This is the first Charlie Parker book. He is a former NYPD detective whose wife and daughter were mudered. He is in Arkansas looking for the killer. He is in early thirties. Has only very few friends,who are loyal. Plot is a bit wierd involving making and selling meth. A family in the town intent on financial and political success. Three murders. A large company lured by said family to this town in anticipation of bringing wealth and jobs . Have to 'solve' the murders to make sure this happens. Cardboard characters, plo a bit off thee wall. Funny asides about the Clintons who were apparebtly then in office.

Having read many of the Charlie Parker novels, I was unsure about reading a prequel but this book is amazing. John Connolly writes characters who are amazingly real and sometimes deeply flawed, but always riveting. Reading the series in order is useful in understanding each character's development, but not necessary. This is a series where the most recent book is as well written and enthralling as the first.

Taking Charlie Parker back to the beginning in the eighteenth book of the series, might seem strange, but it was quite satisfying to know how Parker got involved in helping people solve crimes. If this is your first Charlie Parker book, you will be looking for more. Charlie’s motive for coming to Arkansas might have been revenge, but it is common decency that kept him there. He went to the small backwater town of Cargill looking for similarities between the vicious murder of his wife and daughter and women who were killed in the Cargill area. Of course, there is a whole nest of intrigue and red herrings in the book, but Charlie eventually finds the murderer in a satisfying conclusion. One of the things I liked most about the book was the inclusion of intelligent, well-spoken characters. Yep, there was the nefarious wealthy southern family with their roots in a slave-owning plantation, but Connelly focuses on the present and future of this area not the past.