Bishop / Special Crimes Unit
paranormal mystery
Series · supernatural crime
Charlie Parker
The Charlie Parker series by John Connolly has 23 known books (25 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Every Dead Thing (1999). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is A River Red with Blood.
- Books
- 23 known books (21 novels + 1 companion + 3 collections)
- Published
- 25
- First published
- 1999
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime, Fantasy
- Last checked
Start here: Every Dead Thing (1999) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Every Dead Thing
John Connolly launched the Charlie Parker series with Every Dead Thing in 1999, a 467-page opener introducing the former NYPD detective turned private investigator whose murdered wife and daughter haunt him -- sometimes literally -- as his cases brush up against something genuinely ancient and supernatural. It led into Dark Hollow the following year.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Every Dead Thing - Book 2:
Dark Hollow
Dark Hollow, published in 2000 at 434 pages, is a novel by John Connolly. It is entry #2 in Charlie Parker. It sits between Every Dead Thing and The Killing Kind.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dark Hollow - Book 3:
The Killing Kind
The Killing Kind, published in 2001 at 388 pages, is a novel by John Connolly. It sits at #3 in Charlie Parker's reading order. Dark Hollow comes before it, The White Road after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Killing Kind - Book 4:
The White Road
The White Road is a novel by John Connolly, in 2002 at 457 pages. It sits at #4 in Charlie Parker's reading order. The Killing Kind comes before it, Nocturnes after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The White Road - Book 5:
Nocturnes
Nocturnes is a 496-page short story collection Connolly published in 2004, appearing between the novels The White Road and The Black Angel and mixing Parker-related tales with unrelated fiction, carrying no series ordinal of its own within Connolly's gothic, ghost-story-inflected take on American crime fiction.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nocturnes - Book 6:
The Black Angel
The Black Angel (2005, 579 pages) is the fifth entry in the Charlie Parker series, sitting between Nocturnes and The Unquiet, as Parker's cases continue to draw in Louis and Angel -- his gay-couple allies who function as equal parts moral conscience and lethal muscle -- against Connolly's gothic, elegiac vision of Maine.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Black Angel - Book 7:
The Unquiet
The Unquiet is a novel by John Connolly, in 2007 at 456 pages. It sits at #6 in Charlie Parker's reading order. The Black Angel comes before it, The Reapers after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Unquiet - Book 8:
The Reapers
The Reapers is a novel by John Connolly, in 2008 at 336 pages. It sits at #7 in Charlie Parker's reading order. The Unquiet comes before it, The Lovers after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Reapers - Book 9:
The Lovers
The Lovers is a novel by John Connolly, in 2009 at 344 pages. It sits at #8 in Charlie Parker's reading order. It sits between The Reapers and The Whisperers.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Lovers - Book 10:
The Whisperers
The Whisperers is a novel by John Connolly, in 2010 at 410 pages. It is entry #9 in Charlie Parker. The Lovers comes before it, The Burning Soul after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Whisperers - Book 11:
The Burning Soul
The Burning Soul is a novel by John Connolly, in 2011 at 421 pages. It sits at #10 in Charlie Parker's reading order. It sits between The Whisperers and The Wrath of Angels.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Burning Soul - Book 12:
The Wrath of Angels
The Wrath of Angels is a novel by John Connolly, in 2012 at 474 pages. It sits at #11 in Charlie Parker's reading order. It sits between The Burning Soul and The Wolf in Winter.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wrath of Angels - Book 13:
The Wolf in Winter
The Wolf in Winter, published in 2014 at 424 pages, is a novel by John Connolly. It sits at #12 in Charlie Parker's reading order. The Wrath of Angels comes before it, A Song of Shadows after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Wolf in Winter - Book 14:
A Song of Shadows
A Song of Shadows, published in 2015 at 438 pages, is a novel by John Connolly. It is entry #13 in Charlie Parker. It sits between The Wolf in Winter and Night Music: Nocturnes Volume 2.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Song of Shadows - Book 15:
Night Music: Nocturnes Volume 2
Night Music: Nocturnes Volume 2 followed in 2015 as a second collection, running 436 pages and sitting between A Song of Shadows and A Time of Torment.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Night Music: Nocturnes Volume 2 - Book 16:
A Time of Torment
A Time of Torment is a novel by John Connolly, in 2016 at 496 pages. It is entry #14 in Charlie Parker. Night Music: Nocturnes Volume 2 comes before it, A Game of Ghosts after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Time of Torment - Book 17:
A Game of Ghosts
A Game of Ghosts, published in 2017 at 452 pages, is a novel by John Connolly. It is entry #15 in Charlie Parker. It sits between A Time of Torment and The Woman in the Woods.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Game of Ghosts - Book 18:
The Woman in the Woods
The Woman in the Woods is a novel by John Connolly, in 2018 at 512 pages. It is entry #16 in Charlie Parker. It sits between A Game of Ghosts and A Book of Bones.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Woman in the Woods - Book 19:
A Book of Bones
A Book of Bones is a novel by John Connolly, in 2019 at 552 pages. It is entry #17 in Charlie Parker. The Woman in the Woods comes before it, The Dirty South after.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Book of Bones - Book 20:
The Dirty South
The Dirty South is a novel by John Connolly, in 2020 at 464 pages. It is entry #18 in Charlie Parker. It sits between A Book of Bones and The Nameless Ones.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Dirty South - Book 21:
The Nameless Ones
The Nameless Ones, published in 2021, is billed as a companion entry at position 19 in the series, running 432 pages between The Dirty South and The Furies.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Nameless Ones - Book 22:
The Furies
The Furies, from 2022, is a collection that continues the sequence at position 20, following The Nameless Ones and preceding The Instruments of Darkness.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Furies - Book 23:
The Instruments of Darkness
The Instruments of Darkness, published in 2024 at 500 pages, is a novel by John Connolly. It sits at #21 in Charlie Parker's reading order. It sits between The Furies and The Children of Eve.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Instruments of Darkness - Book 24:
The Children of Eve
The Children of Eve, published in 2025 at 451 pages, is a novel by John Connolly. It is entry #22 in Charlie Parker. It sits between The Instruments of Darkness and A River Red with Blood.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Children of Eve - Book 25:
A River Red with Blood
A River Red with Blood, published May 7, 2026, holds position 23 in the ongoing series at 461 pages, following The Children of Eve as Connolly's most recent Charlie Parker book.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A River Red with Blood
About the Charlie Parker series
Charlie Parker is a former NYPD detective turned private investigator whose wife and young daughter were murdered before the series begins -- a trauma that never fully recedes and that opens the door to the series' defining move: John Connolly writes hard-edged American crime fiction that is also, unapologetically, ghost story and horror. Parker is haunted, sometimes literally, by the dead he failed to save, and his cases increasingly brush up against something genuinely supernatural and ancient lurking behind ordinary human evil. He's backed by Louis and Angel, a gay couple who are equal parts moral conscience and lethal muscle, and their partnership deepens across the series to the point that several entries centre on them rather than Parker.
The appeal is atmosphere and genre-blending: Connolly's Maine is gothic and elegiac, his violence is brutal, and his villains are often monstrous in more than the metaphorical sense. It's for readers who want their detective fiction shot through with real dread and moral weight -- closer to a slow-building horror novel wearing a PI-thriller structure than to a conventional police procedural.
Frequently asked questions
How many Charlie Parker books are there?
There are 23 novels in the main Charlie Parker sequence, from Every Dead Thing (1999) to A River Red with Blood (2026), plus two short-story collections, Nocturnes (2004) and Night Music (2015).
What order should I read the Charlie Parker books in?
Publication order, starting with Every Dead Thing (1999). Parker's grief, his relationship with Louis and Angel, and the series' larger supernatural mythology all build continuously across the books.
Is there a new Charlie Parker book coming?
A River Red with Blood (book 23) was published on 7 May 2026 and is the most recent entry; no further book has been announced as of August 2026.
Do I need to read the Nocturnes short story collections?
No. Nocturnes (2004) and Night Music (2015) mix Parker-related stories with unrelated supernatural fiction and are optional extras, not required for following the main Parker storyline.
Is The Nameless Ones a Charlie Parker novel?
It holds book 19's place in the series but centres on Louis and Angel rather than Parker, who appears in a supporting role. It's still meant to be read in sequence, not skipped.
If you like the Charlie Parker series
Reading order last verified .