In Amsterdam, four people are butchered in a canal house, their remains arranged around the crucified form of their patriarch, De Jaager: fixer, go-between, and confidante of the assassin named Louis. The men responsible for the murders are Serbian war criminals. They believe they can escape retribution by retreating to their homeland. They are wrong. For Louis has come to Europe to hunt them down: five killers to be found and punished before they can vanish into the east. There is only one problem. The sixth.
The Nameless Ones is number #19 in internationally bestselling author John Connolly’s Charlie Parker series. Connolly’s first novel, Every Dead Thing, was published in 1999, and introduced the character of Charlie Parker, a former policeman hunting the killer of his wife and daughter. It swiftly launched Connolly right into the front-rank of thriller writers. All his subsequent novels have been Sunday Times bestsellers.
In this latest heart-pounding thriller, Private Investigator Charlie Parker returns but only as a secondary character. Instead, his long-time associates and friends Angel and Louis take centre stage. Long-time readers will enjoy this change, while new readers will simply love this duo. Jennifer is also back, with some supernatural connection to Serbian folklore, which fans will love. Events follow on from the previous novel, A Book of Bones, and it certainly makes the reading experience more layered to have some backstory, but The Nameless Ones can still be read as a standalone if you’ve only just discovered the Parker series.
This time, Angel and Louis head across Europe in pursuit of ruthless killers and their mysterious companion. The fascinating history of the Balkans region and the Serbo-Croatian war is weaved in, along with the fallout from Tito and the former Yugoslavia.
Along with this history comes some gruesome reading. Parts of the book are violent, but for readers who like some gore with their thrillers—and I know there are many of you—then you’ll tear through this novel. While I’m not normally a fan of such gore, I was able to read this in the broader context of this story, and the ongoing tensions in a region scarred by war.
To take the edge of this violence is some very witty banter and intelligent humour throughout, as well as the relationship between Angel and Louis, which is genuinely compelling.
The Nameless Ones is yet another heart-pounding thriller from John Connolly, who shows no signs of slowing down.
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