EVERY DEAD THING

TITLE: EVERY DEAD THING
AUTHOR: JOHN CONNOLLY
Pages: 516
Date: 02/07/2010
Grade: 4+
Details: no. 1 Charlie Parker
Library

Charlie "Birdman" Parker was a NYPD detective and busy getting very drunk in a bar on the night his wife and young daughter were brutally killed and mutilated.
Months later he is sober and working as a private investigator when he is hired to find a young woman who has gone missing. A disappearance that is connected to the murders of children that go back 30 years. As soon as he's solved this case he is contacted by "the travelling man", the killer of his family. He is also contacted by a woman in Louisiana who has visions of a murdered girl, buried somewhere in the swamp.
In Louisiana he follows a trail of death and destruction that will ultimately lead him to the man who ruined his life, but at what cost?
This is a good thriller with memorable and well rounded characters. The descriptions of locations, thoughts and emotions are very visual and realistic. 
I loved Charlie's two friends, Louis and Angel; dodgy and dangerous characters both they are very loyal to Charlie and great to read about.
However, even for a seasoned thriller reader with a strong stomach like me, this story went just a bit too far at times, which is why the book scored a 4 rather than a 5.
Having said that, I already have the next book in the series at home and intend to read it very soon. I just need something lighter and completely different first.