The Unquiet: a novel by John Connolly

Not your ordinary thriller**** August 22, 2007

This is the first John Connolly novel I have read. I found it stangely dark and filled with foreboding. It's part murder mystery, horror story, with a strong tinge of the supernatural. PI Charlie Parker is haunted by memories of his dead wife and daughter and his separation from his current love and daughter. He is hired by Rebecca Clay to scare off a stalker. The stalker, Frank Merrick, is himself a haunted individual. He is a killer by profession who was recently released from prison and sets out to track down his missing daughter and those who may have abused and killed her. Parker's investigation mushrooms as he begins to trace the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Rebecca's father, psychiatrist Daniel Clay, the allegations of child abuse surrounding him, and his strange circle of associates. Hovering on the fringes is a cigerette-puffing man known as the Collector. Associated with the Collector are a mysterious group known as the Hollow Men who seem to be doing penance caught halfway between this world and the next. This novel is not my usual cup of tea but nonetheless I found it intriguing.