ONE OF A KIND PRIVATE EYE WRITER: JOHN CONNOLLY'S CHILDREN OF EVE

With John Connolly's Charlie Parker series you never know what to expect with each book, The literally haunted detective never has any qualms about crossing into other genres and exploring the darkest places. This is especially true of his latest, Children Of Eve.

Zetta Nedeau, an artist friend of Charlie's with her own tragic history, hires him to find her missing boyfriend, Wyatt Riggins. The ex-soldier left her with little more than his cell phone with the message RUN texted to him.Charlie connects the marijuana dispensary Wyatt worked at to a mobster, Vaughn. Vaughn's feud with a cartel head leads Charlie into a conspiracy involving an antiquities dealer, a rural crime family that would feel comfortable in a Daniel Woodrell novel, kidnapped children, and a cold blooded fixer named Seely who may have his own agenda. Things become so dangerous that Parker not only has to pull in his usual lethal allies of Angel and Louis, but the off-the-rails Fulci Brothers as well.

Connolly may be the only one to pull off the idea of a modern private eye epic. The ancient relics, supernatural elements, and explosive action give a scope of broad adventure. Connolly then injects a noir tone and introspective characterization tones down the bravado and makes the truth, often vague, to be Charlie's true quest. The violent action has consequences and no one survives without a part of their soul getting tarnished.

As usual John Connolly serves up a complete meal of a book with Children Of Eve. He paints a gothic tone on a story that plunges you in and keeps you guessing with engaging action and characters. Now we wait to see how he surprises us next.