The Dirty South (Charlie Parker Series #18)

by John Connolly, Jeff Harding (Read by)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Novels by both John Connolly and Tana French in the same year is a bumper crop of literary thriller and mystery excellence. If you are finally ready to dive into the world of Private Investigator Charlie Parker—then an intense deep dive into this character's past is in order for your essential reading.

“Brilliant...Connolly is writing at the top of his game.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

The New York Times bestselling author of A Book of Bones and “one of the best thriller writers we have” (Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author) goes back to the very beginning of Private Investigator Charlie Parker’s astonishing career with his first terrifying case.

It is 1997, and someone is slaughtering young women in Burdon County, Arkansas.

But no one in the Dirty South wants to admit it.

In an Arkansas jail cell sits a former NYPD detective, stricken by grief. He is mourning the death of his wife and child, and searching in vain for their killer. Obsessed with avenging his lost family, his life is about to take a shocking turn.

Witness the dawning of a conscience.

Witness the birth of a hunter.

Witness the becoming of Charlie Parker.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781797108551
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date:	11/03/2020
Series:	Charlie Parker Series , #18
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

John Connolly is the author of the Charlie Parker series of thrillers, the supernatural collection

Nocturnes, the Samuel Johnson Trilogy for younger readers, and (with Jennifer Ridyard) the Chronicles of the Invaders series. He lives in Dublin, Ireland. For more information, see his website at JohnConnollyBooks.com, or follow him on Twitter @JConnollyBooks.

Jeff Harding's audiography includes reading the bestselling titles Kane and Abel, The Da Vinci Code, The Bourne Identity, and Secrets Of The Code.  On screen, he has appeared in Lightning Strikes, Alfie, Tomorrow Never Dies, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Hackers, and Bullseye!  His television work includes the UK and Irish comedies The Armando Iannucci Shows, The Fast Show, and Father Ted.

Hometown:

Dublin, Ireland

Date of Birth:

May 31, 1968

Place of Birth:

Dublin, Ireland

Education:

B.A. in English, Trinity College Dublin, 1992; M.A. in Journalism, Dublin City University, 1993

Website:

http://www.johnconnolly.co.uk

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/20/2020

Supernatural noir fans will relish Connolly’s excellent 18th thriller featuring PI Charlie Parker (after 2019’s A Book of Bones), an origin story set in 1999. The murder of Parker’s wife and daughter ended his career as an NYPD detective, but the ghosts of his loved ones still literally haunt him, and the tragedy may have turned him into a vigilante who beat a child predator to death. Parker’s hunt for his family’s killer takes him to impoverished Burdon County, Ark., where someone, possibly the same person he’s seeking, has been murdering teenage girls. One possible victim, Patricia Hartley, was ruled to have died accidentally, despite the placement of branches in her vagina and throat. During a chance encounter in a Cargill, Ark., bar between Parker and Evander Griffin, the town’s police chief, the conversation turns hostile after they get on the topic of Hartley’s death. Parker later learns that Griffin wants the murders hushed up to avoid losing a lucrative business opportunity for the county. Brilliant descriptions of the setting (a lake “seemed to consume light”) enhance this intelligent and subtle suspense novel. Connolly is writing at the top of his game. Agent: Darley Anderson, Darley Anderson Literary (U.K.). (June)

Publishers Weekly

*PRAISE FOR A BOOK OF BONES*

From the Publisher

"In The Dirty South, we find Connolly weaving together Southern Gothic with Irish Noir for another great supernatural thriller."

"The Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2020" CrimeReads

"This outing for Charlie Parker is fresh and revealing, expanding on how he became the man he is today."

Florida Times-Union

"There’s no denying this one is a hell of a tale: dark, haunting, and beautifully told . . . the book is required reading."

Booklist

Mix an excellent story with great characters, and then add audiobook narrator Jeff Harding, who provides a pitch-perfect narration, and it is easy to see why the latest Charlie Parker mystery is so entertaining. Set during the Clinton administration, Connolly’s latest thriller focuses on rural Arkansas, where young women are being brutally murdered. A former New York detective, Parker learns of the killings and travels to the town to discover if there is a connection between his wife and daughter’s murders and the events there. Connolly is a master of dialogue, as is Harding, who uses accents and tone to define each character. Harding’s rough voice is an ideal complement to the gruff nature of the area’s residents. The result is a wonderful, fast-paced audiobook. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2021 - AudioFile

Mix an excellent story with great characters, and then add audiobook narrator Jeff Harding, who provides a pitch-perfect narration, and it is easy to see why the latest Charlie Parker mystery is so entertaining. Set during the Clinton administration, Connolly’s latest thriller focuses on rural Arkansas, where young women are being brutally murdered. A former New York detective, Parker learns of the killings and travels to the town to discover if there is a connection between his wife and daughter’s murders and the events there. Connolly is a master of dialogue, as is Harding, who uses accents and tone to define each character. Harding’s rough voice is an ideal complement to the gruff nature of the area’s residents. The result is a wonderful, fast-paced audiobook. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2021 - AudioFile

2020-03-29
The 18th novel in Connolly’s Charlie Parker series takes readers back to the beginning of the ex–New York City detective's career as a private eye, finding him “deep in the Dirty South” helping local police investigate horrific murders.

Parker is an unwelcome stranger in a Cargill, Arkansas, diner in 1997. Local cops find him suspicious when he mentions the name of a young black girl whose violent death has been officially deemed accidental. Parker himself has lost a wife and daughter to vicious murders. He's quit the NYPD, and he's on a quest to find the man who killed his family “and tear him apart.” The story’s mood is dark: The local lake named Karagol has water so black “it seemed to consume light,”and it gave its name to nearby Cargill, a dismal town that seems to consume spirit. The police chief decides to accept Parker’s help investigating some obvious murders, to the chagrin of some important, malevolent people. A company named Kovas Industries makes missile components and is considering a major investment in Cargill, which would turn it into a company town and make certain people rich. The last thing they need is publicity about killings, so they just want the fates of two girls to be “obliterated.” The coroner says they are “poor dead colored girls. That’s not the same thing” as dead girls, suggesting they matter less. And much of the town is angry at the girls for getting themselves killed to begin with. (Yes, what were they thinking?) If they must be deemed murders, one character opines that “it would be best” if a “Negro” were the culprit. But Parker wants to know if it's the same person who killed his family. This is a story populated with richly described characters, be they honorable or slimy, as well as rich descriptions and dialogue. Fast-moving, witty dialogue helps speed this well-plotted yarn to a dramatic conclusion.

A most satisfying read for crime buffs.

Kirkus Reviews