Book Review: The Killing Kind

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Killing Kind     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
John Connolly
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller   Private Investigator
Series: Charlie Parker # 3
Atria, Sep 2002, $25.00, 376 pp.

Graduate student, Grace Peltier is working on her Ph.D. thesis centering on religious zealots the Aroostook Baptists and their unexplained disappearance in 1963. Her research takes Grace to Carter Paragon, founder of the Fellowship. Not long after meeting Carter, Grace is found dead in her car parked on an isolated dirt road. All evidence points towards a suicide.

Grace's father Curtis rejects the notion that his daughter killed herself. He hires New England private investigator Charlie Parker to make inquiries and find out what really happened to Grace including as Curtis expects the identity of her killer. While Charlie works on the case, a mass grave containing the remains of the Aroostook Baptists has been discovered that ties back to Carter and his Fellowship. Charlie notices a link between the Aroostook, the Foundation, and his client’s daughter that leads to malevolent beings informing him to drop the case or die.

Two things make THE KILLING KIND a lot better than most private investigative stories. Rarely is a villain seemed to be as humanly evil as Mr. Pudd is, so much so, that his nasty cohorts appear like choir children in comparison. Then there is Charlie trying to atone for all the wrongs he committed in his past. The investigation engages the reader and the rest of the cast is powerfully written as John Connolly continues the climb to soaring higher than birds fly with this strong novel that never eases up until the final paragraph is read.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner