Review: A SONG OF SHADOWS

A Song Of Shadows by John Connolly
Read by Jeff Harding
Book 13 of the Charlie Parker series
Genre: crime fiction
Format: kindle ebook & audiobook

About A Song Of Shadows:

Grievously wounded, private detective Charlie Parker investigates a case that has its origins in a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War.

Broken, but undeterred, private detective Charlie Parker faces the darkest of dark forces in a case with its roots in the second world war, and a concentration camp unlike any other . . .

Recovering from a near-fatal shooting and tormented by memories of a world beyond this one, Parker has retreated to the small Maine town of Boreas to recover. There he befriends a widow named Ruth Winter and her young daughter, Amanda. But Ruth has her secrets. She is hiding from the past, and the forces that threaten her have their origins in the Second World War, in a town called Lubko and a concentration camp unlike any other. Old atrocities are about to be unearthed, and old sinners will kill to hide their sins. Now Parker is about to risk his life to defend a woman he barely knows, one who fears him almost as much as she fears those who are coming for her.

His enemies believe him to be vulnerable. Fearful. Solitary.

But they are wrong. Parker is far from afraid, and far from alone.

For something is emerging from the shadows . . .

Source: Info in the About A Song Of Shadows was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24565629-a-song-of-shadows on 28/06/2015.

Buy Link(s):
     

My Thoughts:

I took a bit of time from finishing this book to reviewing it because I needed to digest it before I could put words into paper. I already know that this was a great book right off the bat, but, I needed to think about what makes it great (other than the fact that I am a Charlie Parker series fanatic fan). The world building and character development have been established a long time ago, and of course that contributed greatly to making this book a very good read... It could be that the plot of this particular book is the best yet in the series. Or, at least, it feels like it... Or it could also be that the last book had such a fluffy plot that this one took on a "great" feeling. Either way, I liked the plot immensely! On top of that, this book did not have those annoying unrelated add-on narratives that some books in this series had. Kudos to that! However some "hanging threads" from previous books are still not explained. Like who hired Jackie to bomb The Collector's lawyer? I'm still hoping that these hanging threads will get answers sometime down the line. I also like the fact that new aspects of Sam is being revealed. Ohhhh! Delicious tantalizing revealations!! Can't wait to read more about Sam! And of course more of Angel and Louis! Again this book reinforced the fact that the character development is simply masterful! And maybe because of this, that no book in this series could ever get a low rating.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (13 hrs & 38 mins)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Charlie Parker Series:
                       

About John Connolly
	John Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1968 and has, at various points in his life, worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a dogsbody at Harrods department store in London. He 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 he continues to contribute. He is based in Dublin but divides his time between his native city and the United States. This page is administered by John's assistant, Clair, on John's behalf. If you'd like to communicate with John directly, you can do so by writing to contact-at-johnconnollybooks.com, or by following him on Twitter at @JConnollyBooks.
www.johnconnollybooks.com | twitter | facebook | google+ | goodreads | amazon

About Jeff Harding
	Jeff Harding is one of the most active American actors based in Britain. He is regularly seen in film and TV but he maintains interest in fringe theatre. He is particularly active in voice-over and radio. Having competed in rowing for many years, he still lives by the Thames and rows regularly – an appropriate sport for the reader of Ben Hur.
naxos | audible | facebook | goodreads

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.