Rating: 
Summary: Darkly Brilliant
Review: Mr. Connolly's book is dark and haunting. Any person who cares for another will feel a horrifying fear of what can happen to those you love. The author's tale is, unfortunately, not so far fetched.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting and disturbing
Review: I'm a reader from Holland and have read Every Dead Thing, the best book I've ever read.It's gore and disturbing while going through the Louissiana swamps, while an intriging mob-story is running right throught the story of detective Charlie "Bird" Parker who is investigating the disappearance of a young girl, whose related to a rich family and keeps getting on the wrong track. At the end of the book there's also a bizar twist which leads to the end. The book even gives the guarantee if it's not better than "Silence of the Lambs" from Thomas Harris and you live in England or Ireland you get back the money for "every dead thing" if you give a good reason why it's worse than "Silence of the Lambs" It would not be easy, because "Every dead thing" sure is much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much of a good thing
Review: Connolly's mastery of dialogue and description is superb! This guy can really write... the main shortcoming is the plot: he throws everything but the kitchen sink into the mix (Mafia, KKK, ritual serial murder, voodoo, child molesters, Cajuns, etc., etc.). I was expecting space aliens to turn up next! After 250 pages of this your eyes sort of glaze over and you stop caring about whodunit. A good book to read if you have a quiet week at the beach with nothing to do and can keep track of the plot!
Rating:
Summary: DEEPLY DISTURBING.
Review: I think this is an excellent first offering for Mr. Connolly, however, count the people who have been murdered simply through association with Charlie Parker as well as the fact that "Bird" just happens to be present at most of these murders or discovery of the bodies. I realize this is fictional but totally lacking in credibility. Also, enter the premise that Charlie is no longer on the NYPD nor a registered P.I. and the FBI, Police and Coroners not only allow him to be present, but oftentime demand his presence at the crime scenes as well as permit him to witness the autopsies. Get real, at least for a little bit. Perhaps, a bit more of a reality based foundation would allow me to believe some or part of Mr. Connolly's premise. As others have mentioned, there could have been at least two and perhaps three individual books here. You actually believe the Modine murders end book #1. It doesn't tie well and so so many characters in a convoluted plot are oftentimes hard to track. I do believe this author has a tremendous amount of potential, however, I think he attempted to do too much at once as if he believed he would not get another opportunity to author and be published.
Rating: 
Summary: It's actually a 4 1/2 star rating
Review: It is hard to say that you really enjoy reading a terrifying book, but I must say I really enjoyed this book. If I hadn't read the book jacket I would have thought that John Connolly was a native of Maine, New York or Louisiana; he must be a fine researcher. Bird Parker is believable as a troubled ex-NY detective, the characters of Angel, Louis, Detective Morphy, Rachel and the others add substance to the plot and the continuity of the story. The intricate descriptions both add, and to some degree, detract from the book; it is a tad too long. This is a heck of a first novel and I am quite curious about what his next novel might be.
Rating:
Summary: There are no coincidences.
Review: Other reviews and synopses describe this book well, but seem to overlook how incredibly complex the plot becomes. Friends of F. Scott Fitzgerald joked that his first novel - This Side Of Paradise - was "the collected works of F. Scott Fitzgerald." Likewise, Mr. Connolly could easily have made three separate books from the goings on of his sober Bird Parker in Every Dead Thing. I'm told this book appeared first in Great Britain and sold well, and that Mr. Connolly has just been in NYC signing. If he's an Irish national it makes yet another linkage of the NOPD (and its Mafia) and the NYPD (with FEEBS thrown in) and old friends on the job(s) and serial killing and autopsies and psychological research all the more interesting in the detective/PI genre. Is he well traveled? Is there a call for Steve Carella? This is neither McBain or James Lee Burke, but it's a damn good first that left me shaking my head that anyone - even the author - could keep track of all that happens in Every Dead Thing - including who's more violent, Parker or the Traveling Man. I enjoyed it enough to look forward to Mr. Connolly's next story, and certainly put it in my "save" pile of first novels.
Rating:
Summary: At last tension has returned to popular thriller writing
Review: With serial killer novels being in vogue these past few years, it's hard to convince yourself that anything new can be brought to a table covered in body parts and hackneyed seekers of truth... John Connolly has managed to open up a whole new vein (excuse the pun...). The deliberate and studied brutality at the start only ensures that you keep on reading, desperate to know that such an act could not go unpunished by a father and husband. The scope of the story was breathtaking, there was enough plot for 6 novels and other authors intent on constantly throwing serial killers at our faces (James Patterson are you reading?) should stand shamefaced at their hamfisted attempts and awkward grammar. It takes no literary genius to describe horrific scenes and outrageous deeds - just an overactive imagination. The talent lies in having the reader laying in bed at 3am staring at the ceiling thinking about it in a cold sweat. Trust me, whilst reading this book, I have not been sleeping easy. Read this novel people. You will remember it.
Rating:
Summary: Strange and gripping
Review: It seems like there are not just one but two books here. No matter, they're both a terrifically good read. This book rates up there with Thomas Harris and is available NOW.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing novel that turns the Noir upside down
Review: He still feels guilty for drinking bourbon at a bar while a serial killer brutally murdered his wife Susan and their three-year old child Jennifer. Unable to cope with his demons, Charlie "Bird" Parker leaves the New York Police Department. A few months later, Bird's former partner Walter Cole asks him to do a favor, search for a missing person, Catherine Demeter. Only for Walter would Bird start sleuthing. Bird begins in Brooklyn where Catherine was last seen. Soon he is dodging killers in Virginia and has teamed up with a gay couple, who make a living as hitmen. That follows up with a tip from a Creole psychic that takes Bird to the Louisiana Bayou where he must confront the notorious serial killer, The Traveling Man. EVERY DEAD THING is grim Noir that wreaks havoc on sub-genre stereotypes. Cops do poetry and reference college professors. Professionally lethal hitmen are gay or impotent. Psychic phenomena move the dark tale forward. Yet with all that upheaval to the sub-genre norm, the story line works due to the fact that the characters feel authentic. Though the gore level is in the stratosphere, John Connolly has provided the audience with a non-stop, action-packed tale that also has a warm side where love and loyalty (not DNA) make a person human. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Well written but way, way, way too long
Review: Every Dead thing is a good solid debut by this first time author. As with so many first novels, the author wants to teach the reader as much as he could about a variety of topics. For example, we get a virtual tour of New Orleans with in depth discussions of the cemetaries, the social structure ie. the projects or slums, art history ect. This unfortunately severely cut into the pacing of this novel making it, in my opinion, alot less gripping than it could have been. The characters are very well done and the author displays a great deal of talent in developing them. Excellent sense of locale. The plot, however, does not justify the size. Better editing could have made this an excellent book. Instead it is merely good.
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