'A Dark, Well-Plotted Game of Cat and Mouse'
 |
|
THE REAPERS
by John Connolly
Atria Books
ISBN:
978-1-4165-5162-1
|
Reviewed by Mary Monks
The Reapers is not an 'action' thriller but rather a lengthy, dark, well-plotted game of 'cat and mouse', with the stalker becoming the stalked, and surprising twists and turns in the story. There are few, if any, good guys in this novel, peopled as it is with murderers and paid assassins.
Louis, the principal character in The Reapers, is a man motivated by two terrible events in his life: a brutal murder and burning of a black man in the community which he witnessed as a child, and the murder of his mother by her 'lover' just a few years later.
Driven by the need to avenge his mother's killing, Louis becomes a successful and ruthless killer, so successful, in fact, that he becomes the target of others seeking vengeance.
Despite the persistent and recurrent violence, this book is not, I was happy to note, burdened with that overused 'tough guy' style. It is, in fact, very well written by a writer who could doubtless make his mark in any genre of novel writing.
For all that the author creates vivid portraits of the characters in this novel, we remain in the dark about Louis, the central character. We know about his life, what drives him, how he operates, but we don't have any insight into how he feels or what he thinks. Louis is an enigma, and therefore more intriguing.
The author, John Connolly, is a Dubliner, and hugely successful with his novels featuring private detective Charlie Parker (fans will be interested to know that Parker makes an appearance in The Reapers in a minor role).
He has an interesting web site (www.johnconnollybooks.com) featuring some of his work - some ghost stories and articles written for The Irish Times, as well as interviews, a discussion forum, and other information. Have a look - it's worth a visit.
|
