El invierno del lobo

My partner turned me on to John Conolly ages ago, and I've never been given reason to regret the suggestion. This particular installment made me wish I'd reread the rest of the series beforehand (there were a touch too many callbacks and references for me to keep track of), it was enjoyable in a unique way. The Charlie Parker series itself ties together mystery, thriller, horror and urban fantasy in a way that no one else does, and although I rarely enjoy series that let the metaplot take over the mystery elements, Connolly never lets the focus drift too much– the mystery is part of the metaplot and vice versa.

I was actually really glad for what happened to Charlie halfway through the book. At this point in the series, the fact that Charlie is central to the plot but not central to the worldbuilding means that the universe Connolly is building feels richer deeper than just “what this one detective feels and does”, which is an unfortunate trap that a lot of long-series authors fall into.

This is a bad place for a new reader to pick up the series, but it's a pretty great installment for fans.