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Dark Hollow - John Connolly

Description: ISBN 0340729007 / Author: John Connolly / Genre: Crime / Thriller / Second in the series featuring Detective Bird Parker. Returning to ... more

Dark Hollow - John Connolly ... his childhood home in Maine, Bird tries to come to terms with the murder of his wife and child, but finds old ghosts re-awakened. Recent years have seen a flurry of horror writers crossing over to the mystery genre--Peter Straub, Dan Simmons and Kristin Kathryn Rusch are three--but little movement has occurred in the opposite direction. Mysteries are where the commercial action is. When John Connolly, an Irish journalist, burst upon the scene in Great Britain in 1999 with the bestselling Every Dead Thing (it later won the Shamus award for Best First Private Eye Novel when published in the States), it would not have been unfair to describe what he was offering as horror. However, shock noir is probably a better way of describing such a grab-you-by-the-eyelashes thriller, with its high body count and inventively grisly methods of dispatching hapless victims.

Newest Review: ... must follow the trail of bodies in an adventure that will have him coming face to face with desperate mafia bosses and ... more

... psychotic killers for hire. With a death wish of his own can Bird find the missing man and save the daughter of one of his closest pals? I found 'Dark Hollow' to be a laughable novel and not in a good way. Too many times I read poorly written crime thrillers that seem to overegg the crimes they portray. Connolly's first novel did just this, but it had a glimmer of quality that made me want to give him a second chance. Why did I even bother? 'Hollow' falls into the exact set of traps as the first book. Why on Earth w...more

Read Reviews for Dark Hollow - John Connolly

Dark Hollow - John Connolly: This ain't no Sleepy Hollow....... (920 words)
by - written on 15/08/08 (Very useful, 41 readings)
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DARK HOLLOW is the best-selling sequel to John Connolly's amazing debut and the second book to feature ex-cop, Charlie Parker. Nearly a year has passed since his wife and daughter were cruelly taken from him by the killer known as The Travelling Man and Parker is still grieving but, after applying for his Private Investigator licence, he is determined to keep himself busy with the only other person he cares about currently refusing to have anything to do with him. Psychologist, Rachael Wolfe faced her own demons during The Travelling Man case and now longs to keep her distance despite any feelings she might hold for Parker. Meanwhile Parker is not alone; he has Angel and ... Read the complete review

You Will Know Him By the Trail of the Dead (847 words)
by - written on 09/12/08 (Very useful, 92 readings)
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What does it take to get arrested in America if you are a serial killer? According to John Connolly a hell of a lot. By all means kill a lot of people; leave behind you countless bodies piled sky high. Connolly suggests that you will only draw the attention of the odd Sheriff or two. To an extent I could agree if the people killed were all undesirables - gangsters, prostitutes, tramps. Perhaps then the likes of the FBI, NSA and CIA would not be bothered? But what about killing a grandmother, her daughter and two small grandchildren, surely that would peek some interest? Not according to Connolly, it's still up to dishevelled PI Bird Parker to catch the killer. ... Read the complete review

Dark Hollow - John Connolly: Bird in the hunt (360 words)
by - written on 16/10/00 (Very useful, 27 readings)
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Travelling down your memory lane isn't always a good idea. Especially when it is full of twists and bends, dark alleys and bloodstained pavements. Detective 'Bird' Parker (who we last encountered in 'Every Dead Thing') decides to do exactly that. Take a trip into the past. In the icy landscape of Maine, Charlie' Bird' Parker, still hurting from the death of his wife and child, joins in the hunt for the man suspected to be responsible for the brutal slaying of a child. The Young mother, Rita Ferris, suspects the killer to be her ex-husband. There seems to be someone else in the hunt too. Someone else looking for the same person and ... Read the complete review

What an author! (235 words)
by - written on 10/02/01 (Useful, 18 readings)
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Charlie Parker is still reeling from the shocking events of Connolly`s first novel, `Every Dead Thing`. Therefore, he returns to Maine, state of his youth. However, he finds himself embroiled in a murder case that has horrible links with his own life and its past. I have not read `Every Dead Thing` and so it was probably not such a good idea to read `Dark Hollow` before it. However, I did and I can certainly say that this has not at all put me off going back to it, as this is a superb novel. The locations are well described, detailed and very interesting - the woods of Maine and Boston, are two notable examples. Connolly deals with harsh ... Read the complete review