The White Road

In South Carolina, a young black man faces the death penalty for the rape and murder of Marianne Larousse, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the state. It's a case that nobody wants to touch, a case with its roots in old evil, and old evil is private detective Charlie Parker's speciality. But Parker is about to make a descent into the abyss, a confrontation with dark forces that threaten all that Parker holds dear: his lover, his unborn child, even his soul. . . For in a prison cell, a fanatical preacher is about to take his revenge on Charlie Parker, its instruments the very men that Parker is hunting, and a strange, hunched creature that keeps its own secrets buried by a riverbank: the undiscovered killer Cyrus Nairn. Soon, all of these figures will face a final reckoning in southern swamps and northern forests, in distant locations linked by a single thread, a place where the paths of the living and the dead converge.

A place known only as the White Road.

Winner of The Barry Award 2003 (UK)

“One of the most distinguished practitioners of US crime-writing. The book synthesises literate, poetic writing with scarifying grue. - Independent Connolly has honed the private eye's instincts into a sensibility of palpable evil that makes a strong core to this intelligent thriller. An assured, sophisticated tale . . . exciting but bittersweet. - The Times What makes Parker intriguing is precisely that, though a crusader against evil, he has a dark side: he is haunted by the past, his capacity for violence and guilt. - Telegraph Magazine . . . his imagination is undeniably fertile . . . a powerful piece of American gothic with an arresting double ending.' - The Sunday Times One of the fastest-paced and most complex thrillers . . . A cracking read from an excellent and highly original writer. . . pacy, blackly humorous and with a nasty edge. - Sunday Independent , DublinDark, menacing, yet at times almost poetic, The White Road enthrals . . . literate, yet fast-paced - Cambridgeshire Journal 'A wonderfully written literary work . . . A must read for Parker fans, and fans of well written prose. - Deadly Pleasures Consummate crime writing and chilling suspense - Crime File”

One of the most distinguished practitioners of US crime-writing. The book synthesises literate, poetic writing with scarifying grue. - Independent

Connolly has honed the private eye's instincts into a sensibility of palpable evil that makes a strong core to this intelligent thriller. An assured, sophisticated tale . . . exciting but bittersweet. - The Times

What makes Parker intriguing is precisely that, though a crusader against evil, he has a dark side: he is haunted by the past, his capacity for violence and guilt. - Telegraph Magazine

. . . his imagination is undeniably fertile . . . a powerful piece of American gothic with an arresting double ending.' - The Sunday Times

One of the fastest-paced and most complex thrillers . . . A cracking read from an excellent and highly original writer. . . pacy, blackly humorous and with a nasty edge. - Sunday Independent, Dublin

Dark, menacing, yet at times almost poetic, The White Road enthrals . . . literate, yet fast-paced - Cambridgeshire Journal

'A wonderfully written literary work . . . A must read for Parker fans, and fans of well written prose. - Deadly Pleasures

Consummate crime writing and chilling suspense - Crime File

John Connolly was born in Dublin in 1968. His debut -EVERY DEAD THING - swiftly launched him right into the front rank of thriller writers, and all his subsequent novels have been Sunday Times bestsellers. He is the first non-American writer to win the US Shamus award.

In South Carolina, a young black man faces the death penalty for the rape and murder of Marianne Larousse, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the state. It's a case that nobody wants to touch, a case with its roots in old evil, and old evil is private detective Charlie Parker's speciality. But Parker is about to make a descent into the abyss, a confrontation with dark forces that threaten all that Parker holds dear: his lover, his unborn child, even his soul. . . For in a prison cell, a fanatical preacher is about to take his revenge on Charlie Parker, its instruments the very men that Parker is hunting, and a strange, hunched creature that keeps its own secrets buried by a riverbank: the undiscovered killer Cyrus Nairn. Soon, all of these figures will face a final reckoning in southern swamps and northern forests, in distant locations linked by a single thread, a place where the paths of the living and the dead converge.A place known only as the White Road.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.