The John Connolly Collection #1: Every Dead Thing, Dark Hollow, and The Killing Kind

Charlie Parker #1-3

by John Connolly

In Volume I of this special collectors’ edition, visit the terrifying world of John Connolly’s #1 internationally bestselling Every Dead Thing, Dark Hollow, and The Killing Kind.EVERY DEAD THINGHaunted by the unsolved slayings of his wife and young daughter, and tormented by his sense of guilt, former NYPD detective Charlie Parker is a man consumed by violence, regret, and the desire for revenge. But when his ex-partner asks him to track down a missing girl, Parker embarks on an odyssey that leads him to the heart of organized crime; to an old black woman who dwells by a Louisiana swamp and hears the voices of the dead; to cellars of torture and murder; and to a serial killer unlike any other, an artist who uses the human body as his canvas and takes faces as his prize, the killer known only as the Traveling Man.DARK HOLLOWHaunted by the murder of his wife and daughter, former New York police detective Charlie Parker retreats home to Scarborough, Maine, to rebuild his shattered life. But his return awakens old ghosts, drawing him into the manhunt for the killer of yet another mother and child. The obvious suspect is the young woman's violent ex-husband. But there is another possibility—a mythical figure who lurks deep in the dark hollow of Parker's own past, a figure that has haunted his family for the monster known as Caleb Kyle.... THE KILLING KINDWhen the discovery of a mass grave in northern Maine reveals the grim truth behind the disappearance of a religious community, Charlie Parker is drawn into vicious conflict with a group of zealots intent on tracking down a relic that could link them to the slaughter. Haunted by the ghost of a small boy and tormented by the demonic killer known as Mr. Pudd, Parker is forced to fight for his lover, his friends...and his very soul.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2012

About the author

John Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1968 and has, at various points in his life, worked as a journalist, a barman, a local government official, a waiter and a dogsbody at Harrods department store in London. He studied English in Trinity College, Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University, subsequently spending five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper, to which he continues to contribute.

He is based in Dublin but divides his time between his native city and the United States.

This page is administered by John's assistant, Clair, on John's behalf. If you'd like to communicate with John directly, you can do so by writing to contact-at-johnconnollybooks.com, or by following him on Twitter at @JConnollyBooks.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.

Reviews

[Maurina Pratiwi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Membaca sesuatu yang baru biasanya memunculkan kesan dan penafsiran baru. Dan baru kali ini aku membaca novelnya John Connolly. Ternyata, aku jatuh cinta sama novelnya dia...!!!
Di novel ini menceritakan awal tragedi yg menimpa detektif Charlie Parker. Dibuka dengan pembunuhan yang terjadi terhadap istri dan anak si detektif. Atas kejadian itu detektif Charlie Parker harus berusaha keras menemukan pembunuhnya. Sampai-sampai harus meminta bantuan Tante Marie Aguillard yang adalah seorang cenayang.
Namun, Charlie Parker malah dihadapkan pada kenyataan bahwa ternyata masih ada korban-korban lain si pembunuh yang belum ditemukan.
Hingga akhirnya, si cenayang ikut menjadi korban pembunuh berantai tersebut.
Seru, tegang, ngeri, ngilu, campur jadi satu.
Ada beberapa kasus yang digabungkan namun masih mengandung benang merah yang tak disangka-sangka.
Recommended, dan harus dibaca bagi siapa saja penggemar thriller ya!

[Debra Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it and cannot wait to start the next in the series. I have read some of John Connolly’s books, but typically avoided murder themes as I have mentally placed such themes in the category of conspiracy, corporations, life insurance, and greed. Mr. Connolly has sparked my interest and I am hopeful future reads will continue to encourage my need to read. The characters….i cannot choose a favorite. I was and continue to dread the possibility of losing any of them. Mr. Connolly, please continue to torture, scare, and traumatize Bird, Louis, Angel, and Rachel, but I beg of you, do not kill them off! I would dearly miss Angel’s wardrobe, Louis’ snide comments, and Rachel’s willingness to stand by them all. Then there is Bird, his sight, and determination to bring justice to the lost. Thank you for a fabulous read!!!!

[Patricia Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hooked me with the first sentence and I found myself waking up in the middle of the night wanting to know what would happen next.
Charlie Parker is a one of a kind PI and his propensity for drawing the supernatural activity into his life is at once terrifying and fascinating.
The author's creation of characters you can love and hate all in the same minute is amazing.
His ability to weave detective mystery, horror and supernatural all together in one book is terrific.
This is one of the best series I've ever read.

[Irby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Not your typical crime thriller. The main character seems like your standard investigator at first glance but upon further review the conversation becomes about how the touch of true evil impacts you mentally and physically. Can you cross the line to fight evil without losing yourself? The author also has impeccable research skills and presents the facts about places and events correctly.

[Ada Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this collection thinking it was from another author, but I don't regret the 'mistake'. The first book could have stopped earlier, but it's nice to have no cliffhanger for once.
To be honest, the background themes are a bit too scary for what I would normally read, but that it gripped me so heavily is probably showing how good John Connolly can bring his stories to us.
I have the 2nd collection, and will definitely read it.

[Joyce VanRavenswaay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never underlined passages in a book before

The descriptions and how the main character, Charlie Parker thinks … just wow. Pretty graphic and a bit grim but the writing was amazing. Buying the next set immediately.

[Sara Herring · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

[Tom Byers · Rating 2 out of 5]

First time reading this author. A bit too many interweaving plots going on and not sure I enjoyed the total number of characters that the author expected me to remember lol

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

First let me say, I have NEVER read a "gum-shoe" novel although I love good TV murder mysteries (True Detective, The Bridge and the Fargo series are some recent favorites.) I chose to read these because a goodreads friend mentioned a strong supernatural element.

Charlie Parker sees the ghosts of those who have been victims of injustice, always involving a truly grotesque serial killer. The prose that the author surrounds these grisly events make it more than the usual, wise cracking PI dialogue.

"...my first glimpse of the honeycomb world, my first inkling that the past never truly dies but is strangely, beautifully alive to the present. There is an interconnectedness to all things, a link between what lies buried and what lives above, a capacity for mutability that allows a good act committed in the present to rectify an imbalance in times gone by. That, in the end, is the nature of justice; not to undo the past but by acting further down the line of time, to restore some measure of harmony some possibility of equilibrium, so that lives may continue with their burden eased and the dead may find peace in a world beyond this one." ~Book 3

[Katie Whitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really only started reading this series because I think the later books look promising but I have this weird thing about not wanting to get into a series without knowing all the backstory. I find the earlier works compelling despite the overbearing dude fiction trappings in some of the passages and the fact that I think it's a little weak to have a main character so broken up about the murder of his wife and child yet introduce a new love interest almost before his wife is cold in her grave, but I like Connolly's other work and these enough that I think I'm going to stick with it.

[Ipeh Alena]

The best thing i liked from Connoly, his writing skill. How he describes every dead people perfectly. About their skin, bout the lost baby from their mother. And he make a story line that make you always curious.

but its all Phillip Margollins' fault. He already write something that make me , have a right shot, who is the cold killer. And i already know from the page 179 (in indonesian book) that someone who really closer to Jim, he did it.

[Tarquin Namaste · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all of these books individually and not in the box set, and I fell in love with Connolly's style. I was always aware of the King connection and having read King post Connolly, I am inclined to prefer latter. His style is so gripping and his narratives include many supra-sensible themes including reincarnation and the possessions of human beings. A great writer, very skilled.

[Georgie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of dark and mysterious characters which make for a thrilling but chilling read. Enjoyed every one but left with an unease about the world inhabited by the characters.
Not for the lighthearted.
I will wait with baited breath for the next Charlie Parker mystery.

[Mary Healy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought they were intriguing to read, suspense kept the book(s) in my hand.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hang on tight

This is a wild and surprising ride! I couldn't put this book down, and now I have done nothing but read for two days.

[Γιώργος Μπελαούρης · Rating 5 out of 5]

a powerfull collection