How can you tell a great writer? When he can basically present in book eight of a series 400 plus pages of back story and keep it thrilling. The top advice given to writers is start with the action; avoid the exposition like the kiss of death. But yet Connolly manages to prove there is always an exception to every rule. His private detective Charlie Parker has always been an interesting character with a much storied past, but there are even parts of if it he was unsure of. With that premise the

'In the end, as is so often the case, there is nothing stranger than reality.'Another fantastic book in the Charlie Parker series. Angel and Louis are not involved as much, as loved as they are, it still did not take any greatness away from this superb thriller. I loved delving into Parkers past and found myself fully appreciating how everything was set in motion right from the start to all come perfectly together, 8 books down the road! There are some great creepy ghostly moments and the webbed...

I am the shadow cast by all that once was.John Connolly writes with a skill and beauty that few other writers can aspire to, as much as I might enjoy their work. The closest comparison I can think of is first class vs private flying - they're both luxury, but private flying is luxury to the nth degree. And reading John Connolly's books is luxurious, even in the darkest places, and they're not afraid to take things to an existential level of dark.This particular book stands alone if you pick up t...

So many good things about this book but hard to review without spoilers. This was a real page-turner and besides giving me the creeps a few times, it also answered many questions I’ve had about Charlie Parker. The more I find out, the more I want to know about my favorite anti-hero. With every installment, Parker is looking and acting more like a traditional hero— albeit one with interesting friends, secretive allies and gruesome enemies. Can’t wait to see where the next book goes...

As I was doing the unthinkable--physically browsing library shelves instead of requesting on-line--I saw a number of Connolly's Charlie Parker books. Despite friends' enthusiastic reviews, I've been unsure about trying the series, as I'm generally sensitive to horror. However, I really enjoyed his young adult series, so thought it was worth testing my squimishness and selected one of the books that didn't seem quite so focused on mass killings. I confess: I was riveted. How good? I drove back to...

Charlie Parker has lost his license and his gun as a private detective. With nothing to do, he decides to conduct his own investigation regarding his father’s suicide who shot himself after killing of a teenage couple, the lovers. We know that Parker’s wife and child were both murdered but for this book, he set this aside and concentrate on his father’s story. Since Charlie Parker was John Connolly’s creation, he latter can decide which part of this character’s life to tackle in which book in th...

The Lovers progresses the Charlie Parker character in a way that has not been done since The White Road. In his last two outings, excluding The Reapers, we’ve been given small advancements here and there in Parker’s fledgling relationship and his continued haunting by his deceased wife and child – but nothing major.In the final pages of The Unquiet’s superb ending, Connolly alludes to something being covered up in Charlie’s childhood. One of Parker’s more recent associates (The Collector), who l...

One of my favourites of the series so far. The supernatural elements that have featured in previous books really comes to the fore in The Lovers ,with great effect. If you haven't already started reading about Charlie Parker then you need to start. You're seriously missing out ! Poetic ,literate and chilling ; John Connollys' writing is of an exceptional high standard. A must read.

This addition to the Charlie Parker series was just outstanding!The Lovers is the 8th book in the series and goes into the life and circumstances of Charlie’s parents and the actions his Dad commits on a dark and twisted night.Honestly, I’m not sure how much to go into with this review. There’s too many spoilers, along with potentially ruining a new reader that decides to take on this series.But here goes with some limited information!The Lovers starts off with Charlie Parker not being in a good...

Another brilliant book from John Connolly. He writes so well. All of his characters are well rounded, his story is full of suspense and there is always that touch of the supernatural that makes everything just a little more exciting. This book is particularly interesting in that we are at number 8 in the series and we are only just discovering a lot of Charlie's back story. I raced to the end of this book and now cannot wait to move on with the series. The author is hinting at so much more to co...

My favorite installment yet in the series! This book really starts to get us to the heart of what is going on with our main character. The past is filled in, and we learn so much about the big picture. That's not to say that there aren't still lots of questions I'm asking or wondering. There are a lot more things we need to learn, and I hope the continuing books give us answers!One of the things about this series, and Mr. Connolly's telling of this tale is the emotional impact that it has. Each

Excellently written, as always. This feels like an essential part of the Charlie Parker mythos. Charlie digs into his own, and his parents’ past, finding some answers but also raising many more questions. A story of ghosts and demons, this instalment recaptures some of the supernatural darkness and menace of The Black Angel, which remains my favourite book in the series so far.

5 starsI plan to reread this again. The more I learn about Charlie, the more I admire him. Charlie truly defines the old saying”Life is never as it seems….” He has his imperfections but who does not. When he discovered the truth with his parents, I just want to hug him. Charlie reminds me of many things but one is Robert Frost Poem, “The Road Not Taken”. I am looking forward to continue this series.

The Lovers starts of with a quest of the bar-manager Charlie Parker, he has lost his PI license, for answers on a question about his father. Why did he go out and execute a young couple and then commit suicide after that. Charlie will get some answers in this book that push the story of his life from a thriller aspect into the supernatural. Having read the previous 7 books this book ais a welcome gift by the writer. We get quite some explanations with Charlie even on matters where he did not exp...

Its a shame that the first half of this novel is so long and gruesome. But I suppose some was needed to reach the second half which was better paced. 7 of 10 stars

‘The Lovers’, book 8 about the violent life and spooky times of Charlie Parker, ex-detective, continues with several ongoing series-specific cosmological mysteries. This novel is not a stand-alone read, which is true of all of the books I have read in the series so far in my opinion. The previous book and this one are driven by main-character backstory flashbacks and narrative histories filling in blanks from the previous novels.I found ‘The Lovers’ satisfying because it explains a little bit wh...

It’s been close to five years since I last touched on John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series and now after rereading The Lovers, I am most definitely kicking myself for forgetting, and diversifying from one of my favourite authors and series of books.The Lovers sees Charlie working in a bar after having his PI license revoked, he decides to investigate the haunting suicide of his father an NYPD cop who shot an unarmed couple and followed it up by killing himself.He also has a reporter who is dete...

This is now the fifth straight book I've read in the Parker series and I'm enjoying these books immensely. I'll probably take a break from the series now (since I don't have book 9) but I'm sure I will continue with them in the near future. This one has Charlie working in a bar in Maine after losing his PI license. He then decides to try to find out what really happened when his father, who was a police officer, seemed to have killed two young teenagers, a boy and a girl, who were unarmed. His f...

Not a lot to say except this is ridiculously good. We get to find out about Charlie's mother and father, and about two mysterious beings that seem hell-bent on killing him. We also get the return of "The Collector". I don't want to give a lot of spoilers here, but it's definitely a fantastic book that gets back the rhythm that the series needed when it comes to Charlie. Charlie is now working as a bartender after his PI license is pulled. Due to that he has time to think on things that were reve...

2nd read - A look at Parker while a youngster, including his father's murder of two teenagers and his subsequent suicide.1st reading - Good Parker story with some past fill in. Didnt see much Angel and Louis - hopefully next time.