Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2008
368 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
As a small boy, Louis witnesses an unspeakable crime that takes the life of a member of his small, southern community. He grows up and moves on, but he is forever changed by the cruel and brutal nature of the act. It lights a fire deep within him that burns white and cold, a quiet flame just waiting to ignite. Now, years later, the sins of his life are reaching into his present, bringing with them the buried secrets and half-forgotten acts of his past.
Someone is hunting him, targeting his home, his businesses, and his partner, Angel. The instrument of revenge is Bliss, a killer of killers, the most feared of assassins. Bliss is a Reaper, a lethal tool to be applied toward the ultimate end, but he is also a man with a personal vendetta.
Hardened by their pasts, Louis and Angel decide to strike back. While they form a camaraderie that brings them solace, it offers them no shelter from the fate that stalks them. When they mysteriously disappear, their friends are forced to band together to find them. They are led by private detective Charlie Parker, a killer himself, a Reaper in waiting.
"Series fans may initially be disappointed to see Parker on the sidelines, but Connolly's rich prose and compelling plot more than compensate." - Publishers Weekly.
"Starred Review. Connolly has crafted one of the most darkly intriguing books this reviewer has encountered in more than three decades of reading crime fiction.... To call this a page-turner is to damn it with faint praise. Veteran crime fans will want to savor every note-perfect word. " - Booklist.
"This latest offering from Connolly is as dark and convoluted as his previous novels and just as enjoyable." - Library Journal.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Mark Condren
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. (A dogsbody, for our North American friends, is a 'go-fer'.) 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. He divides his time between Dublin and Portland, Maine; makes regular donations to the wine industry; and keeps a number of dogs in a remarkable degree of comfort.
Link to John Connolly's Website
Name Pronunciation
John Connolly: John CON-a-lee
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