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John Connolly

Author of The Book of Lost Things

109+ Works 27,539 Members 1,120 Reviews 97 Favorited

About the Author

John Connolly is the author of "Every Dead Thing" which was a bestseller in Britain and Ireland. He is a regular contributor to "The Irish Times," and has traveled extensively in the United States. He lives in Dublin, Ireland. (Publisher Provided) John Connolly was born May 31, 1968 in Dublin. He show more is an Irish writer who is best known for his series of novels starring private detective Charlie Parker. His first novel, Every Dead Thing was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel and went on to win the 2000 Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel (he is the first author outside of the US to have won the award). Connolly's debut introduced readers to the anti-hero Charlie Parker, a former police officer hunting the killer of his wife and daughter. Connolly has since written a further 5 books in the popular Parker series and a non-Parker thriller, as well as venturing outside of the crime genre with the publication of first, an anthology of ghost stories and later, a novel about a young boy's coming-of-age journey during World War II England. Before becoming a full-time novelist, Connolly worked as a journalist, a barman, and a local government official. After graduating with a B.A. in English from Trinity College, Dublin and a M.A. in Journalism from Dublin City University, he spent five years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times newspaper. He quickly became frustrated with the profession, and began to write Every Dead Thing in his spare time. Connolly continues to contribute articles to the paper. His eighth book in the Charlie Parker series, The Reapers, was published in 2008. The tenth Parker novel, titled The Whisperers, was published in 2010. His current bestseller is A Time of Torment, the fourteenth in the Charlie Parker series.. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the name: John Connolly

Series

Works by John Connolly

The Book of Lost Things (2006) 6,889 copies
Every Dead Thing (1999) 2,109 copies
The Gates (2009) 1,461 copies
The Black Angel (2005) 1,334 copies
Dark Hollow (2000) 1,327 copies
The Killing Kind (2002) 1,267 copies
The Unquiet (2006) 1,207 copies
The White Road (2002) 1,076 copies
Nocturnes (2004) 1,060 copies
The Reapers (2008) 1,024 copies
The Lovers (2009) 827 copies
Bad Men (2004) 819 copies
The Whisperers (2010) 690 copies
The Burning Soul (2011) 552 copies
The Wrath of Angels (2012) 525 copies
The Wolf in Winter (2014) 501 copies
The Infernals (2011) 470 copies
The Woman in the Woods (2018) 421 copies
A Song of Shadows (2015) 379 copies
A Time of Torment (2016) 376 copies
A Game of Ghosts (2017) 307 copies
The Dirty South (2020) 264 copies
A Book of Bones (2019) 262 copies
The Creeps (2013) 245 copies
Night Music (2015) 190 copies
The Nameless Ones (2021) 177 copies
Conquest (2013) 166 copies
The Land of Lost Things (2023) 153 copies
The Furies (2022) 144 copies
He (2017) 112 copies
The Museum of Literary Souls (2013) 108 copies
Empire (1788) 71 copies
Dominion (1672) 50 copies
The Underbury Witches (2006) 32 copies
Parker: A Miscellany (2016) 8 copies
The Book of Lost Things (1997) 7 copies
Horror Express (2018) 6 copies
The Sisters Strange (2020) 3 copies
Le temps des tourments (2019) 3 copies
Sporco sud 1 copy
The Cycle 1 copy
The Lamia 1 copy
Mud 1 copy
The Djinn 1 copy
Razorshins 1 copy
A Haunting 1 copy
Lazarus 1 copy
Defender 1 copy
I Live Here 1 copy
Nocturne 1 copy
The Erlking 1 copy

Associated Works

The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology (2010) — Contributor — 373 copies
Like a Charm: A Novel in Voices (2004) — Contributor — 317 copies
Inherit the Dead (2013) — Contributor — 290 copies
Dangerous Women (1998) — Contributor — 132 copies
Dark Delicacies III: Haunted (2009) — Contributor — 80 copies
OxCrimes (2014) — Contributor — 75 copies
The Best British Mysteries 2006 (2005) — Contributor — 63 copies
Phantoms: Haunting Tales from Masters of the Genre (2018) — Contributor — 30 copies
Cinema Futura (2010) — Contributor — 19 copies
Bogus Dead (2002) — Contributor — 18 copies
The Atria International Book of Mysteries (2012) — Contributor — 15 copies
Uncertainties Volume 1 (2016) — Foreword — 10 copies
A Carnivale of Horror (2012) — Contributor — 8 copies
Hebbes 1 — Contributor — 2 copies
Thrill Rides (2014) — Contributor — 1 copy

Tagged

adventure (98) anthology (150) books (85) books about books (95) Charlie Parker (482) coming of age (148) crime (628) crime fiction (250) demons (109) detective (176) ebook (219) England (109) fairy tales (354) fantasy (1,158) fiction (2,164) horror (658) humor (130) John Connolly (106) Kindle (105) library (90) Maine (153) murder (111) mystery (1,040) noir (130) novel (149) own (82) paranormal (86) read (246) science fiction (124) series (142) short stories (308) signed (252) supernatural (388) suspense (193) thriller (852) to-read (1,885) unread (149) WWII (126) YA (104) young adult (214)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Connolly, John
Legal name
Connolly, John
Birthdate
1968-05-31
Gender
male
Nationality
Ireland
Country (for map)
Ireland
Birthplace
Dublin, Ireland
Places of residence
Dublin, Ireland
Education
Trinity College, Dublin
Dublin City University
Occupations
journalist
writer

Members

Discussions

The Book of Lost Things book discussion in Hogwarts Express (July 2010)
WWII, boy, alternate world? in Name that Book (February 2009)

Reviews

Colleen Clark’s child is missing. When his bloody blanket is found in her trunk, prosecutors with political ambitions are convinced she has murdered him. Most neighbors, strangers, and even her husband believe her to be guilty. Moxie Castin is her attorney and he enlists the help of private investigator Charlie Parker.

There is a lot to consider in this case. The husband’s story is a bit suspect to Parker. A psychic who has helped and hindered past missing child cases steps forward. There is a strange, foreboding house deep in the Maine woods. And, what danger does that Fascist group arming themselves in the adjacent woods bring to the situation?

In addition to the basic mystery, there are aspects of horror and the supernatural, along with some humor. I typically do not like otherworldly elements in a story, but that did not interfere with my enjoyment of this book. Although it seemed long, it was an engrossing read and I was anxious to get to the resolution.

This is the twenty first in the Charlie Parker series. Incredibly, it is the first one I have read; I felt it worked well as a standalone. I liked the repeating characters (and they are characters!), although I think I might have enjoyed them even more if I had read some of their previous adventures.

Thanks to @NetGalley and @atriabooks for the DRC.
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Flagged
vkmarco | Mar 13, 2024 |
1 book 2 stories.
The first, The Sisters Strange short -by the authors standards but vintage Connolly. The second story is actually 2 stories in one and takes place at the beginning of the Covid pandemic and first lockdown.
Both stories were rather minimal and so there was a lot of meaningless filler. Still a very good book, overall.
 
Flagged
zmagic69 | 8 other reviews | Mar 13, 2024 |
This is the author's first book. I liked the atmosphere he created , his descriptions, some of his characters. His plot was pretty much every serial killer cliche wrapped into one big package. Enjoyed the supernatural elements and, as I said, will give him another try, for a first-time novel, quite an accomplishment
 
Flagged
cspiwak | 78 other reviews | Mar 6, 2024 |
 
Flagged
BooksInMirror | 31 other reviews | Feb 19, 2024 |

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Statistics

Works
109
Also by
19
Members
27,539
Popularity
#743
Rating
3.9
Reviews
1,120
ISBNs
1,028
Languages
24
Favorited
97

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