery writing and the irrationality of the supernatural and occult could be oil and water in lesser hands, but Connolly has long proven himself a storytelling sorcerer, and one of the finest stylists in the crime genre.

Craig Sisterson
Teri Duerr
6717
Connolly
October 2019
a-book-of-bones
28.99
Emily Bestler Books