false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172432902m/175242.jpg 175242 17 It's a good idea to avoid reading John Connolly's debut novel on a full stomach. His descriptions of mutilated murder victims give him honorary membership in the gore wars club. <I>Every Dead Thing</I> is a fast-paced piece of fiction from an author whose regular stomping ground is as a journalist for the <I>Irish Times</I>. <p> NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker was busy boozing at Tom's Oak Tavern when his wife Susan, and young daughter Jennifer were mutilated by a killer called the Traveling Man. Consumed by guilt and alcoholism, Charlie soon lost his job, and almost his sanity. Several months on he is sober and ready to get his life back in order. Charlie takes up private investigating. One of his first cases involves the disappearance of a woman called Catherine Demeter. At first this puzzle seems unrelated to the Traveling Man--but Charlie has a gut feeling that the slayer is pulling the strings. "I dreamed of Catherine Demeter surrounded by darkness and flames and the bones of dead children. And I knew then that some terrible blackness had descended upon her."<p> The search for Catherine takes Charlie on a whirlwind tour of the South. First to the small Virginian town of Haven, where, some 30 years before, Catherine's sister Amy was murdered, along with other local children. But the trail turns cold--until a tip from a psychic leads Charlie to the swamplands of Louisiana. The subplots of Catherine's disappearance, age-old child murders, and the slaying of the Parker family finally unite in the hot, humid terrain. A showdown with the Traveling Man is inevitable.<p> <I>Every Dead Thing</I> is classic American crime fiction, and it's hard to believe that John Connolly was born and raised on the Emerald Isle. <I>--Naomi Gesinger</I> 890720 1999 Every Dead Thing (Charlie Parker, #1) total:554|5:13|4:10|3:13|2:4|1:1| 554 2156 831 77 2 1 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2002 Mon Feb 04 11:21:20 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 11:21:29 -0800 2008
I have to rip Every ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Nov 13 13:39:44 -0800 2007 Sun Oct 19 11:48:09 -0700 2008 John Connolly's short story collection Nocturnes. The novella featuring the former cop alone made me give the collection four stars, so I was eager to read the rest of the series.

Every Dead Thing did not disappoint. Serial killer thrillers are a dim...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 07:10:39 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 14 07:10:46 -0700 2007
The story follows an ex-police ...more...]]> 0 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 06 09:18:25 -0700 2007 Fri Jun 15 10:14:55 -0700 2007 sold - to me on the supporting characters, Angel and Louis. "Read it!" my friend Cath said, "you'll like it. It's hella gruesome, and there's this couple. Short scruffy white thief and his big bald black immaculate hit-man boyfriend. They bicker."...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Nov 08 23:43:30 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 09 00:20:34 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Oct 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 08:34:21 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 09:26:51 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false true Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 15:39:39 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 15:40:05 -0700 2009
Anoth...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Sep 21 13:11:25 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 03:08:12 -0700 2009
Charlie Parker is a ...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sat Sep 08 05:56:53 -0700 2007 Sat Sep 08 05:58:36 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 14:11:14 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 08 14:17:35 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 09 13:03:56 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 08:22:15 -0700 2009
For a first novel this is great. Good plot and characters all moving very quickly. Dark with hints of the occult this book does well in capturing the mind. Charlie Parker is an interesting character with a large past filled with drama. Parker's friends, Angel and Louis, are a ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 11:53:52 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 13 11:56:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Mon Jul 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 22:49:21 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 07 22:51:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon May 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon May 25 06:21:45 -0700 2009 Mon May 25 06:22:11 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 07:46:53 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 14 08:03:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 06:13:06 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 06:20:10 -0700 2009
The goods: fast paced, justice to characters. The protagonist has a ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Jun 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 18:27:59 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 10:17:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 true true Wed Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 24 14:41:54 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 16:13:28 -0800 2008 Once more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 25 18:57:53 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 25 19:11:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jun 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 10:24:21 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 10:24:21 -0700 2009 I did end up liking the book, but it was only after the first 13 chapters or so that it really grabbed me. I will admit all the pages before tha...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=175242