Reading order · 23 books · 1999 to 2026 · Set in Portland, Maine
Charlie Parker Books in Order
Charlie Parker was a New York detective until his wife and daughter were murdered. Now a private investigator in Maine, he hunts killers with the help of Louis and Angel, a hit man and a burglar, and finds that some of the evil he faces is more than human. Dark crime novels with a supernatural edge.
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Series facts
- Books
- 23
- Published
- 1999 to 2026
- First book
- Every Dead Thing
- Latest
- A River Red with Blood (2026)
- Setting
- Set in Portland, Maine
The reading order
Every Charlie Parker book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
23 books · Set in Portland, Maine
- 1Every Dead Thing1999With Charlie ParkerCharlie “Bird” Parker, a New York detective, comes home to find his wife and daughter murdered.Buy on Amazon
- 2Dark Hollow2000With Charlie ParkerParker returns to Maine to rebuild his life, and the murders of a young woman and her child draw him into the hunt for a killer from the past.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Killing Kind2001With Charlie ParkerThe death of a young woman leads Parker to a religious group and to the mass grave of a community that vanished decades before.Buy on Amazon
- 4The White Road2002With Charlie ParkerParker travels to South Carolina to help defend a young Black man accused of murdering his wealthy white girlfriend.Buy on Amazon
- 5The Black Angel2005With Charlie ParkerA relative of Louis disappears in New York, and the search leads Parker and his friends to an ancient legend and a bone church in the Czech Republic.Buy on Amazon
- 6The Unquiet2007With Charlie ParkerThe daughter of a psychiatrist who disappeared years ago, after terrible accusations, is being followed by a strange man, and she hires Parker.Buy on Amazon
- 7The Reapers2008With Louis and AngelLouis and Angel take centre stage when Louis becomes the target of a gang of killers from his past.Buy on Amazon
- 8The Lovers2009With Charlie ParkerStripped of his private investigator’s licence, Parker looks into his own father’s past, and the night, years ago, when his father, a police officer, shot two unarmed teenagers.Buy on Amazon
- 9The Whisperers2010With Charlie ParkerParker investigates the death of a young veteran of the Iraq war, and uncovers a smuggling ring and an ancient box.Buy on Amazon
- 10The Burning Soul2011With Charlie ParkerA man with a dark secret in his past hires Parker, just as a teenage girl goes missing in his small Maine town.Buy on Amazon
- 11The Wrath of Angels2012With Charlie ParkerThe wreck of a plane is found deep in the Maine woods, and with it a list of names that many people want.Buy on Amazon
- 12The Wolf in Winter2014With Charlie ParkerA homeless man dies in Portland, and his daughter is missing.Buy on Amazon
- 13A Song of Shadows2015With Charlie ParkerRecovering from his wounds in a small coastal town in Maine, Parker becomes drawn to his neighbour, a German woman, and to crimes from the time of the Nazi death camps.Buy on Amazon
- 14A Time of Torment2016With Charlie ParkerA man who stopped a terrible crime, and was then framed and sent to prison, tells Parker about the Cut, a closed community in the hills of West Virginia.Buy on Amazon
- 15A Game of Ghosts2017With Charlie ParkerAn FBI agent asks Parker to find a missing private investigator who was investigating hauntings.Buy on Amazon
- 16The Woman in the Woods2018With Charlie ParkerThe body of a young woman who had recently given birth is found in the Maine woods, and her baby is missing.Buy on Amazon
- 17A Book of Bones2019With Charlie ParkerThe hunt for a mysterious lawyer and his search for a forbidden book takes Parker to England.Buy on Amazon
- 18The Dirty South2020With Charlie ParkerIn 1997, before he became a private investigator, Charlie Parker, still grieving, drifts into a small town in Arkansas where young Black women are being murdered.Buy on Amazon
- 19The Nameless Ones2021With Louis and AngelLouis and Angel travel to Europe to take revenge for the murder of a friend.Buy on Amazon
- 20The Furies2022With Charlie ParkerTwo linked short novels: a criminal returns to Portland and puts two sisters’ lives at risk, and Parker protects two women as the city shuts down during a pandemic.Buy on Amazon
- 21The Instruments of Darkness2024With Charlie ParkerParker is hired by the lawyer of a woman accused of the disappearance of her child.Buy on Amazon
- 22The Children of Eve2025With Charlie ParkerCharlie Parker is hired when an artist’s boyfriend vanishes, leaving a phone with one word, RUN, and the trail leads to a cartel boss and four children he wants back at any cost.Buy on Amazon
- 23A River Red with Blood2026With Charlie ParkerA young person who ran away from a school for troubled teenagers is found in the Kennebec River, a teenage girl goes missing, and Parker must find the link between the two.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order, starting with Every Dead Thing. The cases stand alone, but a larger story about Parker and the forces against him builds across the series.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Charlie Parker | Louis | Angel | Jennifer Parker | Sam Parker | Rachel Wolfe | The Collector | Walter Cole |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Every Dead Thing | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | ||
| 2 Dark Hollow | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | ||
| 3 The Killing Kind | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 4 The White Road | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 5 The Black Angel | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ·Minor | |
| 6 The Unquiet | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | |
| 7 The Reapers | MMajor | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ||||
| 8 The Lovers | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 9 The Whisperers | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 10 The Burning Soul | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 11 The Wrath of Angels | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 12 The Wolf in Winter | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 13 A Song of Shadows | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 14 A Time of Torment | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ·Minor | ||
| 15 A Game of Ghosts | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 16 The Woman in the Woods | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | MMajor | ||
| 17 A Book of Bones | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 18 The Dirty South | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |||||
| 19 The Nameless Ones | ·Minor | LLead | LLead | ·Minor | ||||
| 20 The Furies | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 21 The Instruments of Darkness | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 22 The Children of Eve | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor | |||
| 23 A River Red with Blood | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ·Minor | ·Minor |
Characters in the Charlie Parker books
9 characters from John Connolly’s chart, with the number of Charlie Parker books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie ParkerPrivate investigator in Maine, a former NYPD detective | 23 | Every Dead Thing 1999 |
| LouisHit man and Parker’s friend | 23 | Every Dead Thing 1999 |
| AngelBurglar, Louis’s partner | 23 | Every Dead Thing 1999 |
| Jennifer ParkerParker’s murdered daughter, a ghostly presence | 20 | Every Dead Thing 1999 |
| Sam ParkerParker and Rachel’s daughter | 19 | The Killing Kind 2001 |
| Rachel WolfePsychologist and Parker’s partner | 8 | Every Dead Thing 1999 |
| The CollectorKiller who judges the guilty | 7 | The Unquiet 2007 |
| Walter ColeParker’s former NYPD partner | 4 | Every Dead Thing 1999 |
| Jackie GarnerParker’s friend, an explosives enthusiast | 3 | The Burning Soul 2011 |