Rating: 
Summary: dense and solid, if slightly flawed, novel
Review: Connolly's debut novel has some strong writing, with a good attention to detail and description. Yes, like other readers, I found it hard to believe that he hasn't spent his life living in the US.Yet, there are some problems. Mainly, there is probably too much detail-- so much so (particularly regarding all the murders) that, as I got further and further along, I almost felt like I had to take notes to keep track of all the people and events and the connections between them, not to mention the wealth of information about minor characters. This also had the unfortunate effect of making the ending seem somewhat muted-- rather than gathering steam at the climax, one is relieved to see the novel finally coming to a close. And yet, despite all this, the killer remains somewhat of an enigma-- we still don't really know why he did the things he did, or how (What made him become so psychopathic? How did he find time to do all this and elude capture? How did he hone his surgical skills? Where did he get the barrels to put the victims in? If the police had examined the initial suspect too closely, would they have discovered he was the wrong one?) And finally, the Pet Peeve Department: It's "doughnut", not "donut". Still, this is worth reading for the writing alone.
Rating: 
Summary: Every Perfect Dead Thing
Review: Every so often, I find myself exploring new authors in the hopes of finding a "diamond in the rough". Unfortunately, none too often does this actually occur. I work almost 60 hours a week, and when I do find the time to read, I try to make sure that it is time well spent. Let's face it, it is always a safe bet that John Sanford, Jeffrey Deaver, or Lee Child will probably deliver a thoroughly satisfying excursion from our everyday lives with each and every new release pounded out yearly. But imagine my surprise upon first reading EVERY DEAD THING, the first novel by John Connolly. Not since Lee Child's THE KILLING FLOOR, had I been so impressed by a first novel. In this one book, Connolly creates a nightmarish world landscaped with demonic villains, supernatural visions, and an unlikely cast of heroines that we can only hope that we will here from again. At the center of the novel, stands the tormented protagonist Charlie "Bird" Parker. Parker is an ex-cop haunted by the memories of the murders of his wife and daughter at the hands of a killer known only as the "Traveling Man". Parker is guilt-ridden for not having been present to protect his family from their ritualistic slaughter. But aside from the obvious melancholy displayed by the narrative passages by Parker, the author also mixes in instances of wit and humor in the interplay between Parker and his two unusual acclomplices Angel and Louis, two career criminals who are somehow deeply loyal to Parker. There is enough action here to easily fill the plots of two or three novels of the same genre. And while the descriptions of the Traveling Man's handiwork is both visceral and grotesque, the increasing body count does well to build upon the truly horrific image of this killer. Never have I ever been actually afraid to have the killer's identity revealed to me in any crime novel. Not until now. But aside from the obvious attributes of this crime novel: great plot pacing and atmosphere, action galore, high body count, complex characters, and a larger than life villain, EVERY DEAD THING stands out mainly due to the writing style displayed by Connoly. For lack of a better term, I found his writing somewhat poetic. No words are wasted, and at the end of the novel, I found myself both spent from the experience yet eagerly yearning for the next episode in what will obviously be a phenomenal series. A TRULY STUNNING!!! debut novel, quite possibly my favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy
Review: Well. I like the book. It only gets 4 stars for being a bit confusing in places; the jumping about confused me a little. But it is verymuch worth reading, if you don't mind the grimm grisley bits (most of them are at the begining) . But even the grim grisley bits flow. It makes you sad, somehow; it evokes emotion, you can feel it like water. And that's why I like this book.
Rating:
Summary: LIKE WATCHING A CAR CRASH
Review: I don't know what to make of this book. Connolly has writing talent. He knows how to pick an interesting subject, research it and integrate his knowledge. However, there is just too much going on. Too many characters making appearances and then getting blown away in the next scene. The book needs not just an index but a chart showing how everything and everybody is related.
Connelly utilizes his knowledge of Greek Mythology, art history, american landscape and police prodecdurals in a very integrated way but overlall there is something missing from this long, and sometime dense novel.
I did find the main character Charlie "Bird" Parker of interest. It is seldom that one comes across a "good guy" who is so deeply flawed. Parker is almost as evil and depraved as the criminals he is chasing. It takes a special talent to create a main character so flawed, amoral and human.
In spite of my reservations I give the book four stars because the main characters are different and the authors research is excellent.
I look forward to reading his other novels.
Rating: 
Summary: New York to New Orleans: The Death Express
Review: John Connolly is extraordinary. Though an Irishman residing in Dublin, "Every Dead Thing" has an entirely believable cast of American characters set on the eastern seaboard of the United States. True, some of personalities are a little frayed around the edges from over use, but whatever they are, they don't seem Irish. The plots, subplots and minor skirmishes are so involved in this extra long thriller that I will only recount the bare bones. Charlie "Bird" Parker of the NYPD suffers the devastating loss of his wife and child in a particularly gruesome murder. Charlie is racked with guilt, as he was as usual, on his favorite bar stool when the crime was committed. After a few months in a moral tailspin, he quits the force and the hooch and resolves to find the murderer. His quest takes him from upper eastside New York, to rural Virginia, to New Orleans and bayou country in Louisiana. The danger, gore and mayhem are unrelenting. Charlie is my least favorite type of protagonist: recovering alcoholic who primly makes a point of ordering Perrier when there is the slightest thought of an alcoholic beverage in the wings, appropriately dark and bitter, finds a lady who might make it all "worthwhile" if she lives through all the blood and thunder to which he subjects her. (It never occurs to the these types that it is perfectly ok to leave the little lady at home instead of dragging her through the tunnels, cellars and swamps where all the terrors take place.) Then there are Angelo and Louis, two hardened criminals, who are Charlie's loyal sidekicks--Robin Hood and his not-so-Merry Men. The action and the pace are excellent. I was daunted (or just plain tired) when Charlie made a tremendous discovery halfway through the book only to find we were right back where we started. I certainly give Mr. Connolly credit for not making the rest of the book seem like an anti-climax. The final denouement was a bit rushed, but seeing as we were on page 467, I was certainly ready to forgive and forget. Though the author writes well and plots beautifully, "Every Dead Thing" is aimed at the die-hard gash and gore fan...
Rating: 
Summary: Every Politically Correct Thing...
Review: ...should be the title of this book. Won't waste your time telling the story again. Well-written, but painfully predictable and politically correct, complete with gay assassin and his lover, a thief, who help our hero battle "evil." I have spent time around criminals, and I don't recall any of them being particularly heroic. Very shallow and stereotypical view of the "Deep South." What else can one expect I guess, from an Irishman in Dublin writing about New York and Louisiana? Okay, if you can't find anything else to read...
Rating:
Summary: Clear your calendar...
Review: This is a novel to be read in one sitting. I raced through this one because I simply could not put it down for more than a few minutes. Connolly writes with a lyricism and an edginess that are not often found in this genre. He also managed to do something that not many serial killer/thriller/suspense/detective novels manage to do: surprise me. I was so happy to finally read a novel and not know the outcome by page 20. What a rare treat!
I think this is a well-written novel, and I love Connolly's level of description. I could practically smell the gumbo when Charlie Parker travels to deep Louisiana. Gory? You bet. Disconcerting? Quite often. There are numerous characters, a high body count, and plots and sub-plots, but Connolly pulls all these together for a slam-bam finish. I was actually sweating through some of the twists and turns.
I am now a confirmed Connolly fan, and I'll be first in line for each new novel from this Irish author.
Rating:
Summary: A gory but wonderful debut
Review: As other reviewers have noted, it's continually surprising to realize that the author of one of the most American and most accomplished crime thrillers in recent years is actually an Irish journalist. John Connolly only rarely shows his Irish, lyrical side in passages such as this, on page two: "There is a light breeze blowing and my coattails play at my legs like the hands of children."
And so begins a descent into an unforgettable tale of madness. Connolly expertly engages the reader from the first page by interspersing two POVs of his main character, Charlie "Bird" Parker, the present tense, the italicized past tense of the night Parker found the horribly mutilated corpses of his wife and children, and the third impersonal voice of the police report. At first, the reader may suspect that the present tense POV is that of the killer and perhaps Connolly may have counted on this to further shrink the gap between the evil mind and its analogue.
The Traveling Man is one of the more intriguing serial killers in latter day fiction, one drawn with the skill of an established master of the genre. The identity of the killer is a true surprise, not a mean feat considering today's sophisticated reader, although the clues are placed throughout the book with the judiciousness of an M. Night Shyamalan. It should be noted that the murder scenes should not be read by those with weak stomachs and there aren't too many books that come to memory requiring such an advisory. But just when the jaded reader thinks that every atrocity has already been committed by real life killers or imagined by novelists, John Connolly has come from Ireland with a unique perspective on the genre. Perhaps Connolly's outsider mentality is what separates EVERY DEAD THING from many of the serial killer books being penned by lesser-talented American authors. It made me groan to see that Connolly, as with his literary grandfathers Hammett and Chandler, continually puts his protagonist in situations until I half expected Parker to find another mangled corpse on his way to the bathroom. The body count and bewildering array of killers (Oh no, the Traveling Man isn't the only one) may turn off readers with milder sensibilities and not as easily-suspended disbeliefs. The two main plots remained separated for too long, which risks inspiring boredom and impatience in the reader. There are also far too many male characters in the book, especially the cops, and despite the book's length, Connolly didn't take enough care with their delineation to make them very distinctive to the reader. Angel and Louis, the gay hit men, are certainly a breath of fresh air and are treated with the dignity they deserve. Connolly's Parker cracks wise with the best of them and the jokes tend to be better and funnier than Robert Parker's Spenser. "Bird" Parker is a reluctant PI in the mold of Easy Rawlins or Troy Soos's Mickey Rawlings but he is a much better delineated character than either and still better than most in the too-vast detective universe. Parker is an unimaginably tortured man, one who has no problem going over the line and taking a life with the tenuous ability go back to the side of compassion. With clipped and bloodied wings, he is an earthbound enforcer for St. Jude. I hope that the next two books will be more judiciously edited. Only Connolly's ferocious wit and sheer mastery of plot advancement kept this book from being a midlist beach thriller. This highly intelligent and erudite novel, with its unusually poetic cops and FBI agents, is some of the best entertainment you can buy for [amt]. I fully intend on following the series.
Rating:
Summary: EVERY DEAD THING
Review: BOOK INVOLVES 2 PLOTS. 1 PLOT IS ABOUT THE MOB AND THE OTHER PLOT INVOLVES A SERIAL KILLER. THESE STORY LINES WILL MERGE AS THE BOOK GOES ALONG. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH THIS BOOK IS THE FACT THAT THE ALCOHOLIC COP, THE ALCOHOLIC EX-COP OR THE EX-ALCOHOLIC EX-COP ETC....HAVE BEEN DONE SO MANY TIMES BEFORE.
AND MANY TIMES IT HAS BEEN DONE BETTER THAN THIS NOVEL.
Rating:
Summary: A worthwhile read
Review: Definitely a worthwhile investment for your reading time if you like thrillers of the Hannibal Lector type. Connolly's debut thriller is melancholy and literary though with echoes of James Lee Burke's David Robichoud's character especially since some of the action takes place in sweaty Louisianna locales.
I'm looking forward to the continuation of this series.
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