This world is full of broken things
The psychiatrist Daniel Clay has been missing for years following allegations about the harm done to children in his care. If he’s dead, some might say he got off lightly.
But the killer Merrick does not believe Daniel Clay is dead. Merrick was in prison when his child disappeared while being treated by Clay. Now he wants answers from Clay’s daughter Rebecca, and if she can’t provide them, he’ll settle for revenge. Only private investigator Charlie Parker stands in his way.
But Daniel Clay may not have been acting alone, and neither is Merrick. Dark forces are gathering, intent on protecting old secrets – or revealing them. To shine a light on the past, Parker may have to set a fire that burns everything, and everyone, in its path.
‘You’ll be running shards of it through your mind once the book is finished’
Irish Times
‘This man’s so good, it’s terrifying’
The Times
The psychiatrist Daniel Clay has been missing for years following allegations about the harm done to children in his care. If he’s dead, some might say he got off lightly.
But the killer Merrick does not believe Daniel Clay is dead. Merrick was in prison when his child disappeared while being treated by Clay. Now he wants answers from Clay’s daughter Rebecca, and if she can’t provide them, he’ll settle for revenge. Only private investigator Charlie Parker stands in his way.
But Daniel Clay may not have been acting alone, and neither is Merrick. Dark forces are gathering, intent on protecting old secrets – or revealing them. To shine a light on the past, Parker may have to set a fire that burns everything, and everyone, in its path.
‘You’ll be running shards of it through your mind once the book is finished’
Irish Times
‘This man’s so good, it’s terrifying’
The Times
Reviews
Originality in story and style is what makes Connolly stand out from the thriller pack. THE UNQUIET is plotted and paced not to break your neck, like those of his rivals in the business, but to efficiently crush every bone in your body.
In two fascinating confrontational scenes between Parker and He/It-who-will-not-be-named here, (Connolly) writes superbly mesmerising dialogue. You'll be running shards of it through your mind after the book is finished . . . THE UNQUIET ends with the tantalising suggestion that the detective, after years of relentless, self-righteous violence, has literally lost his soul - and that the ultimate enemy has yet to come. I can't wait.
'Connolly is a master of suggestion, creating mood and suspense with ease, and unflinchingly presents a hard-eyed look at the horrors that can lurk in quiet, rustic settings.
Very well researched and very sympathetically written; when the plot gets very dark, I find the author has the knack of lightening the mood. A fast moving thriller with shades of the supernatural.
There is an element of the supernatural, taking the reader into a place where the real, contemporary world is touched by something from our worst nightmares, and he does it in lyrical, almost poetic language which grips and chills.
Parker is a classic character who walks straight and tall like someone from the old west, and the reader knows all will be well once he arrives in town. THE UNQUIET just won't let you put it down as the plot careers across the pages like a runaway train. Excellent!
This man's so good, it's terrifying ... a quieter, subtler, more reflective way of scaring us into shivering wrecks ... His gift for instilling terror is undimmed ... Connolly operates in the terrain between unease and horror and does so without resorting to hysteria.
There is an element of the supernatural, taking the reader into a place where the real, contemporary world is touched by something from our worst nightmares, and he does it in lyrical, almost poetic language which grips and chills.
Parker is a classic character who walks straight and tall like someone from the old west, and the reader knows all will be well once he arrives in town. THE UNQUIET just won't let you put it down as the plot careers across the pages like a runaway train. Excellent!
This man's so good, it's terrifying ... a quieter, subtler, more reflective way of scaring us into shivering wrecks ... His gift for instilling terror is undimmed ... Connolly operates in the terrain between unease and horror and does so without resorting to hysteria.
There is an element of the supernatural, taking the reader into a place where the real, contemporary world is touched by something from our worst nightmares, and he does it in lyrical, almost poetic language which grips and chills.
Parker is a classic character who walks straight and tall like someone from the old west, and the reader knows all will be well once he arrives in town. THE UNQUIET just won't let you put it down as the plot careers across the pages like a runaway train. Excellent!
This man's so good, it's terrifying ... a quieter, subtler, more reflective way of scaring us into shivering wrecks ... His gift for instilling terror is undimmed ... Connolly operates in the terrain between unease and horror and does so without resorting to hysteria.
Connolly's books are shot through with bitter poetry, and couched in prose as elegant as most literary fiction . . . However, all of this is not the overriding reason why Connolly has risen above most of his peers. It's because Connolly's work has raised the stakes, beyond the quotidian concerns of most crime novels, into a grandiose conflict between the forces of good and evil, with religion and the paranormal stirred into the heady brew.'
THE UNQUIET reveals both pace, full description and a compelling central character. It's a rich achievement - and strange that a master of the macabre like Connolly should seem such a nice guy.
Connolly handles the unspeakable with consummate ease
Parker seeks truth and discovers pain. His sleuthing is fast-packed, which makes THE UNQUIET a thrilling read'
