Michaelides takes a literary turn in his latest novel, employing an unreliable narrator, the structure of classical drama, and a self-conscious eye to dismantling the locked-room mystery. Dolors and her sister Ambar (their parents couldn’t spell) once hooked up with a very bad man name Raum Buker. In both, Parker takes on cases that perhaps he should not for there is little to be gained for him and a lot to be lost. Good strong female characters, who probably don't need Parker as much as they think they do, and all the usual suspects are present and doing what they do best.

Each yields her bed to a lowlife named Raum Buker, of whom Parker notes, “Gradually, like fecal matter falling down a drain, gravity brought Raum to Portland.Here, he tackles two separate cases at once, one where a mafia widow is haunted by her husband’s misdeeds and the theory that she still had the thousands of dollars her husband skimmed from the organization. Revolving around the theft of ancient coins, one of which has supernatural powers, Parker is pulled into the investigation by a person concerned about the sisters Strange: Dolors and Ambar.

Hot on the heels of Buker is a mysterious collector of coins, a man who will stop at nothing to get back what was taken from him. In the first novella, the Sisters Strange, we meet two sisters, who might be old spinsters except for their strange connection to one Raum Buker, a degenerate whose most recent prison tattoos might lead one to think he dabbles in the occult.

And in the title novel, The Furies , Parker must protect two women under threat as Portland shuts down in the face of a global pandemic. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

And in The Furies Parker finds himself fighting to protect two more women as the city of Portland shuts down in the face of a global pandemic, but it may be that his clients are more capable of taking care of themselves than anyone could have imagined . Judging by the fact that Connolly’s first novel is the namesake of my blog, it’s no secret that I am a big fan and with a series as long-running as this it is a wonder as to how John keeps the quality at such an unmatched level. Although this is the twentieth in the Charlie Parker series, I think it is the first one I have read.In his attempt to help the sisters, Charlie finds himself drawn into what should be a simple theft of some valuable coins but this is a Charlie Parker thriller so of course nothing is as simple as it seems. For the good about this book a review will follow, for the moment I will share with you that this latest book is as much fun and good as the whole series is, new to the series start at the beginning but you cannot go wrong with reading this book even if you are missing some aspects of the Charlie Parker series, one of my favorite book series. There is some excellent and very entertaining dialogue as well as some of those 'must read aloud to anyone who will listen' moments. Biography: John Connolly is author of the Charlie Parker mysteries, The Book of Lost Things, the Samuel Johnson novels for young adults and, with his partner, Jennifer Ridyard, co-author of the Chronicles of the Invaders. I studied English in Trinity College, Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University, subsequently spending five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper, to which I continue to contribute, although not as often as I would like.

In this community, where suggestions quickly become fact, where gossip and hearsay can lead to terrible consequences, what can she do to stop a rumour once it has started? Every new John Connolly book is a day one purchase and read for me, and The Furies is no exception, even if I've read half of the book before. The Furies, John Connolly’s latest novel, is actually two short novels: the titled novel and The Sisters Strange. Who am I to try and tell you how magnificent an author John Connolly is, and how I’ve enjoyed The Furies? The other case is Parker dipping his foot into intervening in domestic violence and these cases have a way of turning on the do-gooder.Fans of this series will probably enjoy The Furies, but I’m not sure it will attract many new aficionados. Meanwhile the island is alive with gossip about the strangers who have arrived from the mainland, armed with mysterious equipment which can reportedly steal a person's words and transmit them through thin air. As if that isn’t enough, Parker also agrees to assist the daughter of a client who is trapped in an abusive relationship.