Few
contemporary crime writers have blended noir, horror and literary fiction as
successfully as John Connolly. Born in Dublin in 1968, Connolly first worked as
a journalist for The Irish Times before turning to fiction, and he quickly
established himself as one of the most distinctive voices in modern crime
writing. His debut novel, Every Dead Thing, introduced readers to private
investigator Charlie
Parker. It became an international
success and earned Connolly the distinction of becoming the first non-American
writer to win the prestigious Shamus Award. From there everything has been on
an upward curve.
We at
Shots have been following his trajectory for many years and we are always
thrilled to receive answers to questions that we pose to him. He is a man who
is constantly travelling (he has recently been in Northern Ireland, for example
and is off to Madrid, Spain in due course) but he took a little time off to
talk to us about his own future and that of Charlie
Parker, “scourge of evil, last hope
of the lost¨.
I
reviewed his latest work A River Red
With Blood, which opens with
17-year-old Scott Theriault, a “problem
child” who was consigned to the Spero School (a behavioural-facility) is found
dead in the river Kennebec, drowned but with a broken right leg, suggesting a
bad fall. Private investigator, Charlie Parker is asked to look into it as the
boy’s father, Ward Vose, himself incarcerated in Maine State Prison, does not
believe it was an accident.
Read
the Shots Magazine’s full review HERE
John Parker: Congratulations
on the publication of another Parker novel. I really enjoyed it.
John
Connolly: That’s much appreciated, thank you.
J Parker: The Spero School
was probably inspired by the infamous Élan School in Poland, Maine where Moxie
Castin passed part of his youth. Was that a story you knew about and had been
saving for later or did you learn of it relatively recently? Did you
visit the actual site?
J
Connolly: No, the story preceded any research I did for it. I just knew that I
wanted to begin with an imprisoned father trying to find out how his son died,
and I’d follow the story from there. But as usual, no matter how odd an idea I
come up with, someone in Maine has often done something odder, and the
existence of the Élan schools gave a certain historical resonance to the book.
I didn’t visit any of the original sites because they didn’t really have
anything to do with the story. Mostly, I was trying to capture a sense of a
very particular time of year in Maine, namely that limbo period between fall
and winter in the Kennebec valley.
J
Parker: The “nocturnal
raids” to bring the boys to Spero conjure up a picture of the ICE raids that we
have been observing in recent months. I imagine that was no coincidence?
J Connolly: Actually,
it may be. The book does reference the crackdowns in the state, but I think the
idea of kids being snatched from their beds in the dead of night with parental
consent is horrible enough without having to link it to immigration agents.
J Parker: There definitely seems to be a progression towards a conclusion to the Parker stories. Do you have it all planned out now? Or is it too early? At the beginning of the denouement in Part VI , you quote 15:10 of The Book of Enoch and, having dipped into said book, I am pretty convinced I know where it is going. Of course, you are not going to tell me or (almost) anyone but am I on the right track?
J
Connolly: I think Parker’s
story deserves a conclusion. I know the destination, including the title of the
last book in the sequence and the elements of the final chapters, but not the
route that will take me there. For the next few years, I think Parker novels
will appear biennially, but that may change. I have no shortage of ideas, but
it may be that the series has assumed a momentum of its own.
J Parker: Ok, the “almost
anyone” I refer to is the TV
company that are interested in the Parker property. In a recent interview
for an Irish newspaper, you said that they wanted to know how it all ends
before committing to anything. It’s only been a week or two but is there any
more news?
J Connolly :….…At
the moment I can reveal that Blumhouse TV is the Production Company, and Amazon
the streaming service. At the moment, the producers are looking for a
showrunner, and that person will be responsible for scripting a pilot episode
and an outline of the first season, with a more general overview of the seasons
that might follow. Should all that meet with the approval of Blumhouse and
Amazon, everything would then proceed to casting. But, you know, I’m not
counting my chickens. If it happens, that would be lovely, and if it doesn’t,
I’ve had some interesting conversations with some smart, decent TV people.
J
Parker: In the same interview, you were very disparaging about social media
and the virtual cesspool it has largely become (Twitter/X, in particular). Also
mobile phones as “addiction machines”. What is your feeling about A.I.?
Is there anything positive to say about it? Would you use it for anything?
J Connolly: I
don’t think most readers will want to read AI-generated novels, though there
will be “writers”, and I use the term very advisedly, who will see an
opportunity to generate content without any effort in the hope of making some
easy money. In reality, they’ll just add to the background noise. We may, I
think, soon reach a point where mainstream publishers include a note on the
covers of books advising that it has been written by a person, not generated by
AI. Some interesting hybrids may emerge, but in general, as a reader, I would
prefer to read a book, watch a film, or listen to music that has been created
by another human being; and I think the effort and labour that we put into
creating art is part of the pleasure of it. But I accept that I may be proved
wrong.
J
Parker: Platforms like
Prime Video, Netflix and the amazing Filmin in Spain (a quick plug for my
favourite) seem to be ever-expanding? Do you indulge and do you have any
recommendations of things that you have liked?
J
Connolly: I seem to have reached an age where I’m filling in the gaps in my
knowledge, so a lot of what I watch, read, and listen to is older material. (I
sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by the new.) Even my radio show has both feet
in the past…
J Parker: What can you tell us about your next
publication, The Castle? And will the next Parker be out in 2028?
J Connolly: The Castle is set in Connecticut, against the
backdrop of the Watergate hearings, and concerns a gated community that begins
to suspect it is under attack, but why, and by whom, no one seems to know. On
one level, it’s about what happens when people lose faith in the system, but
it’s mostly about family secrets. I haven’t started the new Parker yet. At the
moment, I’m writing a historical novel, and last year I finished a short novel
set in England before the outbreak of the First World War. That’s a mystery
novel. But I’m not quite sure how either
of those will fit into the publishing schedule, if they ever do.
J Parker: The question I always ask you; what are you
reading these days?
J Connolly: I’m
about to start a Bernard Cornwell ‘Sharpe’ novel as a comfort read. I have a
couple of proofs waiting to be read, mostly first novels, but generally I seem
to be wading through research books for the historical novel. I have a
hankering to try to finish Middlemarch at
last. I’ve tried and failed twice before. Third time may be the charm…
Shots Magazine would like to thank Laura Sherlock and Hodder and
Stoughton Publishing for organising this interview and to John Parker of our
Spanish Office.
More information available HERE
And previous reviews and interviews are archived HERE
A Spanish Language introduction to the Charlie Parker
Series HERE
