Review: The White Road (Charlie Parker #4)

5 stars. Oh man. So dark. So good. Feeling a little worn out by some of the similar themes and plot devices - oh no, is Rachel in danger again? - but I still absolutely devoured this, and delighted in the way things went so super disgusting, disturbing, and dare I say - demonic. 

The White Road actually opens with a familiar trope: Charlie Parker is called down to South Carolina to help an old friend, a lawyer, defend a young man accused of murdering his lover. The victim: a member of a wealthy and influential white family in Charleston. The accused: a poor Black kid from a rival family whose mother and aunt disappeared without a trace decades ago. 

Parker's investigation reveals way more than expected, including an evil that goes back farther than the crime. Meanwhile, the villain of the last book, Reverend Faulkner, puts in motion a plan to exact his revenge and avoid rotting in jail like he deserves.

Who is guilty, who is innocent; justice versus vengeance; monsters old and new and unlikely; shame; madness; human nature. If I had read this 15 years ago I probably would not have thought of it as political as I do now. It does not shy away from aspects of America that require uncomfortable but necessary examination. It feels especially harrowing today, as America slides backwards under our feet. On the other hand, it almost makes the ending that much more satisfying.

This series often comes recommended for fans of True Detective, but I have to say - I didn't really sense those vibes in the first 3. In The White Road, though: not only does Connolly immerse you in the deep South (impressively, for an Irishman), he makes you sit there for a while, mosquito-bitten, sweaty, suffocated by the hate and blood that poisons the land down there. It did remind me of TD, seasons 1 and 3 specifically, and I look forward to chewing on the themes that crisscross both works.

I've been so curious to see how Connolly makes the supernatural/paranormal elements more apparent as the series goes on. It could've so easily gone cheesy, or lame, or out-of-place. I was pleasantly surprised, and creeped out - in a good way. I also adored the connections to one of my favorite themes in "The Wasteland," Dante's Inferno, etc. This is literary horror first, everything else second. 

This book really does stand out as fairly spectacular on all levels, from the sentence structure/word choice to the intricate (I needed a visual character web) plotting and pacing to the vibrancy and vibes and to the overall storytelling. More than once I was reminded of a certain prolific horror author who does it better than anyone; who goes deep and wide, and dark. 

Yep, as I mentioned: super dark, super disturbing - on almost self-indulgent levels. Check TWs. You've been warned. I need a palette cleanser. 

The White Road on: Amazon | Bookshelf.org | Goodreads