The Black Angel (Charlie Parker, #5)

by John Connolly

book data

482 ratings, 3.93 average rating, 49 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		35%
4		38%
3		16%
2		8%
1		2%

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published

May 31st 2005 by Atria (first published 2005)

details

Hardcover, 485 pages

characters

Angel, Rachel, Charlie Parker …more

isbn

0743487869 (isbn13: 9780743487863)

description

" To those who have been forsaken, hell has no geography. The Black Angel begins with the disappearance of a young prostitute from one of New Yo…more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 694)

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Sep 03, 2007

LJ rated it:

bookshelves: contemporary_post_1945, europe, maine, thriller

Read in April, 2005

THE BLACK ANGEL (Thriller-US/Europe-Cont) – G-
Connolly, John - 5th in series
Atria Books, 2005 - ARC
Charlie Parker is trying to settle into life with his partner and new baby. At a party celebrating the baby's baptism, the Aunt of Charlie's friend, Louis, arrives telling him his niece, a prostitute and addict, has disappeared. But when Charlie, Louis and his partner, Angel, go looking for her, they find something much bigger, and rooted in history, killing young women.
...more

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Feb 03, 2009

Walt rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

Read in February, 2009

Stylishly literate gore and terror Connolly once again blends the private-eye novel and the supernatural thriller in a way that's altogether unique. Parker himself is a complex creation whose depths have still, even through five novels, been barely explored
The Black Angel is nothing less than a classic work, a tale in which one can feel reality shifting and churning uneasily with the turn of each page. Highest possible recommendation The Black Angel soars with enigmatic villains and a comp...more

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Dec 11, 2009

pinknantucket rated it:

(review of isbn 0340837675)

bookshelves: abandoned

Read in December, 2009

I nearly gave up on the first page (excluding the prologue), because of this sentence: ...the boy, now a man; her daughter, as she once was and as she now might be; and the one who had made her little girl upon her, his face sometimes contorted, as it was the moment of her daughter's conception, and at other times tattered and destroyed...

I mean, WTF?? I had to read it several times (and that's just a bit of the whole sentence), eventually deducing that 'made her little girl upon her...more

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Sep 20, 2009

J rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

Read in September, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Charlie Parker's tortured status is getting more ethereal/spiritual,
which makes the series of mystery books about him less mystery, and more
commentary on the human condition.

I don't like mixing the factual (albeit macabre) criminal personalities and criminal deeds with fantastical ideas (such as that Brightwell has lived for centuries, or that the Black Angel statue actually encases a being, or that an infernal heat would surround people delving below ground at a religiou...more Charlie Parker's tortured status is getting more ethereal/spiritual,
which makes the series of mystery books about him less mystery, and more
commentary on the human condition.

I don't like mixing the factual (albeit macabre) criminal personalities and criminal deeds with fantastical ideas (such as that Brightwell has lived for centuries, or that the Black Angel statue actually encases a being, or that an infernal heat would surround people delving below ground at a religious-archaeological site such as Sedlec.

Again, as with "White Road," I feel like the Rachel character is getting more and more marginalized -- she's become just a device by which the author can expose/contrast Parker's desire to give/receive affection with his inability to do so in conventional ways.

The Maine setting for Parker's home has become non-essential.

The idea of Angel and Louis as god parents at a conventional christening seemed laughable. It sort of demeaned the ceremony's value to have a loyal, but still homicidal criminal coming up w. throw-away lines as the priest talks.

The idea of memento mori -- bone sculptures and human parchment, etc. -- is well described and explained. Fascinating subject matter.

I almost felt like the scene jumped around too much in this book -- Maine, NYC, U.S. Southwest, Boston, Czech republic (as well as references to London, Germany, Italy).

There is a sort of redemption for Parker at end -- he learns that he draws troubled people because he can provide them relief.

But the ending was a bit over-wrought for me. Author must presume that the reader really knows well the history of Parker's deceased first wife and first daughter -- there's surely not enough history given in "Black Angel" to explain the hold that those two deceased hold on Parker.

Don't know, either, if I cotton to Connolly's decision to have those 2 deceased do a bona fide haunting of Parker. In past books, I felt the presences of Susan and Jennifer were less oppressive.

(less)

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Feb 11, 2010

martin rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

Read in February, 2010

Crime and satanic myth come together in a Charlie Parker thriller. Not too successfully.

Sadly, I never found it convincing and as I read on it always felt self-indulgent and contrived. I feel a bit guilty saying this as he has moments when he writes beautifully and it is clear a lot of research went into this book, but the plot let it down. That and the fact that two of the potentially most interesting characters in the books, Louis and Angel, continue to be flat and closed to the re...more

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May 06, 2009

Rachel rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

bookshelves: crime

Read in May, 2009

This book started off as not as strong as his earlier Charlie Parker Novels. It tended to head away from crime more to a supernatural edge, which I found ineresting, but was not initially covinced by, his other novels all had elements of the supernatural but I found this one harder to believe than the others. But saying that, the further I read into this book the more I liked it so my opinions changed! This novel reminded me of Dan Brown as it had elements of Christian mythology in it and a lot ...more

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Dec 12, 2009

Laura C. rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

bookshelves: fiction

Read in December, 2009

I picked this book because I was excited to find a book by Michael Connolly that I hadn’t read. Then I couldn’t figure out why it was so outside Michael Connolly’s genre, and really so different that how he usually writes as well. That’s when I realized that it wasn’t written by Michael Connolly at all, but by John Connolly! Having established once and for all that I am a dork, I sat back and enjoyed this book, a “thriller” about how evil came into the world. Besides, you just ...more

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Nov 13, 2007

Brooke rated it:

bookshelves: 2010, mystery

Read in January, 2010

The 5th Charlie Parker novel steps up the doom and gloom with a religious mystery that starts with the disappearance of Louis' niece. As with any Parker book, the initial disappearance he's asked to investigate is only the tip of the iceberg.

Connolly is a nearly impeccable writer, as always, but I found myself easily distracted while reading. What should have taken me a few days stretched out to an entire week, and I think it's because of how many times the point of view switched. P...more

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Aug 29, 2007

David Rowan rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

bookshelves: thriller

Read in January, 2007

recommends it for: Anyone

A supernatural thriller with elements of horror and crime.

Tells the on-going story of detective Charlie Parker who appears to have some connection to those who have died violently.

In this book Parker assists the black, gay assasin Louis to find his junkie Niece who has disappeared rom the streets of New York. In the middle of his marriage breaking down due to the trouble and violence that always seems to follow him, Parker struggles to discover the truth behind the sinist...more

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Feb 18, 2010

Victoria rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

bookshelves: books-in-a-series, mystery-thriller

Owns a copy — Read in March, 2008

This book was as excellently written as the rest of Connolly's work - though he is straying further and further from Charlie Parker's P.O.V. This book was also more fantastic than the other mysteries - with a society reminiscent of the one in Holt's Wolf Moon. Overall, this was quite good, though the ending was really sad - poor Charlie!Wolf Moon

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Jan 10, 2010

Arfi rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

Read in January, 2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 06, 2009

Tina rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

bookshelves: tried-to-read

Read in August, 2009

I have tried to get into this one, but it is just not compelling enough to keep me reading. I enjoy a good supernatural thriller, but I don't like the first person aspect, the flashbacks to Parker's previous life, and then the level of detail about things that are not relevant to the storyline is boring me. When I dread picking up a book to read, there is a problem, and that's how I feel about this one.

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Jan 20, 2009

Lori rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

Read in January, 2009

I had many distractions this week and couldn't really get into the book like I usually do. I'm one of those people who picks out a book and reads it in a day or two becuase when I have read a chapter here and there it's not an enjoyable experience for me. John Connolly is a great writer, I've love many of his other books so maybe I'll shelf this one for a bit and come back to it later.

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Feb 25, 2009

Charles rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

bookshelves: thriller

Read in January, 2008

Probably 2 and a half stars. Pretty well written but the character of Charlie Parker isn't my favorite. He seems to whine a lot about how much he's suffered, and I understand he has in previous books. Maybe if I'd read the earlier ones first I might have liked this one better.

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Jan 02, 2010

Debs rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

bookshelves: 2009, gay-toy-surprise-fiction

Owns a copy — Read in April, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 18, 2009

David Barrie rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

Read in January, 2007

John Connolly scares me, and never more so than in this instalment of the Charlie Parker series. This is probably the clearest vision of the dark satanic world in which Parker moves and is not a book to read alone at home at night.

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Jan 13, 2009

Hugh rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

bookshelves: re-reading

If you like your detectives bad ass and brooding with lots of baggage then Connolly's Charlie Parker is for you. Connolly's world is dark and has a supernatural twist that differentiates it from your average detective story.

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Apr 28, 2009

Melissa rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

A rare misstep by Connolly. There's just too much going on in this one, too many hookers, too many ossuaries, too many weird characters to keep track of, and the twist ending is a bit too twisty to be believed.

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Feb 21, 2009

Aimee rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

Bought it for the plane ride. Was a good read, quite dark. It's amongst a series that I haven't read so coming in on the middle of the narrators story but it isn't necessary to have read the previous books.

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May 04, 2009

The W rated it:

(review of isbn 0743487877)

Read in May, 2009

W Rating: B+

Excellent. Dark. Great buildup and excellent flow. Parker is back with Louis and Angel pushing back against an ancient evil soon to rise again. Connolly fully embraced the demonic/angelic influence in this book and left little room for interpretation. Ended too quickly...

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