Charlie Parker is tormented by the brutal murder of his family. He desperately tries to find this vicious killer before he strikes again. This fast paced murder mystery will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

I have always loved Connolly's books from the first one I read (this is actually the first Charlie Parker book in reprint) , and this book is another home run! This book is set up into three sections, each one building on the previous one, and the tension building up as well. This is an intricate novel, where one spider web bleeds into another, and everything is connected, but it is up to the reader to determine it. Connolly has crafted a new type of thriller- one with a heart and a search for forgiveness. This is the pageturner you want on vacation, when you have hours to stay up all night reading.

I did not finish this book. Gave up about a quarter of the way through. There are so many characters, and I don't see how they are connected. Very confusing, didn't care for the banal dialogue, plot wasn't going anywhere, and didn't make any connection with the main character (he seemed to be a ghost). Decided it was not worth my time.

John Connolly at his brilliant best. His characters stay with you long after you've finished the book. Can't wait for his next one.

A Good Mystery, But Gory

Charlie (Bird) Parker and his wife Susan are having a difficult time. He loves his daughter Jennifer, but his arguments with Susan are driving him away. One night after an argument he slams out of the house to go drink at the local bar. When he comes home the worst possible sight meets his eyes. His wife and daughter are dead, and they’ve been brutally mutilated.

Charlie has no alibi and falls under suspicion. In the aftermath of the trauma he leaves the NYPD and without a license investigates crimes, hoping to get The Traveler, the man who murdered his family. His hunt takes him from New York to Virginia and Louisiana. In each place he’s met with violence and gruesome crimes.

The mystery is complex and peopled with unusual characters. That part made me want to read the book. However, to get the mystery you have to wade through gore. It was rather overdone for my taste. It took a long time to finish the book. I had to put it down and read other books to get away from the killing.

If you enjoy a good mystery, well written with quirky characters, you may enjoy this book. However, it is very bloody.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

The first book in the Charlie Parker series is quite graphic. Charlie pulls out all the stops to find his wife and daughter's killer. There's lots going on and some parts were really good and had my complete interest and other parts dragged for me. The writing is top-notch and you can bet I plan on reading the rest of this series. This is one author you shouldn't miss if you love thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available. I was surprised in a way because I had made an assumption that Netgalley would be new books and this one is nearly 20 years old. No matter, I appreciate the chance to read it and receiving it free didn’t change my opinion of it.

I’ve read other John Connolly books with mixed results. This one is a giant mixed result. It’s an odd book. It has a story within a story plot and I still don’t know why. There didn’t need to be this structure nor do I think it worked entirely.

The novel opens with Detective Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker’s terrible loss. While he’s out drinking after a blow out fight with his wife, someone murders his wife and young daughter, flaying them alive (there is definitely dark and gruesome imagery in this). The story picks up a year later after Bird has been traveling from NYC to New Orleans trying to find the man who destroyed his family, meeting up there with an old bayou psychic who can trace her African heritage back to the slaves. Bird is back in NYC where his former boss (as he’s now off the force and has become a PI) hires him to track down the girlfriend of a wealthy young man who might be mixed up in drugs. This takes him to Virginia after her and onto the trail of a serial killing brother and sister from about two decades ago.

And that is just strange to me. That story line is nearly long enough to be its own stand alone novel and could have been a very interesting one. It barely ties into the main plot at the very end and it’s not even necessary to the end so I felt like my time had been somewhat wasted. On one hand it was interesting and well written, on the other, it felt like it had nothing to do with anything.

Once that comes to an end, Bird goes back to New Orleans after the ‘Traveling Man’ (called back by the psychic) taking with in Rachel, a forensic psychologist and Angel and Louis, a gay couple of criminals who ‘owe’ him (Louis appears to be a very dangerous man). He meets up with an FBI friend down there and isn’t invited in entirely to find the Traveling Man but soon enough Bird is caught up in warring bayou criminal families and more people are turning up flayed.

There is just enough repetitiveness in this to wear at you. I actually liked Angel and Louis more than I did Bird. There are only three women in this story (ignoring the above mentioned story within a story) and you just know they’re going to end up dead and/or bait. Sigh. I think honestly if the story within a story had been teased out and made into two novels it might have worked better. Overall it did keep my attention but I didn’t love it either. It has too much going on, too many bits of back story that don’t add anything for me to really enjoy it. It’s a mess in too many places.

good take on the typical detective thriller . I didn't think id care for the supernatural parts of it but it was not a far reach and I didi not have to suspend disbelief too much

Ackk! Okay. That wasn't what I was thinking this novel was. This could use a tone down on the blood and gore parts, or you can skip over those parts. I recommend skipping as I'm not a gore fan at all. Mystery, yes, murder, that is often the who-done-it part, but excessiveness, no thanks. The characters were cliche and not much fun in this book either.

My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.

I have mixed feelings about Every Dead Thing. There were too many characters and too many graphic murders. It became more of a horror story than a thriller/mystery. But there was something about the writing that kept me immersed in the book. I would say if you don't mind extreme violence, you should enjoy this book. For me, I need to go read a cozy mystery to clear my mind.

Another great Charlie Parker read! I found this book to be edge-of-your-seat suspenseful. I really enjoy this series by John Connolly. Wonderful book for all thriller fans.

This book is a pretty great mix of a crime and horror saga. It is not a read for the faint of heart, but it is a real thrill ride for those with a strong constitution. As with any good who-done-it, the end is never quite what and where you expect it.

It was only after finishing this book that I realized that this is also the author of "The Book of Lost Things" and "The Gates", both of which I read and enjoyed. This author's writing shows quite a scope of knowledge. He writes with a high degree of authority that comes across well in his novels.

Although these genres are not usual choice, I do enjoy the excitement and fantasy that they deliver. I might have to pick up the rest of the Charlie Parker series when life starts to feel a bit stagnant.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Every Dead Thing introduces a serial killer who tortures children and another who steals victims' faces after mutilating their bodies and give readers two gruesome storylines in one menacingly inspired novel. Charlie Parker, is a policeman who quits the force after his wife and daughter were horrifically murdered and later agrees to trace a missing woman as a way to keep moving and also, partially to make up for the fact he was out drinking the night of the murders and feels that he failed his family. The trail leads from Brooklyn to rural Virginia where shocking secrets provide a link to the missing woman. Charlie evades hired killers with the help of two affable hitmen, a profiler and Woolrich, an FBI agent Charlie knew in his old life. While investigating psychic tips, bodies in the bayou and Creole gangs, Charlie’s romance with Rachel, the profiler, provides a glimmer of hope that he may be able to move on from his tragic past. The plot moves forward at breakneck speed and each character is given enough background to be notable. Gruesome deaths, psychic episodes and Charlie Parker himself make this book one that was hard to put down. John Connelly is an author who I look forward to reading again and I thank Net Galley for introducing me to his work.

When you turn to the first page of EVERY DEAD THING be aware that you are entering Hannibal Lector territory with graphic descriptions of brutal torture and murder. This is another one of those grim but gripping serial killer tales where you actually get two gruesome tales for the price of one. While serial killer number one concentrates on abducting and torturing children, the second (The Traveling Man) enjoys mutilating his victims, stealing their faces and leaving them posed in historical tableau's that appear to convey some sort of message.

Family members of the books protagonist, NYPD detective Charlie “Bird” Parker, are victims of the Traveling Man and Parker's search for the sick perp, as he attempts to assuage his personal feelings of guilt, has led him to undertake an unsolved thirty year old case. The ultimate resolution of that case gives Parker the impetus to once again pursue the Traveling Man.

Author John Connelly skillfully juggles the large cast of unusual and interesting characters he has created, not the least of which are Angel and Louis, a couple of gay hit-men. In addition to brutal murder, this novel also offers some exploration of “second sight”, psychic episodes and thought transmission, as well as a plethora of interesting facts concerning cannibalistic cultures and regression therapy while also presenting Parker with a bit of romance in the person of criminal profiler, Rachel Wolfe.

This is one of those books that scrutinize subject matter that you love to hate. You are appalled by the explicit descriptions of brutality but find yourself engrossed in the individual personalities of the characters and drawn in by the drama, conflict and cynicism contained within the narrative.

A New Charlie Parker Fan Is Born.

Every Dead Thing is the first book in the Charlie Parker series, and also my tough initiation into the stark raving horror that awaits the reader almost from the outset.

Being a big Patrick Kenzie fan, one of Dennis Lehane’s most famous recurring characters, I immediately have a soft spot for Charlie who reminds me so much of Patrick however Connolly’s depiction of murder, death, and violence is considerably more gory and graphic than Lehane’s. The explicit horror scenes of Every Dead Thing was hard to come to grips with however the writing was so incredible that I found myself soldiering on till the end.

This story could have easily been divided into two books. I was confused as to the detour it took in solving the first murder mystery. It begins with Charlie finding his wife and child brutally murdered and it ends on that line however there was an alternate road taken to solve an unrelated crime that truly seemed to be a completely separate story albeit with some of the same characters including Charlie himself.

Back on track with the story, Connolly’s generosity and expansiveness with his scenes will have you completely satisfied if not overly so. But, where other authors would have hold back, Connolly forges full on ahead. There is a mystical air enveloping the story and the rich historical history of the setting, New Orleans could be a character in its own right. You will feel a sense of the story not being over when there are literally just a few pages left. The action, suspense, and yes even the gore take you right till the end as Charlie fights to find a reason to go on by bringing a vicious serial killer to light.

Within this genre, I would argue that Connolly writes among the very best.

BRB Rating: Read It.

We live in a culture of pain and death and most of us go through life without ever really understanding that. Maybe it was only a matter of time before we produced someone who understood that better than we did, someone who saw the world as just one big altar on which to sacrifice humanity, someone who believed he had to make an example of us all.

Charlie Parker known simply as Bird as fought crime and seen the worst of humanity. To reduce the pain he took to drinking. Did is his drinking lead to the murder of his wife and daughter. One of the many demons that pull in his psych. There is much to Charlie Parker.

The plot pulls many characters and at times I felt lost until I could catch up only to get lost again. It is also a descriptive in many ways that it honestly became difficult to read but I had to know who killed Charlie's family and why. In between his family's murder and the evil that reigned and was ultimately stopped, was a destroyer of life. A murder that flaunted helpless victims and a mind that gloated each kill with his knowledge and god like persona. The murder scenes were gruesome and each was lesson to Charlie. The killer was playing a deadly game of cat and mice.

The plot was centered around the murder of Charlie's family and Charlie intuition that the murder was about something more. This crime novel gives you a window to what police officers, FBI, etc are bombarded with every day. What heinous crimes do to the men and women whose jobs are to protect and serve. In this way, Every Dead Thing became more human where humanity is not valued.

A Special Thank You to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Good storyline' easy reading and pretty much kept my interest after the first few chapters.

Every Dead Thing is a mesmerizing but brutally dark detective story with a touch of the supernatural. Fast paced, intricately plotted, a cast of characters you can never forget - this novel is just layer upon layer of great storytelling. I literally could not put it down - stayed up way too late two nights in a row to devour it. The heart of the story is Charlie "Bird" Parker, an ex-policeman searching for the serial killer who murdered his wife and child. But that really is just the beginning. This is an exceptional beginning to an exceptional series. I've only read a couple of the subsequent novels so far, but will read them all - they are just that good. Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC of this incredible first tale of evil and the man who hunts it down. 4.5 stars!

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Talk about a tortured soul! Charlie is a detective plagued with demons. His family brutally murdered and the killer is playing tricks with him. This story has so many turns, and I really felt Charlie's pain honest frustration. Very good read!

A bit long and repetitive.Having said that this is the first of his novels I've read.I look forward to the next!!