Review: The Whisperers (Charlie Parker #9)

4 stars. Still going strong! While I'm not able to perfectly recall every detail, character, or important piece of background from each book in this series, I can recall enough to 1) recognize the familiar tropes, patterns, and twists and 2) start putting the big picture together, which is super exciting. And also, it's just really darn fun to encounter old friends in new ways. Callbacks are fan service for a reason! It’s been interesting to discover all the benefits of a long series when I kind of almost expected drawbacks.

The Charlie Parker books, like a lot of mysteries, don't unfold in a linear fashion, but this one really takes the scenic route, so forgive me for this awkward summary: a group of Iraq War veterans, probably at the behest of an organized evil, establish a smuggling operation for antiquities looted in Baghdad. Included among the stolen items is an unassuming box that attracts the attention of a cancer-stricken man, Herod, who is guided, after suffering a near-death experience, by a terrifying noncorporeal entity he refers to as The Captain.

The box lands, along with other goods, in a shuttered motel near the Canadian border, as planned. But each of the soldiers involved starts to fray at the edges: they hear voices, whispers. They withdraw, and act out of character. Several die by their own hands. Meanwhile, the box has attracted the attention of someone else - The Collector. And this is when Charlie Parker gets involved. 

I picked a hell of a week to read a book about the costs of war, but here we are. It tackles head-on the topic of PTSD, specifically the PTSD that plagued/plagues veterans of the Iraq War in the 2000s. Surprise, surprise - there was/is very little tangible support, or relief. It was a complicated conflict with complicated outcomes, many of which we are still learning. And perpetuating, literally today. America is infuriating, often. But John Connolly specifically states in the intro that he didn't want The Whisperers to be preachy (he sort of failed), so I don't want this review to be preachy either (I sort of failed also). 

Turning back to the story: I alluded to this above, but this one does seem, compared to the others, a little extra meandering and overstuffed. A little challenging to track. Someone should make a wiki for this universe! I would reference often! I docked a star for that. But I gave one back because I absolutely loved the moments of horror. Connolly leans in to the scary big time - we even get a creepy clown, as a treat - and I ate it all up.

It's strange to think that these books - intensely dark and disturbing as they are - are comforting, but they are. Almost a happy place. With this one I actually felt tempted to dive into the next one immediately, instead of reading a typical palette cleanser. The ending teases something really crunchy and awesome and I just know poor Charlie Parker has more monsters heading his way. I can’t wait to see how he fights them.

The Whisperers on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | Storygraph