Every Dead Thing: A Charlie Parker Thriller: 1 Paperback – 18 Feb 2010

I am every dead thing . . . I am re-begot
Of absence, darknesse, death; things which are not.
John Donne, ‘A Nocturnall Upon S. Lucies Day’

Rereading this again after such a long time was a gamble. In my mind it holds its place at the forefront of my book exhibition, encased in glass, spotlighted, stunning in its contrasting beauty and darkness. I still recommend it without hesitation and it has never left my crime fiction top ten.

Connolly is a master of the atmospheric; rich detail and imaginative expression combine to give each sentence a weight and feeling that builds and reflects upon itself until you get lost in it, totally enspelled. Written with elements of the southern gothic style, the novel blends the supernatural, scientific, and philosophical in to a modern, decayed society. He sets the scene with gritty criminality; drugs, gangs, death, perversion, and bloody violence from the outset. Each part is seamlessness integrated, so that the local, natural, and created history of the novel have equal veracity. It is this that allows the supernatural to enter the story with creeping feet, settle into its place without a sound, and then sit there with such assurance that you believe its always been there and has every right to be. Initially focusing these more ghostly aspects through New Orleans is effective, it is a place where people are known to believe darker things, where the line between the real world and the other is blurred, or even celebrated.

The main character is, himself, an example of faded humanity, an alcoholic who lost his family and police career to a serial killer's inventive action. The themes of the book are revealed in his character; the scientific in his investigative process, the philosophical through his inward discussions of morality and justice, the supernatural through his direct connection with his dead wife and daughter. His reflection, the Travelling Man, is pictured in a similar fashion. The killer utilises the dissected human form as a metaphysical expression of human nature and the barbaric world, with himself playing the role of demon. The nature of and interconnectedness of Charlie Parker and the killers he encounters is one which is explored throughout the series, a question yet to be answered. Yet when we meet him, there is a glimmer of potential. But of what? Violence? Most definitely. Redemption? That is where the hope lies, for us and for him.

This is not my genre of choice it has to be said, but as it was a book club choice, I had to give the book a fair chance. Charlie Parker is introduced to us in this book, which is the first of a subsequent series. It is always best to start at the beginning of such series as I feel you get a better understanding of characters and background. Charlie Parker has left the police force, his drinking had taken over his life and he loses his wife and child in horrific circumstances. he wants justice for what has happened and when he is asked to investigate the case of a missing girl it brings him in very close contact with information that could help solve the death of his wife and child.

Parker becomes involved in the other side of the law and has to befriend people he would have normally arrested in his previous role as he investigates the missing person case. But as that is solved, he finds the path he is going down is taking him to the person who killed his wife and daughter; someone known as The Travelling Man.

Parker is a loner, but despite grieving for his wife he finds himself attracted to a female pathologist who becomes embroiled in the world that Parker is now inhabiting and strives to find the answers to the questions that everyone is asking - who is the Travelling Man and when will this killing spree end.

This is not a novel for the faint heart, the body count is into double figures well before half way through the book and I did get rather confused with the number of characters and how they all related when they then turn up dead some few pages later. This book is divided into four parts and the story for me was wrapped up after part one and I could not see where else this was going and how anything that had happened could possibly be related.

I admit to struggling with the book and was rather confused at times, I think this was down to the sheer number of characters, their names and the American setting. However, I persevered and actually had an inkling about the conclusion and whilst I was not spot on I was certainly far off and for that I applaud myself as it means something of the book must have got under my skin.

If you are a thriller lover and you like the thrills of your reading to be somewhat graphic and gruesome then you will enjoy this book. It is clear that the writer has done his research and has applied it correctly throughout the book, especially for a first novel. This is a book where you enter a world which is very different from British Crime Fiction and is something quite unbelievable but you keep reading to try to understand everything in this dark and evil world where every couple of pages there seems to be a dead thing.

I started reading this series by being asked to review the current release, which, I believe is number 15 in the series. I absolutely loved it and decided to start at number one. This is a little less assured than number fifteen, but that's understandable. I thought knowing how things end up might spoil the first one for me, but actually it didn't at all. It just made me intrigued to read all the books between numbers one and fifteen as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to a summer of excellent supernatural crime.

The first of the Charlie Parker series. Foolishly i loaned the book to a friend to get him into the series and haven't received it back. Just as well he's a very good friend!! So, I have replaced it as I have the whole series, the latter ones in Hardback as they come out. John Connolly is a wonderful writer and the whole series just gets better and better. But, start with the first and work your way through, they all lead into and through each other. Just the books and can't wait for the next one.