THE FURIES

CRYPTOQUOTE By JOHN CONNOLLY SIMON & SCHUSTER Murder, vengeance, greed and the supernatural arrive in Portland, Maine, hometown of private investigator Charlie Parker. This, the 20th book in the series, is actually two short novels in one.

The Sisters Strange, the first and longest, begins with the murder of a coin collector – killed by stuffing coins down his throat until he suffocated. Among the stolen goods is one very special coin that allegedly holds the power to lengthen the owner’s life.

In the second story, Parker comes to the aid of two women. Sarah Sawyer, the widow of a mobster, is being blackmailed by the two crooks who stole her few mementos of her dead daughter. She wants Parker to get it back.

Marjorie Thombs thinks her daughter’s boyfriend is going to kill her and it’s up to Parker to stop that from happening.

The connection between these novels is the rundown Braycott Hotel, populated by numerous criminals – and the vengeful ghost of a little girl. Anyone who has ever read a Charlie Parker novel will know to expect investigative skill with a good dollop of the macabre and supernatural. And it is all done in the most beautiful prose.