Articles liés à A Game of Ghosts: A Charlie Parker Thriller: 15. From...

A Game of Ghosts: A Charlie Parker Thriller: 15. From the No. 1 Bestselling Author of A Time of Torment - Couverture rigide

 
9781473641860: A Game of Ghosts: A Charlie Parker Thriller: 15. From the No. 1 Bestselling Author of A Time of Torment
Afficher les exemplaires de cette édition ISBN
 
 
Extrait :
A Game of Ghosts Chapter

I


A new fall of snow had settled upon the old, like memories, like the years.

It would freeze, too, according to the weathermen, adding another layer to the ice that blanketed the city, and another day or two to the slow thaw that must inevitably come, although any release from the cold seemed distant on this February evening. Still, at least the latest snowfall, the first in more than a week, hid beneath it the filth of earlier accumulations, and the streets of Portland would look fresh and unsullied again, for a time.

Although the air was chill, it held no clarity. A faint mist hung over the streets, creating penumbrae around the streetlights like the halos of saints, and making a dreamscape of the skyline. It lent the city a sense of duplication, as though its ways and buildings had been overlaid imperfectly upon some earlier version of itself, and now that shadow variant was peering through, the people of the present within touching distance of those of the past.

Charlie Parker walked up Exchange Street, his head lowered against the rawness of the dark so that he progressed like a ram between sidewalk drifts. He didn’t need NBC to tell him that winter was tightening its grip. Some ancient personification of the season seemed to sense the approach of spring, even if no one else could, and was determined to cling to its white kingdom for as long as it was able. Parker could feel it in his bones, and in his wounds. His left hand was curled into a ball of hurt in his pocket, and the scars on his back felt tight and uncomfortable. His head ached, and had anyone asked, he could have pointed to the scattering of odd markings in his hair, silver-gray along the lines cut through his scalp by the shotgun pellets, and ascribed a locus of agony to each.

Older injuries troubled him too. Many years before, he had thrown himself into a frigid lake in the far north of the state rather than face the guns that would otherwise surely have ended his life. He had still taken a bullet for his troubles, although the pain of the strike was dulled by the greater shock of immersion in freezing water. He should have died, but he did not. Later, the doctors would throw an array of medical terms in his direction—hypothermia, hypotension, hypervolemia, high blood viscosity—none of which was of any great benefit to the human body, or its prospects of immortality, but all of which applied, at some point, to him.

On top of being shot, he had then violated just about every piece of post-immersion medical management by continuing to fight his tormentors, and that was before someone tried to kick his teeth in. One of the attending physicians, a specialist in maritime medicine, wanted to write a paper on him, but Parker had politely declined the offer of free ongoing treatment and therapy in exchange for his cooperation. It was a decision he sometimes regretted. He often thought that his body had never quite recovered from the trauma it had endured, because he had since felt the cold in winter with an intensity he could not recall from youth or young manhood. Sometimes, even in a warm room, he would be struck by a fit of shivering so violent that it would leave him weak for hours after. Even his teeth would hurt. Once, they chattered so hard that he lost a crown.

But hey, he was still alive, and that was good, right? He thought of the old commonplace about how giving up vices didn’t make you live longer, but just made it feel as though you were living longer. Nights like these made him feel as though he had been in pain all his life.

It was the first day of February. Parker could recall arguing with his grandfather about the months of winter, shortly after the old man had taken in the boy and his mother, permitting them to escape New York and the ripples from his father’s death. For Parker, those winter months were December, January, and February, but his grandfather, who had roots in another continent, always thought in terms of the old Gaelic calendar in which November was the first month of winter, and so for him February meant the start of spring. Even decades spent enduring the grimness of Maine winters, and the icy darkness of February in particular, had not shaken him in his conviction. As time went on, Parker came to suspect that the old man might have been wiser than his grandson realized. By embracing February as the birth of a new season, instead of the slow death of the old, his grandfather was demonstrating a degree of psychological acuity that enabled him to tolerate one of the worst months of the year by regarding it as the harbinger of better times to come.

Parker stopped outside Crooners & Cocktails. The bar was Ross’s choice. Parker wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t as though the FBI man was intimate with Portland’s restaurant scene. Then again, Parker had come to accept that Edgar Ross was more attuned to unfamiliar rhythms than might be considered advisable, even for someone directly involved in matters of national security.

Actually, Parker liked Crooners & Cocktails. The name might have been a bit hokey, but the interior was a throwback to another era, and the food and drinks were good. He stared through the glass, fogged by the heat inside, and thought he could make out Ross’s figure at the back of the room. The agent had a half-filled glass in front of him, and what looked like a tray of oysters. Parker hated oysters. As for his feelings about Ross, the jury was still out.

Parker turned away from the window. He could hear music drifting up the street from Sonny’s, and across from him figures moved in the bar of the Press Hotel, a building that had housed the Portland Press Herald until the newspaper relocated to One City Center back in 2010. He’d been in the hotel only once, to take a look around and meet Angel and Louis for a drink. He thought it might be an okay place to stay, even if, like Crooners & Cocktails, it was a carefully cultivated exercise in nostalgia. Then again, maybe nostalgia was an understandable response to a world that appeared to be going all to hell, as long as everyone remembered that the past was a nice place to visit but nobody should want to settle in it.

One of the cars parked opposite was a black Lexus. Two men sat in the front. To avoid conflict, they would be listening to something neutral, Parker guessed: Classic Vinyl or Deep Tracks on Sirius. Both would be armed. He had informed them that Ross was coming. They were curious, just as Parker was. Ross rarely ventured so far north.

Parker’s cell phone rang. He answered, and Angel spoke.

“He arrived in a limousine,” said Angel, “but not one with government plates. The car dropped him off at this place, then left. I stayed with Ross, and Louis followed the car. It’s parked down on Middle Street. Private hire, but nothing flashy. The driver’s in Starbucks, playing games on his cell phone.”

Parker hung up, and adjusted the pin on his tie. He hated wearing ties.

“You still hearing me?” he asked.

From the passenger seat of the car, Angel showed him an upraised thumb. At least, Parker hoped it was a thumb. With Angel, one could never be sure.

With that, Parker entered the bar.

It struck him, as he was escorted to the table, that he knew almost nothing about Ross. Was he married? He didn’t wear a ring, but Parker was aware of men and women in risky professions who chose not to advertise their marital ties. He could be separated, or divorced. Given his work, that would make sense. Did he have children? Parker thought not, but he’d been wrong about such matters before. Children mellowed some men, but made no difference at all to others beyond adding to their burdens. He’d read an interview with a novelist whose estranged daughter traveled thousands of miles to somewhere in Africa in order to mend their broken relationship, only to have the door slammed in her face. The novelist justified his actions on the grounds that he was not trained to deal with “problem children,” but Parker didn’t know of any parent who was trained to deal with children, problematic or not. Actually, that wasn’t entirely true: he knew a couple of child psychologists—one in particular—and they were terrible parents.

Ross stood to shake Parker’s hand. He had spilled Tabasco sauce on his shirt; just a speck, like a pinprick of blood. Parker didn’t comment on it, but he would find his eye drifting repeatedly toward it over the course of the evening, as though it represented an aspect profound that otherwise refused to reveal itself.

Parker handed his coat to the hostess but kept his jacket on.

“I figured you wouldn’t mind if I ordered some oysters before you arrived,” said Ross, once they were both seated. “I know how you feel about seafood.”

“That’s gracious of you,” said Parker. His general distaste for shellfish and seafood had, he realized, hardened into a phobia. He might have been tempted to see a therapist about it, were he not afraid of what a distrust of bivalves could suggest about his personality.

“What are you drinking?” he asked Ross.

“A Dewar’s and Disaronno. It’s called a Godfather.”

“I hope you’re being ironic.”

Parker glanced at the cocktail menu, found a drink he wasn’t too embarrassed to order—a Journalist, mainly Bombay Original and vermouth—and set the list aside. He barely sipped the cocktail once it was in front of him. He still had an aversion to hard liquor, but he’d learned long ago that when in the company of just one other person who was drinking, it paid to have something similar in turn, even if not a drop of it passed one’s lips. Coffee, beer, wine, Scotch, it didn’t matter: the act of ordering relaxed the other party, and that relaxation was important for the eliciting of information. Then again, Ross probably knew this already. If he didn’t, he shouldn’t have been working for the FBI.

He and Ross made small talk for a time—politics, the weather, Parker’s health—before ordering entrees: monkfish for Ross, steak for Parker, with glasses of Riesling and Malbec, respectively, to go with them. The waitress left them. Music played low, a counterpoint to the hum of conversation.

“So,” said Parker, “why are you here?”
Revue de presse :
Beautifully crafted . . . John Connolly's unique ability to successfully combine crime and horror shows no sign of waning. (Irish Independent)

If you like your thrillers with an added undertow of supernatural you can do no better. (The Pool)

Connolly creates complicated plots that never unravel. He's just that good. (Kirkus)

Once you start this book, make sure you've not got anything else important to do for the next few hours . . . The Charlie Parker books have always been a gripping and enthralling read, but this latest one simply won't let you go. (ScifiBulletin)

Another chapter in the life of Charlie Parker and another fascinating read from the pen of the great John Connolly. Here is an author that seems to be totally in control of his writing and at the top of his game. (Shots)

A Game Of Ghosts is layered with such craft that it is almost a disappointment when things resolve themselves with relative quickness, as if you really don't wish to bid some of these characters behind. Even the most dangerous of them. Of course, in Charlie Parker's world, you never can be sure. (Irresistible Targets)

Praise for A TIME OF TORMENT: A TIME OF TORMENT is one of the writer's finest achievements . . . If you are a John Connolly or Charlie Parker fan, a recommendation for this one is unnecessary - you will be adding it to your bedside table. But, as the saying goes: new readers - start here. (Barry Forshaw Independent)

With A TIME OF TORMENT, the series sees possibly its strongest volume yet - if you weren't a fan of Parker before, you will be after reading this. (Mass Movement)

[The] Charlie Parker series . . . never fails to impress . . . it just keeps on getting better and better and increasingly haunting. What began as a particularly atmospheric series of books featuring a wounded character in search of redemption . . . has turned into a major literary triumph . . . Magical, horrific, poetic, gothic. (Maxim Jakubowski Lovereading)

In a consistently excellent series, A TIME OF TORMENT may be the best yet . . . a dizzying, yet assured, ride to hell and back . . . It is a testimony to Connolly's brilliance. (Sunday Herald)

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

  • ÉditeurHodder & Stoughton Ltd
  • Date d'édition2017
  • ISBN 10 1473641861
  • ISBN 13 9781473641860
  • ReliureRelié
  • Nombre de pages464
  • Evaluation vendeur

Acheter D'occasion

état :  Satisfaisant
The book has been read but remains... En savoir plus sur cette édition

Frais de port : EUR 5,68
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis

Destinations, frais et délais

Ajouter au panier

Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9781473641907: A Game of Ghosts: A Charlie Parker Thriller: 15. From the No. 1 Bestselling Author of A Time of Torment

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  147364190X ISBN 13 :  9781473641907
Editeur : Hodder Paperbacks, 2018
Couverture souple

  • 9781501171895: A Game of Ghosts: A Charlie Parker Thriller (Volume 15)

    Atria/..., 2017
    Couverture rigide

  • 9781501171901: A Game of Ghosts: A Thriller

    Emily ..., 2018
    Couverture souple

  • 9781473641891: A Game of Ghosts: A Charlie Parker Thriller: 15. From the No. 1 Bestselling Author of A Time of Torment

    Hodder..., 2018
    Couverture souple

  • 9781473641877: A Game of Ghosts: A Charlie Parker Thriller: 15. From the No. 1 Bestselling Author of A Time of Torment

    Hodder..., 2017
    Couverture souple

Meilleurs résultats de recherche sur AbeBooks

Image d'archives

Connolly, John
Edité par Hodder & Stoughton (2017)
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Paperback Quantité disponible : 4
Vendeur :
WorldofBooks
(Goring-By-Sea, WS, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Paperback. Etat : Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. N° de réf. du vendeur GOR008419791

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 2,60
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 5,68
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

Connolly, John
Edité par Hodder & Stoughton (2017)
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Paperback Quantité disponible : 1
Vendeur :
WorldofBooks
(Goring-By-Sea, WS, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Paperback. Etat : Fair. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. N° de réf. du vendeur GOR008951536

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 2,60
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 5,68
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

John Connolly
Edité par Hodder & Stoughton (2017)
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Couverture rigide Quantité disponible : 1
Vendeur :
SecondSale
(Montgomery, IL, Etats-Unis)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Etat : Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. N° de réf. du vendeur 00059740004

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 8,84
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : Gratuit
Vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

John Connolly
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Couverture rigide Quantité disponible : 4
Vendeur :
AwesomeBooks
(Wallingford, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Etat : Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . N° de réf. du vendeur 7719-9781473641860

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 4,22
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 5,30
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

John Connolly
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Paperback Quantité disponible : 8
Vendeur :
WorldofBooks
(Goring-By-Sea, WS, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Paperback. Etat : Very Good. The annual thrilling instalment of John Connolly's popular Charlie Parker series. It is deep winter. The darkness is unending. The private detective named Jaycob Eklund has vanished, and Charlie Parker is dispatched to track him down. Parker's employer, Edgar Ross, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has his own reasons for wanting Eklund found. Eklund is no ordinary investigator. He is obsessively tracking a series of homicides and disappearances, each linked to reports of hauntings. Now Parker will be drawn into Eklund's world, a realm in which the monstrous Mother rules a crumbling criminal empire, in which men strike bargains with angels, and in which the innocent and guilty alike are pawns in a game of ghosts . . . The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. N° de réf. du vendeur GOR008205581

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 5,19
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 5,68
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

Connolly, John
Edité par Hodder & Stoughton (2017)
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Couverture rigide Quantité disponible : 1
Vendeur :
Goldstone Books
(Llandybie, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Hardcover. Etat : Good. Ex-Library Book. Has usual library markings and stamps inside. All orders are dispatched within one working day from our UK warehouse. We've been selling books online since 2004! We have over 750,000 books in stock. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied. N° de réf. du vendeur mon0004679885

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 4,38
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 7,08
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

John Connolly
Edité par Hodder & Stoughton (2017)
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Couverture rigide Quantité disponible : 1
Vendeur :
MusicMagpie
(Stockport, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Etat : Very Good. 1718349392. 6/14/2024 7:16:32 AM. N° de réf. du vendeur U9781473641860

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 5,39
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 6,49
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

John Connolly
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Couverture rigide Quantité disponible : 4
Vendeur :
Bahamut Media
(Reading, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Etat : Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. N° de réf. du vendeur 6545-9781473641860

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 4,22
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 8,26
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

Connolly, John, Connolly, John
Edité par Hodder & Stoughton (2017)
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Couverture rigide Edition originale Quantité disponible : 16
Vendeur :
Better World Books Ltd
(Dunfermline, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Etat : Good. 1st Edition. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. N° de réf. du vendeur GRP96894122

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 5,46
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 9,46
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais
Image d'archives

Connolly, John, Connolly, John
Edité par Hodder & Stoughton (2017)
ISBN 10 : 1473641861 ISBN 13 : 9781473641860
Ancien ou d'occasion Couverture rigide Edition originale Quantité disponible : 19
Vendeur :
Better World Books Ltd
(Dunfermline, Royaume-Uni)
Evaluation vendeur

Description du livre Etat : Very Good. 1st Edition. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. N° de réf. du vendeur GRP96535975

Plus d'informations sur ce vendeur | Contacter le vendeur

Acheter D'occasion
EUR 5,46
Autre devise

Ajouter au panier

Frais de port : EUR 9,46
De Royaume-Uni vers Etats-Unis
Destinations, frais et délais

There are autres exemplaires de ce livre sont disponibles

Afficher tous les résultats pour ce livre