Bad Men: A Thriller (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "The giant knelt down and watched the gull's beak open and close..." (more)
Key Phrases: boat guy, Joe Dupree, Carl Lubey, Dutch Island (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The long-dead, gray-skinned wraiths Connolly conjures up in this thriller with a supernatural twist are lighthearted sprites compared to the grotesque humans who maim, rape and kill their way through the gore-clotted story of horror and revenge. Connolly's usual protagonist, Charlie "Bird" Parker (The White Road; Dark Hollow; Every Dead Thing), makes only a brief appearance here, for which he should give heartfelt thanks. Off the coast of Maine, Dutch Island, known to the old-timers as Sanctuary, is cursed by the spirits of those who died in a savage slaughter there in the year 1693. In the present day, imprisoned murderer Edward Moloch dreams of an ancient land where he is a hunter bent on the massacre of his wife and the inhabitants of a small village. Moloch, the worst of the bad men of the title, escapes from prison and leaves a trail of mutilated victims behind as he searches for the wife who several years earlier betrayed him to police to escape his brutality. On Dutch Island, longtime native Joe Dupree, known as Melancholy Joe, is the oversize (7' 2" and 360 pounds) but gentle chief of police. He's developed a fondness for beautiful newcomer Marianne Elliott, and the feeling is mutual. Unfortunately, Marianne is Moloch's ex-wife and Moloch's on his way, leading a small gang of other very bad men. It's a terrifying story, the action brutal, grotesque and unrelentingly violent. Horrified readers will turn the last blood-soaked page wondering if they would have begun the first had they known what was coming. Think Thomas Harris by way of Stephen King: haunting, compelling, but not for the faint of heart.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The author of the Charlie Parker mysteries heads off in a different direction in his new novel. The small island of Sanctuary, off the coast of Maine, was once the scene of a bloody massacre. Now, three centuries later, evil has again come to the island, a modern-day evil with strange, eerie connections to the events of the late 1600s. Do two police officers have even a remote chance of stopping the carnage? This is one of those novels that refuses to be pigeonholed. It's a thriller; it's a mystery; it's a tale of the supernatural (sort of). At its center is Joe Dupree, the (literal) gentle giant of a cop, a man whose kindness and compassion would appear to make him a bad choice to defend the citizens of Sanctuary from the marauding evil that approaches. This elegantly written good-versus-evil story will appeal not only to crime-fiction readers but also to fans of such high-profile horror authors as King and Koontz. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (April 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743487850
• ISBN-13: 978-0743487856
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #199,512 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Edward Moloch and his bed men are coming to Sanctuary, May 2, 2004

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Bad Men: A Thriller (Connolly, John) (Hardcover)

I suppose it is impossible to see similarities between John Connolly's "Bad Men" and the novels of Stephen King, not just because the main setting for this horror novel is an island in Maine, but more because the title characters really are bad men and they are joined in the festivities by some supernatural counterparts. But even with King's penchant for engaging in gross out gore, Connolly takes it to a level more akin to true crime books.

The novel's heroine, Marianne Elliott, was married to a psycho-killer named Edward Moloch that she betrayed to the police. He is in prison back in Virginia and even though they have thrown away the key Marianne has taken a new name, changed her look, and found herself on a remote Maine island called Sanctuary. However, it seems that way back in 1693 the island was overrun by a gang of "bad men" who raped and pillaged before they slaughtered the entire community. There is a feeling in Sanctuary, articulated by "Melancholy" Joe Dupree, the 7-foot-2-inch gentle giant who is the island's only police officer, that the massacre tainted the land. This seems a reasonable interpretation of events since any one who ends up wandering around in the forest near where the bones of the settlers are buried tend to meet mysterious deaths. Now giant gray moths are appearing all over the island and the ghostly figure of a little girl has been seen. All the signs suggest that something wicked will be coming this way.

Of course, that terms out to be Moloch. All these years in prison he has been spending his days obsessing about finding and butchering Marianne, but at night he is having dreams of the massacre on Sanctuary during colonial times. It also turns out that he has a fan club and in due course Moloch has his own gang of "bad men" that are moving north on a bloody killing spree taking heads and visiting other indecencies on their victims. The climax takes place on the requisite dark and stormy night on Sanctuary, where Marianne turns out to have some allies in welcoming her husband to her new home.

Ultimately the comparison that comes to mind by the time you finish this blood-drenched book is not Stephen King or Thomas Harris but Laurell K. Hamilton. Like Hamilton, Connoly's book will probably never be filmed because to do it right would be to mandate at least an NC-17 rating. If you can stomach the blood and gore, then you will fine "Bad Men" a good late-night read. The pace is brisk and each of the characters is made memorable, although some of them in a way you might prefer not to remember. I have not read any of Connolly's other novels featuring the Portland-based private eye Charlie Parker, which makes sense to me because if they were anything like this one I surely would have heard about him and his work because when you have somebody who can carry off this sort of a bloodbath word gets around.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Now, something was awake.", June 24, 2004

By	Sebastian Fernandez (Tampa, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Bad Men: A Thriller (Connolly, John) (Hardcover)

John Connolly delivers an impressive thriller, which I found almost impossible to put down after jumping into its exquisitely elaborated plot. He switches back and forth between the past and the present with ease, demonstrating his skills. Dutch Island is situated at a one and a half hour ferry ride from Portland, and it has been the setting of mysterious and unsettling events throughout its history. This is the setting for the marvelous story presented by Connolly.

In the late seventeenth century Indians consistently raided the various islands in the area outside of what is known today as Portland, pushing the white settlers away. But in 1691 thirty individuals arrived to Dutch Island, which at the time was also known as Sanctuary, and decided to give it a try. Bauer, one of the men that formed part of the group, was justly accused of attempting to rape another man's wife. When he asked his own wife for shelter against his pursuers she did not comply and he was captured. However, he was able to escape and he returned years later with renegade Indians as his "hired help" bringing mayhem to the village. After the horrible events that developed in the island, the ghosts of the dead were left behind to cohabitate with the living. Usually, they do not interact much with humans, but now something is growing, and some people in the island can feel it.

Connolly creates interesting and well-developed characters, like the giant Joe Dupree, seven feet two inches and three hundred and sixty pounds, who is in charge of the police department in Dutch Island. He is courting Marianne, a woman who has some secrets in store, but he also has some secrets of his own. Moloch is sitting in jail awaiting his forced appearance before the Grand Jury, and knowing that when that happens he will be facing charges that deserve the capital punishment. When he sleeps, he has disturbing dreams, in which he leads a gang of renegade Indians into an island in search for his wife who had betrayed him. Finally, there are a couple of other characters that add flavor to the mix: Jack, a painter with little talent, but whose paintings evolve after he is done with them, and Richie, a twenty-five-year-old "kid" who has the ability to see unnatural events unfold.

It is reinvigorating to find authors that besides creating exciting stories that keep you reading all night, possess the gift of writing. This is the case of John Connolly, who not only leads us towards the end of the story with a fast-paced plot full of suspense, but who also knows how to make us enjoy the ride to get there.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget what you know about thrillers!, March 14, 2004

By	jim munchel (Wormleysburg, Pa.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Men: A Thriller (Connolly, John) (Hardcover)

Forget what you know about thrillers or for that matter horror novels. Mr. John Connolly has re-written the book and broken all the rules. The result is a novel of exquisite horror and 'down to the bone' suspense.
Being a fan of the horror and thriller genre for more years than I care to say.....BAD MEN is the pinnacle of blending a story of revenge with a tale of redemtion and survival on a small island off the coast of Maine. Known many years ago as 'Sanctuary' this island is the home to ordinary people living out their daily existance unaware that a group of human demons are on their way to exact revenge and claim 'what is theirs' and no one will stand in their way.
The lead BAD MEN named Moloch is a creation from Mr. Connolly who in the past has brought readers villians such as Mr. Pudd from THE KILLING KIND and the evil Caleb Kyle from DARK HOLLOW. Both Charlie Parker novels.
BAD MEN is a departure for Mr. Connolly and a stand alone novel. But readers will note that Charlie Parker does make a cameo.
I don't want to give too much away. So, sit back forget all you know about 'what scares you' and delve into a novel that blends the best of everything.....the undead, cannibalism, adultery, compassion, honor and revenge.
As it has been said: "Sanctuary does not always mean safety"!