The White Road

A Charlie Parker Thriller

By: John Connolly

Narrated by: Paul Birchard

Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

John Connolly thrilled readers with his best-selling novels, Every Dead Thing, Dark Hollow, and The Killing Kind. Now he delivers spellbinding suspense as Charlie Parker races to unravel a brutal crime committed in the Deep South.

After years of suffering unfathomable pain and guilt over the murders of his wife and daughter, private detective Charlie Parker has finally found some measure of peace. As he and his lover, Rachel, are awaiting the birth of their first child and settling into an old farmhouse in rural Maine, Parker has found the kind of solace often lost to those who have been touched by true evil.

But darkness soon descends when Parker gets a call from Elliot Norton, an old friend from his days as a detective with the NYPD. Now practicing law in Charleston, South Carolina, Elliot is defending a young black man accused of raping and killing his white girlfriend, the daughter of a powerful Southern millionaire. Reluctantly, Parker agrees to help Elliot and by doing so ventures into a living nightmare, a bloody dreamscape haunted by the specter of a hooded woman and a black car waiting for a passenger who never arrives. Beginning as an investigation into a young woman's death, it is a fast-moving descent into an abyss where forces conspire to destroy all that Parker holds dear.

Hailed as a "master storyteller" (The London Express) by critics stateside and abroad, Connolly has once again delivered a riveting and suspenseful story that draws listeners toward the horrifying crossroads of the past and present, of the living and the dead. "We are trapped not only by our own history, but by the histories of all those with whom we choose to share our lives," he writes. As chillingly as it is beautifully rendered, The White Road is sure to tread a frightening path for even the most world-weary crime fiction fan.

©2004 John Connolly (P)2014 Simon & Schuster

Good book, but buy the hard copy

I love the Charlie Parker books but the narration by Paul Birchard made the audio version unbearable. The narrator did not cleanly transition Charlie's "Maine" accent between the other characters making it very difficult to discern who was speaking. This is exacerbated by a complex plot that shifts between different storylines. The supporting characters of Angel and Louie are absolutely destroyed by the narration. I have never given up on a book solely because of a narrator until now...but I had to return the audio version and buy a hard copy because Paul Birchard was not able to convey this story. Disappointed.

Fabulous!

This book is engrossing, and will draw you in from the first page. The Charlie Parker series keeps getting better and better!

They get better

A lot of moving parts with this book but still a terrific story , hope this continues

Beast audible so far.

I have used audible for the last 3 Charlie Parker books and honestly I didn't like it the voice that was narrating it was just terrible. No emotion and it just kind of ruined the story but this one I felt like the voice fit perfectly for a Charlie Parker type book this was my favorite one so far.

This one was OK

First off, the narrator for this title is different from books 1 and two. After getting used to him, this one is hard to take. When did Angel become a Latino? The narration may be OK for you if this is your first Charlie Parker book, but it was hard for me to take. I was a little lost on this one, since I skipped book 3 (it;s not available as audio book and I chose not to go Old School by actually reading it), so the Faulkner story line was a little lost to me.
As other readers mention, there are several subplots and story lines in this one, which can make it difficult to keep up if you don't give full attention while listening, as they really are related to the story.
Overall, I give this one a 3, hoping book 5 brings the value back up.

new voice

Mayor Quimby was wicked awesome as Charlie Parker or Charlie Paaahka. Well he did better as Louis this time.

It sucked me in!

At first I wasn’t sure what to expect because I have favorite narrators. But the narrator sucked me in! His work with accents and making each character their own helped bring the story alive. He even added laughs and different inflections and emotions that other narrators dumped which at times made me laugh and made the story that much better. I love the story overall as I am hooked on the Charlie Parker novels and can’t wait to start the next.

Okay

He makes Rachel sound like a nag, and the villains are so underdeveloped compared to previous books in the series.

Read it instead

Don’t care much for the narrator. Charlie sounds like a Kennedy. But the book itself is wonderful, amazing.

Why? Too many story lines

Would you try another book from John Connolly and/or Paul Birchard?

I have read/listened to most of John Connolly's books, After trying three time to get though this one...well, probably yes, but not from this series.

Has The White Road turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I enjoy a good mystery- thriller.

Did Paul Birchard do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

yes, but a little annoying.

Was The White Road worth the listening time?

Since I have enjoyed John Connolly's books in the past, I had a very hard time giving up on this one. I still really haven't, I haven't deleted it yet. But if I didn't want to know the how it ends for the main character that I have been following, I would of given up on this book after the first hour or two. Ugh, what a major disappointment.