"This is Hell, Bird, and we are in it"

This is probably the first time any crime author has used an academic monograph to such great effect: in the afterword, Connolly discusses Jonathan Sawday's The Body Emblazoned as one of his starting points for his novel, and that's an indication of the strongly literate and intelligent underpinnings of this book. Layered on top is a dark and gruesome thriller that is very violent throughout but which harnesses that brutality to a metaphysical vision of the world.

With all this cultural stuff going on (Vesalius, Valverde, da Vinci, John Donne) I expected to love this more than I did: the plotting feels very drawn out with too many distractions and diversions which had me skimming chunks, and I wanted something tauter. There's too much plodding gum-shoe stuff, especially in the first half, and I didn't believe in the perpetrator at all, though I loved Angel and Louis.

So an interesting start to what I know is an established series: Connolly is trying something unusual here but hasn't quite pulled it off well enough to keep me reading on.

Charlie Parker had it all. A wife and child, a job he was good at and then his world crumbles and he becomes a former shell of himself. Haunted by the death of his family he blames himself and his world spirals out of control. His visions of the death lead him into a life he had not planned and does not want but his sense of survival and right and wrong is too strong to let him to let him shy away from the evil he knows walks among us. I have read all of the Charlie Parker stories and if I ever have to confront evil Charlie Parker is the man I want at my back. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this story again.

Good book. Little difficult to get a feel for the characters.

“Our ancestors were not wrong in their superstitions; there is reason to fear the dark.”

This is the first entry of the Charlie Parker series, and I recently read and reviewed the newest one, so it is interesting to go back and see how the series begins. Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for the DRC, which I read free in exchange for an honest review.

The story commences with flashbacks to the brutal murder and mutilation of Parker’s wife and daughter. I have to confess that it went over the top for me and at times was too grim to be an enjoyable read. This newly released edition begins with introductory notes by the author in which he acknowledges that many readers also felt this way, so I know I am not alone. Everyone has a threshold. But I went into the story knowing that I want to read this series and that although it will always remain gritty and violent, it won’t always be this harsh, so I moved on, and I am glad I did.

The fact is, Connolly is an outstanding writer.

Parker is a shipwreck of a human being, a former cop with a sorrowful heart and not much to lose. He is determined to find the psychopath that killed his wife and child, and it appears that the same killer has taken a woman named Catherine. Her phone records show numerous calls, shortly before her disappearance, to the tiny southern town where she was born and raised. He grabs his wallet and heads south with two terrifyingly competent assistants, Angel and Louis, guys that are shady but loyal, and strong as hell. They are also a couple, and this adds an interesting twist, not to mention crushing a stereotype. Actually, these two characters are my favorites in this story, and I especially enjoy the scene in the auto shop.

Another wonderful feature is the swamp witch in the bayou.

Some aspects of this novel seem a bit derivative, in particular the long cast of characters with unusual names seems a lot like James Lee Burke. Ed McBain, iconic author of the 87th Precinct series, has a prominent character named Fat Ollie, a name Connolly uses for one of his characters here.

But there’s no denying the lyrical quality to the work that is entirely Connolly’s own, and as I have already seen, it just gets better from here. The plotting is complex, tight, and intense. It’s a strong debut.

Those that love good mysteries that run on the gritty side will want to read this series. You can read them out of order; I started with the fourteenth and didn’t feel there were enough missing pieces to prevent my understanding the story line. On the other hand, there’s nobody out there that can write as fast as we can read, and so why not start at the top and run all the way through the series?

This re-released edition of Every Dead Thing is for sale now.

This is my first book my this author and I will say I will be looking for more in the future. I like books that I can sink into and while I am reading them be immersed into the book so much so that it's like I am walking around in the book with the characters and this is one of those books. I will be looking for more by this author.

Definitely the most gory and grotesque beginning to any book I have ever read. Do not start reading this while you are eating. I seriously thought it was going to be a DNF.

There were a few moments when my eyes started to cross and my mind started to wander. Thankfully, those were very few. For the most part, I found this book to be very edge of my seat. The suspects for the "Traveling Man" were many and my finger pointed at a lot of them. Some of the time when I was reading the book, I was wondering, "how the heck does this tie in?". Then at the end when the author put in the red arrows and the blinking lights along with the sirens, I was like I would have never figured that out.

The story took me from New York, up to the East Coast, to Virginia and down to the Big Easy. Charlie Parker provided many chuckles as well as his friends, Louis and Angel. So basically, the author added everything. Entertainment, mystery, suspense, gore, action scenes, scenery, high speed chases, the "don't go into the basement scenes", a few swampland scenes and some good ole Bayou voodoo. Not to mention the Cajun delicacies enjoyed by the characters.

This was a great story and definitely held my interest. This was one serial killer you did not want to meet in a dark alley.

Thanks to Atria Books for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is very confusing. It keeps jumping time frames, now present, now past, now an internal dialogue and I can't keep track of what's going on. It's terribly disconcerting and breaks the flow of the book. Worse, there seems to be no reason to keep jumping around so much instead of straight out telling the story. At one point he stops in the middle of a scene to interject a thought. It needed some great editing to make this a cohesive book.

Too much gore is included and too many pages given up to a chase and gunfight.

Some of his descriptions show that the author was capable of writing beautiful passages, but this work is not worthy of what he is capable of.

The first in Connolly's Charlie Parker PI series and few books come to mind when I read this. There are so many unforgettable cast of characters: The most unforgettable is Charlie Parker, a cop/ex-cop, son of a cop who committed suicide; Charlie Parker, a man struggling with multiple demons - alcohol and the brutal, savage killings of his wife/daughter that happened on a night he was away from home, drinking.... so much guilt. The description of the death scenes are raw and graphic, not for the faint of heart. I certainly am looking forward to his Book 2. NOTE: Although these are viewed as stand-alone books, I wish that I had read them in order; this 1st one explains so much that follows and was lost on me at the time.

I loved this story. Amazing characters and the plot twists just keep coming. The body count is high and that adds to the suspense as it often seems they every character is expendable. But in the end Bird wins the day though at a great price. The writing is poetic and the dialog spot on. Highly recommended.

DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Samantha Cody, Dub Walker, and Jake Longly Thriller Series

very interesting character development. A good read on the beach.

Is this a book in a series? To me it was hard to follow. Nothing wrong with his writing style but I felt I was missing pieces (his wife and child were killed and I guess he was looking for the killer) I will go back and read previous books and see if I can make sense of this story.

“Every Dead Thing” is author John Connolly’s tribute to both the morbid and the savory. In his novel, dissection and mutilation are intermixed with eats and good drinks. Flayed skin and piles of internal human organs share pages with gumbo and barbecue. There’s something for both the neurotic and the gourmand.

In the author’s introduction the reader is warned that the story is “difficult, and brutal, and too explicit for some.” That, no doubt, will be true for some so readers who get easily disturbed with a tendency towards a weak stomach might want to consider a gentler book. As for me, I thought it was an intriguing but I wouldn’t want to eat lunch while reading it.

A former NTPD detective Charlie Parker is tortured by the grisly slayings of his wife and young daughter. Driven by an intense desire for revenge, he battles feelings of guilt and regret as he descends into a world where murders and brutal desecrations have existed for years with no one able to uncover the identity of the fiend. He is eventually drawn to New Orleans where, assisted by a woman psychologist and a pair of gay career crooks, he finds things even more perverse and dangerous. Mobsters, law enforcement agents, a black psychic, and lonely women get involved but are then likely murdered. The creator of all this horror gets more vicious and a pattern of matching his murder scenes with classic art evolves. Parker’s desperate search gets more deadly when he and all his associates become possible subjects in the gory paintings.

“Every Dead Thing” was Connolly’s debut novel, a positive start that has led to a distinguished writing career. Published in 1999, it has been followed by fourteen in the series, along with many other books, including a series for young adults. Not having read any of his other books, I don’t know if the goriness continues. I assume he toned it down for his young readers.

Connolly wants his readers to know that he’s not as crazy (“Odd, but not crazy…”) as he might appear from his books. I’ll be checking his other works to see if that is true or if the craziness continues to dominate.

This is not your typical cop-turned-PI to find the murderer of his wife and child. It is a sprawling, complex, well-written story. I kept reading because I really wanted him to find the man known as The Traveling Man who murdered his wife and young daughter. However, I think this book should have been 100 pages shorter and tighter—it really goes all over the place.
The story begins with Charlie Parker getting in a fight with his wife and going to a bar to drink away his frustrations. When he comes home, he discovers his family gruesomely murdered.
He’s a cop who gets time off to grieve, but naturally instead uses his detective skills to try to find the killer. When he meets dead ends, he takes on cases just for something to keep him busy. He’s not technically a private investigator, but he goes on complex cases anyway.
There are a lot of characters in this book. I was writing them down and still couldn’t always keep track.
The ending is gratifying, but it takes serious reading to get to it.

The Charlie "Bird" Parker series is very popular and circulates well at my library, and I wanted the opportunity to find another good series to recommend to my patrons. For me, however, the first novel is so very dark, I just couldn't get much past the introduction, with the description of his wife and daughter being murdered and their faces flayed from their bodies. I did read a few chapters to get the feel of the series. Too gruesome for me, but now I know enough to discuss these books with customers who like dark reads..

My review on Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1910178336

I just returned from a trip down south, but never left my living room. "Every Dead Thing" transported me through a series of brutal murders, and the authors' descriptive, beautiful writing was literally brilliant and transcendent. I was disappointed to come to an end with this novel, and look forward to reading more of this excellent authors ' work.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

I first read this book in 1999 when it was originally published.

Warning for those with tender stomachs: there is much violence and gore in this book,

Charlie takes to the local bar after a fight with his wife. He arrives home several hours later to a silent house. In the kitchen are his wife, Susie and his daughter, Jennifer. They are both dead and horribly mutilated. A few of the officers at the scene look askance at Charlie, himself a cop, but say little.

After his boozing becomes a big problem with his job at the New York City Police Department, he quits and becomes a private investigator – sort of. He takes the case of a missing woman and discovers he’s on the trail of a serial killer. He figures that perhaps by earning money, he can then go after his wife and child’s murder.

This book also introduces Louis and Angel, two gay guys who just happen to be partners in real life as well. These two are delightful in my book.

I loved this book nearly 18 years ago, and I still love it. I read everything I can that is written by John Connolly. He is a superb writer. The action is fast paced and the suspense nearly does the reader in. I’m always looking forward to more from Mr. Connolly.

Sending a big thanks to Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for forwarding this book to me and reminding me just what a great writer John Connolly is.

I realized, just a few pages into the book, that I had read this several years ago. I was enjoying the story, and although I knew "who done it," finished reading the book. I really need to read the rest of the series!

Not a deep book and more gangsters against good guys than "scary" but some decently described shoot-em ups. Still, for some reason we get in depth descriptions of everyone's pants and shoes; I never got why. Anyway, 3 out of 4 and not a bore!

Ano intriguing novel that takes you through the minds of several people. Police officers, FBI agents, Psychologist', Detectives. Mafia type gangs, all have different thoughts and try and come to grips with what they think is happening to people that are dying. Through their thoughts each assume to know what is happening. In the end no one was close to knowing the truth of this murderer than anyone else.
The author spends a lot of time developing the characters and their personalities. The reader takes all of this into consideration in trying to find and solve this exciting and entertaining book. This read keeps you on your toes. There were time I knew who the killer was, and each time I was wrong. I like not being able to solve the case by the third chapter!. In fact, this is one case I didn't figure out.
Highly recommended! 5 Stars