The Reapers

It is beautifully written as always. There is no supernatural this time around, simply high-octane suspense. The narrative presents many characters, all of them interesting, all of them crucial to the plot. I love the way that John Connolly presents every character as if he was the lead of the story. Within a few pages, we know the back story of every major and secondary characters, which in turns makes us feel a part of the story. It's not simply a kill in the end when someone dies. Some might feel as though these descriptions are too much, filler, but they serve their purpose. Every character becomes known to us which, in turns, makes their eventual doom more striking. Although the book is short (especially compared to Connolly's show more other books) this is one of his best. It was great to learn Angel and Louis's past and to see them take the lead for once. The sections of the novel that gives us Louis's past are written in a very cinematic way. But the real pleasure was the last 50 pages or so. The finale is so intense, so well plotted that it will leave you feeling breathless. show less

I doubt that Connolly ever had the idea that he would do an entire book dedicated to Louis and Angel. That being said, I had hoped early on that this book would eventually exist.

In The Reapers, long time associates of Charlie Parker, Louis and Angel, get their own novel. Louis and Angel have recently fallen into the cross hairs of a rival long thought dead. A former colleague of Louis, Bliss, has returned to seek his vengeance against those who brutally disfigured him, leaving him for dead years ago. However, Louis and Angel are unaware of his resurgence, accepting a job from a wealthy criminal recluse who asks them to take out his longtime rival. The pair goes missing during said job and it's up to their friends, led by Parker to find show more them.

This novel is refreshing in so many ways from the previous Parker installments. Gone is the first person narrative, gone are the supernatural aspects and for the most part, gone is Charlie Parker himself. Having already explored a lot of Angel's history in the earlier books, Connolly dives deep into Louis' upbringing and the circumstances that led him down his path in life. Told through flashbacks, Connolly shapes Louis through his first kill and his subsequent recruitment of a man known as Gabriel. This man becomes Louis' father figure, molding him into a "Reaper"; a hit man.

I really enjoyed the back story on Louis, I felt like it's long overdue and without a doubt, he's grown to become my favorite character in the Parker series. He's written with such passion; Connolly paints him as a consistent professional but with a dry sense of humor that is just awesome. The novel also goes into detail the lengths that Louis and Angel take to maintain their lifestyle. Louis does a lot of his business through shell companies and pre-paid, disposable cell phones, trying not to deal with anyone directly unless absolutely necessary, even paying homeless people to pay bills and acquire new phones with pre-paid calling cards. It's pretty slick.

Parker's role was perfect, leading a rag tag group of allies to aid Louis and Angel upon their disappearance. I'm growing to love Parker's hired goons, the Fulci brothers. Their associate, Jackie Garner (hired by the Fulci brothers to take care of their business affairs), had one of the better moments in the series leaving me laughing out loud.

I'm so glad Connolly decided to give Louis and Angel their own entry in the long running Parker series. I'm hoping that he one day decides to give them another kick at the can. I'll try not to be greedy though - I'll take as many Parker books that Connolly will throw at me.

Cross posted @ Every Read Thing show less

Vamos a dejar una cosa clara: John Connolly es el mejor escritor actual de novela negra. Escribe como los ángeles, pero eso sí, te ha de gustar la temática policiaco-detectivesca. Este es el séptimo libro de la serie de Charlie Parker, aunque hay que decir que son de lectura independiente. En él toman protagonismo dos de los compañeros de Parker, y es genial porque profundiza en sus historias personales, algo que en el resto de libros únicamente se hacía mención por encima.

Esta vez a quien le persigue su pasado es a Louis, y de rebote, a su amante Ángel y algunos de sus conocidos. Parker apenas aparece esta vez.

Connolly conoce el oficio y se nota. Sabe mantener la atención hasta el final, aunque este es algo abrupto. En fin, show more que gustará a los fans. show less

Wow. What a great book. This one is a departure for Connolly. Instead of us hearing about things via Charlie Parker, the book focuses on Angel, Louis, and Willie (the mechanic we know from older books). Connolly shows how Louis was led to a life as a hired killer and what actually caused him to turn from that path into one which may lead him from damnation. We also get to read more about "The Burning Man" from "The White Road." This book had a lot of heart I thought and I teared up at the end. Connolly showcases what does it mean to be a friend, a true friend, as well as shows us what true love is via Louis and Angel.

"The Reapers" is a departure for Connolly. The book shows us a mysterious man named Bliss who is not what he seems. He show more also has ties to Louis, but we don't know how. When Louis and Angel go to celebrate Willie's birthday, the two of them are starting to wonder if the man that they thought was dead (Bliss) has returned. From there the book starts moving pretty fast. Someone seems out to get Louis and those around him. Willie is left in a lurch and calls "The Detective" in order to help out Louis and Angel. The book has a lot of moving parts, but in the end I thought it worked very well.

Willie and Arno's friendship is the heart of this book along with Louis, Angel, and Charlie I thought.

We also get to see how others view Charlie and yeah, Charlie is dark, but you definitely get why people are glad to have him on their side. Charlie is still dealing with the fallout from the last book and he had his PI license pulled. He is now working as a bartender and goes back to Maine and is missing for a good portion of the book.

We also get to see Louis's life and how he became what is known as a "Reaper" and the man who ended up shaping him known as Gabriel. Honestly this book made me want to read even more about Louis. We also get to see more about his and Angel's home life. I want to hug Angel so much. His and Louis's relationship should not work, but it does. And you know in the end, both of them are going to end up having to die at the same time. I can't imagine them without each other. And even they can't imagine life without each other. When it seems as if their lives are about to go pear shaped, I loved that Charlie, Jackie, Willie, and the brothers from Maine are the ones who end up having to go in and save them.

The book does not go in a nice and long chronological order, it jumps around some. We get to see the immediate aftermath of what happened to Louis after "The Burning Man" was killed. We also see how Louis was treated when he avenged himself on the man who killed his mother. Connolly for an Irishman definitely seems to be have a pulse on the racism that makes up the American South and still resonates there today. His books often dovetail into short history lessons here and there. This one gets into "sundown" towns. show less

I read a lot of books, I like fantasy, romance and some non-fiction
I work as a librarian, I'm an avid knitter. I collect Dragons, fountain pens, notebooks and filofaxes. And Yarn, lots and lots of yarn.
Assassins ahoy
1:52 pm 18 October 2017
The Reapers - John Connolly
peripherally a Charlie Parker story, this is more about Louis and Angel; mostly about Louis and his past and what happens when that catches up with them both.

A wealthy recluse sends Louis and Angel on a mission to a town where things aren't as they seem and where they find themselves in serious danger. Charlie Parker has to come to their rescue but things are quite perilous and survival won't be easy. This will make and break relationships.

Not so much of the supernatural show more but a lot of assassins and killers being brutal to each other. I liked Willie, the mechanic and his story drew me in (as I'm sure the author intended).

There was a great piece: "When the three men had gone, Brooker sat silently at his kitchen table while his wife rolled dough behind him, and tried to ignore the waves of disapproval that were breaking upon his back." (p. 336 in my edition) I liked the imagery.

There were some very gory parts to this... not for the squeamish, the relish some of the characters had for killing was chilling. show less

When I started reading this book, after a few pages I wanted to give it up. It was simply not the kind of a book I would enjoy. However, there was something in the Connolly's writing that kept me reading one more page and then another and suddenly I was hooked. I do admit that even after I finished it I had my doubts about the story. I didn't like the brutality, so many people killed in such an easy fashion. But I loved the author's style. He is simply a great narrative who knows how to describe his characters. I particularly liked how he spent so much time describing minor characters who only a few sentences later ended up dead. And there was this brilliant subtle humour which made the otherwise brutal story seem human. At the end I show more actually trully enjoyed reading this book. show less

I had forgotten how much depth there is in this series. Except it kind of petered out in the end. I enjoyed the alliance the Louis and Angel maintained with the mechanics Willie and Arno, and of course the Fulci brothers are great fun. In the end, however, it is just petty killers going after each other. None of the moral seriousness that characterizes the first part of the book, with its discussion of Sundown Towns, informs the ending.