N O V E L S T H E    B O O K    O F    L O S T    T H I N G S (UK & US) MANX INDEPENDENT Some books linger long in the mind, others are forgotten the next day. And then there are those that just refuse to go away. Irish author Connolly's latest—his seventh novel, and second away from private eye Charlie Parker—would seem, at first glance, a simple tale. When 12-year-old David loses his mother to illness, he retreats into a shell, using the books of fairytales they both loved to create a fantasy world that begins to blend into his own. The first 60 pages contain some of the most beautiful writing you could wish to read. Connolly then throws a curve ball at you. For the next 50 pages, the mood changes, the story seems to stall and the road ahead looks rocky. By the time David's journey draws to an end, with the Book of Lost Things so tantalisingly close, Connolly has dragged you through every emotion going, while the pay off hits you right in the heart. This has shades of Nocturnes, Connolly's collection of short stories. It manages to be both new and fresh, but is clearly influenced by—and has several nods to—the tales which he adapts, not to mention The Wizard of Oz. A beautiful, haunting story, uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time, which keeps you thinking long after the book has been closed.    —John Quirk WHO DUNNIT Author John Connolly manages to combine outrageous, yet believable fantasy with horrific murders while he entertains you with a story that holds you in thrall. Mr. Connolly is probably best known for his Charlie Parker series, but The Book of Lost Things provides the weird adventures of a twelve-year-old boy. John Connolly's imagination runts rampant, producing a hilarious twist on certain very familiar fairy stories as well as grim pseudo-reality. John Connolly has departed from the Charlie Parker tales only to create an amazing and accurate portrayal of a boy's natural jealousy moving into a more adult point of view. Yet that adult point of view retains, unlike a good many so-called mature people, a very positive knowledge that the supernatural actually exists. Hooray for John Connolly!    —Alan Paul Curtis MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW Inventive and very different... an allegory on life and death, war and peace, and other aspects of this life and the next...    —Theodore Feit Read the first chapter. Support an independent bookstore, or buy online from Amazon.co.uk.