This book begins the series featuring Charlie Parker, an ex cop recovering from the murders of his wife and young daughter. The murders were particularly gruesome and Charlie is obsessed with finding the murderer. This takes him on a hunt that leads to more murders, and murderers, than expected.

I have read 13 books in this series, and several standalones by this author, but never read the first book until now. Before, I could not find an unabridged audiobook so I skipped it since I consider abridged books to be criminal offenses - even when the book could have benefited from some more aggressive editing. This book has all of the characteristics that I like about the series. There is wit, sharp dialog, crisp writing and a complicated plot. There is only a hint of the supernatural occurrences that become more prominent later on in the series. I am not that crazy about the sadistic and ghoulish nature of the crimes. And in this book, a few of the threads could have been eliminated. The plot felt a little ragged at times. However, if I had started with this book I definitely would have continued with the series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Every Dead Thing is every mystery lover's answer to a jewel of a find. It is packed full of gruesome serial killer offerings and detective Charlie Bird Parker' s investigation s into the dark chilling murders. Revenge can be do sweet,, but so unbelievably terrifying in th e process. John Connolly is one super writer.

With all the meat on the table in this book, a less brilliant author would have written at least four, just to keep the matter under control. Instead, John Connolly has written just one, full of minutely described characters and equally minutely deepened from the psychological point of view, with a plot of events really complex and full, very full, of musical and literary references, a real bignami from this point of view. The only character that, in the second part of the book, got on my nerves a bit is Rachel, the psychologist who comes to the aid of the protagonist, who jumps alone into the pond and then takes it out on the protagonist when she realizes she is drowning. In any case, a truly remarkable work.

Charlie Parker is trying to deal with the death of his wife and child the only way he knows how, solving another case. This one of the Traveling Man, a case of his former partner on the force. This deals with loyalty, love and forgiveness and keeps you holding your breath.
John Connelly is a very good writer of detective novels, though I got tired of the descriptions and length of the book.
Thank you Herbalist and Pocket Books a chance to review this book.
#Netgalley #PocketBooks

Great book in a classic PI series. Connolly delivers on all fronts. The series gets better after this (I know, cause I read them all).

I thought it was a really good psychological thriller with plenty of suspense and mystery. The wife and daughter of detective Charlie Parker are brutally murdered. Charlie is a suspect and vows to find the killer. Two plots are happening in this book a mob rivalry and the serial killer. As soon as i was getting caught up in one storyline it switched to the next, but with enough intrigue to keep it moving. Kind of scary with all of the sick unassuming folks who are truly evil to do the things they do and hide in plain sight. I had an idea of possible suspects, but when it is all revealed of course a rational sane mind can't make sense of it.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

I have read several books in this series but wanted to go back and read the book that started it all off. So glad I did! Charlie Parker is a NYPD cop with a drinking problem when his family is brutally murdered by a serial killer. In response to his guilt and grief, he begins to make changes in his life over the following months: quits drinking, leaves his job behind and does some private investigative work when called on. But top on his list is finding the man who destroyed his family. Are there clues to be found in the missing person case he's currently working on?

Great, believable characterizations--real human beings with lots of baggage. There's plenty of violence, horror and gore though not yet much of the supernatural that weaves its way through later stories. But evil abounds: "Our ancestors were not wrong in their superstitions: there is reason to fear the dark.'

One of the really great things about this book for me is the New Orleans setting. John Connolly does a fantastic job of describing that city--the hot, sticky weather, the bayous, the neighborhoods and restaurants, the food, the people, the politics. It was so much fun to spend time in that great city once again. There's even a decent sounding recipe of sorts for gumbo. Ooooweeee!

I received an arc of this thriller from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for my honest review. I apologize for the delay in getting it done but I have now joined Amazon Kindle Unlimited so I can get my hands on the rest of the series!

This is a long complicated story with two different mysteries going on. It was good, but maybe would have worked better if split into two books. It took a long time to read. Learning more about the New Orleans area was cool, too.

Atria Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Every Dead Thing. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker fell down the rabbit hole when his family was murdered by the Traveling Man. Consumed by guilt, he buried his sorrows in a bottle and lost his career because of it. After becoming sober, Charlie became a private detective and is hired by his former partner to find a missing woman. As Charlie digs through the brutal and violent world of murder, will he find his purpose and passion?

Every Dead Thing is not for the faint of heart. The brutal nature of the killings is written in graphic form, but this is necessary for the authenticity. Serial killers are not, by nature, gentle people, and their crimes usually are not either. Charlie Parker is a man with flaws, sure, but he also has a redeeming quality to him. I read this book long ago and, having neglected to write a review, I revisited the novel and character again. The author clearly does his research as regards to the many settings that make up Every Dead Thing and his characterization of a man completely gutted by the brutal death of his family is spot on. I would recommend Every Dead Thing to readers who are fans of mystery thrillers and I look forward to reading more by author John Connolly in the future.

The first Charlie Parker book I read was A Time of Torment -- which I loved, but even though it stands on its own it also contains all that went before in the life of Parker and his friends. So I was delighted to have the opportunity to go back and read Every Dead Thing.

The book is terrifying and magnificent. Connolly writes prose like poetry and images a world in which good and evil exist as counterbalances, and where good people are sometimes forced to do terrible things. At a very basic level, Every Dead Thing, is about the Q: Who killed Charlie Parker's wife and child? But in creating Parker's world, you want to know more. And that sent me to purchase book after book in the series because you can't just read one Parker book.

*review also posted to Amazon.

I am reading everything I can find by this author now. The book was well paced and I enjoyed the protagonist very much. Will be looking forward to more in this series.

It took me a little while to really get into it, there are a lot and I mean a lot of characters in this book and it's very descriptive which made it a little hard to stay with at the beginning but once I quit trying to keep tabs on everyone and just focused on the story I really enjoyed it, there are quite a few stories going on through out but I enjoyed seeing them all tie together at the end, I will definitely read the next book.

Detective Charlie Bird returns home from a drunken spree and finds his wife and daughter murdered. Life must change for Bird who is soon in recovery and no longer a member of the force. He picks up odd jobs to survive. His latest case that of missing person Catherine Demeter seems to have something to do with his own loss of family.

There is not a single book by John Connolly that disappoints. He weaves an engrossing tale each time, drawing the reader in until it becomes imperative to stay up all night to finish the book. Would definitely recommend both the book and the author. #EveryDeadThing #Netgalley

A good read but a little gory and grotesque at the beginning. Two mysteries in this book, the missing woman and the murder of Charlie Parkers wife and daughter. Even though I enjoyed the book it is not for the person that is put off by violence.

This book is awesome. I don't love the cover but glad I didn't judge it based on that. I love a good thriller and this one starts off with two horrible murders. I couldn't put this one down. Looking forward to reading more about Charlie Parker!

This was my first Parker novel and I found it extremely graphic. I was unable read the graphic violence even in the beginning of the book and had to skip a lot of this novel. The author has a definite formula that includes extreme detail of violence, murder, rape and racism. Very hard to read .

This was an excellent book. My first foray into the world of Charlie Parker, and I cannot wait to get into the rest of the series! I loved Conolly’s writing, and the supernatural elements of the story.

I made it 12%.

Trigger Warning for rape, torture, mutilation, child murder. Especially the beginning prologue. Absolutely brutal.

-->Describes a character as a lover of "Oriental food".
--> Fatphobic.
--> This fucking quote: "We drove north on I-10, past an outlet mall and on toward West Baton Rouge with its truck stops and gambling joints, its bars full of oil workers and, elsewhere, blacks. " <----REALLY?!?
-->That racist BS is followed by the most stereotypical "black swamp witch" passage I've ever had the misfortune to read.

Yeah, I'm fucking done.