The Wolf in Winter by John Connolly

Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on October 28, 2014

A girl named Annie is being held captive in an unfriendly town called Prosperous. Suspecting that his daughter is in trouble but finding himself unwelcome in Prosperous, Annie's homeless father hopes to get help from Charlie Parker. The father is found swinging from a rope before they have a chance to talk.

Prosperous, notable for its old English church that once hosted a now defunct religion, is one of the creepy, incestuous towns that writers of horror and crime novels like to create. The residents of Prosperous share a secret and are hostile to outsiders who might learn its dirty business. John Connolly provides enough background to the town and its people to make it believable but not so much as to slow the story with needless detail.

Connolly weaves the history of the mystic religious sect into a plot that takes Parker to Prosperous as he follows the trail of the homeless man's missing daughter. About halfway into the novel, the story takes a supernatural turn, as Parker novels usually do. The supernatural elements are the least interesting aspect of the story but The Wolf in Winter does have the creepy feeling of a good X-Files episode.

An extended section of the book takes place while Parker is out of action, giving series regulars Ronald Straydeer and the killer couple Louis and Angel a chance to be in the limelight. They are strong characters who easily carry the story. The Collector, a recurring villain in the series, makes an appearance, advancing an ongoing subplot while altering the mission that has recently motivated Louis and Angel.

Connolly writes with unusual sensitivity and compassion about the homeless. They are, in fact, some of the best characters in the book. The bad guys are also described in convincing detail. Some residents of Prosperous are just playing the hands they were dealt while the town's rulers are the embodiment of evil when they aren't behaving like ordinary folk.

Connolly's commentary adds personality to the characters and amusement to the story. A character's reference to readers who take "reading books very seriously without ever understanding how the act could be enjoyable as well" and his flaming condemnation of Look Homeward, Angel were among my favorites. I take reading seriously but if I'm not enjoying a book, I don't finish it. The Wolf in Winter was easy to finish.

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