Charlie Parker Books In Order

Publication Order of Charlie Parker Books

Publication Order of Charlie Parker Non-Fiction Books

The Charlie Parker Series is an internationally bestselling pulse-pounding thriller by John Connolly. This is a book that features a community that has always thrived as others suffer. Its people are quite wealthy and their children have a well secured future. Outsiders are not welcomed as it guards its own. At the heart of this prosperous community is an ancient church.

However, everything takes a rather strange turn after death of a homeless man and the disappearance of his daughter draw the deadly attention of a private investigator Charlie Parker to this town. Driven with rage and revenge Parker is a dangerous man. He could do anything for the vengeance of his family’s death. Within the town, the protectors sense this grave danger and they have to protect their long history of being comfortable and sheltered. Parker is yet to encounter his most vicious opponents. He is marked to die so that Prosperous will survive. This is the plot according to John Connolly’s first book in the Charlie Parker series- Every dead thing.

Every dead Thing- book one in the Charlie Parker series

Named internationally as the ultimate page-turner in the fiction industry, this terrifying bestseller has made stunning achievements. The writer taps superbly to the gritty world and tortured mind of the former detective, Charlie Parker. Detective Charlie Parker was relaxing and boozing at the Tom’s Oak Tavern when his daughter Jennifer and wife Susan were gruesomely murdered by a killer known as the Traveling Man. Overly drunk with guild and alcoholism Charlie is out to lose his job and worse than that his sanity. Quite many months after this, he sobers up and is ready to put his life back to shape.

Driven by frequent visions of his dead loved ones, Parker turns to being a serial killer. He flees New York City and heads to the American South where he can find his buried instincts, Instincts of love, survival and most of all of killing. He is awakened as he confronts monsters beyond what he initially imagined.

Parker tries to find this serial killer that tortures children and steals the victims faces after mutilating their bodies. This same killer murdered his wife and baby daughter in a gruesome murder. Parker has no choice but to leave the force.

He also agrees to trace a missing woman in favor of his old partner. Charlie takes up this private investigation. He tries to solve the disappearance of a woman by the name Catherine Demeter. At first this puzzle seemed to be far from the relation with The Traveling Man. As he investigates further, Charlie finds this relation and dwells into the search of The Traveling Man for vengeance.

His trail leads him to rural Virginia town where the shameful secret of children tortured and killed by wealth eccentrics is closely linked to the same missing woman. Charlie has to step toes he would later regret. He closely eludes hired killers sent to flush out several villains in the open. He has the assistance of two friendly hitmen.

Charlie receives a call form Tante Marie, a Creole woman situated near New Orleans. Her psychic visions of “The travelling Man” match the exact profile of the serial killer. Scooping through the swamps, Charlie finds help with his FBI buddy known as Woolrich.

Every Dead Thing is a great novel that introduces readers to like the anti-hero Charlie Parker. Though this book was met with a bit of critical acclaim, it was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award as the Best First Novel. It soldiered on to win the 2000 Shamus Award as the Best First Private Eye Novel, Connolly features as the first author based outside the US to win this award.

It could be a good idea not to read this Charlie parker’s series on a full stomach, detailed descriptions of gruesome murders could scare you. However, this is a fast-paced piece of fiction from a well-known author of the Irish times.

Dark Hollow- second novel in the Charlie Parker series

After the first moody novel in the Charlie Parker series, John Connolly returned with this second masterful thriller. Still haunted by the murder of his wife and daughter, Charlie Parker decides to finally retreat home so as to rebuild his painfully shattered life. His return seems to awaken the old ghost that was the reason for the murder of his family, there is yet another murder for another mother and child. The obvious suspect is the young lady’s violent ex-husband, however there is also another possibility; it could be the mythical killer that lurks deep within the dark shadows of Parker’s past.

This storyline is set in the beautifully evoked Maine Words as Parker tries to lick his wounds of the past and to recover from the painful loss of his wife and daughter. Now a half-hearted investigator, he agrees to track down the ex-husband of Rita Purdue. However, when Rita and her son are killed all fingers point to Billy Purdue, the ex-husband. Charlie feels that it is his work obligation to find this killer even though he knows that he could not be the killer.

Bodies then begin piling up, one after the other. Among them are killers from Cambodia and some mob Boston gangsters with a few people that Billy turned to for refuge. An elderly lady also dies within her nursing home with the name “bogeyman” on her lips. This is not the first time Parker has to deal with the bogeyman monster; his late grandfather was also a cop that spent his last years of living trying to track down this legendary monster.

Unfortunately, it’s not his grandfather’s ghost that only haunts Bird as he tries to solve the mystery of who the ex-husband really is, the spirit of his dead child and wife also push in difficult attempts to try to find justice for Rita and her son as well.

John Connolly brings out a complex and interesting masterpiece of an interesting hero whose life is governed by intricate conflicts. If you are a great enthusiast for thriller series, you should not miss out on the Charlie Parker series. One important tip when reading this is to always read when lights on, windows and doors firmly locked, you could be in for a wild scare.

Protagonist Charlie “Bird” Parker stars in John Connolly’s series of Charlie Parker Mysteries, a mixture of horror, crime investigation, and thriller as Charlie Parker searches to find the truth behind the serial killers, disappearances, and of course, murders. Charlie, originally an investigator for the NYPD, falls in a downward spiral after the murder of his wife and daughter. Filled with anger and violence, he initially drowns his sorrows in alcohol after losing his job and any hope for the future, but he eventually pulls himself together to become a private investigator after the encouragement of a friend. Addled with the possibility of revenge and intent on solving horrific mysteries—and hoping along the way to track the brutal serial killer that killed his family—Charlie returns to the world of thrills and fear as his investigations lead him to a multitude of terrible things, including dark dreams and sights of his murdered family. Luckily, despite all the horrors and deaths Charlie encounters, he has some good things going for him too along the way: romance, of course, is essential to all books and a light addition to this series, and Charlie regains hope as time heals old wounds and creates opportunity for new beginnings.

Irish native John Connolly first began the series in 1999, creating high expectations for his future novels and works. The Charlie Parker Mysteries series creates suspense that captivates the reader, often on the edge of discomfort. Throughout the series, Connolly ensnares the reader with his descriptive language and gory details, creating complex characters and detailed plot lines to keep the reader wide awake and wary. With original ideas and innovative methods, Connolly surprises the reader and keeps them coming back for more. Charlie succeeds and fails among his journeys, showing the human side of this determined investigator. Connolly’s creativity and success through the Charlie Parker Mysteries has earned him the 1999 Best First Novel Shamus Award and the title of 1999 L.A. Times Book of the Year after his debut novel, Every Dead Thing. As the series went on, Connolly continued to fuel his success with an expanded reader base and further shivers of excitement and fear with Charlie Parker and his investigations. His plot lines are complicated and his ideas dangerous, but readers keep coming back for more of that same Charlie Parker suspense. Though the same protagonist is featured throughout the series, Connolly never fails to provide new reading material to keep everyone on their toes and double checking their locks at night.

Charlie Parker currently has 13 novels depicting his stories, released in the United Kingdom as well as the United States. The second novel, Dark Hollow, was released eagerly a year after the first, following Charlie as he tracks down yet another savage murderer. The most recent book surrounding Charlie Parker was released in 2014 with high reviews as Connolly once again thrills his readers. The Charlie Parker Mysteries series have become a terrific addition to the genre of thriller and mystery, highly appreciated by all readers.

Every Dead Thing

Just like its name, Connolly’s debut novel Every Dead Thing ensnares the reader. Charlie Parker, caught in an alcoholic haze after discovering his wife and daughter were murdered, has no clue what to do anymore, except that maybe a little more beer will possibly aid his troubles. Not likely. When his old partner asks him for help, Charlie finally manages to quit drinking and goes out to seek revenge and let out his rage and violent feelings. Throughout his troubles, Charlie continually reimagines the deaths of his family and the horrors surrounding it, hoping for a way to make things right again. As he investigates the disappearance of a young girl and travels into unfamiliar territory and a whole undiscovered world of organized crime, Charlie also encounters many other disturbing events and people, eventually leading to the Traveling Man, a serial killer known for his cruelty in taking the faces of his victims. As he travels deeper and deeper into the mystery, Charlie is no longer safe as he seeks to face down the Traveling Man and eliminate him once and for all. Described as “dark”, “menacing”, and “ingenious”, Connolly’s first novel with Charlie Parker is a must read for all lovers of the genre.

Dark Hollow

Another thrilling read and the second addition to the Charlie Parker Mysteries series, Dark Hollow follows Charlie Parker as the investigator is again thrust into the world of violence and death. Charlie reunites with his past in Maine where he grew up, still wounded from the events of the Traveling Man and the deaths of his wife and daughter. After encountering the violent deaths of a young mother and son pair, he searches for the murderer behind these deaths and eventual others. Following his gut instinct, Charlie knows that the most obvious suspect, the woman’s ex-husband, is not the killer, despite all of the other evidence pointing in that direction. Even as he looks for the killer Charlie struggles with his own fears and grisly dreams and visions, often seeing his murdered family and ghosts of the recent past. The horrors become more pronounced as the death count rises and Charlie realizes he may be facing a myth, the legendary killer Caleb Kyle. As the past and present come together, Charlie learns about his grandfather’s involvement as well as Charlie remembers when his grandfather, a former cop like Charlie, hunted Caleb Kyle. With two friends and helpers beside him Charlie rushes to hunt the mysterious killer and solve the crimes from his old hometown. A thrilling continuation to Every Dead Thing, Connolly doesn’t disappoint readers as his second Charlie Parker novel arrives with the same amount of excitement.

Through these first two novels and his many others, Connolly has created stories that feel only too real when read on a dark night. With Charlie Parker’s detailed investigations and horrifying past, readers experience firsthand Connolly’s skills with creativity and originality, developing unique mysteries at every turn for all thriller and mystery enthusiasts to enjoy.

One Response to “Charlie Parker”

1. JP Carsten: 2 years ago

   Very nice summary—thank you.

   Reply