- Mass Market Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books (July 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 067102731X
- ISBN-13: 978-0671027315
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.7 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,264,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Every Dead Thing
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Homicide cop Charlie "Bird" Parker was drunk when the killer known as the Travelling Man dissected his wife and his daughter. Parker's guilt and obsession with revenge have taken him well beyond the law, causing him to beat a pimp to death and accept the friendship of a notable hitman. Yet his old colleagues know that any one of them might have gone down the same path, in the same circumstances, and they and FBI man Woolrich still find him and his obsessions useful. Leaving mayhem and destruction in his wake, Parker finds every private investigation he takes leading him back to his family's killer--is this an obsession, or is he treading a maze of murder built just for him? And can the obsessed Parker accept the love of a bright woman pathologist without wrecking her life as well? Small Virginia towns with guilty secrets, the drugs deals that unite smart New York society with the madness of a decadent Mafia dynasty, the very different gang wars of New Orleans and the mysteries of the Louisiana swampland--this is an intelligent book packed with puzzles, characters and brilliantly visualised locations that most thriller-writers would have spun out for a series. --Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Buy it and be scared' (The Times )
'A genuine, gripping page-turner which shreds the nerves and is certain to be one of the thrillers of 1999.' (Mike Ripley, Crime Critic of the Daily Telegraph )
'An ambitious, moral, disturbing tale with a stunning climax.' (Marcel Berlins, The Times )
'Fantastic - he has raised the standard of modern crime writing' (J Wallis Martin )
'Painstaking research, superb characterisation, and an ability to tell a story that's chilling and thought provoking make this a terrific thriller' (Mirror )
'A stunning debut . . . EVERY DEAD THING ensnares us in its very first pages and speeds us through a harrowing plot to a riveting climax. I'm already impatient for Bird's next appearance.' (Jeffery Deaver ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
'A genuine, gripping page-turner which shreds the nerves and is certain to be one of the thrillers of 1999.' (Mike Ripley, Crime Critic of the Daily Telegraph )
'An ambitious, moral, disturbing tale with a stunning climax.' (Marcel Berlins, The Times )
'Fantastic - he has raised the standard of modern crime writing' (J Wallis Martin )
'Painstaking research, superb characterisation, and an ability to tell a story that's chilling and thought provoking make this a terrific thriller' (Mirror )
'A stunning debut . . . EVERY DEAD THING ensnares us in its very first pages and speeds us through a harrowing plot to a riveting climax. I'm already impatient for Bird's next appearance.' (Jeffery Deaver ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
THE WAITRESS was in her fifties, dressed in a tight black miniskirt, white blouse, and black high heels. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE WAITRESS was in her fifties, dressed in a tight black miniskirt, white blouse, and black high heels. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I discovered John Connolly when I read "Bad Men" and the experience was extremely pleasant, so I decided that I had to read the books in the Charlie "Bird" Parker series. In this first installment I found a novel that blends the mystery and horror genders in a superb manner and that keeps you guessing on what will happen next. One of the aspects I enjoyed most was that the main character is not one of those good guys you see in most mystery novels, who are always working towards a good cause and have no negative feelings towards others. Charlie is more human than that, and this carries with it a desire for revenge that will not be quenched easily.
Why does he want revenge? Because his wife and three year-old daughter were brutally murdered and desecrated by a man that can only be considered a demon. Related to this event is that we see the author immerse the novel into the horror genre through the use of gory details about the murders by introducing a detail version of the police and autopsy reports. The descriptions are precise and Connolly does not pull any punches, going straight for a knockout of our endurance to take the effects of evil.
Charlie was a cop at the time of the murders and had a problem with alcohol, but after the terrible shock, he left the force, became a private eye, and quitted cold turkey. Seven months later he is working on a case involving dangerous guys, who use bullets that can go through body armor and have no qualms about killing anyone that crosses their path. Concomitantly, Charlie is in constant search of the killer of his family, and the fact that the monster contacts him, gives him greater strength to pursue his desire for revenge.
I like horror, so I have no problems with reading about the gruesome aspects of the murders described in the novel, but I understand that some people may not feel comfortable with these, so be aware of this aspect. The novel that starts this series also has a nice pace, which is helped by the constant switching back and forth between the two cases Parker is involved in. You will also get a few twists that will keep you on your toes until the conclusion. Overall, it is a book that left me eager to keep reading about this fascinating character and move along with this series.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Once upon a time, Charlie "Bird" Parker was an NYPD cop with a drinking problem. One night, while out on a binge, his wife and daughter are butchered in a manner so horrific that it defies description here. (This is, after all, a family website.) Leaving the force, Charlie's obsession is to track down the killer, since identified as The Traveling Man.
This crime novel is actually a two-for-one deal. A large part of the book's first half is devoted to Parker's investigation of a missing person incident, taken on at the request of an old pal on the NYPD. It bears no relation to his search for his family's executioner, but mainly serves to acquaint the reader with the larger concept of "serial killer", and introduce several players that remain in the plot to the novel's end, including Bird's disheveled FBI pal, Woolrich. (I didn't know "disheveled" was in the FBI dress code. Where's J. Edgar when you need him?)
This is a hard-boiled, gritty book - a triumph of a first novel by author John Connolly. He introduces us to villains that are truly nasty in the scariest sense, and who make Vlad the Impaler look like a kindly grandfather in comparison. In any case, the identity of The Traveling Man is not resolved until twenty pages from the end, and involves an eye-popping plot twist that will have you looking forward to Connolly's next offering. However, if his subsequent thrillers continue to cast such monsters, I don't know if my imagination can take it. I'm getting to be a sissy in my old age.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was fortunate enough to pick up EDT in a Brussells 2nd hand bookshop whilst on holiday. I devoured it and then went on to read all of his books in order. The writing in all of them is fantastic - mixing spiritual topics with crime fiction.Villains are spooky yet believable and you just don't want to put the books down - the shortest read for me was the 2nd book at eight hours straight through cover to cover!!
Buy John Connolly and enjoy!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A seriously good book
I found one of JC's later books somewhere and was so impressed with it I went back to read his others in chronological order. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Helen
More murders than in 50 episodes of 'Taggart'!
Around half-way through this book, it seemed to be winding to an end, then it shifted gear and we sped off into another even wilder second novel. Read more
Published 8 months ago by J. T. Meddle
Good luck!
I found this book really hard going from page one and only made it to page 30 before giving up. Not what I expected, I'm afraid. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ginger
Standard fare
It was OK but I wouldn't rush to recommend it. Are there any fictional murder detectives with a normal family life?
Published 9 months ago by Mr. David R. Hicks
Every Dead Thing
Absolutely BRILLIANT! John Connolly has the ability to take you into another world... from the very first page you are 'captured' and you cannot put this book down, not even for a... Read more
Published 9 months ago by S B DEMPSTER
book
The book was delivered very quickly inside the time fram, price is excelent compared with shops. Amazon is the first place to check for books you are looking for. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Alan B
every dead thing
i have just started reading this book and find i cannot put it down ,it is very well written and i am enjoying it
Published 9 months ago by J. D. Burson
Word chemistry
I have read a lot of John Connolly's work aand this is as good as ever. It has a tight story which has one waiting to read the next page.
Published 9 months ago by Yadaraf
a gripping read
This book has been the cause of much lost sleep. Not because it gave me nightmares but because I couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Singlemum2kids
."..a man waking to grief."
'Every Dead Thing' is the first in the Charlie Parker series, alcoholic NYPD cop Charlie returns from a late night drinking session to find his wife and daughter murdered, in the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Ruby
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