The Black Angel

by John Connolly
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All is not well in the Parker household. Rachel struggles with memories of the past and forebodings of the future. She worries that Charlie’s vocation will keep bringing trouble to her and their daughter, Samantha. Charlie shares her forebodings, haunted by what happened to his late wife and child, haunted by their ghosts and the fear of it happening all over again. He tries to restrict his work to cases without potential complications, but it pains him to turn down those who might need his help the most. To him his work is not only a profession but also a calling.

Angel and Louis are in Maine, having stood up as Sam’s godfathers at her christening, when Louis’ aunt arrives. She has been in New York looking for her daughter, Louis’ cousin, Alice. Alice has distanced herself from her family, abusing drugs and selling herself on the streets. Many would argue that it was only a matter of time until her habits would have claimed her life, but she is blood to Louis and nothing is going to stop him from finding out what has happened to her. And nothing is going to stop Charlie from helping him, not even the risk of losing his family.

Their investigation will not only put them in touch with people who benefit from other’s misery but with something with its roots in the beginning of time. They learn of the Book of Enoch, the modern Santa Muerte cult, a Czech ossuary and people dealing in human remains as art. As Charlie has to face “The Believers” he is forced to face the question not only of whether they are what they believe to be but also that of what he believes himself to be.

It has been over a day since I finished this book, and I still find it hard to write about it. Partly this is because I worry about not being able to do it justice, partly because I can’t seem to get it to come to rest in my mind. This is a book filled with facts from various time periods and that takes you on a long journey through time and space. It awakens in you interests you never thought you’d have and forces you to ask yourself some very difficult questions.

John Connolly’s writing is immaculate; he describes even the most fantastic scenarios with such presence you feel it just has to have happened – just like that. He makes you feel fully informed, yet yearning to know more, to understand more. Reading his books you will feel fear, compassion, hate and love.

When you buy this book, if you’re lucky, you will also get a CD with music labelled Voices from the Dark. This is music selected by John Connolly as music that would be a fitting sound track to his Charlie Parker books. The songs selected are all painfully beautiful and reflects, at least for me, perfectly the moods conveyed by the books.

This series contains, in chronological order:
Every Dead Thing
Dark Hollow
The Killing Kind
The White Road
The Black Angel


Other books by John Connolly:
Bad Men
Nocturnes