Review: The Wolf in Winter (Charlie Parker #12)

4 stars. This series tells some fascinating stories of different shapes and sizes. I normally prefer consistency, but I appreciate the variety here: some are more focused on Charlie, some on his associates; some are more focused on the crime or mystery at hand with Charlie as a secondary character; some are more horror, others more procedural; some are cut-and-dry as a bone while others include supernatural components. I guess I'm trying to communicate what to expect, but it's also an observation around why I think this series is so successful: it keeps things interesting.

The Wolf in Winter zooms in on a small town in Maine called Prosperous. The town has experienced good fortune over the years, despite economic downturn and global conflict, thanks to the inhabitants' commitment to an old god who demands a lot more than worship every Sunday. When a girl goes missing, Charlie Parker gets involved, poking his nose in the dark corners of a church with strange carvings and inviting a lot more trouble than usual. 

Connolly pays a lot of attention to Prosperous itself - its residents, its enforcers, its crimes. It's not exactly the most unique premise, but I found the power squabbles, tensions, and clashing personalities endlessly fascinating. We have an anti-hero, of sorts, bumping up against an egomaniac pseudo-pastor, decision makers who enjoy the bloodshed a little too much, and one of the best and most irritating villains in the series - their leader. There are echoes of The Lottery in the bureaucracy of it all. I really, really enjoyed this aspect of the story. And The Green Man is always, always, always of interest, to me.

That being said, I had to dock a star for a UDD (or a UWD as it were), and because - despite being pretty tight and shorter than other Parker books - it could've used maybe a bit more editing/less meandering. But that's par for the course here and I was immersed, as usual, in the unexpected familiar and safe space that is Parker's world. It's less of a whodunnit but the way these characters orbit each other had me chomping at the bit to find out what happens next. Also, I know I've thrown my support behind this series being adapted before, but SERIOUSLY, THIS IS THE ONE. 

The Wolf in Winter on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads | StoryGraph