Title: The Black Angel
Author: John Connolly
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd
Review by: Vanessa Finaughty

Author of the number one best-seller The Black Angel, John Connolly has outdone himself this time. The complex plot woven around interesting characters, some with rather distressing backgrounds, makes for entertaining reading and some deep thinking.

The Black Angel tells the story of a strange group of people who have kidnapped the niece of professional hit man Louis – friend to private detective Charlie Parker. The kidnappers, having the misinformed idea that nobody cares for the kidnapped girl and that therefore nobody will come looking for her, are complacent. That is, until they realise their mistake and discover “the hard way” that Louis is a rather dangerous man who will stop at nothing, including murder, to find his niece.  

Detective Charlie Parker, against the wishes of his wife, endeavours to assist Louis in finding his niece and bringing her kidnappers to justice. Along the way, Parker discovers some altogether disturbing things about himself and his past.

Connolly seems to work a quiet magic with his words that allows him to easily get away with certain unmentionables that other writers may not be able to slip by the keen eyes of their editor. His writing style is refreshing and Connolly manages to keep my interest from beginning to end, to the point where I am even able to ignore abrupt changes in character point of view.

In my opinion The Dark Angel is a “must read”, and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good “whodunit” with a twist of the supernatural thrown in for good measure.