John Parker is a Graduate-qualified English/Spanish Teacher, owner and director of CHAT ENGLISH, an English Language Centre in Avilés on the north coast of Spain . A voracious reader, he has particularly loved horror fiction for many years.
17-year-old Scott Theriault, a “problem child” who was consigned to the Spero School (a behavioral-facility) is found dead in the river Kennebec, drowned but with a broken right leg, suggesting a bad fall. Private investigator, Charlie Parker is asked to look into it as the boy’s father, Ward Vose, himself incarcerated in Maine State Prison, does not believe it was an accident.
Parker is reluctant to take on the case but Moxie Castin, Charlie’s lawyer, persuades him to. It seems Moxie had been consigned to the infamous Élan School in Poland, Maine when he was a youth. That school was closed down in 2011 following multiple reports of abuse from former students. Castin’s experience there has made him suspicious of any type of institution for youngsters and so, via Vose’s lawyer he calls on his client to discuss and accept the case. As Charlie begins to investigate, he discovers that coincidentally, shortly before the disappearance of Scott, a 19-year-old called Mallory Norton had disappeared…
And so starts the 23rd book in the Parker series. One may think that this might be enough for the book to deal with as the plot develops but, no, there is more. In Fishkorn, Detroit, two men abduct a young woman as part of what they call the Game. It’s a game which has just two rules: No killing close to home. No killing outside the Game. Charlie will soon be drawn into conflict with a band of men who have no morality and little or no loyalty to each other.
Not content with that, the author introduces another thread to the proceedings in the shape of Louis and Angel. They are both sharing strange dreams and visions connected with Charlie’s past, specifically his dead daughter, Jennifer. Is there more to their relationship with their friend Parker than meets the eye? More than they have ever imagined? Oh, and just who might want to see Louis dead? Who has put out a contract out on him? And for what reason?
All this happens in the first 40-odd pages of a 400 page- plus thriller. And it is, indeed thrilling, full of twists and turns as Charlie gradually begins to uncover the truth about what happened to Scott, and Louis heads out to discover who is behind the proposed hit on him.
There is the usual believable dialogue, one of Connolly’s strengths, along with many pithy one-liners and well-drawn characters. The supernatural elements play an important part (the psychic, Sabine Drew, is back to play a significant role in the story) and it seems to me that Connolly is certainly moving forward to some sort of denouement in this long saga. He has mentioned many times that he knows where it will all end and as happened in the previous book, The Children of Eve, we learn more about the other side and Charlie’s long-dead daughter.
There is a significant amount of dread and unease throughout the novel. The very existence of the Game and its participants whose thoughts we are privy too, while their victims are helpless leaves an ache in the gut. Something in the background in the woods of Maine, a nebulous being whose existence is hard to fathom threatens some of our cast of characters. The enforced removal of children from their homes to be taken to the Spero School albeit with the permission of their parents. It is a very dark America, indeed. The school itself brings to mind the USA of today with the forced abduction of children and their incarceration in an institution, somewhat reminiscent of the actions of ICE agents of today.
Is it all doom and gloom, then, in the world of Charlie Parker? Not quite. Romance is in the air with more than one character and may well surprise the reader. To conclude, while fans of the Parker mythology are going to be pleased with what they read, a casual reader will be able to enjoy this exciting novel.
