I am glad to see a book by John Connolly that centers on Louis and Angel. They have always played a large part of the Parker novels, but I have found them to be fascinating characters. Connolly gives a lot of back story regarding Louis and Angel and makes them o much more than just hired guns. As always, I enjoy the way Connolly writes and his unique turn of a phrase when describing violence especially. This is a really good read (not great - I reserve that rating for outstanding books), but this should satisfy anyone looking to expand what they know about the underbelly of crime.

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This book is well worth reading. Those who are fans of John Sanford and the like will enjoy it. The fact that the prime character is a gay, black man is handled with no prejudice whatsoever, which is as it should be. There are no sexual scenes since they would have added nothing to the story and were not necessary. The story itself was riveting enough to keep me reading several times past the time I should have put the book down and tended to my own business. To me, that's the sign of a really good read. So, I can recommend this book without reservation to anyone to who likes adventure filled crime novels. You will not be disappointed.

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Those familiar with John Connolly's Charlie Parker series are already acquainted with Louis & Angel; a hitman and burglar respectively, they usually serve as secondary characters to Parker's lead. In The Reapers, Louis and Angel finally take center stage and the result is... mixed.

While I enjoyed the book tremendously, being a big fan of Angel I couldn't help but come away somewhat disappointed at the lack of attention given to his character's history. Louis' youth and path to becoming a hitman, a Reaper, is explored beautifully and extensively, yet we were given nothing more about Angel in this offering than had already been alluded to in previous Parker outings.

Angel is such an interesting character in the way that he often serves as a bridge between Parker and Louis, as well as acts as Louis' conscience on occasion, more about him and his history would have been more than welcomed.

Still, the story, which revolves around an event from Louis' early years as a Reaper coming back to haunt him, is strong (duh, it's Connolly) and the little appetizer tastes of Louis and Angel we normally have to settle for are finally served up here as a satisfying full course meal.

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I enjoyed this one quite a bit - perhaps not quite as much as the others because the role played by Charlie was so small, but a Louis and Angel story is always good fun. It was certainly suspenseful. It was also sadder than the others in many ways. Again, I can't wait to see what type of adventures the next book will bring.

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I must've been trying to read a different book--after 100 pages I was just confused--I don't know what was going on at all, it kept switching back and forth until I just gave up, books that can't stick with just one storyline and have to have another going in italics just don't interest me as they seem to just drag out and are boring and too much to try to keep up with, don't know that I'll try anymore of the Parker series.

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Those familiar with John Connolly's Charlie Parker series are already acquainted with Louis & Angel; a hitman and burglar respectively, they usually serve as secondary characters to Parker's lead. In The Reapers, Louis and Angel finally take center stage and the result is... mixed.

While I enjoyed the book tremendously, being a big fan of Angel I couldn't help but come away somewhat disappointed at the lack of attention given to his character's history. Louis' youth and path to becoming a hitman, a Reaper, is explored beautifully and extensively, yet we were given nothing more about Angel in this offering than had already been alluded to in previous Parker outings.

Angel is such an interesting character in the way that he often serves as a bridge between Parker and Louis, as well as acts as Louis' conscience on occasion, more about him and his history would have been more than welcomed.

Still, the story, which revolves around an event from Louis' early years as a Reaper coming back to haunt him, is strong (duh, it's Connolly) and the little appetizer tastes of Louis and Angel we normally have to settle for are finally served up here as a satisfying full course meal.

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This seventh book in the Charlie Parker series really wasn't about Parker at all. Instead, the focus was on Louis and Angel, specifically on Louis and how his past comes back to try to wreck vengeance on him. The novel delves deep into Louis's past including how his father had been hung and burned by some racists in South Carolina when Louis was a boy. (Louis later gets vengeance on these men as described in The White Road. And then later Louis gets revenge on a man who killed his mother by concocting an explosive which blows up in the man's face when he blows his whistle. This brings Louis to the attention of a man called Gabriel and an organization of killers called The Reapers. Louis is honed and trained by Gabriel and this group but one of his kills is not forgotten by those seeking retribution against Louis. He and Angel are drawn into a trap and towards the end Parker does show up to help save them.

As usual, this was a real page-turner with loads of tense action. Connolly can really tell a story and is great in character development as well. In this book, two of the central characters are a pair of mechanics, Willie Brew and Arno, who are bailed out of their debt on their garage by Louis who uses their shop as needed. Of course the pair get drawn into harms way along the way. Then for comic relief there are the Fulci brothers and Jackie Garner...all short on smarts but heavy on brawn. Looking forward to continuing this series!

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