THE INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS

5 stars out of 5

One thing is certain when you're dealing with private investigator Charlie Parker - there'll be some other-worldly "stuff" in it. This is the 21st book in the series - I've read several others - and this one certainly doesn't spoil the pattern.

When Colleen Clark's son Henry goes missing, as is customary, the parents are early-on suspects. When evidence appears to not only confirm that the young boy is dead, Colleen - who by her own admission suffered from post-partum depression - is arrested for his murder. That her husband, and just about every former friend and neighbor, are convinced of her guilt as well doesn't help her case.

But Charlie's long-time friend and attorney, Moxie Castin, will; he'll serve as her attorney. And of course, he enlists Charlie's help. At the outset, both are suspicious of the husband, who even without the evidence seemed convinced that his wife did the dirty deed. 

Even with the evidence, though, a body certainly would bolster the case on one side or the other. Enter into the picture a remote cabin deep in the woods of Maine that seems to harbor those aforementioned other-worldly secrets and that isn't far from a cult-like settlement of Fascists. In the midst of the investigation comes Sabine Drew, a psychic who claims to have heard Henry's plaintive cries from somewhere nearby. No one believes her, of course, except possibly Charlie - who knows firsthand what it's like to be in touch with those who've gone on (somewhere) before. 

As he investigation progresses, another of Charlie's old enemies, Bobby Ocean, pops up, opening up the necessity of bringing in Charlie's bodacious friends and bodyguards, Angel and Louis (love these guys). That, in turn, brought up what perhaps is the best-ever description of a thug-style bodyguard, who "probably barely emerged from the womb before the obstretrician offered him twenty bucks to watch the surgery door."

There's plenty more murder and mayhem from this point to the end, and I loved every minute of it. Many thanks once again to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to binge on a pre-release copy of this latest installment of a favorite series.

The Instruments of Darkness by John Connolly (Atria/Emily Bestler Books, May 2024); 508 pp.

THE WITCH HUNTER

 4 stars out of 5

One of the joys of getting my hands on books prior to their release - besides

the fact that they're free, which is hardly insignificant - is finding gems that otherwise would have remained hidden to me. And if in the process my reviews can bring them to the attention of other readers who are of the same mindset, well, that's also a plus.

This one, which dabbles in the occult, falls a titch outside of my comfort zone. Add to it that it's set in Finland, where all the towns and character surnames might as well be Greek to me, and I honestly can't call it an easy book to plow through. But it sure does qualify as one of those above-mentioned gems that I'm happy to have had the privilege of reading. And because it's the first in a new series, I also have the privilege of looking forward to the next one.

Featured here is Jessica Niemi, a sergeant with the Helsinki police. She's called in after the discovery of a dead body - the wife of a prominent author. It's not your run-of-the-mill murder, though; no, this beautiful lady is dressed in a knockout black evening gown, placed at the head of a formal dining table and "decorated" with an exaggerated Joker-like smile.

Not long thereafter, another woman's body turns up - this one buried under the ice near the other dead woman's mansion. It doesn't take long for Jessica and her team to come up with a theory: Someone is copying the gruesome murders from the best-selling "Witch Hunter" series penned by the first dead woman's husband. Visions of the occult begin to appear following the discovery of a Latin phrase on the first victim's rooftop - a reference to a book on torturing and punishing women who are suspected of being witches.

Creepy starts to get creepier as we learn that Jessica, too, has a few secrets (as does her good friend and supervisor, Erne Mikson. And not long after that, speculation grows that somehow Jessica herself may have a target on her back as well.

Will she be next? Well, I'll never say a word, except that finding out kept me turning pages (well, okay, Kindle screen swiping) right to the very end. Kudos to the author, and thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the advance copy to read and review.

The Witch Hunter by Max Seeck (Berkley, October 2020); 400 pp.

SOMETHING WICKED

3.5 stars out of 5


I'm a fan of this author's books, so of course I was eager to try this one, the debut of a new series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter. It fell a bit short of my expectations for several reasons - perhaps the most important one being that I never quite warmed up to Hunter or his quirky assistant, Jenny. Almost every page of the way, it seemed to me that the author was simply trying too hard to get readers interested in both the characters and the plot while I, on the other hand, am in the camp that says if you want to get someone's attention, whisper.

The same is true for the humor that's interspersed throughout; some of it elicited mild chuckles and some fell flat. As always, though, I thoroughly enjoy the British take on things (the setting here is Manchester, England). At one point, for instance, Andrew calls the female voice on his GPS unit a "mardy cow" (which, BTW, I'm planning to retort next time the bloody woman in my GPS spits "recalculating" at me - take that, you hussy)! In another situation, Andrew describes the entry to a college dorm "only marginally more compromised than Britain's border control."

The story itself begins as Andrew and Jenny are working for a woman who's sure her husband is cheating. Shortly thereafter, a man named Richard Carr comes to the office, asking them to take on the case of his son, Nicholas, who disappeared around a year earlier just after he turned 18. Complicating matters is that three chopped-off fingers turned up in a woods have been identified as at one time being attached to Nicholas, but the rest of the kid is nowhere to be found.

Other suspicious deaths and other clues lead to other friends of Nicholas, and a mysterious tattoo arouses suspicions of the occult. For more clarification, Nicholas turns to his ex-wife Keira, with whom he has remained in love for the past eight years despite his being the one to pull the plug on the relationship (hmmm, what's up with that)? Apparently, he has no choice; the investigation otherwise is at a dead end and conveniently, she wrote university papers on the subject of witchcraft and thus is as close to an expert as Andrew thinks he can get.

Details, twists and turns of the investigation are well thought out, although a bit hard to believe in spots. As for the lead characters, I'm hoping the next book will find Andrew a bit less dorky and Jenny a bit more conventional. They do counterbalance each other's personalities well and I hope that continues - just a little toned down, if you please.

Overall, definitely worth a read - especially for those like me who are always on the lookout for a solid new series (I'm of the opinion that better things are to come). Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Something Wicked by Kerry Wilkinson (Bookouture, October 2018); 334 pp.