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Charlie Parker #23
A River Red With Blood
Two intertwined disappearances leave a rural community in shock in the latest gripping Charlie Parker novel from New York Times bestselling author John Connolly.
In a darkly brilliant thriller set in Maine’s rural Kennebec River Valley, the body of a young runaway from a “troubled teens” school has been found in the water, seemingly drowned, while a teenage girl has gone missing, believed dead. Now it is up to one man, private investigator Charlie Parker, to find the connection, and bring two evils—one new and one ancient—to an end…
In a darkly brilliant thriller set in Maine’s rural Kennebec River Valley, the body of a young runaway from a “troubled teens” school has been found in the water, seemingly drowned, while a teenage girl has gone missing, believed dead. Now it is up to one man, private investigator Charlie Parker, to find the connection, and bring two evils—one new and one ancient—to an end…
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 5, 2026
About the author
John Connolly
225 books8,151 followersJohn 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 320 reviews
July 22, 2026
Another great book in this series. This time Charlie Parker is asked to investigate the death of a boy from a school for troubled teenagers. At the same time a girl has gone missing from the same area. Is it possible the two incidents are related and is the girl still alive?
Concurrent with this normal everyday type of investigation the book is heavily into the supernatural. Jennifer, Parker's dead daughter, is prominent throughout the book but by the end we still do not know what she actually portends. I love it all. A good detective story with other layers is definitely my cup of tea.
All of the main characters find their way into A River Red with Blood. The Fulci brothers provide the humour, Louis and Angel assist and protect and Jennifer terrifies. Now I need the next book as soon as possible. Five stars.
Concurrent with this normal everyday type of investigation the book is heavily into the supernatural. Jennifer, Parker's dead daughter, is prominent throughout the book but by the end we still do not know what she actually portends. I love it all. A good detective story with other layers is definitely my cup of tea.
All of the main characters find their way into A River Red with Blood. The Fulci brothers provide the humour, Louis and Angel assist and protect and Jennifer terrifies. Now I need the next book as soon as possible. Five stars.
March 31, 2026
What can I say I like Charlie Parker novels, love all the characters who are involved and if you haven’t read any of them yet here’s a short summary of what they are about.Charlie is a former police officer who’s wife and daughter are brutally murdered,he doesn’t get answers and leaves the police department to become a private investigator. He has the ability to talk with his daughter from beyond, she helps him solve complex cases.Then enters all his friends !A former hit man gangster Louis and his boyfriend who is dying from cancer and can also talk to the departed Angel, two huge thugs that will do anything for him the Fulco brothers and a medium named Sabine who tracks missing children and is also a medium these stories are filled with such interesting characters and that’s not even touching on the villains some just evil some with deals with spirits and evil angels and occult villains you never know who he will be dealing with next so if this is what you’re interested in give them a try, I feel you won’t be disappointed there are many books some better than others but the characters always keeps it interesting.
June 2, 2026
Whenever a new Charlie Parker book comes out, I am overwhelmed with excitement tinged by dread. Excitement because... John Connolly!! Dread because I feel in my bones that we are nearing the end and right now, I fear what that might look like.
This time around Moxie, (an attorney and sometimes employer of Charlie), puts Charlie in touch with a man trying to determine what happened to cause his son's death. Moxie is acting as a go-between because the man is currently in prison and had to hire a lawyer to try to figure out what happened. That lawyer reaches out to Moxie, Moxie reaches out to Charlie and we are off!
I'm only going to touch on a few plot points because there are already so many reviews! First, the setting of the boy's school, where the man's son died. The school from which the boy attempted escape twice previously, only to wind up dead after a successful third try. This "school" reminds me a lot of Tanarive Due's The Reformatory. That story took place decades ago, but was based on a true story. These types of schools represent people with money trying to correct their children's bad behaviour or at the very least, a dumping ground for parents who do not know what to do with their kids. In my head, I also connect these types of places to gay "conversion" therapy, or the "pray the gay away" religous themed schools. The parents don't necessarily care what is happening to their children as long as they come back "normal." It's pretty clear that Charlie Parker doesn't care for them, and neither do I.
Leaving the mystery of what happened to the dead boy aside, this book is digging a bit deeper now into the relationship between Charlie and my favorite hit men, Louis and Angel. Why are they having the same dreams? Why is Charlie's dead daughter still hanging around? What does any of this have in common with angels? Yep, angels. The arc of these characters' lives have grown throughout the series and I fear we have reached the peak and have nowhere else to go but down. I know it sounds crazy, but I love these men. I love their relationship which is so close, each one knows what the others are thinking. I love the Fulci brothers who seem to be making great strides into being almost....normal, which if you "knew" them like I do, seems like some kind of miracle!
This is the origin of my dread. I mean, this is the 23rd book in the series, and it's still going strong, but I have to wonder for how long. We didn't get to see Charlie's living daughter in this volume, but I suspect she's going to be a part of the final denouement. Sometimes I wonder if the series could continue with her as the main focus, because I would read the hell out of that! But it sure would be painful dealing with the loss of any of the main characters-we've been with them for decades after all.
Once again, I come away from a Charlie Parker book feeling satisfied, while also dreading what may come. Whatever that may be, I am down with it and will face it with the strength and honor with which Charlie's violent cadre handle their business.
Highly recommended!
*ARC from publisher via NetGalley
This time around Moxie, (an attorney and sometimes employer of Charlie), puts Charlie in touch with a man trying to determine what happened to cause his son's death. Moxie is acting as a go-between because the man is currently in prison and had to hire a lawyer to try to figure out what happened. That lawyer reaches out to Moxie, Moxie reaches out to Charlie and we are off!
I'm only going to touch on a few plot points because there are already so many reviews! First, the setting of the boy's school, where the man's son died. The school from which the boy attempted escape twice previously, only to wind up dead after a successful third try. This "school" reminds me a lot of Tanarive Due's The Reformatory. That story took place decades ago, but was based on a true story. These types of schools represent people with money trying to correct their children's bad behaviour or at the very least, a dumping ground for parents who do not know what to do with their kids. In my head, I also connect these types of places to gay "conversion" therapy, or the "pray the gay away" religous themed schools. The parents don't necessarily care what is happening to their children as long as they come back "normal." It's pretty clear that Charlie Parker doesn't care for them, and neither do I.
Leaving the mystery of what happened to the dead boy aside, this book is digging a bit deeper now into the relationship between Charlie and my favorite hit men, Louis and Angel. Why are they having the same dreams? Why is Charlie's dead daughter still hanging around? What does any of this have in common with angels? Yep, angels. The arc of these characters' lives have grown throughout the series and I fear we have reached the peak and have nowhere else to go but down. I know it sounds crazy, but I love these men. I love their relationship which is so close, each one knows what the others are thinking. I love the Fulci brothers who seem to be making great strides into being almost....normal, which if you "knew" them like I do, seems like some kind of miracle!
This is the origin of my dread. I mean, this is the 23rd book in the series, and it's still going strong, but I have to wonder for how long. We didn't get to see Charlie's living daughter in this volume, but I suspect she's going to be a part of the final denouement. Sometimes I wonder if the series could continue with her as the main focus, because I would read the hell out of that! But it sure would be painful dealing with the loss of any of the main characters-we've been with them for decades after all.
Once again, I come away from a Charlie Parker book feeling satisfied, while also dreading what may come. Whatever that may be, I am down with it and will face it with the strength and honor with which Charlie's violent cadre handle their business.
Highly recommended!
*ARC from publisher via NetGalley
February 3, 2026
A masterpiece. After several installments of not getting too much new in terms of progression with the lore, this one paid off in full.
August 10, 2026
3.5 stars
In this 23rd book in the 'Charlie Parker' series, the private investigator looks into the death of a troubled teen.
Background: Charlie Parker was a police officer when his wife Susan and daughter Jennifer were brutally murdered. Charlie quit his job to pursue the killers, and subsequently became a private investigator. Jennifer is now a spirit who visits Charlie on occasion, usually to warn him of danger.
Ghostly activity is prevalent in this book, with Jennifer and other dead souls appearing throughout.
*****
Seventeen-year-old Scott Theriault was a 'student' at the Spero School - a behavior modification facility located in Maine's Kennebec Valley.
Scott had a habit of running away from the facility, and after the last time Scott ran off, he was found drowned in the Kennebec River.
The police call Scott's drowning an accident, but Scott's father, a convict named Ward Vose, is suspicious. Using an attorney, Vose hires Charlie Parker to investigate. When Charlie visits Vose in prison, Vose suggests Scott's death is connected with the disappearance of 19-year-old Mallory Norton, a Kennebec Valley waitress who's missing.
The Spero School is really a reformatory where parents' send boys they can't handle or don't want around. When Parker starts looking into the Spero School, he makes some men very nervous. It turns out the school's principal and founder Dante Santopietro has two pernicious acquaintances. Santopietro's associates are Roger Teal - who works for the Maine Department of Education; and Edward Kenney - who owns a garden supply company.
Santopietro, Teal and Kenney engage in an activity they call 'The Game', which involves abducting, raping, and murdering women. The three killers fear the investigation into Scott's death will expose them, and they're determined to prevent that happening.
Much of the story takes place at the Spero School, which - like many such facilities - has a steep pecking order. Sixteen-year-old sadistic bully Leonard Levesque is at the top, and a young bedwetter is at the bottom.
Actually, Levesque harasses almost all the students, and some of the bullied boys have an additional problem. They're being accosted by 'dead boys' - an aggregation of spirits that seem to want something, but it's not clear what.
As Parker gathers information about Scott Theriault, he becomes convinced the boy's death is connected to the disappearance of Mallory Norton. Parker tries to discover what happened to Mallory, and is assisted by Sabine Drew, a psychic who's helped find missing children in the past.
In an adjacent storyline, Parker's best friends Angel and Louis are seeing ghostly Jennifer in their dreams, warning of danger.
Louis learns someone put a price on his head, and he takes measures to find out who, what, and why.
The novel has a tiny bit of humor. Parker hires Paulie and Tony Fulci - a couple of bruisers good at surveillance AND the rough stuff - to help with the Scott Theriault case. Tony gets a date with a woman for the first time in his life, and (of course) he invites Paulie along.
As things play out, the ghostly appearances in the story lead to a supernatural villain who's been a thorn in Parker's side for a long time.
For me, this novel isn't among the best in the series. It's too 'all over the place' and the climax isn't completely satisfying. That said, it's always great to visit with favorite recurring characters, and fans of the series would probably enjoy the book.
Thanks to Netgalley, John Connolly, and Atria for an ARC of the book.
You can follow my reviews at http://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
July 10, 2026
“As usual, he was wearing a tie to make the blind wince, and a suit that started to wrinkle as soon as it touched the skin. Moxie could have been sitting next to a six month old and the kid would have creased out of sympathy.”
“Tony looked offended. He had recently informed our mutual friend Louis that he believed himself to be evolving as a person, which Louis took to mean Tony’s knuckles no longer dragged along the ground with quite the same force as before.”
Charlie Parker is hired by the incarcerated father of a dead teenaged boy to discover what caused the boy’s death. The boy had been shipped off by his mother and stepfather to a “tough love” school where no boy had an easy time of it. Meanwhile, there is a team of serial killers at work, a hitman is targeting Parker’s friend Louis, a psychic is trying to track a missing girl and everyone is seeing ghosts.
I have read most of this series, but I think that this book can be read as a standalone. However, you would miss understanding some of the supernatural mythology that runs through the series. You would also miss the history of the Charlie/Louis/Angel dynamic. I love this author’s writing style, and this book had more than enough clever turns of phrase and witty stingers to keep me happy. The narrative of the audiobook does a great job, especially with the dialog. One warning, if you are uncomfortable with the mention of sexual assault, you might want to skip this one.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
“Tony looked offended. He had recently informed our mutual friend Louis that he believed himself to be evolving as a person, which Louis took to mean Tony’s knuckles no longer dragged along the ground with quite the same force as before.”
Charlie Parker is hired by the incarcerated father of a dead teenaged boy to discover what caused the boy’s death. The boy had been shipped off by his mother and stepfather to a “tough love” school where no boy had an easy time of it. Meanwhile, there is a team of serial killers at work, a hitman is targeting Parker’s friend Louis, a psychic is trying to track a missing girl and everyone is seeing ghosts.
I have read most of this series, but I think that this book can be read as a standalone. However, you would miss understanding some of the supernatural mythology that runs through the series. You would also miss the history of the Charlie/Louis/Angel dynamic. I love this author’s writing style, and this book had more than enough clever turns of phrase and witty stingers to keep me happy. The narrative of the audiobook does a great job, especially with the dialog. One warning, if you are uncomfortable with the mention of sexual assault, you might want to skip this one.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
July 18, 2026
Well that’s the latest John Connolly dusted off. A great return for Charlie Parker the Police Detective whose family were murdered in the first book. Who continues to see his dead daughter and who was killed …died on the operating table…only to perk up and live. Now as a Private Detective based in Maine and possibly ‘a fallen Angel.’
This story has all his regular compatriots. From the extremely large and violent Fulci brothers to Angel and Louis. The last book had Charlie, Angel and Louis as almost peripheral to the story. Thankfully they now return to front it up.
Strong storyline. Stronger characters. The only fault it seemed to end too quickly. I could see from the pages left before the book end that this would be the case. That said a very satisfying book in the Dennis Wheatley occult and Sam Spade banter tradition👍
This story has all his regular compatriots. From the extremely large and violent Fulci brothers to Angel and Louis. The last book had Charlie, Angel and Louis as almost peripheral to the story. Thankfully they now return to front it up.
Strong storyline. Stronger characters. The only fault it seemed to end too quickly. I could see from the pages left before the book end that this would be the case. That said a very satisfying book in the Dennis Wheatley occult and Sam Spade banter tradition👍
June 1, 2026
John Connolly had me in the palm of his hand throughout my reading of this book. Wow, what an intense experience! A River Red With Blood, the latest Charlie Parker novel, is filled with both action and thought, as Luis, Angel and Parker move into a new phase in their relationship/friendship/whatever.
Parker’s lawyer connects him with the lawyer of a Maine prison inmate whose son has recently died, apparently while running away from a resident school, The Spero, located in the Plains of Maine, the back of beyond. This unprepossessing man says his client, Ward Vose wants to hire Charlie to look into his son Scott’s death. After considering pros and cons, Parker agrees to at least look for inconsistencies. And what will become a larger, multi-faceted case begins. There are many characters introduced, both on the good and evil sides of the equation. Charlie’s daughter Jenny is a presence while his living daughter, Sam, is away at college.
The search for information about Scott leads to discovering a disappearance of a teenage girl in the same area around the same time. Are they related? Who knows? Parker wonders if it should be part of his search. Meanwhile, he, Angel and Luis are having similar dreams and wondering about the implications for them and the future.
This is such an excellent series, combining mystery, thriller, its own mythology, supernatural elements, and excellent prose. But it is not for everyone as it is violent. Parker seems to exist to root out evil where he can. This episode seems to be building toward something. I do wonder what is coming next and won’t hesitate to read it.
Thank you to Emily Bestler Books, Atria, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book.
Parker’s lawyer connects him with the lawyer of a Maine prison inmate whose son has recently died, apparently while running away from a resident school, The Spero, located in the Plains of Maine, the back of beyond. This unprepossessing man says his client, Ward Vose wants to hire Charlie to look into his son Scott’s death. After considering pros and cons, Parker agrees to at least look for inconsistencies. And what will become a larger, multi-faceted case begins. There are many characters introduced, both on the good and evil sides of the equation. Charlie’s daughter Jenny is a presence while his living daughter, Sam, is away at college.
The search for information about Scott leads to discovering a disappearance of a teenage girl in the same area around the same time. Are they related? Who knows? Parker wonders if it should be part of his search. Meanwhile, he, Angel and Luis are having similar dreams and wondering about the implications for them and the future.
This is such an excellent series, combining mystery, thriller, its own mythology, supernatural elements, and excellent prose. But it is not for everyone as it is violent. Parker seems to exist to root out evil where he can. This episode seems to be building toward something. I do wonder what is coming next and won’t hesitate to read it.
Thank you to Emily Bestler Books, Atria, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Note: This review was originally published at FanFiAddict.
Maine PI Charlie Parker returns for his twenty-third outing in John Connolly’s A River Red With Blood. This time around, Parker and Connolly square-off against the troubled-teen industry.
Imprisoned father Ward Vose hires Parker via an attorney to investigate the death of his son, Scott Theriault, whose corpse was found in the Kennebec River. Theriault, it’s posited, ran away from the Spero School – a behavior modification joint for at-risk teens whose parents can’t deal with them anymore – and rather than flee toward civilization went several miles deeper into the woods, broke his leg and drowned. Vose doesn’t buy the official story and Parker finds himself compelled to assist the grieving father, especially as news grows of a missing girl, Mallory Norton, who may have been linked to Theriault.
Connolly layers in additional complications, as well, like a group of twisted killers who participate in what they The Game. We’re introduced to them during a hunt for their next victim in Detroit. I have to say, as a metro-Detroiter, it’s always nice to see some Michigan representation and familiar locales getting unexpectedly name-dropped in this Maine-centric series from an Irish author! Meanwhile, further east, professional hitman and Parker confidante, Louis, learns of a hit that’s been placed on him.
And then there’s the wrinkle of old memories resurfacing in Parker’s mind, and dreams shared by Louis and Angel, of lives that may not be their own… These minor hints at notions of reincarnation serve to deepen the mythology underpinning this long-running series, as well as the relationship between Parker and his unlikely allies. Painting these figures as lost souls bound to one another across time and space gives this overarching mythos some added philosophical weight, as well, not to mention some minor shades of Roland’s own ka-tet in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. Parker’s reflections on these new dimensions of his relationship to those around him draws on French thinkers and musings on masculine emotion and love, reminding us of just how well read both Parker and Connolly are. If Parker isn’t already the heir apparent to Robert B. Parker’s Boston gumshoe, Spenser, he’s certainly in the running.
While A River Red With Blood is smart, smart-mouthed, and literate, it’s also grisly in its depiction of life within the academic halls of the metaphorically and possibly literally haunted Spero. Much like Tananarive Due’s excellent historical horror book, The Reformatory, Connolly reminds us of the real-life terrors these types of schools and their “tough love” approach to remodeling children’s behavior are best known for. Students are pitted against one another, and the school itself is run on a hierarchy of sociopathy. There’s little to distinguish these academies from juvenile detention centers, making them hardly more than prisons with a school curriculum for tortured youths.
Like all good, long-lasting crime and horror fiction, Connolly uses his work to hold up an empathetic mirror to society. That so much focus lies on child detention facilities by another name and the abusive, sociopathic officials running them, in our era of prison industrial complexes and ICE sweeps to abduct and disappear immigrants and their children, not to mention US citizens, hardly feels coincidental. Connolly makes direct note of this, even, as Maine has been pushed into a climate of government-created and mandated fear by overreaching federal immigration taskforces running amok and terrorizing communities, and reminding us of the hard and harsh realities of life as an inmate for both Vose and, by extension, his son. As Connolly reminds us, if the system can get away with doing it to the weak – like poor immigrant laborers and children – eventually it’ll get around to doing it to you, too. Just ask Alex Peretti and Renee Nicole Good.
Maine PI Charlie Parker returns for his twenty-third outing in John Connolly’s A River Red With Blood. This time around, Parker and Connolly square-off against the troubled-teen industry.
Imprisoned father Ward Vose hires Parker via an attorney to investigate the death of his son, Scott Theriault, whose corpse was found in the Kennebec River. Theriault, it’s posited, ran away from the Spero School – a behavior modification joint for at-risk teens whose parents can’t deal with them anymore – and rather than flee toward civilization went several miles deeper into the woods, broke his leg and drowned. Vose doesn’t buy the official story and Parker finds himself compelled to assist the grieving father, especially as news grows of a missing girl, Mallory Norton, who may have been linked to Theriault.
Connolly layers in additional complications, as well, like a group of twisted killers who participate in what they The Game. We’re introduced to them during a hunt for their next victim in Detroit. I have to say, as a metro-Detroiter, it’s always nice to see some Michigan representation and familiar locales getting unexpectedly name-dropped in this Maine-centric series from an Irish author! Meanwhile, further east, professional hitman and Parker confidante, Louis, learns of a hit that’s been placed on him.
And then there’s the wrinkle of old memories resurfacing in Parker’s mind, and dreams shared by Louis and Angel, of lives that may not be their own… These minor hints at notions of reincarnation serve to deepen the mythology underpinning this long-running series, as well as the relationship between Parker and his unlikely allies. Painting these figures as lost souls bound to one another across time and space gives this overarching mythos some added philosophical weight, as well, not to mention some minor shades of Roland’s own ka-tet in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series. Parker’s reflections on these new dimensions of his relationship to those around him draws on French thinkers and musings on masculine emotion and love, reminding us of just how well read both Parker and Connolly are. If Parker isn’t already the heir apparent to Robert B. Parker’s Boston gumshoe, Spenser, he’s certainly in the running.
While A River Red With Blood is smart, smart-mouthed, and literate, it’s also grisly in its depiction of life within the academic halls of the metaphorically and possibly literally haunted Spero. Much like Tananarive Due’s excellent historical horror book, The Reformatory, Connolly reminds us of the real-life terrors these types of schools and their “tough love” approach to remodeling children’s behavior are best known for. Students are pitted against one another, and the school itself is run on a hierarchy of sociopathy. There’s little to distinguish these academies from juvenile detention centers, making them hardly more than prisons with a school curriculum for tortured youths.
Like all good, long-lasting crime and horror fiction, Connolly uses his work to hold up an empathetic mirror to society. That so much focus lies on child detention facilities by another name and the abusive, sociopathic officials running them, in our era of prison industrial complexes and ICE sweeps to abduct and disappear immigrants and their children, not to mention US citizens, hardly feels coincidental. Connolly makes direct note of this, even, as Maine has been pushed into a climate of government-created and mandated fear by overreaching federal immigration taskforces running amok and terrorizing communities, and reminding us of the hard and harsh realities of life as an inmate for both Vose and, by extension, his son. As Connolly reminds us, if the system can get away with doing it to the weak – like poor immigrant laborers and children – eventually it’ll get around to doing it to you, too. Just ask Alex Peretti and Renee Nicole Good.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In this 23rd book in the series, Private Investigator Charlie Parker is hired to look into the death of a teen in rural Kennebec River Valley in Maine. The boy had apparently run away from a school for 'troubled teens,' somehow broken his leg and drowned in the river. But a girl from the nearby town has gone missing and there's a hint of a rumor that the two teens would sometimes meet at night. What's become of her?
The reader then is privy to the acts of some truly evil men who play what they call 'The Game.' There are strict rules to protect the group but it seems one of them might be enjoying some extracurricular 'fun.'
Meanwhile Charlie's friend Louis learns someone has taken out a contract on him and he needs to deal with that. And both Louis and his partner Angel have been having the same strange dreams as Charlie in which his dead daughter Jennifer is trying to reach out to them with a message.
This supernatural element is one of the things that sets these books apart from other thrillers and the three friends will have to deal with evil from both planes of existence before the story is done.
These main characters that we've come to know so well in this long-running series are smart, strong and resourceful and get things done but are admittedly damaged humans, both physically and mentally, and sometimes act just outside the law.
The atmosphere of the story is one of gripping dread and horror but, believe it or not, there is also a comic element to it, often in the form of the Fulci brothers, a couple of big meatheads who help out when needed.
I would recommend reading this series in order, rather than treating this book as a standalone, because there has been so much character development over the years that deserves exploring.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this excellent new thriller.
The reader then is privy to the acts of some truly evil men who play what they call 'The Game.' There are strict rules to protect the group but it seems one of them might be enjoying some extracurricular 'fun.'
Meanwhile Charlie's friend Louis learns someone has taken out a contract on him and he needs to deal with that. And both Louis and his partner Angel have been having the same strange dreams as Charlie in which his dead daughter Jennifer is trying to reach out to them with a message.
This supernatural element is one of the things that sets these books apart from other thrillers and the three friends will have to deal with evil from both planes of existence before the story is done.
These main characters that we've come to know so well in this long-running series are smart, strong and resourceful and get things done but are admittedly damaged humans, both physically and mentally, and sometimes act just outside the law.
The atmosphere of the story is one of gripping dread and horror but, believe it or not, there is also a comic element to it, often in the form of the Fulci brothers, a couple of big meatheads who help out when needed.
I would recommend reading this series in order, rather than treating this book as a standalone, because there has been so much character development over the years that deserves exploring.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this excellent new thriller.
June 13, 2026
There may not be any writer working today who combines the supernatural and police procedural/crime genres as deftly and successfully as Irish author John Connolly. His stellar series featuring P.I. Charlie Parker has thrilled readers for decades and shows no signs of slowing down.
A RIVER RED WITH THE BLOOD is the latest entry in the series and features some antagonists who embody the darkest side of the human spirit and might possibly be the evilest individuals Parker has ever come upon --- and that is really saying something! Parker himself rides the fine line between reality and the otherworldly and often joins forces with psychics and other individuals who live on the fringe when solving his unique cases.
Finding missing people has always been his specialty, and Charlie is committed to finding one of the missing individuals in this latest case alive rather than dead in some horrific manner. In this case, Charlie is introduced to his client by a lawyer colleague. The interesting thing is that his client, Ward Vose, is behind bars for life but needs someone to look into the drowning death of his son Scott Theriault who he believes was murdered. Suspicion is immediately placed on the all-boys reform school Scott attended, Spero, which he has snuck away from one night to possibly meet a young lady before his body turned up in the nearby Maine river.
We are then introduced to the group of men playing what they refer to as ‘the Game.’ This game typically involves abducting, torturing, and murdering young women. We are given a glimpse into these men before learning who they actually are in society and the role they may play in the larger picture. Men like Kenney, Teal, and the Saint. A fourth player in the Game, Mike Hurvich, had to be eliminated because he violated the rules by risking exposure due to killing outside of the boundaries of the game.
The young woman who was missing and suspected of being the same person who was meeting up with Scott Theriault, was Mallory Norton. Charlie knows that in order to bring justice for Scott he needs to find out what happened to Mallory and preferably learn that she was still alive. Meanwhile, Kenney and Teal are worried that the Saint may have had something to do with Mallory Norton, and they are not happy about it. It may be time for another culling within their group.
Charlie deepens his investigation and always has his ear to the ground when it comes to possible supernatural connections. One name that keeps surfacing is Brightwell, but who or what that refers to will remain a mystery for him until the very end of this case. I can only state here that it is a surreal moment and presents some imagery that will linger on well after you have read it. When other students from the Spero school turn up abused and speaking of ‘dead boys’ haunting them, it becomes clear to Charlie that this place is at the center of the mystery he needs to break.
To assist with the Mallory Norton disappearance, Charlie calls on a long-time colleague of his Sabine Drew --- a Native American psychic who utilizes all of her gifts to find and rescue the missing and tormented souls she seeks. Their combined efforts will form a strong bond and the best chance of finding Mallory alive. The other break Charlie receives is when one of the female victims of the Game turned out to be Special Drug Enforcement Agent named Gai Cotter. He now can lean on those resources to help identify who might have taken her.
The case will indeed lead to Spero and the remaining members of the Game each having their own connection with the place. Their true identities, as well as others who might be supporting them, will also provide for a great plot twist or two. Before this case is at an end, Charlie will have to come face to face with both human and other worldly monsters and the depths of this situation go way deeper than he could have ever imagined. A RIVER RED WITH BLOOD is a tireless read and might easily be one of the best Charlie Parker novels John Connolly has written to date.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
A RIVER RED WITH THE BLOOD is the latest entry in the series and features some antagonists who embody the darkest side of the human spirit and might possibly be the evilest individuals Parker has ever come upon --- and that is really saying something! Parker himself rides the fine line between reality and the otherworldly and often joins forces with psychics and other individuals who live on the fringe when solving his unique cases.
Finding missing people has always been his specialty, and Charlie is committed to finding one of the missing individuals in this latest case alive rather than dead in some horrific manner. In this case, Charlie is introduced to his client by a lawyer colleague. The interesting thing is that his client, Ward Vose, is behind bars for life but needs someone to look into the drowning death of his son Scott Theriault who he believes was murdered. Suspicion is immediately placed on the all-boys reform school Scott attended, Spero, which he has snuck away from one night to possibly meet a young lady before his body turned up in the nearby Maine river.
We are then introduced to the group of men playing what they refer to as ‘the Game.’ This game typically involves abducting, torturing, and murdering young women. We are given a glimpse into these men before learning who they actually are in society and the role they may play in the larger picture. Men like Kenney, Teal, and the Saint. A fourth player in the Game, Mike Hurvich, had to be eliminated because he violated the rules by risking exposure due to killing outside of the boundaries of the game.
The young woman who was missing and suspected of being the same person who was meeting up with Scott Theriault, was Mallory Norton. Charlie knows that in order to bring justice for Scott he needs to find out what happened to Mallory and preferably learn that she was still alive. Meanwhile, Kenney and Teal are worried that the Saint may have had something to do with Mallory Norton, and they are not happy about it. It may be time for another culling within their group.
Charlie deepens his investigation and always has his ear to the ground when it comes to possible supernatural connections. One name that keeps surfacing is Brightwell, but who or what that refers to will remain a mystery for him until the very end of this case. I can only state here that it is a surreal moment and presents some imagery that will linger on well after you have read it. When other students from the Spero school turn up abused and speaking of ‘dead boys’ haunting them, it becomes clear to Charlie that this place is at the center of the mystery he needs to break.
To assist with the Mallory Norton disappearance, Charlie calls on a long-time colleague of his Sabine Drew --- a Native American psychic who utilizes all of her gifts to find and rescue the missing and tormented souls she seeks. Their combined efforts will form a strong bond and the best chance of finding Mallory alive. The other break Charlie receives is when one of the female victims of the Game turned out to be Special Drug Enforcement Agent named Gai Cotter. He now can lean on those resources to help identify who might have taken her.
The case will indeed lead to Spero and the remaining members of the Game each having their own connection with the place. Their true identities, as well as others who might be supporting them, will also provide for a great plot twist or two. Before this case is at an end, Charlie will have to come face to face with both human and other worldly monsters and the depths of this situation go way deeper than he could have ever imagined. A RIVER RED WITH BLOOD is a tireless read and might easily be one of the best Charlie Parker novels John Connolly has written to date.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Book 23 of the Charlie Parker series and Connolly still made me feel like I was reading it for the first time.
I didn't know what Charlie and his crew would take on this time, but if I thought The Children of Eve gave me goosebumps, this tramped it. The POV shifted like a camera panning smoothly from one scene to another, and the way everything came together was as satisfying as ever. Characters from previous books appeared here, and something is still coming — the reveals had me thinking hard about one question: who is Charlie Parker, really?
The supernatural horror combined with suspense is Connolly at his best. This is the most chilling Charlie Parker book yet.
I paired this with the audiobook narrated by Jeff Harding. His distinct voices for each character left no room for confusion — I always knew exactly who I was listening to. At 1.6x the pacing felt just right, never slow, never rushed. Twelve hours and forty-one minutes worth bingeing. Once I started I couldn't stop, even while multitasking.
The Vibe: Unsettling, High-Stakes, Snarky
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you Atria Books and Simon & Schuster Audio for my gifted copies. All Opinions are my own.
I didn't know what Charlie and his crew would take on this time, but if I thought The Children of Eve gave me goosebumps, this tramped it. The POV shifted like a camera panning smoothly from one scene to another, and the way everything came together was as satisfying as ever. Characters from previous books appeared here, and something is still coming — the reveals had me thinking hard about one question: who is Charlie Parker, really?
The supernatural horror combined with suspense is Connolly at his best. This is the most chilling Charlie Parker book yet.
I paired this with the audiobook narrated by Jeff Harding. His distinct voices for each character left no room for confusion — I always knew exactly who I was listening to. At 1.6x the pacing felt just right, never slow, never rushed. Twelve hours and forty-one minutes worth bingeing. Once I started I couldn't stop, even while multitasking.
The Vibe: Unsettling, High-Stakes, Snarky
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you Atria Books and Simon & Schuster Audio for my gifted copies. All Opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Another homerun from John Connolly. I loved A River Red with Blood. I'm working my way through the previous books in the series, and this installment is as good, if not better than, his others. My only bugaboo is how everyone reacted to what they found in the woods. Every last one of us would have had to change our shorts, and they didn't bat an eye. I'll never step foot one into the Maine woods after reading that.
Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the galley of A River Red with Blood via NetGalley.
Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the galley of A River Red with Blood via NetGalley.
June 17, 2026
fast paced thriller which kept you on edge
July 3, 2026
Not one of my favorite Charlie Parker books, but that may be the school for "troubled youth" that lies at the center of it.
The amount of supernatural involvement varies from book to book and this one is somewhat in the middle. Parker is hired by a con who has been in and out of prison his adult life. The client's son is dead and the authorities have determined it to be accidental.
It's Parker's job to determine if that's true, or if someone else was responsible.
The amount of supernatural involvement varies from book to book and this one is somewhat in the middle. Parker is hired by a con who has been in and out of prison his adult life. The client's son is dead and the authorities have determined it to be accidental.
It's Parker's job to determine if that's true, or if someone else was responsible.
June 14, 2026
A pretty run-of-the-mill Charlie Parker novel. Four fiendish killers; a school for wayward boys; a vanished teenaged girl. Mainers with their quirky accents, a la Jeff Harding. A little bit of the supernatural (I wish there'd been more of it).
May 7, 2026
Once again, John Connolly has written another five star entry in his Charlie Parker series, this book being entry # 23.
In A River Runs Red With Blood, Parker decides to take on the case of a teen found dead in the remote Maine woods, after having disappeared from the “troubled teen” school he was sent to by his mother and stepfather. At the same time, a local girl has gone missing, and it’s unclear if the two cases are related or not. There is also a parallel story of men who engage in the abduction and torture of women. The development of the plot is a slow burn, and in this entry, the supernatural elements that have helped make the series very engaging to this reader have a more prominent role.
As is usual, Mr. Connolly’s writing is outstanding. Character development is once again well done. I truly had a hard time putting the book down.
Highly recommended but this is not an entry level novel for those who are interested in the series.
In A River Runs Red With Blood, Parker decides to take on the case of a teen found dead in the remote Maine woods, after having disappeared from the “troubled teen” school he was sent to by his mother and stepfather. At the same time, a local girl has gone missing, and it’s unclear if the two cases are related or not. There is also a parallel story of men who engage in the abduction and torture of women. The development of the plot is a slow burn, and in this entry, the supernatural elements that have helped make the series very engaging to this reader have a more prominent role.
As is usual, Mr. Connolly’s writing is outstanding. Character development is once again well done. I truly had a hard time putting the book down.
Highly recommended but this is not an entry level novel for those who are interested in the series.
August 7, 2026
Four men meet once a year to play the Game. It involves kidnapping, raping, torturing, and killing young women. They have been playing it for years. There is really only one rule: never play the Game by yourself. Recently, a few of the men have broken that cardinal rule. There are consequences.
One of those consequences is Charlie Parker, Maine's most haunted and terrifying private detectives. He looks like a normal human being, but many people---including friends, family, and enemies---believe that he is probably an Angel of Death.
John Connolly's latest novel in the Parker series, "A River Red With Blood" is his most brutal and suspenseful one yet.
The discovery of the body of a young man in Kennebec River Valley coincides with the disappearance of a local young woman. Everyone in Maine assumes they are connected, and nobody knows for sure whether the girl is alive or dead. Local law enforcement, which has nothing to go on, is working on the assumption that she is dead.
Parker, hired by the young man's father, assumes the woman is still alive, and he knows that every second counts if his assumption is correct.
Every new book by Connolly is better than the last. This is one of the best ongoing detective series ever.
One of those consequences is Charlie Parker, Maine's most haunted and terrifying private detectives. He looks like a normal human being, but many people---including friends, family, and enemies---believe that he is probably an Angel of Death.
John Connolly's latest novel in the Parker series, "A River Red With Blood" is his most brutal and suspenseful one yet.
The discovery of the body of a young man in Kennebec River Valley coincides with the disappearance of a local young woman. Everyone in Maine assumes they are connected, and nobody knows for sure whether the girl is alive or dead. Local law enforcement, which has nothing to go on, is working on the assumption that she is dead.
Parker, hired by the young man's father, assumes the woman is still alive, and he knows that every second counts if his assumption is correct.
Every new book by Connolly is better than the last. This is one of the best ongoing detective series ever.
July 11, 2026
Great book, finished in quick time.
This is perfectly good as a stand-alone story but also includes issues and characters from the underlying story. However I would have liked more regarding that underlying story and would have liked it to move on. He’s tempting us and he’s good at that, but come on, time is short, etc.
That said the writing remains terrific and the dialogue and exchanges between CP and others is as sharp and witty as ever.
After a fabulous build up, the ending is once again extremely quick. Unusually, there’s a little glimmer of good news re one of the characters. Probably just as well as some of the earlier details are a bit grim to say the least.
Managed to grab one of the signed copies (with map) from Goldsboro Books. Have to say the service, quality of the item and packaging was second to none.
This is perfectly good as a stand-alone story but also includes issues and characters from the underlying story. However I would have liked more regarding that underlying story and would have liked it to move on. He’s tempting us and he’s good at that, but come on, time is short, etc.
That said the writing remains terrific and the dialogue and exchanges between CP and others is as sharp and witty as ever.
After a fabulous build up, the ending is once again extremely quick. Unusually, there’s a little glimmer of good news re one of the characters. Probably just as well as some of the earlier details are a bit grim to say the least.
Managed to grab one of the signed copies (with map) from Goldsboro Books. Have to say the service, quality of the item and packaging was second to none.
June 6, 2026
Inertia keeps me reading these. Perhaps inertia keeps ‘em being written.
June 17, 2026
Better than the previous book in the series, the short chapters keep it snappy and moving. But I still left the book wondering if there would ever be any consequences for any of the main players.
April 17, 2026
Thanks to Altria for an advance copy of this fine book!
John Connolly is my favorite author, and for me this is the best one yet. Charlie Parker is one of the most interesting characters I’ve come across in fiction - so complex, with a complicated past and present, and the driest sense of humor. Through the arc of the books, the backstory has been developed and this book hones in on that. The mystery to be solved involves a horrific school for troubled boys, serial rape-murders, a young girl’s disappearance, and a contract for a hit on Louis. But the best part for me is the lyrical writing that carries me deep into the story.
Fans will love this book - but I advise against starting the series with this one - go back to the beginning. You’ll be glad you did.
John Connolly is my favorite author, and for me this is the best one yet. Charlie Parker is one of the most interesting characters I’ve come across in fiction - so complex, with a complicated past and present, and the driest sense of humor. Through the arc of the books, the backstory has been developed and this book hones in on that. The mystery to be solved involves a horrific school for troubled boys, serial rape-murders, a young girl’s disappearance, and a contract for a hit on Louis. But the best part for me is the lyrical writing that carries me deep into the story.
Fans will love this book - but I advise against starting the series with this one - go back to the beginning. You’ll be glad you did.
June 21, 2026
I suspect everyone who's been following the Charlie Parker series will read this, regardless of any reviews. If you're new to the series, you obviously need to start with Book 1, as none of this will make any sense to you. Basically, there's a plot that runs through all the books, and then others which are related, but unique to each individual chapter in Parker's story. Not much else to say about this one. All the books in the series are excellently written. The dialogue is occasionally laugh out loud snarkily good. The banal evil of mankind is well captured.
A solid entry to the series, with promise of something finally resolving about the wider cosmic themes.
Recommended.
A solid entry to the series, with promise of something finally resolving about the wider cosmic themes.
Recommended.
June 19, 2026
The Charlie Parker series of books are my favorite. It's like entering the lives of its characters, and watching the story unfold. It's always a little eerie, and strange, but so well put together. I have very much enjoyed all of Mr. Connolly's books. His imagination, and ability to put words on paper transports the reader to new and sometimes dark places. Definitely look forward to more in this series.
If you enjoy a great detective/mystery with a dash of the supernatural, then have I got a book for you!
If you enjoy a great detective/mystery with a dash of the supernatural, then have I got a book for you!
June 25, 2026
A Charlie Parker novel from John Connolly always gets a 4 or 5⭐ review from me. This time was no different. A River Red with Blood really knocked it out the park!
The death of a troubled teen at a school for troubled teens.
The Game played by serial killers.
A missing teen.
Three, seemingly, random story arcs that ultimately became one mystery to be solved by our intrepid private investigator.
So compelling and filled with fascinating characters and motivations, tension and menace.
All my favourite characters are back again and I am so glad to see a return to the recurring supernatural theme that connects all the different books in this series. The angelic lore progresses satisfactorily here. I can't wait to see where it goes in the next book!
Definitely a multilayered work that drew me ever deeper into this riveting blend of horror, mystery and dread.
The death of a troubled teen at a school for troubled teens.
The Game played by serial killers.
A missing teen.
Three, seemingly, random story arcs that ultimately became one mystery to be solved by our intrepid private investigator.
So compelling and filled with fascinating characters and motivations, tension and menace.
All my favourite characters are back again and I am so glad to see a return to the recurring supernatural theme that connects all the different books in this series. The angelic lore progresses satisfactorily here. I can't wait to see where it goes in the next book!
Definitely a multilayered work that drew me ever deeper into this riveting blend of horror, mystery and dread.
June 9, 2026
Oh how I missed you guys!
June 19, 2026
one of the best Charlie Parker books!
Really enjoyed this one. Good story in itself but also brought the backstory on as well which is such a good thread through all the books!!
Really enjoyed this one. Good story in itself but also brought the backstory on as well which is such a good thread through all the books!!
July 9, 2026
I really enjoyed this story although, having read all of the Charlie Parker series, I’m starting to worry that this is coming to a close. I’m really attached to all the characters and the deep and mythical nature of their journey together.
June 10, 2026
How on earth could I possibly be able to write a review for this book? Words fail me... even in my own language.
I devoured it...
Already looking forward to #24 in this series.
I devoured it...
Already looking forward to #24 in this series.
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