Wow. Not too much to say. Connolly breathes life into a detective story with the strong supernatural elements. I loved Charlie Parker and his quest for not only redemption, but to help the dead find peace.

“Dark Hollow” follows Charlie after the events of the first book. He found out who murdered his wife and daughter and is now in an in between state. Living in his grandfather’s home in Maine Charlie is trying to come to some sort of peace. However Charlie takes on a client looking to get some money from her dead beat ex. When the woman and her small son end up dead, Charlie starts investigating whether her ex had something to do with it. His current case gets wrapped up in a past case that haunted his grandfather.

Charlie is one of the best fictional characters I have read in some time. He walks alone now and thinks of the honeycomb world he inhabits. He thinks of his former lover Rachel (Every Dead Thing) but wonders if he’s meant to be happy. Having his friends Louis and Angel along for the ride in this one is great. I love that we have two people who will stand by him no matter what. The three of them make an unlikely group, but they work.

I loved how he tied together. I loved the atmospheric writing. And I loved the ending. That’s all I got. 

Holy crap this book! I loved it. Connolly has such a way with words and characters. I always wanted to visit Maine in the summer. It seems like a savage place in the winter.

This was a great follow-up to 'Podkin One-Ear'. In that book it was clear that there were many more adventures to come and, even better, Larwood introduces events into the present timeline that up the stakes considerably. There is no guarantee that these adventures will make a fireside tale. The world of the Longburrow is set in some distant future after humans and not all characters are what they appear to be at first glance.

I failed to mention in my last review that these books are supplemented with great Illustrations from David Wyatt that are at once terribly cute and disturbing. The Gorm is made up of rabbits who have been taken and possessed by a vengeful machine-deity from deep in their past. Ancient evil brought up by those who dug too deep....

As I said, this goes into 'present-day' events, where the elderly storyteller from Podkin sets out with a new apprentice to the gathering of bards. There is some trouble hanging over his head and I'll leave his identity for readers to find out. 

In the past, Podkin and his family have found a safe haven in Dark Hollow, but Gorm patrols still pass nearby. The greater problem of how to defeat the Gorm is still in front of them, but an ancient clue offers a solution, but also leads Podkin, Paz and Pook into danger again. 

Longburrow

Next: 'The Beasts of Grimheart' (UK only, for now)

Previous: 'Podkin One-Ear'

Billy Purdue was poor, poor and dangerous with some bitterness and frustration added to spice up the pot. The threat of violence was always imminent with him. It hung around him like a cloud, obscuring his judgement and influencing the actions of others, so that when he stepped into a bar and took a drink, or picked up a pool cue for a game, then sooner or later, trouble would start. Billy Purdue didn´t have to pick fights. Fights picked him.

It acted like a contagion, so that even if Billy himself managed to avoid conflict - he generally didn´t seek it, but when he found it he rarely walked away - five would get you ten that he would have raised the testosterone level in the bar sufficiently to cause someone else to consider starting something. Billy Purdue could have provoked a fight at a conclave of cardinals just by looking into the room. Whichever way you considered it, he was bad news.

John Connolly is so good at describing the personalities of his characters (even if they are only minor characters). And I have to admit, the fighting cardinals made me giggle.

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

                This book is a little strange.  It’s partly fiction, but the important aspects aren’t.  They are, in fact, a rather good look at the sources and inspiration for Irving’s famous story, “The Headless Horseman”.        

                Latham portrays Washington Irving a la Gilliam’s Brothers Grimm, as a ghost or supernatural badass hunter, who relies more on his intelligence than his physical ability.  It’s this part of the book that falls a little flat for the adult reader.  The section might be more entertaining for a teen or pre-teen.  The story itself used to frame the information that the book transmits is geared toward the younger audience, an adult might find the story amusing enough, but there is better fiction out there.

                Latham makes connections between Irving’s story and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as well as other European traditions.  There is even background itself to the area of Sleepy Hollow and early New York State history.

                In short, I can see a teacher using this in a classroom to expand upon the legend of Sleepy Hollow.  It also would make a good Halloween present.  It also includes a further reading and viewing section.