Charlie Parker left his family to go drinking. When he went home to find his wife and daughter dead and posed strangely. He is filled with guilt over the savage killing of his wife and daughter. Charlie is a recovering alcoholic now but is off the force. He is not a private investigator legally but he does take jobs to find people. Charlie Parker also known as Bird goes on a job to find a woman. As he works the case, the man who murdered Bird's wife and daughter leaves him a grisly memento. Will Charlie find the woman? He finds himself looking for the murderer of his wife and daughter after the case of the missing woman. Will he find him?

The author has given two mysteries in this novel. The first one is the missing woman. The second one is the murder of his family. It is gruesome due to the carnage in the story. It was a novel that kept me involved even when I was not reading the story. It is a harrowing tale.

4 stars
This book starts with 2 horrific murders--a a mother and child are tortured, killed and then arranged in a pose reminiscent of some twisted horror painting. Charlie Parker comes home after a night of heavy drinking to find his wife and daughter murdered. The killer tortured them by cutting flesh from their bodies while they were still alive. Charlie is a NYPD police detective and now has a guilty conscience because he was out getting drunk instead of protecting his family. He decides to find the killer, who is a serial killer. The killer leaves messages for Charlie, calling himself the "Travelin' Man." Charlie goes to Louisiana in search of clues. More people die, some by the Travelin' Man and others because of conflicts caused by the widening search for the killer, now involving police and FBI.
This a moderately long book, 480p and has quite a bit of violence. It is a good mystery if you can get over the violence, sometimes very gruesome.
Some quotes:
Charlie: "The past was like a snare. It allowed me to move a little, to circle, to turn, but in the end, it always dragged me back."
House description: "Two large rooms opened out at either end at either side of a hallway, filled with furniture that looked like it was used only when presidents died."
Thanks to NetGalley for sending this book

Bodies begin to pile up and multiple different murder cases demand the attention of Charlie Bird and his team. Still guilt ridden over his wife and daughter's death, he pursues a serial killer in his new persona as a private investigator. Suspense filled, dark mystery. Very well written

Charlie Parker, Angel and Louis are good guys who are "bad". Charlie has suffered horrifically by the death of his wife and child. He sets up to both prove his innocence and to find the serial killer who destroyed his life.

The story ends up in New Orleans and Connolly’s picturesque descriptions actually made me sweat in sympathy. Connolly does not hesitate to kill off characters so be careful who you identify with as they may disappear.

Connolly spends some time pontificating on evil and it’s renditions. His character doesn’t seem to have a very high opinion of mankind in general. There are some very intense scenes and some really difficult things to read.

I repeat, there are some pretty graphic references in the book so if you are faint of heart, you may want to skip it.

It was still a good read.

EXCERPT: The patrol car arrived first on the night they died, shedding red light into the darkness. Two patrolmen entered the house, quickly yet cautiously, aware that they were responding to a call from one of their own, a policeman who had become a victim instead of the resort of victims.
I sat in the hallway with my head in my hands as they entered the kitchen of our Brooklyn home and glimpsed the remains of my wife and child. I watched as one conducted a brief search of the upstairs rooms while the other checked the living room, the dining room, all the time the kitchen calling them back, demanding that they bear witness.
I listened as they radioed for the Major Crime Scene Unit, informing them of a probable double homicide. I could hear the shock in their voices, yet they tried to communicate what they had seen as dispassionately as they could, like good cops should. Maybe, even then, they suspected me. They were policemen and they, more than anyone else, knew what people were capable of doing, even one of their own.

THE BLURB: Hailed internationally as a page-turner in a league with the fiction of Thomas Harris, this lyrical and terrifying bestseller is the stunning achievement of an "extravagantly gifted" (Kirkus Reviews) new novelist. John Connolly superbly taps into the tortured mind and gritty world of former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker, tormented by the brutal, unsolved murders of his wife and young daughter. Driven by visions of the dead, Parker tracks a serial killer from New York City to the American South, and finds his buried instincts -- for love, survival, and, ultimately, for killing -- awakening as he confronts a monster beyond imagining...

MY COMMENTS: When I closed this book on the final page, I went and lay down in a darkened room. I was spent, drained, depleted, amazed, stunned and awed. I needed to let the characters take their leave, to leave me in peace. Every Dead Thing is not an easy book to cast from ones mind. Like Charlie 'Bird' Parker, I could sense them there, shadows in the room wanting to be heard, as I read.

And that ending. .....but I get ahead of myself.

Connolly's writing is described as 'lyrical'. It is all of that and more. He writes with beautiful words and phrases that resound in my mind, that I return to and read again, that I roll around in my mouth and my mind like a fine wine. Beautiful words and phrases that are far removed from the dark acts they describe; and because of their beauty, words that make those acts even more starkly horrifying.

He uses devices, tactics in his writing that, with other authors, have me gnashing my teeth. But Connolly makes them work to his advantage and had me eagerly turning the pages. The man is a master at his art.

And the ending? With all the twists, turns, subplots, reminiscences and meanderings down country lanes throughout the book, I NEVER SAW THAT COMING!

I have randomly read a number of the books in the Charlie Parker series over the years, but never this, the first in the series. Now I am motivated to read them all again, in order this time.

Thank you to Atria Books via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Every Dead Thing by John Connolly for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page for an explanation of my ratings.

You can also see this review and others at sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

I couldn't get into this book enough to read it all the way through.

This book is very intense and has so much information. It could have been a short story, but then it would have lost some of its power.
Charlie Parker was a police detective until his wife and daughter were murdered. This book tells about his search for the killer.
A lot of this book is devoted to background information on each of the characters including philosophical perspectives and more about anatomy than I ever needed to know.
I wish the book had some type of identification when it referred to something that happened in the past. Overall it was a good book that kept my interest.

Charlie Parker. Every time I come across the Charlie Parker series, I see nothing but high praise for it.

My first introduction to John Connolly was last year when I read his young adult novel The Gates. I was struck by his sense of humor, and I knew I needed to read more of his books.

Every Dead Thing was a great introduction to the series. I didn't find the dark humor I expected after reading The Gates, but I did find a solid thriller. The introduction of the Charlie Parker character took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting such a rough and heavy introduction. I'm taking it as a good sign that this will not be your average series.

I'm looking forward to continuing on with the next book. There are fifteen Charlie Parker books at this point so I may have a long treat in store.

Connolly is a master of his genre! That said, I just got tired of reading this book - it went on so long even after it was very evident who the murderer was. I felt the book could have been edited down a lot and still have been a great book.

I have been a fan of John Connelly since I read his supernatural fantasy The Book of Lost Things. Every Dead Thing, from the Charlie Parker series, is an entertaining story with elements of Silence of the Lambs and DaVinci Code. A serial killer whose crimes are inspired by medieval medical lore eludes all attempts to track him down. My one criticism is that the book seemed to have two ending points. One satisfying conclusion is reached midway through the book, but then the pace picks up as former policeman Charlie Parker turns his attention to the monster who killed his wife and child. I almost wish the stories had been fleshed out (Ouch, poor choice of words considering the M.O. of the Traveling Man) so they could have been published separately. There was lots of New Orleans atmosphere for those readers who are fans of The Big Easy. All in all, this book will hold your interest whether you are into detectives or the macabre.

Dark as dark can be. Haunted my dreams, but surprisingly kept me reading (I usually stay away from gore and violence). This is my second Charlie Parker Book; I had read the last in the series a number of months ago, which I thoroughly enjoyed; this one felt a bit heavy-handed, although as it is the first in the series, I guess John Connoly was going for effect over subtlety. Like another reviewer mentioned, if this was the first book in the Charlie Parker series I might not at all have even finished it; since it was the second (and I had read the latest one), I fully intend to read others.

This book is the first of the Charlie Parker series and was originally published in hardcover edition in 1999. I'm a big fan of John Connolly and the Charlie Parker series and was pleasantly surprised to find this. I had thought I had read all of his books. John Connolly is a an amazing author and knows how to use words to hold your interest and it's evident even in this debut novel.

It was a decent read, appreciate that the author is republishing the series.

“Every Dead Thing” is the first book in the Charlie Parker series and it is a fabulous debut for this character. Parker is a former NYPD detective who has become a private detective. In this book he is on the trail of missing persons and a serial killer. A rich widow in New York asks him to look for her friend who has gone missing, but is not as simple a case as it at first appears. Following her trail to Virginia, Parker uncovers a pair of serial killers who prey on children and brings their reign of terror to an explosive end. Then he is summoned to Louisiana but a psychic who is having visions of a girl trapped in the swamp. While investigating he must confront his past and what he uncovers will test not only his detective skills but also his loyalty.

I have read one other book in this series and I just love Charlie Parker. He’s a good guy but he plays the edges with finesse. He is surrounded by a motley crew of characters, from assassins to university professors. I found each of the characters to be very realistic and I really enjoyed the way that their stories come out gradually and in a way that feels natural to the story. This story is loaded with thrills and at times may take your breath away. One caution: there is quite a bit of graphic violence, so this would not be a good pick for a younger reader. I loved the way the author weaves the different components of the storyline together to make a seamless whole, and I can’t wait to dig deeper into this series. I highly recommend.

I love the Charlie Parker series. They always present a captivating plot and characters. No character is perfect. They are flawed but relatable. Connolly does an excellent job presenting characters that you feel like you've spent time with and know even though most are outside the realm of most readers. If you're looking for a new series or even a stand alone book I highly recommend any of this series.

First of all, I'm a huge fan of John Connolly's young adult books. I love the quirky humor and the fantastical elements. Given that Every Dead Thing revolves around a serial killer, I wasn't really expecting too much of his usual quirky humor, but the blurb did hint at some supernatural elements, and I was really looking forward to seeing Connolly apply this in a different setting.
Every Dead Thing is definitely not the John Connolly of his young adult fiction. The fact that it is completely different is certainly a testament to his skill as a writer - he writes the Charlie Parker series with an entirely different tone and style. The book is very well written - and obviously well-researched. Everything from how to make gumbo to how to conduct an autopsy is described in this book.
The story felt a little disjointed for me. It was almost like two separate stories, one that began at the first of the book, but was put on hold very quickly for the second story, which ended around half-way through the book, then story one picked back up. The two stories were connected, it just wish they had been on more of a parallel track.
I missed the strong presence of a supernatural element. I was really excited when Charlie Parker went to see the psychic lady in the swamp who received messages from one of the murder victims and warned Parker of the Traveling Man. Parker does have some dreams, or maybe visions, of the dead going forward, but they didn't provide him any clues or help - they just kind of seemed like vague nightmares. I had hoped for more.
The only other thing I missed, was seeing the Traveling Man show up more in the segment I called "the second story". Parker talked a lot about avoiding dwelling on the murderer or allowing himself to develop a dependent relationship with the killer. Many times in serial killer stories, you see the killer making more efforts to draw a victim into this kind of relationship. I had hoped to see the Traveling Man trying to draw Parker in more.
All in all - this was an extremely well-written story. It falls into the action-murder-suspense category for me. I did find some of the descriptions a little gruesome. I typically like movies in this genre, but I've discovered I can handle seeing a brief shot of someone getting shot in the knee much easier than I can handle reading the description of a bullet shattering bone and severing arteries. Lesson learned. Ultimately, I recommend this book for any crime fiction fans. The level of language is low, and other than gruesome content, there is one brief sex scene. Connolly's writing is first-rate, and the plot is well-paced with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.

This is a richly-textured story that includes several serial killer issues with the challenges of a reformed ex-alcoholic, ex-policeman whose family was lost in a vicious crime. The dark and foreboding environment is created by a style that includes an effusion of words both on the main thrust and on the tangent. All the major characters are described in loving detail, including sufficient information to involve the reader in their lives. Whether villains or good guys, each character is a work of art. Many teasers along the way stimulate guesses about the mystery killer. Yet the ending was a complete surprise. Not an easy read, but very entertaining and realistic.

This book was not to my personal taste, but I can see where people who enjoy more hard-boiled storytelling might enjoy it.

After reading A Time of Torment, I decided that I definitely wanted to know more of the Charlie Parker back story. Then I was offered this, the first book of the series, which is being released with a new introduction from the author, again through NetGalley. Once again, I was struck immediately by Connolly's skill in creating characters, settings, moods and horror. Here the thriller involves a very human actor who appears to see himself as some sort 0f demon. The crimes are very brutal and difficult to deal with, for the characters and readers. But Charlie Parker has a mission of a sort. He is an avenger, seeking the devil that took his family. And will take others.

There are pros and cons to this book. It had me spellbound, kept me reading when I should have been doing other things. The writing is excellent. Connolly is such a skilled writer and I have enjoyed so many things from him. He is able to delineate black and white and so many shades of gray in our world...nothing is easy. And he also kept me guessing.

One major con with this book (that was not present to the same degree in A Time of Torment) was the degree and type of violence, the graphic nature of it. It is actually a part of the plot of Every Dead Thing so nothing more to be said here about it. Needless to say, this book is not for those who do not wish to or can't tolerate graphic violence to people. I have been on the fence with this book but have decided that I will give it a good rating because of the other factors I've mentioned. I have, over the past few years, given up some series due to their violence so I risk seeming a hypocrite here. My plan going forward is to read the later Charlie Parker books as my experience with the later book was a heavier dose of the paranormal atmosphere as well as Charlie's continuing quest to find and extinguish deep-seated evil wherever he finds it. He has good friends to help him, but it is a lonely task. There was much less graphic violence in the newer book, though by its nature of good fighting evil, there is violence.

Well, that is my long-winded apologia/review. I think you will know if this book is for you or if, perhaps the later Charlie Parker books might be a place to start. I definitely recommend you read Connolly's short stories, no matter what. If you are a fan of mystery/thrillers with a touch of horror and a pinch of the paranormal, this series is for you.

A copy of this re-release edition was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Excellent detective story. The characters (even the side characters) are better developed than in many such stories and the settings are equally well done. And there is a LOT of story here. In fact, the author could have made two or even three books out of this. The only real drawback for me is the creepiness and gore--I may have to quit reading books about serial killers as I seem to be getting squeamish!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book.