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Every Dead Thing Audiobook
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(4.00) - 6,508 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Have faith. I will find you.
Former NYPD detective Charlie "Bird" Parker is on the verge of madness. Tortured by the unsolved slayings of his wife and young daughter, he is a man consumed by guilt, regret, and the desire for revenge.
When his former partner asks him to track down a missing girl, Parker finds himself drawn into a world beyond his imagining—one where thirty-year-old killings remain shrouded in fear and lies, a world where the ghosts of the dead torment the living, a world haunted by the murderer responsible for the deaths in his family, a serial killer unlike any other, a monster who uses the human body to create works of art and takes faces as his prize. But the search awakens buried instincts in Parker: instincts for survival, for compassion, for love, and, ultimately, for killing.
Aided by a beautiful young psychologist and a pair of career criminals, he becomes the bait in a trap set in the humid bayous of Louisiana, a trap that threatens the lives of everyone in its reach. Driven by visions of the dead and the voice of an old black psychic who met a terrible end, Parker must seek a final, brutal confrontation with a murderer who has moved beyond all notions of humanity, who has set out to create a hell on earth: the serial killer known only as the Traveling Man.
In the tradition of classic American detective fiction, Every Dead Thing is a tense, richly-plotted thriller, filled with memorable characters and gripping action. It is also a profoundly moving novel, concerned with the nature of loyalty, of love, and of forgiveness. Lyrical and terrifying, it is an ambitious debut, triumphantly realized.
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"When NYPD detective Charlie Parker comes home from a night of binge drinking to find his wife and child murdered and skinned by a sadistic serial killer, his life is turned upside down. Leaving the police force and bottle behind, he takes on some under the table private eye work, but his real mission is to track down the killer. When a lead in the case takes Parker to the swamps of Louisiana, he is accompanied by his lethal friends Angel and Louis and the brilliant criminal psychologist Rachel. While in the bayous, the sadistic murders continue and Parker is also trapped in a gang war between two rival factions who may unwittingly have information about the identity of the killer. Like all books in this excellent series, there is a light touch of the supernatural in this story, with Parker sensing the spirits of his wife and daughter, and being contacted in a dream by one of the murder victims. But don't let that scare away fans of straight ahead crime fiction, as most of the book centers on a frantic chase between Parker and friends, the local police and the FBI to find the killer. This is the opening book in the continuously excellent Charlie Parker series. Elements of extremely graphic violence make this a melding of crime and horror fiction with a hard-boiled veneer of the great private eye stories."
— Tim (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“As riveting and chilling as The Silence of the Lambs.”
— San Francisco Examiner -
“Every Dead Thing is intelligent, deep, and literate, and it is difficult to believe that this is John Connolly’s first novel, so confident is the writing.”
— Saturday Times (London) -
“[A] dearly ingenious debut novel.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Every Dead Thing ensnares us in its very first pages and speeds us through a harrowing plot to a riveting climax.”
— Jeffery Deaver, author of The Devil’s Teardrop
Awards
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A USA Today bestseller
Every Dead Thing Listener Reviews
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ettore indiano, 6/24/2021
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Deborah, 12/31/2020
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chris kuebler, 1/29/2016
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" I very much enjoy discovering new series, series that I like anyway, when the author is already well into them. It's kind of like finding a tv series you like on Netflix. You can watch it all in one weekend! I found this debut novel to be a little choppy. It was hard to connect the serial murder story with the mobster story. However, I absolutely loved the melancholy tone of the narrative and the characters were refreshingly unique. I'm already three books into the series, and I'm looking forward to reading the next one, although I don't get why the author continues to pull in mobsters. I just go with it because the books keep getting better. "
— Sharblynn, 2/16/2014 -
" Interesting combination of police novel and supernatural elements. "
— Kay, 1/28/2014 -
" I read another book by this author and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wanted to read something else, so I picked up this book. I couldn't get into it. I enjoyed the descriptiveness, but wasn't enjoying the story. I thought it was too confusing with too many different things going on before establishing the characters. Maybe I will give this book another chance, but most likely not. "
— Jill, 1/28/2014 -
" John Connolly's first Charlie Parker book is very good. It is pretty much two stories (or cases) in one book. This book left me very interested in reading more Charlie 'Bird' Parker novels. "
— Jon, 1/24/2014 -
" This easily could have been split into two books, and maybe it should have been. Some of the gangsters started to run together in my mind as there wasn't much to distinguish them. Also, the killer was pegged very early on. But I liked the side characters of Angel and Louis, and also the overall darkness of the story. A solid three-star and I will definitely keep reading this series. "
— Mnemosyne, 1/22/2014 -
" Book was really good. Intense. Mystery/Thriller This was his first book with this character. I would read more of his books. Well written and very descriptive. "
— Doris, 1/13/2014 -
" I will not finish this book. It gave me nightmares after the first chapter. Can't find any redeeming value here at all, and the graphic descriptions of violence are disgusting. "
— Phyllis, 1/10/2014 -
" The deeply lyrical and at times surreal prose is certainly a highlight, but the central mystery is original and captivating, buoyed by fully realized and emotionally believable characters. "
— John, 1/8/2014 -
" One of my favorite crime/suspense novels ever. The prose is superb. Could not put it down, but didn't want it to end. "
— Christian, 12/24/2013 -
" Really enjoyed it , was abit slow and confusing swoping to past and present but soon got the jist of it and settled down to 2 murderers even though in the end there were more than that included in the tales , very good and just what I like in a good murder . "
— Teresa, 12/23/2013 -
" Brilliant start to a great series "
— Jim, 12/22/2013 -
" good but gruesome "
— Vida, 12/11/2013 -
" Good hardboiled serial killa thrilla. Comparisons to Hannibal Lecter series are overdone, the book is competent and compulsive (in a horrible kind of way) but over-long, complex, and good grief - you best be prepared for some extreme depravity / violence. Quite disturbing. "
— Alex, 6/26/2013 -
" A good detective/suspense story. Very gory though. "
— Kevin, 5/1/2013 -
" A good thriller, but very, very violent and brutal. Hence it gets four stars rather then 5. I do intend to read my way through the series though. "
— Marleen, 3/20/2013 -
" John Connolly's first - entertaining, but overall too grisly for my taste. "
— Ryan, 1/12/2013 -
" John Connolly's Charlie Parker books are dark and destructive and scary and you have to finish them once you've started because you have to know it turns out relatively alright in the end. I say relatively cause he doesn't shirk from describing some pretty unpleasant things - I'm a big fan "
— Lizzie, 1/11/2013 -
" Chilling and frightful, but can't put down. Very interesting, not to mention page-turning. "
— Mary, 1/5/2013 -
" way to scary for me......had nightmares "
— Annie, 12/28/2012 -
" one of my favorite authors "
— Stephen, 12/2/2012 -
" A great book! Sometimes the graphic violence in it made it difficult for me to read, but it was never violent for the sake of just being violent. It was intelligently written with twists that I didn't expect. John Connolly always writes with heart. "
— Keely, 11/23/2012
About John Connolly
John Connolly is a New York Times bestselling author known for his detective Charlie Parker mysteries and supernatural and fantasy novels. His twenty-five novels, nonfiction, and short stories have won the Agatha, Barry, Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, as well as being finalists for the Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year, H. R. F. Keating Award, and Bram Stoker Award.
About Jeff Harding
Jeff Harding, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is one of the most active American actors based in Britain. He is regularly seen in film and television but maintains interest in fringe theater. He is particularly active in voice-over and radio work. Having competed in rowing for many years, he still lives by the Thames and rows regularly.