D&D in the Laundrey-verse.

There are those who say of books that feature monsters devouring or dismembering or tying knots in humans, that the real truth at the heart of such stories is that humans are the real monsters. Well, here is the book to prove those dipsticks wrong. The real monster in Garth Marenghi's Throttle And Bribes, a short story about two evil monkeys who peel people like bannanas, is Garth Marenghi. I think we can all agree that this is Deep.

Flashback! The Adventures Of Young Parker But Though Callow He Is Driven By Grief And Wrath which are only two of the deadly sins. Black girls are being murdered and only a wandrin' white dude cares enough to stop and be persuaded to help solve the case nobody wants solved because t might harm the money Bubba Clinton in that there White House is going to send their way. Presumably this is in service to Connolly's occasional yen to do a more straightforwardly traditional crime thriller without the supernatual spookiness that give his books such a distinctive feel, and in fairness he pulls it off and still drenches it in atmosphere and violence.

Parker goes to Olde Engerland after Quayle le Quayle and his icy smelly hitlady. Ritual murders, old books, demonic windows and proper British coppers and guvnors.

Connolly's tendency to introduce most of his female characters with an assessment of their attractiveness particularly annoyed me in this one when Parker meets a woman with long grey hair and is somewhat repulsed by it. I know he's got an assholish streak, but come on. It's a habit that sticks out like a sore thumb because he does, at least, have fully rounded female characters, and more than one! in his books now. This one's about a hunt for a missing baby after a woman's body is foud... somewhere, can't remember where, you'll work it out. Evil stalks America kilin and torturin' and generally being mean and evil - can Parker save the day? 

What the feck was this one even about? Oh yeah, missing private detective, FBI guy gets Parker and co to go looking, ghosts in the trees and people murdering for spooky nasty reasons, what's that all about then, mate? 

Bad things happen to good people. Charlie Parker helps kick the everloving shite out of those responsible. Ghosties go boo. D'end. 

Parker, mildly inconvenienced after a couple of shotgun blasts to the body and brain, recuperates by the sea and whiles away his time hunting nazis. It's okay, though, the Nazis are old and no match for invalid Parker. There are, however, neo-Nazis and a weird hitman. Sure what harm. 

I'm going through these so fast and at such volume I'm not keeping up with reviews and need to refer to a chart to keep track. In this one the bad guy is prosperity, actualised in the form of a town named Prosperity. Most Parker novels have at least one small Maine town that is economically and socially on its deathbed, so when one turns up that's doing quite well you know evil must be afoot, and where evil foots, Parker thwarts! 

Plane crash and stuff. Quite good.