Review: THE DIRTY SOUTH by John Connolly

5 Stars

I first found this a surprising geographical choice for this Irish author in this particular series,  usually set in New England or New York City and environs. THE REAPERS, of course,  has a backdrop of Mississippi as Louis' backstory,  but primarily the series is set in New England. THE DIRTY SOUTH, obviously,  is not. Where I expected,  from the title, somewhere in the Deep South (U.S.), instead the story is firmly set in Southern Arkansas; and, like THE REAPERS, a sad, sad, tale it is.

My second thought,  which continued throughout,  was how apropos to the immediate cultural/social/political climate.  Although set, for necessity,  during the Presidency of Arkansas's Favorite Son Bill Clinton,  the backdrop might as well be in 2020, amidst the counterculture protests against police brutality and violence against Black citizens. Yes, victims are black; yes, the murders are horrible [and the Denouement is mind-blowing in its multiple perverseness], but the story is highly character-driven and setting-laden, so that I almost think the victims could have been of any ethnicity,  and the story would be only a little different. 

THE DIRTY SOUTH is #18 in the Charlie Parker Series, but in effect it serves as a sort of prequel,  occurring several months after the horribly gruesome murders of Parker's wife Susan and daughter Jennifer,  in Brooklyn.