John Connolly is an Irish author of considerable talent best known for his Charlie Parker novels, every one of which is a privilege to read. Venturing far beyond the traditional boundaries of crime and mystery novels, they are beautifully and carefully constructed offerings in which the gruesome and the macabre are counter-balanced by poetic reflections on the nature of evil, suffering and life itself. All shades of human emotions are represented in these books (though the darker ones undoubtedly dominate) and what emerges in each case is a novel of dark brilliance. All of John Connolly's novels are treasured gems of my personal library, and I would recommend them to anyone looking for books that encompass all the elements of thrillers and crime novels but also offer a deeper examination of the human soul.
