BOOK REVIEW: Every Dead Thing Charlie Parker, #1) by John Connolly

Every Dead Thing is the first book by John Connolly that I have read, and the first book in his apparently very popular Charlie Parker series. I am always looking for new series and so I was interested in reading this book and checking out Connolly's work, which has relatively high ratings on Goodreads and is well-established. However, I am not completely sure how many more in the series I will read (for reasons I detail below).

One thing I am learning as I read more books in the mystery/thriller/suspense/crime genre is how many different kinds of books there are, and thus I can be more discerning (read: picky!) in the books and series I decide to invest my time in consuming. My sweet spot is generally well-paced police procedurals (often set in Britain) where the plot (often suspenseful) revolves around intriguing mysteries or crimes (not always murders) being investigated by complex, well-developed characters (with diverse and interesting supporting characters). Authors whose work I have generally liked include Peter Robinson's DCI Alan Banks, Ian Rankin's DI John Rebus, Karin Slaughter's Will Trent, Val McDermid's Tony Hill/Carol Jordan series, Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae and (of course) Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad and Louise Penny's Henri Gamache series.

 I was a little upset to discover that the Charlie Parker series is in a sub-genre known as a supernatural crime thriller. The first book doesn't go too far in that direction. Generally I am not a fan of supernatural elements, which is why I haven't usually been a fan of Stephen King, but the books I have read of his (The Institute, The Outsider, the Mr. Mercedes trilogy) have all been excellent. However I have heard things get spookier as the series goes on (Book 17 has been published). Book 1, Every Dead Thing, has an extremely high body count and is suffused with violence throughout. It begins with the ritualistic murder of Parker's wife and kids and ends with... (just kidding I don't want to spoil it!).

Parker is an interestingly flawed character (a former police officer whose family was murdered who is willing and able to use his network of contacts to take the law into his own hands) and the setting is New York City, which is also a plus. However one of the main reasons I did not summarily DNF the book about 40% in (after Parker basically solves the initial mystery of a missing girl he was hired to find) was the surprising inclusion of an openly gay, interracial criminal couple named Angel (burglar/thief) and Louis (assassin/hit man). If they play a significant role in the later books I wil probably give the Charlie Parker series a closer look. It's a huge plus to me that the supporting characters are diverse and interesting. And Connolly's prose is definitely well above average for your regular mystery writer. However, most of the mystery/thrillers that I really enjoy either have major characters who are female (Maeve Kerrigan, Sara Linton, Carol Jordan, Siobhan Clarke, Roberta Steel) are written by female authors (Tana French, Karin Slaughter, Val Mcdermid, Jane Casey, etc) but I'm definitely not a fan of romance (Karin Slaughter's Will Trent series gets the balance perfectly). My ultimate series would be a series with a female lead detective with a gay male sidekick (which is exactly what the DI Marnie Rome series by Sarah Hillary is but so far I haven't been impressed by the first two book in the series, Someone Else's Skin and No Other Darkness.

 I realize most of this review of Every Dead Thing has been my musing about the mystery/crime/thriller genre in general. That tends to happen when I get introduced to a new author and I try to compare the new work into my past experiences with the genre. My overall view of Every Dead Thing is that I would say it is a well-written, extremely violent and action-packed story led by a troubled main character and peopled with interesting supporting characters whom I suspect I will seek out in the (far) future.

Title: Every Dead Thing.
Author: John Connolly.
Paperback: 467 pages.
Publisher: Pocket Books.
Date Published: July 1, 2000.
Date Read: March 28, 2020.

GOODREADS RATING: ★★★★☆  (4.0/5.0).

OVERALL GRADE: B+/A- (3.5/4.0).

PLOT: B+.
IMAGERY: A-.
IMPACT: B+.
WRITING: A-.