Every Dead Thing

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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. Every Dead Thing is a fast-paced piece of fiction from an author whose regular stomping ground is as a journalist for the Irish Times.

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."

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.

Every Dead Thing is classic American crime fiction, and it's hard to believe that John Connolly was born and raised on the Emerald Isle. --Naomi Gesinger

Book Description

Hailed internationally as a page-turner in a league with the fiction of Thomas Harris, this lyrical and terrifying bestseller is the stunning achievement of an "extravagantly gifted" (Kirkus Reviews) new novelist. John Connolly superbly taps into the tortured mind and gritty world of former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker, tormented by the brutal, unsolved murders of his wife and young daughter. Driven by visions of the dead, Parker tracks a serial killer from New York City to the American South, and finds his buried instincts -- for love, survival, and, ultimately, for killing -- awakening as he confronts a monster beyond imagining...

Customer Reviews:

A dark, hard hitting, yet thoughtful thriller.......2007-06-06

These days, it seems as if any book featuring a serial killer is inevitably compared to Thomas Harris's Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs. Indeed, this is exactly what has happened to John Connolly's Every Dead Thing. Kirkus Reviews says, "Irish journalist Connolly's first novel is an ambitious, grisly, monstrously overextended foray...deep into Hannibal Lecter territory." Publishing News ran an article called "In the Steps of Hannibal..." subtitled, "Lecter, that is." Although meant as compliments, I think comments like these unjustly pigeonhole this riveting novel. While Connolly certainly owes something to Harris, he also owes a considerable debt to other genre authors. Connolly adopts tropes and techniques from these authors, successfully blending these elements to create a unique, satisfying tale of his own.

Several months prior to the main action of Every Dead Thing, NYPD Detective Charlie "Bird" Parker makes a decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Fresh from an argument with his wife, Susan, he storms out of the house and heads for a local bar, determined to tie one on. Returning home several hours later, Parker makes a grisly discovery -- Susan and his three-year-old daughter Jennifer have been murdered, their faces removed, their mutilated bodies arranged in a position that Parker later discovers is meant to mimic Estienne's Pieta. Grief stricken, Parker vows vengeance on their killer.

Parker leaves the force to investigate the murders full time. Months later, however, he is no closer to solving the crime. In fact, the only clue he has to the killer's identity is one provided by Tante Marie Aguillard, a New Orleans mystic who tells him the killer, whom she calls the Traveling Man, has struck before, and has buried a previous victim in the bayou near her home. Parker isn't quite sure why he believes her, but is certain she's telling the truth.

The frustrated Parker is thus almost grateful for the distraction provided by a missing person's case fed to him by old police friend Walter Cole. Parker's search for Catherine Demeter, the missing girlfriend of a wealthy Manhattan socialite, leads him to the ironically named small town of Haven, Virginia, where his outsider status and insistent questions open wounds long thought closed. Parker solves the case, but only at the cost of great damage to his person and his psyche. Unknown to him at the time, however, he indirectly moves closer to his ultimate goal -- although the connections between the two cases are tenuous, this seemingly unrelated investigation is only the beginning of a tortuous chain of events that will eventually lead him to the Traveling Man. Their final, brutal confrontation is surprising and terrifying -- Connolly keeps readers guessing until the very end, stretching nerves to their breaking point.

The first half of the novel evokes both Ross MacDonald and Andrew Vachss, as Parker uncovers secrets that lead to the discovery of a child killer thought dead for over three decades. The second half strays into territory mined successfully by James Lee Burke, as Parker travels to New Orleans for his final confrontation with the Traveling Man. Connolly pays homage to the genre in other ways as well. In the hard-boiled tradition, Parker is sullen, often depressed, but, even so, is always ready with a witty comeback. In a nod to Robert B. Parker, and maybe to Joe Lansdale, Parker's current flame is a criminal psychologist, his closest allies two tough, black gay men.

Connolly even goes so far as to name certain characters after genre authors. Of course, there's Charlie Parker, perhaps named for Robert B. Parker or Richard Stark's famous thief. There's also police officer Gerald Kersh, FBI agents Woolrich and Ross, and supporting characters Emo Ellison, Evan Baines, and Gunther Bloch.

It's been reported that Simon & Schuster paid a considerable sum for the U.S. rights to Every Dead Thing. To my mind, it's money well spent. Connolly has written a dark, hard-hitting, yet thoughtful thriller, one that advances the genre even as it nods respectfully to its predecessors. Well plotted and solidly crafted, Every Dead Thing is a powerful, often frightening piece of writing, an auspicious debut from a truly gifted storyteller.

This one will hook you........2007-06-05

It certainly hooked me. I picked it up AGAIN a few days ago to reread it, in fact.

I'd just finished The Unquiet: A Thriller, the most recent book in this Charlie Parker Series, and I felt the strong desire to read about Mr. Parker again from the beginning, so I went back to Every Dead Thing and was as enthralled as I was the first time I read it.

This is the one that introduces Parker, Angel, Louis, and Rachel to the reader, and it's perhaps the best start to a series that I've ever read.

Charlie "Bird" Parker, an ex-cop (he's left the force when we meet him), has recently "lost" his wife (with whom he'd just fought) and child, who were murdered in particularly horrific fashion by the Traveling Man. Parker was at a bar, drinking himself into oblivion (in fact, we find that he was pretty damaged before losing his wife and daughter), at the time of the murders. He came home to find that his family had been slaughtered in his absence, and the guilt and sorrow he feels over both their loss and what he sees almost as his complicity in their deaths are what drives him through much of this book (and through the series in its entirety).

This novel details not only his hunt for their killer but also his search for a missing person. He finds that the two searches intertwine, and the disaster that is his psyche is challenged at every turn as he finds himself constantly having to deal with his grief, anger, and sense of helplessness.

Mr. Connolly does not shy away from writing descriptions that help the reader "see" what Parker is seeing; as a result, some readers will find the details hard to take. I think that if we're to come to understand Parker, we have to see through his eyes, even when what we're seeing is almost impossible to stomach, and that happens frequently in this novel. I found myself closing the book and trying desperately to focus on other things around me--the neighborhoods we were passing through, the other people sitting around me at a coffee shop, etc.--else I found myself either crying or staring shell-shocked at the words on the page until someone called for security to come check on me. I'm serious, too. At one point, Parker staggers under the weight of what he's seeing and realizing, and I'd stagger too if I were standing somewhere.

Parker is mired in violence and death, and everyone in his circle becomes part of that violence and death, including Rachel, the woman with whom he begins to find some small measure of happiness. This, the idea that Parker carries that violence and death with him wherever he goes, is a large part of all the novels in this series. It's part of why I like these books; they're consistent as they develop Charlie, and he changes in believable and touching ways.

The supernatural is strong in this novel, as it is in most other Parker novels. From Tante, who is blind but can see so much, to Parker himself, who is more than a little in tune with things that most people can't see or sense--Connolly uses the supernatural to add to the layers of Parker's experience.

Lest you think there's no humor in this novel, rest assured--there's lots of it. In particular, Louis and Angel (Parker's criminal "backups") keep a certain level of humor going, as they do throughout the series. These two characters help Parker find humor and strength at times when he's hard-pressed to even keep breathing, I think. If they weren't there to back him up, he'd have no one around him with the same unbending, unshakeable desire to do whatever is necessary to uncover the truth.

Charlie himself is funny. He even cracks jokes at times when he ought to be (and IS) shaking in his shoes. Teamed with Angel and Louis, he's a riot.

An absolutely incredible start to a series. Read it and then try to stay away from the other parts of this series. I dare you. :-)

Dark and Grisly!!.......2007-05-06

I first read John Connolly when I read the Book of Lost Things. I had no idea after reading Every Dead Thing that it was one and the same author! In fact, it wasn't until I visited his website after reading his blog on Amazon that I made the connection. While there is some darkness in TBOLT, it's a total departure from Every Dead Thing. But I digress.

First, I acknowledge that I never saw the Hannibal Lector movies nor read the Harris' books from which they were derived. Nor do I read Patterson, both authors having been compared on the cover to Connolly. I love crime and thriller novels but I don't like gratuitous carnage and bloodshed. That being said, I still gave Connolly 4 stars because I believe that he is a spellbinding writer and has distinguished himself as a unique voice.

This thriller, for me, was a little overly long and was really two stories wrapped into one, with enough gore for a six-pack. I usually gobble mysteries down in 1 or 2 days, depending on my ability to schedule time to read. Every Dead Thing took me a week to work through and I hacked away at it every night, sometimes far into the night. Just when I thought Bird was due to wrap up his caper, there would be a twist that would take us off in another direction and location. I will say Connolly writes like an American and it's hard to believe he hasn't spent long periods of time in New York and New Orleans. He certainly knows how to inhabit his locations. The same goes for his characters, lo many they be.

I found this novel to be multi-layered and plot(s) driven and very well constructed. I believe Connolly writes brilliantly but darkly in this saga, and, unlike other readers, I did not guess the identity of the Traveling Man. Maybe it was because I was a little weary after plowing through all the twists, turns, plots, and subplots of the book. Whatever the reason, I do enjoy it when someone pulls out a rabbit in the end. It speaks to their ability to weave a taunting tale while realizing that most readers appreciate being surprised.

John's characters are definitely drawn with a multi-dimensional hand and I especially liked Louis and Angel. However, I did have to suspend my belief system with the morass of characters with which John had his protagonist Charlie (an ex-cop) entangled. It went a little over the top on a number of occasions, especially as Charlie bravely confronts mafia dons and wackos. Anyone in his or her right mind would not be so cavalier--except maybe Charlie Parker. So, while I prefer my heroes a little more common and while Bird certainly had his foibles, he was just a little tooooo larger than life and his penchant for violence though he's supposed to uphold the law was a little frightening.

However, I would recommend Connolly's books and I intend to continue the series. Kudos to a new Irish voice in American mystery!

Hmmm...........2007-02-05

Two thirds James Lee Burke, one third Robert Parker. Not as good as either, but a good read nonetheless.

Chaotic and satisfying-- three-and-a-half stars.......2006-05-14

I picked up Every Dead Thing on the strength of The White Road. I enjoyed that, and wanted to loop around and read the other Charlie "Bird" Parker books.

Like with The White Road, Every Dead Thing is a little bit all over the map. The novel, which introduces the Bird Parker character, is bloody and very violent-- sometimes so bloody that it verges on self-parody. Connolly is an engaging writer and I really enjoyed the book, despite feeling a little bit like he was asking too much from me in terms of suspension of disbelief. There are so many shocking twists and turns that I nearly stopped caring at a certain point. I actually found Angel and Louis better developed in later books and they were not as strong as they were in The White Road.

Probably obvious from all the reviews, but give this one a miss if you cannot stomach some ultra-violent scenes. I will give Connolly credit and say that I never feel as though he was exploiting the gore, but it is still pretty blood-drenched as a read.

Todo Lo Que Muere/ Every Dead Thing (Andanzas / Adventures) (Andanzas / Adventures)

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Todo Lo Que Muere/ Every Dead Thing (Andanzas / Adventures) (Andanzas / Adventures)
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Resurrection: a volcano wiped out every living thing on Krakatau in 1883. Today, life is coming back. David Case explores an ecosystem returning from the dead.: An article from: OnEarth

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Resurrection: a volcano wiped out every living thing on Krakatau in 1883. Today, life is coming back. David Case explores an ecosystem returning from the dead.: An article from: OnEarth
David Case
Manufacturer: Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008FQ970
Release Date: 2005-07-30

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This digital document is an article from OnEarth, published by Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. on January 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1171 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Resurrection: a volcano wiped out every living thing on Krakatau in 1883. Today, life is coming back. David Case explores an ecosystem returning from the dead.
Author: David Case
Publication: OnEarth (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.
Volume: 24 Issue: 4 Page: 34(4)

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3 Titles By John Connolly Charlie Parker Series : Every Dead Thing The White Road The Black Angel

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3 Titles By John Connolly Charlie Parker Series : Every Dead Thing The White Road The Black Angel
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Manufacturer: pocket star
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3 Titles By John Connolly Charlie Parker Series : Every Dead Thing The White Road The Black Angel. three mmpb books.

4 Titles in Charlie Parker Series - The White Road - The Black Angel - Dark Hollow - Every Dead Thing

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4 Titles in Charlie Parker Series - The White Road - The Black Angel - Dark Hollow - Every Dead Thing
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Manufacturer: various
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4 massmarket paperback Titles in Charlie Parker Series - The White Road - The Black Angel - Dark Hollow - Every Dead Thing

Book Description

The Ancient Path to Transformation Rediscovering the Wisdom of Celtic and Faery Lore This book presents important practical methods of working within the Faery realm. Through powerful techniques of visualization and imagination, a set of keys to understanding ourselves is found.

Customer Reviews:

A Fantastic Book That Opens Doors!!.......2005-10-20

"Earth Light" is a fantastic book for anyone who wishes to work in the Underworld/Faery tradition!
Excellently-written and containing powerful exercises such as "The Dark Goddess and the Tree Below", and "The Four Cities", this book (and its companion "Power Within The Land") opens the doors to the Faery Realm of the Underworld.

Highly recommended for anyone wishing to work with transformative images in the Western tradition!

What a treasure.......2005-03-03

RJ and his books are the greatest treasures to be found in modern day Faery Faith. One author whose name is really not valid enough to mention got her info by stealing RJ's work- she just presents it in fluffier language that is easier to read for those who are not interested in true scholarship and REAL, HARD, DETICATED work. This and the other 2 books in the series are a brilliant and shining journies into self, Sacred Earth, and the ways of the Old Ones.

much over-hyped!!!.......2003-09-19

I am researching the field of faery wicca and was assured that this book in particular and anything by RJ Stewart in general was basically the best source of information. It couldn't have been more wrong advice. The book is an empty promise. It suggests that there will be more info lster in the book and then refers you to his other works (some of which I've read and they are no better!) Don't waste your money!

Please read in the correct order........2002-07-17

This is the second in a series of books by R. J. Stewart on Celtic & Faery Lore, The Underworld Initiation is the first in the series. It gives a basic outline and understanding. Earth Light starts putting those principles into action. The third book Power Within the Land is the companion book to Earth Light which the author states in the Introduction of Earth Light. He also states in The Underworld Initiation that it was an early work and written way before Earth Light and Power Within the Land.

Anyone who plans on working with the Fae, These 3 books should be at the top of your list and should be read in this order to get the most out of them. So remeber Volume one is The Underworld Initition, Volume two is Earth Light, Volume 3 is Power Within the Land. I am going by what the author has stated in his introductions in The Underworld Initiation and Earth Light.

An Extremely Important Introduction to an Ancient Way.......2002-06-11

R.J. Stewart--without pomp and circumstance, without sequins and neo-pagan drag-shows--has laid out for the contemporary seeker an empowered articulation of a viable, profound, and transformational spiritual path that is as ancient--truly--as humanity. Drawn largely from Celtic, as well as pre-Celtic sources of visionary tradition, R.J. writes in a very down-to-earth manner about a stream of visionary tradition that a great many cultures have known and continue to know--a tradition that lies like a subterranean kingdom beneath what we take to be consensual reality. EARTH LIGHT is a masterful introduction to an ancient way of seeing that influenced the Druids, various Scottish seers, as well as a plethora of wisemen and wisewomen who defy an easy label. EARTH LIGHT is the first of three books I recommend reading together, the second being Power Within The Land, and the third one being The UnderWorld Initiation. Frank MacEowen, author of The Mist-Filled Path: Celtic Wisdom for Exiles, Wanderers, & Seekers

Earth Light: The Ancient Path to Transformation : Rediscovering the Wisdom of Celtic and Fairy Lore (Earth Quest)

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A Lovely Book
Expand your mind with new visions
Excellent introduction to the Fairy Kingdom

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Customer Reviews:

A Lovely Book.......1998-05-12

Stewart opens the way for many people searching to make contact with the OtherWorld. A lovely book and guide -- I have found his work to be invaluable to our community and would like to personally thank him for being in service to the Faery so faithfully. All his books appear on my recommended reading lists! A must have!

Expand your mind with new visions.......1998-04-19

Scotsman Stewart presents techniques of transformation from the Celtic faery tradition.He shows how you can regenerate Mother Earth by entering the Underworld and contacting otherworld beings(faeries).At the core of this book are visualization exercises (inner journeys): the Dark Goddess; the Tree Below; the Four Cities; and the Weaver Goddess.These are effective visualizations because they are placed firmly in the age-old Celtic traditions.This book helps you get in touch with the land and the deeper levels of you own being.Stewart is an authoritative writer on the esoteric, and on genuine Celtic traditions.

Excellent introduction to the Fairy Kingdom.......1996-10-28

R.J. Stewart has written an incredible book introducingus to the Fairy Kingdom Tradition. This is a tradition that was readily accepted and believed in until the turn of the century. Now much of the planet has lost this connection. He explores what the fairy kingdom is, who fairies are, and why its important for the survival of humans and the planet to re-establish this connection. It is a very real place with real beings. There are a lot of wonderful exercises/ journeys in the book to help take you there (similar to shamanic journeys). The sequal to this book is the Power Within the Land. I use a lot of his work and journeys with the groups that I take to sacred sites in England, Scotland and Ireland.

Customer Reviews:

James Axler has done it again with a tremendous book........1999-03-20

This book is another prime example of James Axler writing. He makes you picture what it is like to live in a world of mutants and villians. A must read book for any James Axler fans. You will not be disappointed.

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Love It!

Inside America's Test Kitchen

not many recipes but good results

Terrific

Keeping it rolling -- ATK pulls out another stellar volume

Inside America's Test Kitchen: All-New Recipes, Quick Tips, Equipment Ratings, Food Tastings, Science Experiments from the Hit Public Television Show (America's Test Kitchen)

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Customer Reviews:

Love It!.......2006-03-21

It's difficult to go wrong with America's Test Kitchen. I love their recipes--and the equipment ratings are extremely helpful.

I've only made about six items from this book--but all have turned out extremely well.

I highly recommend this book.

Inside America's Test Kitchen.......2006-02-22

Just what I wanted. Delivered quickly as always. Enjoyed the cookbook almost as much as I enjoy watching the show. Worth the price and the short wait to receive it. You came through again, Amazon. 5 Gold Stars for you!

not many recipes but good results.......2005-05-18

I liked the fact it didn't just tell me how to do something it told me why.

While there aren't many recipes (around 30)
all have turned out very well.

Terrific.......2004-04-13

I've bought a number of books published by Boston Common Press, and all of them, including this one, are superb cookbooks for the home cook. They explain exactly what to do and why to do it that way. In my experience, cookbooks of any sort (especially restaurant cookbooks by celebrity chefs) tend to suffer from poor writing and give uneven results. This one does not. To my palate, perhaps one out of every fifteen recipies falls flat, producing merely good rather than excellent results. Virtually everything is a crowd-pleaser.

The only caveat I have to add is that there is a certain amount of overlap between different Boston Common Press books and Cook's Illustrated magazine. If you own lots of their books or subscribe to Cook's, find a copy of this book at your bookstore and thumb through it to see how many recipies are redundant. Still, an great buy.

Keeping it rolling -- ATK pulls out another stellar volume.......2004-03-10

The scrappy, fun America's Test Kitchen books, companions to the top-rated TV series of the same name, tend to compare to the more staid Best Recipe series the way classes at the local adult education center compare to college courses -- not necessarily as deep or down to earth, but a lot more varied and just as informative. This, the third Cooks Illustrated book devoted solely to the TV series, carries on the fun of last year's party-and-comfort-food oriented book and the original ATK Cookbook with an emphasis on things that might fall into the category of diner and cafe food.

Organized by episode like its predecessors, Inside America's Test Kitchen goes down home with pan-roasted chicken and a quickie ragu bolognese, revisits Chinatown with beef and broccoli (a followup to last year's Kung Pao shrimp), and has fun with ethnic home cooking like cassoulet (trimmed down for weeknight use) and pollo fra diavolo. Trips to your local luncheonette include blueberry pancakes, Denver (i.e western) omelettes, the German Apple Pancake (i.e. the Baby Apple to New Englanders), corn muffins, and lemon cheesecake; even the espresso bar makes an appearance with chocolate chip cookies (including reviews of prepared cookie doughs) and a full frontal assault on the often-sawdusty oatmeal scone (flour choice is critical).

In my review of last year's book, Here in America's Test Kitchen, I pointed out that it was a keg party; if that's so, this is the hangover cure for the next morning. It's perhaps a bit difficult to top the fun factor of a cookbook that starts you off with the best buffalo wings ever, but with yet another cool factor that's off the charts, the ATK crew have at least equaled it.

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