Charlie Parker is back, and on the trail of the assassin of assassins.
They are the Reapers, the elite among killers. Men so terrifying that their names are mentioned only in whispers. The assassin Louis is one of them. But now Louis, and his partner, Angel, are themselves targets. And there is no shortage of suspects.
A wealthy recluse sends them north to a town that no longer exists on a map. A town ruled by a man with very personal reasons for wanting Louis's blood spilt. There they find themselves trapped, isolated, and at the mercy of a killer feared above all others: the assassin of assassins, Bliss. Thanks to former detective Charlie Parker, help is on its way. But can Angel and Louis stay alive long enough for it to reach them?
Author on blood-chilling form. - Barry Forshaw, Good Book Guide
Connolly's compulsive plot ensures that the bloody narrative never descends into a mindless gore-fest, but matures into a gripping tale of friendship and revenge. - The Times
Connolly's is a unique talent - Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph
It's a must-read for fans of Connolly, offering a rare insight into the background of the slightly dark and dangerous duo who have featured in this series, where death and demons go hand-in-hand. - Evening Telegraph
As ever with Connolly, the macabre narrative is couched in prose that is often allusive and poetic . . . Refreshingly, Connolly has always resisted repeating himself, and the plot trajectory is strikingly innovative. The Reapers affords unusually bracing doses of Stygian delights. - Barry Forshaw, Independent
Utterly compelling tale of mystery and imagination . . . A supernatural western set among an elite cadre of samurai-style contract killers and the most purely entertaining novel Connolly has written. - Irish Times
This painstaking recreation of realistic settings sets the former journalist's works of fiction apart from many of his contemporaries. - Evening Herald
Fans of Connolly's work will be aware of Angel and Louis, two shadowy assassins, and this new Charlie Parker novel explores their back-story, set against their encounter with Bliss, the killer of killers. - Scotland on Sunday
Hell's Bells by John Connolly
The Whisperers Book Trailer - John Connolly
Hell's Bells by John Connolly
The Whisperers Book Trailer - John Connolly
John Connolly is author of the Charlie Parker mysteries, The Book of Lost Things, the Samuel Johnson novels for young adults and, with his partner, Jennifer Ridyard, co-author of the Chronicles of the Invaders. John Connolly's debut - EVERY DEAD THING - introduced the character of Private Investigator Charlie Parker, and swiftly launched him right into the front rank of thriller writers. All his subsequent novels have been Sunday Times bestsellers. He was the winner of the 2016 CWA Short Story Dagger for On the Anatomization of an Unknown Man (1637) by Frans Mier from NIGHT MUSIC: Nocturnes Vol 2.
In 2007 he was awarded the Irish Post Award for Literature. He was the first non-American writer to win the US Shamus award and the first Irish writer to win an Edgar award. BOOKS TO DIE FOR, which he edited with Declan Burke, was the winner of the 2013 Anthony, Agatha and Macavity awards for Best Non-Fiction work.