Every Dead Thing

I'm not big on mystery/detective fiction, mainly because I'm not a super fast reader. My busy schedule means longer books can take me 2-4 weeks to read, and trying to retain names, clues, and multiple plotlines isn't easy. In most detective stories, everyone is a suspect, so every name and every action gains heightened importance. Connolly's book is a sprawling tale that...more

I'm not big on mystery/detective fiction, mainly because I'm not a super fast reader. My busy schedule means longer books can take me 2-4 weeks to read, and trying to retain names, clues, and multiple plotlines isn't easy. In most detective stories, everyone is a suspect, so every name and every action gains heightened importance. Connolly's book is a sprawling tale that takes place in New York and New Orleans (mostly) but it's structured in such a way that it almost feels like three books collected in one volume. Detective Charlie "Bird" Parker's family was brutally murdered on a night when he was out boozing. His wife and daughter were flayed alive, their corpses left in ghoulish poses in his kitchen, faces removed. Years later, Parker is a freelance detective hired to track a missing girl. Searching for her also begins to uncover clues to the killer who evaded him so long ago, taking him south to New Orleans. Everywhere he goes, he brings trouble, as each step closer to the missing girl brings him deeper into trouble with local crime families, local police, the FBI, and ultimately, his family's killer. The book takes a few unexpected twists, about halfway through the person I thought would be revealed as the killer is taken out of the story. It's difficult to discuss specific plot points without revealing too much information, but the book definitely kept me guessing until the end. There are some cliche elements as well, structured a bit like bad '80s action movies, but it added to the grit of it all. For a 500 page book, it's fast paced, fun, and fairly easy to follow, even for a mystery novice like me.   hide

After you've read this book you will have to read the next installment......

Charles Parker is a cop haunted by the past... This series of novels are dark and very complex!!! I have to say these books scared the hell out of me but I could not put them down..... A must read if you are brave enough :O Connelly knows how to weave a story that will keep you guessing but more importantly will keep you on guard and make you question the all important question about our souls...more

Charles Parker is a cop haunted by the past... This series of novels are dark and very complex!!! I have to say these books scared the hell out of me but I could not put them down..... A must read if you are brave enough :O Connelly knows how to weave a story that will keep you guessing but more importantly will keep you on guard and make you question the all important question about our souls living and dead.............   hide

Charlie "Bird" Parker is recently retired from the New York police force following the murders and mutilations of his wife and 3 year old daughter. He is asked by his former partner to investigate the disappearance of a young woman who was the girlfriend to the son of an acquaintance. The former partner is involved in a charity run by the boyfriends step-mother. As Bird starts...more

Charlie "Bird" Parker is recently retired from the New York police force following the murders and mutilations of his wife and 3 year old daughter. He is asked by his former partner to investigate the disappearance of a young woman who was the girlfriend to the son of an acquaintance. The former partner is involved in a charity run by the boyfriends step-mother. As Bird starts investigating her disappearance he is drawn into another search, for The Traveling Man, the man who murdered his family and others. From the underground of New York to the swamps of Louisiana, Bird tries to find the man responsible for ruining his life. I really wanted to like this book. It had a fast moving plot, lots of secrets being revealed, but there was one big problem. I figured out who the Traveling Man was about 200 pages from the end. I like being surprised, I don't like being right. I was so incredibly disappointed when I found out I was right it just ruined everything I liked about the book. I am not happy I spent so much time reading it.   hide