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The terrifying thriller from the acclaimed and bestselling author of The Killing Kind

About the Author

John Connolly was born in Dublin in 1968. His debut -EVERY DEAD THING - swiftly launched him right into the front rank of thriller writers, and all his subsequent novels have been Sunday Times bestsellers. He is the first non-American writer to win the US Shamus award.

Reviews

One of the most distinguished practitioners of US crime-writing. The book synthesises literate, poetic writing with scarifying grue. - IndependentConnolly has honed the private eye's instincts into a sensibility of palpable evil that makes a strong core to this intelligent thriller. An assured, sophisticated tale . . . exciting but bittersweet. - The TimesWhat makes Parker intriguing is precisely that, though a crusader against evil, he has a dark side: he is haunted by the past, his capacity for violence and guilt. - Telegraph Magazine. . . his imagination is undeniably fertile . . . a powerful piece of American gothic with an arresting double ending.' - The Sunday TimesOne of the fastest-paced and most complex thrillers . . . A cracking read from an excellent and highly original writer. . . pacy, blackly humorous and with a nasty edge. - Sunday Independent, DublinDark, menacing, yet at times almost poetic, The White Road enthrals . . . literate, yet fast-paced - Cambridgeshire Journal'A wonderfully written literary work . . . A must read for Parker fans, and fans of well written prose. - Deadly PleasuresConsummate crime writing and chilling suspense - Crime File

In private detective Charlie Parker's fourth installment (after Every Dead Thing), Connolly continues the disturbing saga of the mentally and physically bruised Parker, who is a magnet for the most evil villains imaginable. Connolly, who lives in Ireland, depicts an America that chills to the bone. Here he interweaves America's brutal history of racism with today's white supremacist movement to create a backdrop for psychotic criminals whose territory includes the supernatural, as well as Maine and the swamps of South Carolina. The wounds of our racial history (for example, lynching), which most Americans would prefer to consider historical anomalies, are presented as evidence of an epic evil that must be confronted if yesterday's and today's victims are to rest. And once again, Charlie Parker is forced to confront his inner demons and those who seek to hurt his loved ones, including his tough and resourceful pregnant girlfriend. Parker still wrestles with his tendency toward moral absolutism, which is, thankfully, not exhibited by his two intriguing friends, Louis and Angel, a gay couple who stamp out evil in their own no-holds-barred fashion. Connolly's other titles in the series should be read in order, as villains reappear in them or are related in unpredictable ways. Recommended for public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/02.]-Lisa Bier, Southern Connecticut Univ., New London Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.