The Wolf in Winter

Charlie Parker, Book 12

By: John Connolly

Narrated by: Jeff Harding

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

The next pulse-pounding thriller in John Connolly's internationally best-selling Charlie Parker series.

The community of Prosperous, Maine has always thrived when others have suffered. Its inhabitants are wealthy, its children’s future secure. It shuns outsiders. It guards its own. And at the heart of Prosperous lie the ruins of an ancient church, transported stone by stone from England centuries earlier by the founders of the town.

But the death of a homeless man and the disappearance of his daughter draw the haunted, lethal private investigator Charlie Parker to Prosperous. Parker is a dangerous man, driven by compassion, by rage, and by the desire for vengeance. In him the town and its protectors sense a threat graver than any they have faced in their long history, and in the comfortable, sheltered inhabitants of a small Maine town, Parker will encounter his most vicious opponents yet.

Charlie Parker has been marked to die so that Prosperous may survive. Prosperous, and the secret that it hides beneath its ruins….

©2014 Bad Dog Books Limited. All rights reserved. (P)2014 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Of he several I have read this was the best

THIS was really quite excellent. while each book does stand on its own it's probably best that you have read at least a few of the early novels so that it will allow you to identify all the players. Excellent narration as always. in general this is quite a different serious because of the continuing focus on the occasional Supernatural, but do not make the mistake of thinking that this is anything more than a great police procedural and suspense novel. recommended

should have read some earlier episodes, perhaps

This was a good and enjoyable book, and it was red well. The rogue town is an old story, one that can never really be convincing, but as revisions of a cliche go, this one is pretty good. I got a bit lost about 2/3 of the way through when the hero was unconscious and the POV shifted to characters and subplots I didn't know enough about to follow, as though they are left over from previous exciting episodes with the same characters. I will nonetheless check out some more of these titles . . . the supernatural doesn't play a too-large role, so the narrative about odd characters and settings and the unraveling of the mystery, which I find far more interesting, isn't obscured by spooks and haunts and things going bump in the night.

One of the best in this series

But read others first. I really liked how he brought so many of the previous characters in. I never tire of his style and clever prose. And I see some severe comments about Jeff Harding but I give him 5 stars. Maybe he’s a bit of an acquired taste but I’ve grown to love his style too. So ty.

As always, enjoyed.

So far I have enjoyed all the Charlie Parker stories and this one is no exception. My only criticism is that I did not care for the way the narrator did Angel's voice.

Excellent

Connolly did another wonderful job. Jeff Harding is a wonderful narrator, and my favorite for the Parker series.

Not a stand-alone listen, but it’s good if you’ve kept up w the series.

If you’re new to the Charlie Carter Thriller series, be warned that there are recurring characters and a long, ongoing story arc.

I usually enjoy this dark, detective series which is tinged by the supernatural. This time, I had to push to get through the middle of this book. The premise is excellent as usual, but the execution is not up to John Connelly’s standards. Yes, he’s set the bar high, but there’s too much day-to-day minutiae about Prosperous town’s leaders, and many minor (and never to recur) characters are over-developed. OTOH, there isn’t enough information about the Big Bad and its provenance.

I liked the inclusion of Charlie Parker’s dead wife and daughter, but I wanted to read more about Parker in action, instead of mind-wandering, internal dialogue. The stalwart odd couple—Louie and Angel—saved the book for me.

My advice is to disregard the title, because the wolf metaphor doesn’t work. Yes, I felt deeply for the injured young wolf, and perhaps I should’ve worried about detective Parker’s mortality. However, the metaphor didn’t work for me.

Narration is terrible, story overall good.

As a native of Maine, I am insulted how we are portrayed. All the women sound the same, sound foolish and a terrible attempt at a “Downeast” accent! The men aren’t much better. The Charlie Parker series has had multiple narrators, none of which have really found a consistent”voice” for Parker or the other characters. I continue to finish the books, but see that Harding continues to be the reader and am bracing myself. If the characters are cold hearted killers, don’t make them sound so foolish!

the dude that is reading is the greatest 😎😎

the dude that read this book is my freaking favorite cowabunga dudes
and this series gives my goose pimples

The Wolf in Winter

First review for me, but finding the narrative very hard to listen too. Jeff Harding reading is as terrible as I’ve heard. I’ve always read Louis as “Louis” not a twangy “Louie” and Angel’s and Louis’ accents are between Mike Tyson and Chris Rock. Not how I’ve envisioned over the 11 books I’ve read and listened. I guess I’ve been lucky in not having Jeff as my first listen. If this is John’s interpretation of “Louie” and Angel, I guess have misinterpreted their representation in his books. Unfortunately I think The Charlie Parker series is one of the top series I’ve read so may have to suffer to more readings by Jeff if I only have time to listen and not read. I just need to keep thinking that it’s the story that counts and these stories are always worth your while.

the Devine wolf

one of my favorite books in the series!
was a slow burn at first, but I loved how it all came together at the end. Happy to hear Jeff narrating again.