Every Dead Thing (Charlie Parker Series #1)

Rare, Gifted Writer

What a pleasure to discover the Charlie Parker series. Mr. Connolly's writing comes from a depth of soul and insight that I have rarely found. These books stay with the reader due to the multi layers in the stories. Among the best of the genre.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

An Awesome Book

This book is truly awesome. The characters are believable and stick with you long after you finish the book. Give yourself plenty of time to read once you pick it up (you will not put it down), and do not read it right before you want to go to bed.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Thrilling, full of suspense and fully satisfying!

It has been a long time since I've read a book that made me smile, shake my head at the end, and go hmm hmm hmm! Every Dead Thing made me do just that. This was the first book I'd read by Mr. Connolly. I picked the book up because of the title which just happened to catch my eye. It sounded interesting. Then, based on a comparison to Thomas Harris (another of my favorite authors) by (I believe) Stephen King, I bought Every Dead Thing. I was not disapppointed! I immediately bought the other books of Mr. Connolly's with the Charlie Parker character. Charlie reminds me of the Lucas Davenport character in another author's books and although they are alike in some instances, they are totally different in others. I loved Every Dead Thing and wanted to rush to the end of the book to see what was going to happen, but there was too much good stuff going on before getting there. I could not believe the end!! It was a blast!! Mr. Connolly, I'm a fan!

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Not impressed...

Maybe I'm a tough critic but I found the writing to be dark and difficult to follow. I realize that the subject is not a light one but the entire story seemed disjointed and nightmarish. I was very disappointed.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Long

If I would write a review as detailed as each scene in the book, it would be 500 pages. Little over done.

Too graphic

Enough dead boies for ten novels

Best series I've found in a long time

I picked up a few of Connolly's books at a yard sale this summer (Bad Men, Black Angel, White Road). After I read Black Angel, I was hooked. I read Dark Hollow next since they were out Every Dead Thing. Even though each book reads perfectly well as a stand-alone story, by this time I wanted to read the origin story before I went any farther. I enjoyed this book not only because it filled in the gaps, but it also is one of Connolly more structured books. His fusion of detective, horror and supernatural elements are bound together by the characters - a combination that sets his books apart from King, Koontz and others. I gave my daughter the book to read and she is finding it hard to get started. This I understand - it is easier to get through the first story is you have read one of the later books first. At any rate, once you read one of Connolly's books, it will be hard not to read the others.

Great read;however, beware- this is a murder mystery and it gives gruesome details of the murders. Those faint of heart should avoid this one.

Love The Writing

Connelly is excellent at describing a scene or the people in it... this is the first Charlie Parker I've read and will probably read them all...

PASS

Sorry it just didn't do a thing for me & I LOVE a good mystery

New & Happy Fan of John Connolly's Writings

As a new fan of John Connolly, I'm Thrilled with his work. My 29 y/o son gave me this book and I could not put it down, finishing it in one reading, covers over my head with nook light, reading through the night. I plan to get every book he has written. Knowing he bases his Charlie Parker star with Maine as his escape location and Charlie is named after a guy Connolly knows right here in Maine, stirred my first interest in his work. Connolly's descriptions of Maine and every other location help make his writing believable. Watching his local TV interview and seeing his brilliance for myself, will keep me reading though all his works. While he was born and lives in Dublin, Ireland, he has in fact traveled to all the locations he rights about, giving him the nickname "Traveling Man". LOL

Not Overly Impressed

The reviews for this and other Connolly books are fairly good, but I struggled to get through this one. FAR too many characters and converging story lines. Once he got back settled into tracking the Traveling Man, Connolly finished strong. I'll be back for more in the Parker series. Hopefully, after he painstakingly introduced so many characters - some of whom I imagine will appear in other books - Connolly's future books in the series are more about story telling and thrill rides.

Love it! Moves along at a great pace!

Love it! Moves along at a great pace!

Made Me Put Book 2 On My Reading List

The characters in this book were likable even when they were despicable. Also, there were a few subplots that occurred, were resolved, and then made me yearn for more similar subplots. Overall, the book was a bit long for my taste, but the payoff was definitely there. I'll put it this way, I liked it enough to put the second book in the series on my reading list.

Every Dead Thing

I have a theory about John Connolly: He is actually two people. There is the one that writes amazing books like The Book of Lost Things and The Gates and then there is the one that turns out the Charlie Parker series. I don't know what it is, but I could not get into this book. I never found myself connecting to Parker and I felt like a lot of the "twists" were tried-and-true plot devices that have been a touch overused. I realize that puts me in the minority, but I think it is important to point out that everyone I have talked to that enjoyed The Book of Lost Things and was wanting something heavier and darker did NOT like this book. Yes, they are completely different books, but they are written by the same author. It's like he is just trying to get the words on paper with this book whereas the earlier mentioned books seemed like genuine labors of love. Just an observation, do with it as you wish.

Graphic disappointment

I was very disappointed with this book. I, too, found it difficult to read. It's as if the author had ADD. At times his prose is excellent, but he goes off on too many tangents that aren't related to the plot. The story itself is very gruesome and goes into explicit detail in describing child killings. Definitely not for me. I wouldn't recommend it.

I love his books!

He never disappoints

Love this book

I loved this book. Connolly is a great writer, and writes great, interesting characters, with intrigue, a little darkness, humor, the whole bag. Recommend

Murder mystery lover

Wow! John Connolly sure tore into the thriller scene with this one! Like one other reviewer said, I also normally do not care much for first person storytelling, but this book would not have been right any other way. The storyline, the characters, and the prose made this one of the best books I have read in awhile. Unlike many books, when John introduces you to someone or tells a back story, you better pay attention because it's not filler--everything has relevance to the overall picture. The fact that it took place to a large extent in the bayous was cool, too, as I love stories like that. If you like to be thrilled, chilled, and satisfied, definitely pick up this book and Dark Hollow, too. You'll be glad you did!

IMPRESSED!!!!

Okay, I want more of this writer.. Seriously, I never liked the first person thingy in a book, but since I have been dying to read this book(I didn't know it was written in the first person until I bought it)I read it anyway. It was really good, and I now have a different view on first person writings, because towards the end, when the identity of the Traveling Man was revealed, I could feel what Bird was feeling, I felt my face change with the realisation of who TM was. Get this book, it's great. I'm going to the get Dark Hollow. The book that actually attraacted me to John Connolly and lead me to buy his first book, Every Dead Thing first..