The Killing Kind (Hardcover)

by John Connolly (Author) "IT WAS SPRING, AND COLOR had returned to the world..." (more)
Key Phrases: honeycomb world, postgraduate thesis, Grace Peltier, Carter Paragon, Marcy Becker (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Move over, Spider-Man. Arachnophobes, proceed at your own peril. Elias Pudd, the archfiend in Connolly's masterful third suspense novel (following Every Dead Thing and Dark Hollow) finds such grizzly uses for spiders of all, er, stripes that he makes that dastardly villain Hannibal Lecter seem like Little Lord Fauntleroy. Pudd, however, is just one in a splendidly drawn cast that propels this gripping, intricately plotted tale. When a road crew in northern Maine accidentally unearths a grave site, the bodies turn out to be members of the Aroostook Baptists, a cultlike religious group whose members disappeared in the 1960s. Meanwhile, private investigator Charlie Parker (from the earlier novels) is hired to investigate the suspicious suicide of Grace Peltier, who was working on a graduate thesis concerning-guess what?-the Aroostook Baptists. Further muddying the waters is the Fellowship, a group led by the supremely unctuous Carter Paragon (nee Chester Quincy Deedes, "the name on his birth certificate and his criminal record"), which turns out to be far more sinister than anyone realized. From Connolly's opening words-"This is a honeycomb world. It hides a hollow heart"-it's clear that this is no ordinary thriller; indeed, his random musings on the manifestations of evil, coupled with Parker's visions and flashbacks, lend the book a dark, intriguing overlay. Lest things become too intense, however, the author's wry sense of humor easily lightens the situation, often harking back to earlier noir writers: "she had the kind of body that caused highway pileups after Sunday services." In his novel's acknowledgments, Connolly modestly writes, "As each novel progresses, the depths of my ignorance become more and more apparent." Also becoming more apparent are the depths of this author's psychological acumen, literary skills and prodigious creativity.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
After Every Dead Thing and Dark Hollow, Connolly's damaged P.I. Charlie Parker is back in his third foray into an underworld populated with cruel villains and criminal psychopaths. Parker is a singularly tortured individual who not only sees dead people but feels compelled to seek retribution for their deaths on their behalf. This time around, he is hired to find the killer of a graduate student who had been researching a fundamentalist sect that disappeared into the backwoods of Maine 40 years before. Parker's investigations, ranging from Maine to New York City, draw the ire of some very bad people, who come after him armed with guns, Bibles, and spiders. The Dublin-based Connolly has again written a compelling story full of sadistic bad guys, moral ambiguity, and some serious violence. But he manages to offset some of the unpleasantness with occasional one-liners that manage not to minimize the perversity but make the characters who must deal with it seem more human. Recommended for most popular fiction collections. Lisa Bier, Southern Connecticut State Univ., New Haven
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Atria (September 3, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743453344
• ISBN-13: 978-0743453349
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #292,146 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another 5 Star From A Gifted Writer, October 12, 2002

By	John G. Gleeson Sr. (Frederic, Mi USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

John Connolly is one fine writer: not only are plot and characters exceptionally well done, but his prose style is close to poetic. I re-read sections simply because the style was so grand. And he improves with each book. His protagonist in all three books is Charlie Parker, an ex-cop who left the force when his wife and child were brutally murdered in Connolly's first book, "Every Dead Thing". Characters introduced in this book follow through all three, so while "The Killing Kind" can be read on its own, many of the references to Parker's past can be better understood by a reading of the previous books. Which ain't all bad, folks, because, as I've said, this is one fine writer. Here, Parker is investigating the death of a young woman who was conducting research into a religious cult. No plot giveaways from your friendly reviewer, but be advised that the bad guy, "Mr. Pudd" is REALLY scary, and the uncertainty of the outcome persists to the very last page. I cannot recommend this book too much or praise Connolly's skills too highly. It's a "great read". And for fans, be advised that the fourth Parker novel, "The White Road", is available now from Amazon.com.uk. Trust me on this one, guys; enjoyment is guaranteed.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new hope!, February 6, 2003

By	Robert Stotzky "luciferbol" (Gothenburg, Sweden) - See all my reviews

I have a confession to make. I am a murderer. I killed my love for the detctive story by reading too many novels that were just too bad. I never thought I'd appreciate a crime novelist the way I did Ed McBain when I was younger. And then along came John Connolly, creeping up on me, hiding in the shadows, lurking, and then attacking without warning.

This is the best crime novel I have read in years, for two reasons. First of all, the language is exquisite. Connolly writes like a poet, and the first few pages where he described the "honeycomb world" is worth the price of the book alone.

Second of all, Charlie Parker, the main character. With a dry cynicism as sharp as his wit, he delivers one-liners one after one. I found myself going back to re-read passages many times during the course of this book, for the humour alone. But this is not a funny book, not at all.

I won't tell you any more about the story, as it deserves to develop on its own when you read it. Let me just warn you that the ending is not at all as good as the rest of the book, and that did make me sad. The last ten or so pages are standard Hollywood-drama, and lack the originality the reader has been spoiled with during the course of the novel.

Still, Connolly pulls it off.

"The Killing Kind", approved!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Less gunfire, more terrifying anyway, February 19, 2004

By	David W. Nicholas (Montrose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Killing Kind (Mass Market Paperback)

The first two Charlier Parker novels, by Irish journalist John Connolly, were violent and very disturbing, pocked with gunfire and dead bodies, and visions of horrors from the afterlife. Parker himself is a strange, tortured soul, who can see those who have been killed violently, so that he can't ignore them and return to his quiet life. This third Parker book is even nastier in some ways: the author has managed to make things even more sinister by making the violence more dramatic, more creepy, more hidden.

In this installment, Parker's relegated himself to watching wayward husbands and doing boring industrial security work. He imagines that his presence somehow makes violent people worse, or perhaps brings them out of the woodwork. He's patched up his relationship with Rachel and made peace with the world, and now is trying to make ends meet without killing anyone. This reverie is disturbed by Jack Mercier, a retired senator who is wealthy and wishes to hire Parker to investigate a murder. Initially reluctant, Parker becomes engrossed in the case and those who quickly become suspects, largely a strange, reclusive cult of religious fanatics called The Fellowship. They appear outrageous and silly, not particularly dangerous if repugnant in their beliefs (which range from anti-abortion to anti-semitism) and somewhat nuts. Parker suspects something deeper, and soon discovers that he's right.

The book travels from there, with a plethora of wonderful characters, from a mob boss to a very different porn producer to a Jewish assassin with no face to a bad guy with a strange fascination for spiders. All are drawn interestingly, with wonderful dialog and mannerisms, and prose that makes you think this might even be poetry.

I enjoyed the first two Charlier Parker novels a great deal. This third one isn't anywhere near as violent and bloody as the first two, but given the haunting images that the author paints as he writes his books, the shootouts aren't really needed. Instead, the murky atmosphere almost makes this into a Clive Barker novel, without the supernatural nasties. Instead, your skin crawls from spiders and strange characters who've been killing for decades. For me that's more affecting, not less.