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El frío de la muerte

(Charlie Parker #15)

John Connolly (Goodreads Author),

Vicente Campos González (Translator)

4.25 · Rating details · 5,060 ratings · 516 reviews

El detective privado Jaycob Eklund ha desaparecido, y Charlie Parker recibe el encargo de localizar su paradero. Quien le pide eso a Parker es Edgar Ross, agente especial del FBI, que tiene sus motivos —inconfesados— para encontrar a Eklund. Pero Eklund no es un investigador común y corriente. Está obsesionado con seguir el rastro de desapariciones y homicidios poco comune

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Kindle Edition, 437 pages

Published June 4th 2019 by Tusquets Editores S.A. (first published April 6th 2017)

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Apr 20, 2017 Karl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-04-books-bought

As the next chapter in John Connolly's Charlie Parker exploits hit the floor running with "A Game of Ghosts". One realizes just how fond we have become of Charlie and his family, yet having to wait an entire year for the next installment has caused a certain amount of salivation to occur.

On a side bar for anyone who might be interested and does not want to wait for the US publication of the book, the series usually is first printed in Ireland or England, If you have an Irish connection, or know ...more

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Sep 24, 2017 Meredith ( on Semi-Hiatus until February) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Dark, eerie, and super creepy!

A Game of Ghosts, the 15th book in the Charlie Parker series, is filled with supernatural elements, oddball characters, and of course as the title implies, ghosts.

Tasked by SAC Ross to track down a PI gone missing, Parker; along with Angel and Louis, uncover a sick and twisted inhuman cult-like family known as “The Brethren.” This group is responsible for death and destruction spanning hundreds of years. Currently, the clan is led by brother and sister, Kirk and ...more

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Jul 04, 2017 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Every year I look forward to reading a new Charlie Parker story, with Louis and Angel of course. I download it onto my kindle, and then let it sit there for awhile. It's a form of torture I suppose. The anticipation of knowing I can read it, but the sweet agony of holding off just a wee bit longer. When I finally start reading, I devour it...just up to the final 100 pages. Then I nurse it. Now begins another agonizing wait until next year. Dang. The title of this book was dead on. I had a few mo ...more

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Apr 14, 2017 Phrynne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Book 15 in the Charlie Parker series and I loved every word of it! Everyone who matters was in it, Charlie, Angel, Louis, Sam, Jennifer, even Rachel although if she sinks any lower in my estimation I will be glad if she is not in the next one! Oh and the Collector of course featured largely.
John Connolly writes well which makes it a very enjoyable reading experience. This episode digs deeper into the supernatural than we have maybe been before but it was very neatly done. And Sam is becoming a r ...more

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Nov 21, 2017 Debra rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars

A Man is a very small thing, and the night is very large and full of wonders.
- Lord Dunsany

Charlie Parker has been asked by Edgar Ross, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to locate a private detective, Jaycob Eklund, who has vanished. Eklund has been investigating a series of homicides and disappearances which have been linked to hauntings. Those who are not familiar with John Connolly's paranormal mysteries may be scratching their heads and saying "huh?". Connolly is a 3.5 stars

A Man is a very small thing, and the night is very large and full of wonders.
- Lord Dunsany

Charlie Parker has been asked by Edgar Ross, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to locate a private detective, Jaycob Eklund, who has vanished. Eklund has been investigating a series of homicides and disappearances which have been linked to hauntings. Those who are not familiar with John Connolly's paranormal mysteries may be scratching their heads and saying "huh?". Connolly is a master of writing mysteries with paranormal elements that make sense, are chilling, often eerie, and yes, haunting.

As Charlie Parker, Angel and Louis begin to search for Eklund, his personal life continues to unravel, and he has been served custody papers by his ex, Rachel. Their daughter Sam is still young and has a special "gift" which we see more of in this book. She continues to have contact with Jennifer, Parker's daughter who was viciously murdered along with her Mother (Jennifer's Mother/Parker's First wife.) The vicious murder of his first wife and daughter continue to haunt him. Parker is no stranger to pain and suffering. His daughter, Jennifer, continues to watch over him and provides what protection she can. Also looking over everything is The Collector. Series fans will enjoy seeing this character again.

Along with Louis and Angel, Parker meets with "Mother" and her creepy son, Phillip who had ties to Eklund. Eklund was hired by them and after he failed to make his monthly contact, they became “worried” and are interested in Eklund’s whereabouts. Parker is on their radar and he is on theirs but just how do they tie into the Brethren?

aaah yes, the Brethren with their sick and twisted relationships. They are in this world and in the next. It’s the plight of their family and their deepest secret which they want to remain a secret. Parker is getting close, what will they do to keep their secret(s) safe?

This book is the 15th in the series and I would not advise reading this as stand-alone novel. Of course, one could do that, but the beauty of this series is the character development/evolution of characters, the ongoing personal issues of Parker and the continuation of his story. I would advise those interested in this series to go back to the beginning. It's worth the time of effort. My first Charlie Parker book was “The wolf in Winter" and I have been a fan ever since. After reading that book as a stand alone novel, I read some of the earlier books and have continued to be a fan.

I do not feel that "A Game of Ghosts" was the best book in the Charlie Parker series, but it is a nice addition. As I previously stated, I think John Connolly is a master at writing mysteries with paranormal elements. His books are well written, well thought out, perfectly paced and entertaining. Connolly often has various plots going at once, there is great character development, and dialogue. His books are eerie, chilling and dark while at the same time being intelligent, witty and entertaining.

As long as Connolly keeps writing this series, I will keep reading!

See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com ...more

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Feb 12, 2017 Liz Barnsley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: bloody-marvellous, emotional-warfare, received-from-publisher, books-for-my-soul, highly-recommended, best-series-ever-written

Oh look its that time of year where I’m reading the next novel in the Charlie Parker series from John Connolly, ending up emotionally traumatised (and boy was THAT true this time) then wondering what the heck else I can say that I haven’t already said that can get across the pure brilliance of this series.

It really is a difficult one because you end up going around in circles and coming back on yourself then thinking well surely if I haven’t sold it by now its just never going to happen. But we’ Oh look its that time of year where I’m reading the next novel in the Charlie Parker series from John Connolly, ending up emotionally traumatised (and boy was THAT true this time) then wondering what the heck else I can say that I haven’t already said that can get across the pure brilliance of this series.

It really is a difficult one because you end up going around in circles and coming back on yourself then thinking well surely if I haven’t sold it by now its just never going to happen. But we’ll give it a go and I’ll even try and stay relatively sensible about the whole thing. Relatively.

This instalment finds Charlie on the hook again to FBI Agent Ross (a man I still haven’t made up my mind about) who sends him off on the trail of a missing private detective. This man, Jaycob , has been messing with things he can’t possibly understand so things are going to get fraught. Well lets face it if Charlie found him in the next town then went home for tea it wouldn’t be NEARLY SO TRAUMATIC. And breathe..

I can’t tell you anything else without then having to kill you, but suffice to say the indomitable Mr Connolly takes us on another emotional rollercoaster read, where the ongoing mythology deepens and just wraps you up in that enigmatic something that I have no words for, the current shenanigans are dark and so beautifully terrifying, the storytelling genius just gets me every single time. And THIS time particularly some things happen that had me needing to lie down. I’m still not over it.

I don’t know another writer around today that has such a gorgeous, descriptively haunting and brilliantly incisive prose, the scene setting is sublime, the entire time you are just enveloped into this whole other world that feels as real as any you leave behind whilst in it. Emotionally charged readers will understand what I mean when I say life is blurred around the edges slightly when coming out of it and it takes a while to settle down. It is just CLEVER. From the first book to this book and probably on into further books, the quality never falters, every one feels fresh, you genuinely never know where they might take you next. The best crime series out there currently? In this readers opinion definitely. Head and shoulders above the best of the rest.

Angel and Louis never cease to be funny yet inevitably flawed, Charlie himself is still facing down the problem of a daughter who may be scarier than he is, more revelations about the underneath of it all are drip fed out to us and overall this was a purely dazzling reading experience which once again left me desperate for more. But I’ll have to wait. I don’t like waiting. It makes me crazy. It’s worth it though. Every single time.

Fans of Charlie Parker do not fear. This is everything you were hoping for and more.

A note – A Game of Ghosts is book 15 and whilst I’m fairly sure that it might be more helpful to be able to say you could read it as a standalone, I’m afraid I’m often to be found screeching at people NO PUT THAT DOWN YOU MUST READ IN ORDER. There is of course no must about it, each book is a brilliant read and you’ll pick up some of the layers, but genuinely, if you don’t follow the arc’s I feel you will lose a lot of the soul of it. And it has a HELL of a lot of soul. So if you’ve not read these yet, you make your bets and you take your chances but I can almost guarantee book one will hook you and we won’t see you for a year while you burn through the rest (Every Dead Thing is where to start by the way)

Highly HIGHLY recommended.

...more

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Jan 12, 2018 Zoeytron rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: public-library

At some point, the screaming will end . . .

Strangeness abides within these pages. A series of hauntings, those who wander the paths of the dead, and others who stagger under the gravity of grief. The Brethren, watching and waiting. The Hollow Men, with their crispy whispers and voracious appetites. And Mother.

Crochety comment time. Someone had a picnic in this book, and it was not any of the characters inside. I borrowed this from the public library, and the pages were full of smears and ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 carol. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

"A new fall of snow had settled upon the old, like memories, like the years.

It would freeze, too, according to the weathermen, adding another layer to the ice that blanketed the city, and another day or two to the slow thaw that must inevitably come, although any release from the cold seemed distant on this February evening. Still, at least the latest snowfall, the first in more than a week, hid beneath it the filth of earlier accumulations, and the streets of Portland would look fresh and unsul "A new fall of snow had settled upon the old, like memories, like the years.

It would freeze, too, according to the weathermen, adding another layer to the ice that blanketed the city, and another day or two to the slow thaw that must inevitably come, although any release from the cold seemed distant on this February evening. Still, at least the latest snowfall, the first in more than a week, hid beneath it the filth of earlier accumulations, and the streets of Portland would look fresh and unsullied again, for a time.

Although the air was chill, it held no clarity. A faint mist hung over the streets, creating penumbrae around the streetlights like the halos of saints, and making a dreamscape of the skyline. It lent the city a sense of duplication, as though its ways and buildings had been overlaid imperfectly upon some earlier version of itself, and now that shadow variant was peering through, the people of the present within touching distance of those of the past."

It's not fair. One of the one writers who I would absolutely read a literary fiction book by has never written one. Oh, it's integrated, to be sure. I would just prefer even more passages devoted to our main characters, and even less time on various depravities. I liked the emotions in this book; there's tough work with Parker and Rachel, and serious things developing with Angel that result in some solid conversations. Jennifer and Sam both appear and do interesting things, although Sam's are definitely from a more age-appropriate perspective, and Jennifer's are from her otherworldly one.

For future-carol.: Parker is asked by Ross, FBI agent to informally look into a missing P.I., and Angel and Louis end up helping him out. This book is slightly more distinguishable through the multiple viewpoints that include Parker, Lewis, Jennifer, Sam, villain, the Collector, side villain. There's significant threads from other books brought in, particularly the Collector and his father, and the remnants of the Webb family (who I had forgotten). There horror factor is dialed far down, with only one torture scene, and the supernatural spooky is dialed up.

The short, spoiler-y (but not really) summation: this is the one where (view spoiler)

Read again? Probably not. Except that first page. Solid. ...more

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Mar 29, 2017 Magdalena aka A Bookaholic Swede rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2017

I read a lot of books, but if I had to pick just let's say five books to read during one year would the latest Charlie Parker book be among them. It is strange to think back to the first time I read a Charlie Parker book (not from the beginning) and how I liked the book but never thought that one day would come when it would be like Christmas every time a new book would be released.

So, how was A Game of Ghosts? Well, let me put it this way. This is a series that keep on being great, this is the ...more

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Jul 16, 2017 Char rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley, crime, series, dark-fiction, love-me-some-irish-authors

4.5/5 stars!

This time around Charlie Parker is hired to look into the disappearance of Jaycob Eklund. Jaycob is a P.I. that has mysteriously vanished while investigating the history of a group named The Brethren. Louis and Angel get involved and the Collector and his aging father do as well. What FUN!

FBI Agent Edgar Ross is the man who hires Charlie and I still don't trust him or his motives. He won't even tell Charlie why he's searching for Eklund. I'm not sure where Mr. Connolly is going with 4.5/5 stars!

This time around Charlie Parker is hired to look into the disappearance of Jaycob Eklund. Jaycob is a P.I. that has mysteriously vanished while investigating the history of a group named The Brethren. Louis and Angel get involved and the Collector and his aging father do as well. What FUN!

FBI Agent Edgar Ross is the man who hires Charlie and I still don't trust him or his motives. He won't even tell Charlie why he's searching for Eklund. I'm not sure where Mr. Connolly is going with this relationship, but I have a bad feeling about it, for sure.

Louis and Angel trade insults as always, but in this book their love became a little more real to me. You'll see why if you read it. (You SHOULD read it!)

Also playing a part in this volume are Rachel and Sam, Charlie's ex-girlfriend and (living) daughter, respectively. Rachel, understandably, is still angry and upset after what happened to Sam in the last book and is now taking legal steps regarding Sam's custody. Trusty Moxie, Charlie's lawyer, is on the case. Unfortunately, Rachel doesn't ask Sam how she feels about all this, but Sam makes her feelings known-in a way that is uniquely her own.

I loved this book! I believe I am seeing the beginning of the end, off in the distance, and that makes me sad. However, I am hoping that perhaps the series will continue in some other form, (view spoiler). But if I don't get it I will still be happy, because I believe that the Charlie Parker books have become the best ongoing series out there, bar none. They are consistently interesting, well written and just plain fun-and considering how dark some of them are, that's quite a feat!

I love Charlie, Louis and Angel and I love YOU, John Connolly! I can't wait to see what happens next! I highly recommend A Game of Ghosts to fans of the series, and to new fans, (but I strongly suggest you read them in order.)

*Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.* ...more

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Mar 02, 2018 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: library

Despite hitting number 15, this series remains as brutally, bloodily vibrant as its first offering. Not only that, but things change- this is a novel of transformation, most of it far from good. The strands of recent trauma tighten to life threatening levels, while the hints about Sam's nature become ever more worrying. This many books in and we still have questions, about Parker especially. There are buried truths, and buried gods, which are still to come to light. Or which may yet drag us into ...more

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Jul 23, 2017 CL rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I have read every Charlie Parker book and I have loved every one. In this book Charlie Parker is tasked to find a missing investigator and is not told the real reason why. As he gets closer and closer it becomes clear this man was more than a simple investigator. He has been following disappearances and homicides that may go back decades and he has been working with the husband of a missing woman who was missing for a couple of years and whose body has just been discovered and she has not been d ...more

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Jul 18, 2017 Bam cooks the books ;-) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-netgalley, 2017-reads, thriller-suspense

*4.5 stars.

Get ready for a spine-tingling ghost story as Charlie Parker once again delves into the supernatural in this fifteenth book in the series.

Who is Charlie Parker? A detective who 'died not once but three times following [a] shooting at his home and was brought back by the physicians. But the man who came back was not the same as the one who had fallen under a volley of shotgun blasts and pistol shots. He had seen what lay beyond, and he remembered.'

Charlie is under contract to SAC Ros *4.5 stars.

Get ready for a spine-tingling ghost story as Charlie Parker once again delves into the supernatural in this fifteenth book in the series.

Who is Charlie Parker? A detective who 'died not once but three times following [a] shooting at his home and was brought back by the physicians. But the man who came back was not the same as the one who had fallen under a volley of shotgun blasts and pistol shots. He had seen what lay beyond, and he remembered.'

Charlie is under contract to SAC Ross of the FBI and this time he has been assigned to investigate the disappearance of Jaycob Eklund, a private investigator who has been looking into a series of strange disappearances and murders that he feels are somehow tied to a clan called The Brethren with roots in America's early past whose founder was a charismatic man named Peter Magus. Around 1860, he and his followers would prey on travelers: stealing, murdering and then hiding the evidence. Magus established a settlement for his clan in Capstead near the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Eventually their acts of murder and mayhem became so infamous that authorities attacked and most of the clan were killed in a Waco-style conflagration. They became known as the Capstead Martyrs. But a few escaped...

Charlie and his two friends Angel and Louis follow the trail of clues, looking into Eklund's life and work. The relationship those three guys have is always good for a laugh. More heavy though are the problems Charlie is having with Rachel, the mother of his child. She is suing for sole custody of Sam but the girl has other plans. And then there's Jennifer; that's on a whole different plane.

The cast of characters is fleshed out with some interesting and wacky people along the way--there's the Collector, and Mother, gangsters, and a nosey neighbor, just to name a few.

Be prepared to not get much sleep till you finish this one. There's a couple of surprising twists at the end which make me say the Charlie Parker series just keeps getting better and better.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an arc of this thrilling new novel. ...more

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Feb 11, 2019 ☠Kayla☠ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: all-time-favorites

I absolutely LOVED this book! I found it at a discount store and didnt really look into it so I had no idea that this was the 15th book in the series. It wasnt till after I was almost finished with it that I decided to look up the author and discovered this books placement in the series. But I am very surprised, and in a good way, that I was able to enjoy this book and understand the story so well even though I didn't read the first 14. John Connelly is a brilliant writer who does an amazing job ...more

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Jun 20, 2017 Sue rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, paranormal-or-ghost-stories, read-2017, net-galley, thriller

John Connolly is an amazing writer and Charlie Parker a great creation. This outing contains so many aspects of the mystery, with supernatural overtones, that I appreciate, that it's difficult to know where to begin. First of course is Parker himself with his unconventional life, family and cohorts who might bristle under the title of friends. There is an unexplained disappearance, hints of otherworldly influences, (one of my favorite aspects in suspense novels), mysterious daughter(s). I do hav ...more

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Jan 16, 2018 Faith rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, overdrive, audio, reviewed

I'm not a huge fan of series, but I have read some of the other books in this series, including the last 3 books, and they seem to be trending more towards the paranormal and less towards the thriller genre, but maybe my memories of the earlier books are faulty. In any event, you shouldn't start reading this series unless you are prepared to devote a significant amount of time to it. The books have been slowly doling out a complicated and apparently endless mythology of spooky and extremely viol ...more

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Jul 07, 2017 Linda Strong rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: short-story-novella-2017, netgalley-2017, read-in-2017

I received only an excerpt .. Chapter 1 only ... of this latest Charlie Parker thriller.

Since I have not read all the previous books, I felt a little left out in the cold. And with only one chapter to read, there is a lot left to desire.

Charlie Parker meets his employer, Edgar Ross, an FBI Agent, in a restaurant in the middle of winter. Almost the entire first chapter is descriptive of the weather, and lamenting his numerous aches and pains and old wounds.

The two men have a drink and order thei ...more

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Apr 25, 2017 Brandon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, john-connolly, 2017, detective-books

At the conclusion of the eleventh book in the series, THE WRATH OF ANGELS, Parker came into contact with a list containing the names of many evil men and women. Following the discovery of this list, Parker connected with FBI Agent Ross, a man with whom Parker has since struck a deal. In exchange for selected pages over time, Parker is given impunity to seek out and hunt those named. Along with this negotiated freedom, Parker also receives a generous retainer in exchange for his services to Ross At the conclusion of the eleventh book in the series, THE WRATH OF ANGELS, Parker came into contact with a list containing the names of many evil men and women. Following the discovery of this list, Parker connected with FBI Agent Ross, a man with whom Parker has since struck a deal. In exchange for selected pages over time, Parker is given impunity to seek out and hunt those named. Along with this negotiated freedom, Parker also receives a generous retainer in exchange for his services to Ross and the FBI, albeit under the table.

Unfortunately, along with the retainer are requests from Ross for additional work. In A GAME OF GHOSTS, Parker is tasked with tracking down Jaycob Ecklund, a private investigator who recently went off the grid working a case for Ross. As Parker, along with Louis & Angel, begin digging into Ecklund’s life, they quickly become caught up in a web of organized crime, murder and the mysterious actions of a deadly cult that will stop at nothing to protect its anonymity.

A GAME OF GHOSTS, the fifteenth book in the series, is the most transformative since the above mentioned THE WRATH OF ANGELS. While dealing with a deadly cult is nothing new for Parker, there are several major moments that will irreparably alter the timeline. Although Connolly has crafted a rich world filled with deeply developed characters, it’s good to know he isn’t just content to coast and is willing to shake things up when needed. I wish I could spill the beans about one of the several shocking events, but I’d ruin it for fans of the series seeing as it hasn’t even been released in North America yet (I nabbed the early UK release).

As far as supernatural activity goes, on a scale of one to ten, if the first novel in the series was a one, then A GAME OF GHOSTS is an eleven. Over the course of the series, Connolly has slowly ratcheted up the scare-factor with each passing entry. Now, at book fifteen, we’re seeing Connolly throw realism completely out the window. While I can remember being hesitant initially with this gradual change in direction, I’ve come to alter my opinion as it helps the series stick out and feel different in a sea of thrillers.

I am forever grateful to Mr. Connolly for providing his readers with a new installment of Charlie Parker’s story every single year. There are not many authors who can do that yet still keep the quality of their work at such a high level. I’d lament about having to wait a whole year for the next book but then I think of George R.R. Martin fans and well.. it could be much worse. ...more

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Jul 11, 2017 Gatorman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Another exceptional entry in the Charlie Parker series with Charlie investigating the disappearance of a private investigator at the request of the FBI man Ross, with a mysterious group known as The Brethren working its way into the mystery. All of the familiar characters are present in this one and the story contains some surprising developments for important characters. Further proof as to why this is the best series out there and Connolly is the best thriller writer alive, bar none. If you're ...more

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May 12, 2017 Bill rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

John Connolly is really at the top of his game with “A Game of Ghosts". Hands down, the best supernatural thriller series out there. I am always bummed when I finish the latest in the series and have to wait for the next release. I want it now.

...more

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Jul 24, 2017 Truman32 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Howard “Nippy Zippy” Berg is widely considered to be the fastest reader of all time. Like an alien from deep outer space, or a mutant that has obtained the next level of human evolution, Berg is able to read a blazing 25,000 words per minute. Yet when John Connolly releases a new addition to his Charlie Parker detective series, I feel I have the Nippy Zippy beaten by a good several thousand words!

There is just something about Connolly’s Parker thrillers that makes me go full throttle through the Howard “Nippy Zippy” Berg is widely considered to be the fastest reader of all time. Like an alien from deep outer space, or a mutant that has obtained the next level of human evolution, Berg is able to read a blazing 25,000 words per minute. Yet when John Connolly releases a new addition to his Charlie Parker detective series, I feel I have the Nippy Zippy beaten by a good several thousand words!

There is just something about Connolly’s Parker thrillers that makes me go full throttle through the pages, all sense of well-being, conditioning, decorum or modesty be damned!

A Game of Ghosts, the 15th book in this exceptional series is no different. As always, the riveting plot sucked me right in and soon I was dashing through the story at a turbocharged pace. As I bolted through the pages, trying to find the whereabouts of the missing detective Parker and his cahoots: Angel, Louis, and the Collector were seeking, I made the classic rookie mistake and blew out the IT band in my left eyeball. I had been suffering eyeball fasciitis previously for several months (having to use my peeper foam roller every morning when I got up and every evening before bed), but I guess I still think I’m a young man. Invincible when it comes to gripping thrillers. Well, I’m not.

Parker is enlisted by his contact in the F.B.I to seek out a missing P.I., Jaycob Eklund. Eklund has been investigating a number of homicides where the victims had seen ghosts in the days before their untimely demise. These murders have stretched for decades, yet the ghosts that had been detected all look strikingly similar.

The Parker novels have great dialogue, a wonderful attention to setting (oddly I seem to have visited/lived in several of the sites visited in the series –I’m looking at you Natick!)that really plants you in the locale. Strong spooky mysteries, and a satisfying sense of retribution (like a prizefight, there is a sense of a buildup between two fighters in these stories. Atonement will be served!) are staples of the series. And this all holds true for Game of Ghosts.

While the Parker stories have 15 volumes of mythology and deep underlying questions that would make even George R.R. Martin come up with wild fan theories, one dose not really need to have read the other volumes to enjoy A Game of Ghosts. Which brings me to my only criticism with the novel. Connolly has teased and enticed us for years with these mysteries regarding his characters, yet has been very greedy in sharing any answers. I feel like the testicles of a high school virgin on Prom night after his date abruptly leaves the hotel after party. Stop the teasing now. We need some answers, Connolly, I’m turning blue here!!!!

Still, A Game of Ghosts was a great read that finished much too quickly (even with my damaged eyeballs).
...more

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Oct 22, 2020 Obsidian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Thought this was very well done and is showing that things seem to be coming to a head with Charlie Parker and crew.

"A Game of Ghosts" follows Charlie after he is asked by Agent Ross to look into the disappearance of another PI named Jaycob Eklund. Ross won't say what Eklund was looking into for him, but he uses this potential case to demand that Charlie turn over the pages that he has from the list that he obtained back in The Wrath of Angels. Charlie, Angel, and Louis investigate and realize ...more

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Jun 01, 2017 Michael Hicks rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, mystery-thriller-crime-suspense, netgalley

After taking a backseat for much of the prior book's narrative, PI Charlie Parker returns as the central focus to A Game of Ghosts. Escaping into the works of John Connolly is always a welcome retreat for me, although this fifteenth entry into this author's eponymous detective series fell a bit flat for me.

Still recovering, and likely permanently diminished, from the attempt on his life a few books back, Parker is back in action and tasked with locating a missing private eye, Jaykob Ecklund. Thi After taking a backseat for much of the prior book's narrative, PI Charlie Parker returns as the central focus to A Game of Ghosts. Escaping into the works of John Connolly is always a welcome retreat for me, although this fifteenth entry into this author's eponymous detective series fell a bit flat for me.

Still recovering, and likely permanently diminished, from the attempt on his life a few books back, Parker is back in action and tasked with locating a missing private eye, Jaykob Ecklund. This investigation leads Parker to The Brethren, a familial organization looking to keep its existence secret.

The Brethren also makes this the third book, out of the last four, in which a small, tightly-knit community-type band of sociopaths and psychotics are the central antagonists, following the far more dangerous members of Prosperity, ME from The Wolf In Winter and last year's cultish members of The Cut featured in a A Time of Torment. While there are some cool supernatural aspects behind The Brethren and the psychic visions the females of this line possess, the group are fairly weak villains taken as a whole.

On a narrative front, the story itself is a bit too complicated than is necessary, bulkier than it should be, and more than a smidge unsatisfying in its resolution. Connolly loads in a handful of secondary and tertiary characters, including a whole other subplot about the son of a deceased mob boss looking to make inroads into the heroine trade. Ultimately, this latter is a wholly superfluous addition to a narrative that already's stuffed with questionable motives, a series of homicides that may or may not be related either to one another or even the plot as a whole, and everybody's neighbors.

On the bright side, Connolly does inject a few surprising shake-ups, including the death of well-established character, and a final twist that puts an extra shade of gray on all that preceded it. The writing is grand, even if the story it services may not be the best, and the usual Parker series staples are on hand - good camaraderie, wry observations, witty dialogue, and enough subtle threats to make you feel mobbed up until the final page.

[Note: I received an advanced copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.] ...more

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Jun 24, 2017 Chris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-reads, arcs, mystery-thriller

I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite mystery series with a supernatural element that started out low key in earlier installments and has come more and more to the forefront. Clearly, we are building toward a big confrontation with a barely described demonic entity and stage is being set for the showdown.

In A Game of Ghosts Charlie Parker, Louis, and Angel have been hired to locate a missing private inves I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite mystery series with a supernatural element that started out low key in earlier installments and has come more and more to the forefront. Clearly, we are building toward a big confrontation with a barely described demonic entity and stage is being set for the showdown.

In A Game of Ghosts Charlie Parker, Louis, and Angel have been hired to locate a missing private investigator who handles cases for the FBI that are too otherworldly for the regular agents to handle. When he goes missing Parker and company is really the only team for the job of tracking him down and bringing him home—if he is still alive, that is. Unlike his predecessor, who worked alone, Parker has the advantage in that he always brings Louis and Angel with him—two guys that always believe in bringing a submachine gun to a knife fight.

And if that trio is not formidable enough (and they are, make no mistake), Charlie brings supernatural weapons as well. He is guarded by his dead wife and daughter. Meeting up with them is very unpleasant if you plan on trying to harm Parker. Also, reprising his continuing role, is the Collector, trailing smoke and the shadows of evil men and collecting up Charlie’s enemies who have corrupted their souls enough to get his attention and feeding them to his hollow men. He follows Parker and always keeps the playing field more or less even, although Charlie and company are the odds on favorite in any fight.

This is a “middle” book. As much fun as it is, I feel that it is setting the stage for something bigger to come. And that something involves Charlie’s daughter Sam . If Charlie and his crew are dangerous, Sam is an outright game changer. You get hints of her ability in earlier installments and any character that attempts to attack her or her father is very quickly overmatched. She is being saved, however, I think, for when the heavy hitter arrives. I feel that we have only examined the tip of the ice berg with her.

Fair warining: This is the 15th book in a series and I cannot recommend strongly enough starting at the beginning. There are many references to events from the past, all the way back to the very first book. Knowing the background on these wonderful characters and their carefully constructed story arcs brings much more enjoyment than starting in a later volume and then trying to catch up. These are not stand alone novels in my view. ...more

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Jul 10, 2017 Taryn marked it as read-no-stats · review of another edition

Shelves: received-from-publisher, netgalley, sampler

These are my thoughts after reading the six-page first chapter.

Private detective Charlie Parker ruminates about his past as he walks the snowy streets of Portland, Maine. His body has been through the wringer. He's scheduled to meet with FBI agent Edgar Ross at a bar, but he doesn't know why he's been summoned. He doesn't seem to fully trust the man, because he has backup guys listening in.

This is my first experience with John Connolly and the Charlie Parker series. The first chapter was too sho ...more

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May 30, 2017 Raj rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Classic Connolly as always! You'd be treated to all your favorite characters, and more. Don't want to give away spoilers , but news awaits hardcore fans of the series in terms of one of the regular Characters........ - there, thats all I'll say!

Enjoy the ride! Eagerly awaiting the next installment. ...more

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Jul 04, 2020 Fiona rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: cold-is-cool, ghost-stories, detectives

A Game of Ghosts felt like a turn on the path towards the books in this series that I've really loved. Less disconnected from it's protagonist, more gorgeous writing on the settings, particularly towards the start, and more of the soul that made this series so able to counteract the very dark acts it introduces.

It's not all good news - there's possibly one too many story threads here, though John Connolly holds them together better than any number of other writers could have. It's not quite mudd ...more

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Aug 22, 2017 Jeanette rated it liked it · review of another edition

John Connolly is a decathlon writer. There are at least 10 different skills he excels at and which are demonstrated here. A thriller, a mystery, a viscous cabal from several dimensions, a criminal mob, a trio of investigators and their employer, FBI tangents, educational prof., psychics which exist all over the place and one who is spacing out at his furniture sales work as he views these things, neighborhood community block group and nosy neighbor set- and that's just the main characters. There John Connolly is a decathlon writer. There are at least 10 different skills he excels at and which are demonstrated here. A thriller, a mystery, a viscous cabal from several dimensions, a criminal mob, a trio of investigators and their employer, FBI tangents, educational prof., psychics which exist all over the place and one who is spacing out at his furniture sales work as he views these things, neighborhood community block group and nosy neighbor set- and that's just the main characters. There's a whole lot going on here. I haven't even mentioned some of the more cut to type under characters. Like Philip the insane. Or ones that have generic names only; like the one called The Collector.

Does it keep your interest? OH YES! And the cliff hangers continually make it hard to end that "read for the day" or "hour". Where to stop? Is it long? VERY!

And is it chewy as a moderate Stephen King. Absolutely! More so. The body count is beyond anything I've read in this genre for eons. It's as bad as Chicago was last weekend, an "off" one in August- with 63 shot in just a few neighborhoods on the Southside. And they are worried/concerned or offended about stone statues? That's how ridiculous to actual life reality in any sense this book becomes. As well as the absurdity of the Brethren that you have to swallow as possible. For any reader? Well I'd say the horror loving crowd would like this one as much or more than the thriller or mystery people would. Or maybe just all those who like red, mutilated, and burned to black the most.

It seems, like within a Stephen King and his entities in the sewers, people enjoy believing in the Boogie Man and his/her associates. If you know your Bible you will recognize the Archangel in this one.

But I can't say I didn't enjoy this book. Because he is that skilled at plotting and melodrama writing within the Parker series. Much better than the perils of Pauline interludes that used to be linked at theaters to get you to come back "next week". You are entrapped. Within the short, clipped sentences and hundreds of mini rotating chapters. Perfect for the minute tech attention span users too, come to think of it.

A Mother that is anything but. A daughter to Parker that has a skill set which is expanding. And a body count that goes into the dozens times two. Most of them in present time telling but many also in the past of those relating memory. Or of finding bodies, or what is left of them by the ghosts.

This is NOT a book you want to read if you avoid all occult, demon, or psychic evils. Possibly not even if you are in the Theresa Caputo crowd.

I'm going to stick to Bosch with the other Connolly. I left Parker many books ago and wondered why. Now I know. As if there aren't mutilations and horrors enough in this actual and natural Earth world conducted by both animals and humans within world wide news reality. ...more

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Apr 30, 2017 Rowena Hoseason rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

This is the 15th outing for Connolly's PI turned supernatural avenger, and once again Charlie Parker confronts the latest cult of ancient evil to come crawling out of the undergrowth. Like all the best series, the Parker saga is being told in slow time and the overall arc creeps forward infinitesimally with each episode. Connolly delivers a self-contained good vs evil narrative in each book… while dropping huge great hints at what’s really going on with Parker’s mission, his cohorts, and his inc This is the 15th outing for Connolly's PI turned supernatural avenger, and once again Charlie Parker confronts the latest cult of ancient evil to come crawling out of the undergrowth. Like all the best series, the Parker saga is being told in slow time and the overall arc creeps forward infinitesimally with each episode. Connolly delivers a self-contained good vs evil narrative in each book… while dropping huge great hints at what’s really going on with Parker’s mission, his cohorts, and his increasingly intimidating, otherworldly daughter.

‘Ghosts’ also does some sneakily sophisticated things which can be obscured by the page-turning pace of the plot. It delivers the comfortable familiarity of a cracking cast of characters, offset by the unsettling strangeness which has become keynote of this series. It explores the gruesome violence of sinister religions, the insidious evil which hides in small-town society, bakes cakes on Saturday, attends church on Sunday, and mass murders on Monday.

Simultaneously, Connolly provides a social commentary about the tricky business of marital divorce and disputed child custody.

He’s also a dab hand with dialogue. There’s a splendid scene in a diner featuring detective Charlie, hitman Louis and his scruffy, loveable and lethal partner, Angel. The situation is perfectly observed and adroitly delivered: a subtle snapshot of human empathy, full of warmth, humour and stark mortality, deftly smuggled into the subtext of genre fiction.

If you’re new to John Connolly and don’t like deviations into the unexplained then you should probably starts back at the beginning of the Charlie Parker series – see if you like the cut of his jib before things wander into the twilight zone. Similarly, those readers who want more old-fashioned detecting and less evil incarnate are likely to be frustrated by the obvious aspects of the uncanny ‘Ghosts.’ Can I suggest you try Steve Hamilton, Giles Blunt, John Sandford or Stephen Hunter instead?

But if like me you relish the writing and the ride, then sit back and relax. You're in good hands.
9/10

You'll find more reviews about crime thrillers over at http://www.murdermayhemandmore.net ...more

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Apr 22, 2017 Mark rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: john-connolly, 2017, charlie-parker, irish-writer, dark-tales

Another year and another excellent installment in a new Charlie Parker installment and I must admit John Connolly did deliver once again in an excellent novel that read as easily as usual and the story was as exciting as always and yet light on its feet like a boxer floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.

Charlie Parker is on some sort of pay-list for somebody in the FBI who really wants the list that Parker has but satisfies himself with having Parker doing a search for a missing PI w Another year and another excellent installment in a new Charlie Parker installment and I must admit John Connolly did deliver once again in an excellent novel that read as easily as usual and the story was as exciting as always and yet light on its feet like a boxer floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.

Charlie Parker is on some sort of pay-list for somebody in the FBI who really wants the list that Parker has but satisfies himself with having Parker doing a search for a missing PI who also did the occasional work for some people.
Parker once again crosses the path of some ancient evil in the guise of men and women that pray on the innocent and have made the mistake crossing the path of an interested partner of a certain federal organisation.
Parker and his daughter Sam also have to find a way to make sure that Rachel, Parkers old partner and mother of his daughter, does not do the unthinkable and take her away form Parkers life. Even if Parker does understand why she should do such a thing considering the mess his daughter ended up last novel. But Sam and Parkers dead daughter Jennifer have an idea of their own concerning this matter.
Anyhow when Parker goes looking for the missing PI he kicks a hornets nest that starts a cascade of situations that will will end in a showdown of evil versus good in which Louis & angel do their part as does this dark fellow called "the Collector"and his hollow men.

And again a captivating read that will keep you reading until you are done and realize there is another year of waiting the next installment of the series in which you know an important part will be played by Louis & Angel, Parkers friends and partners in good.

If you read this review and want to read the book, my advise to you is seek out number one and read them in sequence and you will savor this novel even better with all the insight you will have. And believe me I am jealous of you discovering such a grand series of thrillers that will certainly enchant you 15 books long and a sixteenth forthcoming.

Well advised to friend and enemies alike. ...more

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About John Connolly

John Connolly

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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 ...more

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Quotes from El frío de la muerte

“Families,” said Angel, with some feeling. “Can’t live with them, can’t have them killed without complications.” — 7 likes

“Then again, maybe nostalgia was an understandable response to a world that appeared to be going all to hell, as long as everyone remembered that the past was a nice place to visit but nobody should want to settle in it. One” — 2 likes

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