"A Game of Ghosts" John Connolly (2017) Charlie Parker #15

Even though "A Game of Ghosts" is the fifteenth Charlie Parker novel, Connolly's thriller is as compelling and intriguing as ever. It even surpasses his last, "A Time of Torment".
Who knew Family Guy's Providence, R.I. was a hotbed of secrets and corruption? So many fascinating characters; both old (the Collector and Eldritch, his ailing father; loquacious lawyer Moxie Castin; Charlie's daughter Sam - possessing untapped powers, communing with her half sister, Jennifer -  and of course, Angel & Louis) and new (the grotesque Mother and her insane son Philip; the Brethren, another arcane religious community - supported by the "Baptist" Bruckers; likeable nosy neighbour David Ferrier; psychic and discount furniture king Tobey Thayer). Thayer talks about exploring "...a crawl space between worlds."
Connolly's rich, atmospheric prose is sprinkled with punchy banter like:
" 'Vincent Garronne is dead.' said Mother.
'Ah,' said Louis. 'Was it sudden?'
'It was when he hit the ground,' said Philip."

I enjoyed Charlie's theory about why he preferred McCarthy over Lennon.

Saying this book is about just a ghost story is like saying "The Godfather" is just about Italian immigrants.
Parker talks about "darkness, and the creatures that move(d) through the honeycomb world."
In this world, Charlie's dead daughter, Jennifer sits on a rock "...as the departed flow past, an endless river of souls flowing into the waiting sea."
I get the feeling that the next book will deal more with Sam's powers. Are Charlie Parker's cases drawing to a close?  If so, he's going out on a high.
So much to savour in this book.

 As a side note, midway in the book Connolly talks about Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. This links with disgraced FBI agent John (Joseph) Connolly (Jr).

"Count Arthur Strong" Series 2 and 3, BBC

If it wasn't that Graham Linehan was involved, I would never have started watching Series 1. It is 'an acquired taste'.
Pros
Rory Kinnear is a wonderfully versatile actor (I saw him last as Frankenstein's creature in "Penny Dreadful"). He has his dad's comic timing (Roy Kinnear). The cafe owner, Bulent, is a trick.
There are some fun malaprops (e.g. Arthur's "racist" book in Episode 1) and linking "Carry On Cruising" with "Captain Phillips" made me smile, but not enough to sustain a half hour comedy. Perhaps Episode 2 will win me over. What is Michael writing?
Episode 2 was much stronger, cleverly structured with a particularly funny flashback involving street urchins from "Oliver", 60's mods and "The Great Escape".
Episode 3 (Arthur dabbles in local politics "We're Listening") tried to stretch 29 minutes with one joke.
The series final, Episode 7, "Fame at last", had a sweet ending but the jokes again were drawn out and predictable.
The studio audience laughing uproariously at anything vaguely funny was grating. There must have been booze laid on before the taping.
Update Series 3
I just gave the first episode of Series 3 a try and was pleasantly surprised - mad make-up, spooky ventriloquist dummies, "grandpa drinking" and Michael dancing to Soft Cell.
Episode 2 - Kevin Klein underpants, "that Brian Cox feeling" and Don Arthur Corleone made me laugh a lot. Beautifully structured episode with a great final gag.
Episode 3 sees Arthur transformed from farting murder-mystery corpse into crack detective, thanks to Martin Clunes and a double decker bus.
Episode 4 was more surreal than usual - an assault course for babies, Barry Norman's pickled onions, a WW1 soup cannon and Archimedes's bathtime urethra moment.
When was the last time someone mentioned "The Onedin Line"? Episode 5 is full of nostalgic references - Clannad, The Beatles on the rooftop, Paul Newman in "The Hustler" - topped off with a guest appearance by "John Shuttleworth" (Graham Fellows).
P.S. Never share a bed with Arthur.
In "Safari Park" (Episode 7, season finale) we have the classic fire in the car/lions outside dilemma. Ann Summers lingerie saves the day.