John Connolly November 4, 2011

TGIF for sure with our favorite Irishman. John is bringing visuals so we’ll treat it like Movie Night with popcorn.

From New York Times bestselling author John Connolly, a wonderfully strange and brilliant novel, The Infernals, a follow up to The Gates, about a boy, his dog, and their struggle to escape the wrath of demons. Young Samuel Johnson is in trouble. Not only is his eyesight so poor that he mistakenly asks out a letter box on a date, but an angry demon is seeking revenge for Samuel’s part in foiling the invasion of Earth by the forces of evil. It wants to get its claws on Samuel, and when Samuel and his faithful dachshund, Boswell, are pulled through a portal into the dark realm, the home of the Infernals, it gets its chance.

But catching Samuel is not going to be easy, for the Infernals have not reckoned on the bravery and cleverness of a boy and his dog, or the loyalty of Samuel’s friend, the hapless demon Nurd, or the presence of two clueless policemen and the unlucky, if cheerfully optimistic, driver of an ice-cream van.

Most of all, no one has planned on the intervention of an unexpected band of little men, for Samuel and Boswell are not the only inhabitants of Earth who have found themselves in the underworld. If you thought demons were frightening, just wait until you meet Mr. Merryweather’s Elves. . . .

Fans of the Charlie Parker series should grab the latest, The Burning Soul (Atria $26) speedily.

The Charlie Parker thrillers have always layered horror and detection. This one tilts more towards sleuthing and suspense than scary. He is hired to help Randall Haight, who is being blackmailed for a past crime in which he and a friend as teenagers were convicted of killing a 14-year-old girl. On his release as an adult, Haight was given a new name and set himself up as a tax accountant in the small Maine town of Pastor’s Bay. But with the disappearance of a local 14-year-old girl, Haight wants to protect his new life and hires Parker when Haight is tormented by anonymous mail threatening to reveal his past. The girl’s family and others in Pastor’s Bay have their own secrets to protect…at any cost. Great stuff.

Official Website: http://www.poisonedpen.com