Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on May 6, 2025

Antonio Elizalde, an antiquities dealer in Mexico, has been known to trade in treasured items that cannot be sold on the private market. With the assistance of Roland Bilas, an American, he has arranged to transport certain items that ostensibly belong to Blas Urrea, a drug lord. They are assisted in that endeavor by Wyatt Riggins, who brings the items to the East Coast of the US.

The nature of the smuggled property is a mystery during the novel’s first half, so I won’t spoil it here. I will credit John Connolly, however, for setting up a likely answer that turns out to be incorrect. I was pleased by that because the seemingly obvious answer would have taken the story in a common and uninteresting direction.

The smuggling is funded and managed by Devin Vaughn, who takes his criminal guidance from Aldo Bern, although in this case Vaughn has acted behind Bern’s back. Vaughn has experienced financial setbacks, including the loss of a large cocaine shipment to Customs agents, and his investors may be coming for him. Vaughn took a big risk by stealing from Urrea. Both Vaughn and Bern need to fear Urrea's reach if he discovers Vaughn's responsibility for his loss.

Bodies begin to collect after Urrea engages Eugene Seeley to recover the property and to take the lives of everyone who participated in stealing it. Seeley is ably assisted in that project by a woman known only as La Señora. The woman is adept with blades (she cuts out the hearts of her victims, not just because Urrea wants them but because she finds the work satisfying) but she doesn’t seem to eat or sleep or bleed.

When Riggins gets a text message that simply says “run,” he disappears, leaving behind his girlfriend without saying goodbye. The girlfriend, Zetta Nadeau, retains Charlie Parker to find Riggins.

I am not typically a fan of supernatural elements in thrillers, but I make an exception for Connolly. The creepiness factor in The Children of Eve adds chills to the thrills, and Connolly brings such elegance to his prose that I forgive him for bringing the underworld into his stories. In addition to La Señora, Parker’s dead daughter Jennifer lurks in the background. She has troubles of her own — it can’t be fun to transition between a world she no longer inhabits and a world she isn’t ready to enter — but she plays only a small role in the story. Jennifer has picked up a friend in the spirit world; it seems likely she’ll need one.

Readers who are unfamiliar with the series might be puzzled by the intrusion of the supernatural, but it doesn’t distract from a plot that rolls along as a private detective novel should. Parker searches for Riggins even after Nadeau encourages him to stop because he wants the satisfaction of solving the mystery. For his trouble, he takes a beating that ends with a hospitalization (a common fate for Parker and most other fictional PIs). But Parker isn’t a tough guy so the story isn’t riddled with fights and shootouts. His friends Louis and Angel are true tough guys, but they rarely need to be violent. A mean look from either of them will persuade most people to cooperate.

The story is self-contained. New readers can start the series with this book or almost any other without worrying that they’ve missed too much. Parker’s living daughter, his ex-wife, and his current girlfriend all make brief appearances, but Connolly gives the reader all the information they need to understand those relationships. Parker blames himself for not protecting his dead wife and daughter. That’s probably all the reader needs to know to grasp his personality. The story sets up a future installment that promises to explain why Jennifer’s ghost feels a need to watch over her father at night. While I’m not a big fan of the supernatural, Connolly has me hooked on the mystery so I’m looking forward to that revelation.

Connolly’s plots are always intelligent and his stories always move quickly, but the quality of his prose sets him apart from lesser thriller writers. My favorite sentence in the book might be Connolly’s description of a sales clerk at a weed dispensary: “His hair was bunched in an intricate topknot that would force him to censor his photos in later life so his children didn’t laugh in his face, and he wore a sparse beard that appeared to be growing back after he’d accidentally set its predecessor alight.” Wonderful sentences like that one are sufficient reason to try out a Connolly novel if you haven’t already.

RECOMMENDED

There is a sense of menace in The Children of Eve. Early on it’s quite ambiguous but lingers even amidst what appear to be routine activities for Charlie Parker, his friends, associates, loved ones and various clients. Charlie is self-admittedly middle aged now, dealing with the daily physical side effects of his rough life. And he appears to have found a steady woman interested in him with Macy. Angel and Luis have their Maine quarters set up too. So all that remains is Parker’s work life, the private investigations.

As this novel begins, Charlie is hired by a local artist to locate the man who has been living with her. He suddenly took off after a phone call, leaving everything behind. The only lead…he works at the local cannabis distributor and is ex-military. Not much to go on. But Charlie begins his persistent pursuit of facts.

Meanwhile, we readers become aware of much larger problems afoot in other parts of the country, of major game players pulling strings, trying to direct plans from Mexico, across the United States. There seems to be a large syndicate involved in drugs of all types, money laundering, and art theft. All of this is being unfolded through a separate narrative thread from Charlie’s This two pronged narrative continues throughout the novel.

Where these growing and ultimately converging threads may meet is the exciting action of The Children of Eve. It’s a different structure from any other Parker novel I’ve read previously, though I haven’t read them all, and I really enjoyed it. The energy level is high throughout: Parker continues with his work in Maine, where his initial problem grows worse, of course, but such details will be avoided here. In another interesting step, both of his daughters, Jennifer (spirit) and Sam, now about to graduate high school, participate in this story. I’m excited to see where they may be seen next.

4.5*

Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This review is my own.

PI Charlie Parker gets involved in a missing persons case that leads to the discovery of children who were abducted from a Mexican cartel boss. Included in the mix are some American mobsters, some weirdos they’re affiliated with, some crazy gun-loving rednecks, and a ruthless fixer who’s been hired by that cartel boss to find the children at all costs. This had me constantly wondering WTF was going on! There is some amazing character development, with characters you will love, characters you will hate, and characters you will love to hate. This is a slow burn, not a quick and easy read, which is what I’ve come to expect from John Connolly. A very well-done, dark thriller.

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed it. A strong five stars.. Great book in a messed up way. Defiantly a FAFO situation.

3.5 stars rounded down.

Not my fave Charlie Parker. First half was slow and co fusing. Came together half-way through with the last third of the book finishing really strong I was still a bit confused by a specific character but given the nature of the book, I wasn’t too surprised.

Advanced reader copy provided by Atria and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

Connolly writes so well that his books are always a pleasure to read.
The Children of Eve is so well-crafted that it is meant to be savored rather than quickly devoured.
I love the way the author writes, including his descriptions of characters and the dialog which is sharp and often amusing.

The risks always lie in what is hidden

PI Charlie Parker is approached by an up-and-coming young artist of his acquaintance, Zetta Nadeau, to look into the disappearance of her new boyfriend Wyatt Riggins. Zetta doesn't believe that Wyatt has ghosted her, and as Parker is sympathetic to the driven and talented young woman who has fought hard to rise above her traumatic childhood he agrees to poke around a bit for her. As he searches through the cabin they shared, he finds two things which indicate that this is a more troubling case than he had suspected....a flip phone with only one piece of information on it, a message that reads, "Run", and a gun hidden behind the toilet. At the same time and at the behest of a Mexican cartel leader named Blas Urrea, a search is underway for four children who were stolen from Urrea. The tracks of those who committed the crime were well-hidden but slowly, one link at a time, the two people charged with finding the children and bringing them back are piecing together the trail. As each participant is located, whatever knowledge they possess about the crime is extracted from them...names, places, etc...and they are eliminated (rather gruesomely). Stolen pre-Hispanic antiquities, brutal cartel killers, and the search for the missing children all seem to lead to Maine...and Parker makes the decision that finding answers for Zetta is a worthy quest. Its a decision that may cost him more than he is willing to give.
The Children of Eve is book 22 in author John Connolly's series featuring Charlie Parker. Those who have read other installments in the series know to expect a hard-boiled crime novel complete with a quixotic, wise-cracking protagonist who is surrounded by a decidedly quirky group of allies. Their humorous banter provides moments of levity in an otherwise tense and dark atmosphere, and as the plot explodes out of the gate there are also the trademark elements of supernatural forces which hover over Parker...his daughter Jennifer, for example, is a very real character, she just happens to have died with her mother years earlier, a loss which still haunts Parker. There are many layers to the story, detailing issues from the very prosaic challenges of Parker raising his other daughter Sam with his ex-wife Rachel (who struggles to deal with the connection Sam and Parker have to Jennifer) to the economic changes facing downtown areas in Maine as locals struggle to afford homes in areas being taken over by wealthy out-of-towners as well as the sometimes shady forces funding the growth of stores selling legalized cannabis. There is more than a bit of dark and graphic violence within these pages...it would be hard to have a crime novel where one of the main villains is a drug cartel leader without them...and there are stories as well of the violence that has been done to children for centuries. That said, whether this is your first encounter with Charlie Parker or you have followed his previous exploits, this novel will grab your attention from the opening scene and not let you go until the very end....which isn't really an end at all, in the overall scheme of things. Readers of James Lee Burke, Dennis Lehane and Michael Koryta should also (in the unlikely event that they haven't picked up a John Connelly novel by now) grab a copy at the earliest opportunity. Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books for allowing me access to this gripping and emotionally powerful novel from the talented Mr. Connolly in exchange for my honest review.

I have been a long time reader of this series, and I’m very happy the author continues to publish. This was not my favorite book in the series, but it was a solid addition. I loved being back with Parker and his friends again. The banter between him, Angel and Louis always makes me smile. I did enjoy the mystery aspect of this book, it was very unique. I do feel like some sections were overwritten, and the author added a lot of extraneous detail about things and people we didn’t really need detail about. Overall, I did enjoy this book, and based on the ending, I’m curious to see where the author will go next.

So I will always get excited when I see that there is a new Charlie Parker thriller, and I regularly recommend these books in horror groups. John Connolly manages to keep his characters just as interesting while coming up with new mysteries, even at this, his 22nd in the series.
Parker is older and more tired, with scars on the inside and the outside. His living daughter has decided to follow in his footsteps by becoming a private detective, so she can help people who really need it. Meanwhile, Parker is dealing with a frightening case where children are being abducted from Mexico because someone hires him to find her boyfriend.
There were a lot of people to keep track of but Parker did a great job juggling everything. His dead daughter Jennifer makes her appearances, and we know something important is coming in her story.
Honestly, I loved his last book so much I contacted his publisher to thank him. I cannot recommend these enough. Even though they are classified in mystery and horror, he's also a literary writer with a wonderful style.

So honored to have an advanced copy of this eagerly awaited book. I have been a Charlie Parker follower since the beginning, and the growth in these books, the story development and the characters evolving have been amazing over the years. With John’s signature writing style, the story evolves and overflows won’t sub plots, shady characters, and a rich story. Highly recommend whether this is book one, or you have followed since book one. AMA,zing!!

Connolly is always good and this book is no exception.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. More, please!

The Children of Eve marks the twenty-second entry in John Connolly's Charlie Parker series. I've found myself wondering, in the past, when this series might start losing steam, even as I celebrated the release of each new entry and consistently found myself psyched to be granted early access to read the latest book thanks to the fine folks at Atria/Emily Bestler Books. I've read plenty of other series that fizzled out well ahead of hitting double-digits, let alone surpassing two decades of surprisingly consistent derring-do.

I'm not ready to count Charlie Parker and author Connolly down and out just yet, but there is a faint air of tiredness surrounding this endeavor. Parker, after all, is now in his fifties and the accumulation of so many wounds over the course of his PI career have left a lasting mark. He wakes up in pain most days, and his sleep is oftentimes troubled. As one character remarks, he's been at death's door so often, Death has left a key under the mat for him. He's slower, creakier, achier.

For a book that is ostensibly about the abduction of a Mexican cartel leader's children, The Children of Eve feels all the duller. It doesn't help terribly much that Parker only makes brief appearances in this installment, with the focus centering more on the cartel's killers, the bookish Seeley, and an unnamed woman with a penchant for carving out the hearts of her victims. Both pale in comparison to earlier villains like Pudd, The Collector, the cult of Prosperous or The Cut.

Coming in at over 460 pages, there's an awful lot to keep track of between the shifting points of view, the various targets and killers, the minor footnote that is Parker's investigation into a local artist's missing boyfriend and how that connects to everything else, but there's no real sense of momentum or focus to it all.

The Children of Eve feels like an interstitial segue between Parker's overarching mythology, a book that Connolly had to write in order to bridge what's come before with what comes next. He drops plenty of hints about what's to come, particularly between Parker and his daughters, Sam and Jennifer, one living and one deceased, that posits a truly compelling triangle between the living, the dead, and what lies in between and ever after. The downside, of course, is that teasing us with all these elements that are ostensibly better than the surrounding material is a vicious bit of cockteasing. Clearly, Connolly is saving all the good stuff for a later book, and it's frustrating he couldn't find much else of equal interest to insert here.

As an avid fan of this series, I don't believe there's such as a thing a "bad" Charlie Parker book, but there are certainly lower-tier entries. This is one of them, but Connolly dangles just enough hooks in the water to bait you in for the next one.

PI Charlie Parker is hired by his friend, the artist Zetta Nadeau, to find her boyfriend, Wyatt Riggins, who has abruptly disappeared after getting a text on his phone reading simply 'RUN.' Meanwhile we become aware of a 'fixer' named Seeley who is tracking down men involved in the abduction of four children belonging to a Mexican cartel boss named Blás Urrea. With Seeley is a woman who takes a gruesome trophy from each victim when they are finished with their interrogations.

A supernatural subplot continues with Parker's dead daughter Jennifer in the afterworld where she is determined to wait for her father against the urging of two angels. When she becomes aware of a dark angel amongst them, she seeks to warn her father.

This 22nd book in the series is filled with gruesome and exciting action as Charlie tries to find Wyatt. There's the usual sprinkling of humor provided by his friends Louis and Angel and a brief appearance by the Fulci brothers to lighten things up. A good addition to the series.

Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an arc of this new thriller via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

John Connolly has done it again in Children of Eve. He has written a thriller with villains who will surely give you the creeps. Parker a private detective is hired by an artist to find her missing boyfriend. She fires Parker but he is not going to give up. There bits of the supernatural, mystery, love and motherhood in this book.
He gets involved in finding 4 missing children and things go downhill from there because two waring drug dealers are fighting for these children.
It was a very enjoyable read

Perhaps what struck me the most about this, the 22nd in the author's Charlie Parker series, is that Charlie clearly isn't a spring chicken anymore. His old injuries still give him fits, and the new ones fit him too close to for comfort.

I'll also say of all the Parker books I've read so far (seven since I started my book blog), this is only the second one to which I'm not giving a 5-star rating. It's hard to explain why, exactly, except that it seemed a little "jumpy" and hard to follow and the subject matter just didn't "grab" me like the others. Still, it's Charlie - and his wonderful friends Louis and Angel, who simply can't appear in the pages often enough to suit me - so I certainly recommend it to others.

It begins as quirky artist Zetta Nadeau asks Charlie to find her missing boyfriend Wyatt Riggins, who took off in a flash. Left behind was his cell phone, on which he'd received a one-word message: Run. Through not a small amount of investigation, Charlie learns that Riggins was somehow involved in the kidnapping of four children that belonged to Mexican cartel leader Blas Urrea. It's not hard to understand why he'd do anything to get them back, except for the fact that his children are alive and well and still with him in Mexico. So who are the missing kids, and why is Urrea so determined to do whatever it takes to get them back?

The questions dogs Charlie throughout the story, but at least one of the obstacles between Charlie and the children is a dangerous man named Eugene Seeley, who's been hired by Urrea to do the dirty work to find and rescue them. And, it appears he's hooked up with an even more evil cohort - an unidentified woman.

Along the way - as is a common occurrence in other books - Charlie stays "in touch" with his dead daughter Jennifer, and his live daughter Sam, who also "sees" Jennifer from time to time, plays a role as well. In fact, aside from the race to find the missing children, something more sinister is afoot; someone, or some thing, has been trying to find Jennifer and Charlie. Who, or what, is it, what's the reason for the search, and will it be successful? Hmmm, I'll never tell. From this point on, all I'll say is thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read a pre-release copy of this book. Another good one!

The Children of Eve is the 22nd Instalment of The Charlie Parker Series.

I have read the first nine books of this series in order, and then the 18th and 20th, really enjoying them all and continue to carry along with the series.

This newest book was quite different for me however, as it started off very slowly, and did not have the main character Charlie Parker make an appearance for quite some time.

The pace picked up at about the 60% mark, only to then lose my interest a bit again as it progressed.

We find Charlie starting to show his age in this book, and his daughter is ready to make a decision about college and her future career.

There are lots of intense and mysterious moods in The Children of Eve, but for me lost a little momentum.

Thank You to NetGalley, Author, John Connolly and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for my advanced copy to read and review.

Prominent Maine artist Zetta Nadeau approaches Detective Charlie Parker to look into the sudden disappearance of her boyfriend, Wyatt Riggins. Upon digging, Parker discovers that the missing man in question is involved in the kidnapping of four children belonging to the ruthless Mexican cartel boss, Blas Urrea. Desperate to see the safe return of his “property” Urrea dispatches two of his best agents. Can Charlie track down and locate Riggins or is he risking a collision with two cold-blooded killers?

John Connolly returns with the twenty-second installment of his acclaimed crime fiction series featuring his titular detective. Once again, the mystery at the center of the novel is rock solid and the suspense it generated had me on the edge of my seat. The pair of villains Connolly puts up against Parker are deeply sinister, one more so than the other. Her actions chilled me to the core and she quickly became one of Connolly’s more shocking creations. Much like one of my other favorite writers, Lawrence Block, Connolly decided to age his main character alongside himself, so there are signs here that time is beginning to catch up with Parker. While he’s just as dogged and determined as ever, there are moments where his body isn’t quite as willing as his mind, which makes his job a bit harder to do, especially when up against younger foes. Thankfully Parker has lots of help in the shape of formidable allies who have his back.

Speaking of those allies, I’ve been reading this series for so long now that I feel at home with these characters; they basically feel like family at this point, and the banter between Charlie and his two friends Louis and Angel once again had me in stitches. If John ever wanted to write a novel about the three of them sitting around a table and chatting for three hundred pages or so, I’d be first in line to buy it.

Connolly ends the story with an eye to the future where it feels like something big is on the horizon. His long deceased daughter Jennifer, who frequents the novels in the ghostly form of a protector for her father, intimates that Parker’s story is coming to a pivotal crossroads and I can’t wait to see what Connolly has up his sleeve.

After falling hard for "The Dark Instruments," I've been hopelessly devoted to Charlie Parker's world, and "The Children of Eve" proves exactly why this series continues to captivate. Connolly delivers his trademark cocktail of gritty action, character depth, and supernatural elements with even more potency this time around.

What makes this installment particularly brilliant is Connolly's masterful handling of multiple perspectives. We follow Parker's methodical investigation while simultaneously glimpsing what's happening behind the curtain—creating this delicious tension where we know slightly more than our protagonist but still far less than we need to. This narrative structure keeps you constantly off-balance, turning pages well past midnight.

The parallel storylines work like perfectly synchronized dancers. While Parker follows his leads with that signature quiet determination, the mob elements unfold with menacing precision. When these storylines finally converge, the revelation genuinely shocked me.

And those supernatural elements? They're seamlessly woven into the fabric of the story, creating moments that literally raised goosebumps on my arms. Connolly never relies on the paranormal as a crutch but instead uses these elements to deepen the mystery and heighten the stakes.

"The Children of Eve" demonstrates how a long-running series can continue evolving while honoring what made readers fall in love initially. Each book somehow manages to be both comfortingly familiar and startlingly fresh. For thriller readers craving something with both intellectual depth and genuine chills, Parker's latest case should absolutely top your reading list.

Thank you, Atria Books and NetGalley, for my free books for review.

Charlie Parker is back and as usual, he is pulled into quite the mess in this book. Slow to start but strong to finish, The Children of Eve involves missing children, a missing man, and devious and dangerous people. The books in the Charlie Parker series always have great mysteries, plenty of action, and a supernatural element. I love how Charlie Parker's long dead daughter Jennifer always comes into play in the books. I love seeing her and her watchful eye and interactions with Charlie and other supernatural elements. Fans of the series will be happy to see Angel and Louis make appearances as well. This book finds Charlie Parker smack dab in the middle of a whole lot of trouble when he is hired by a woman to find her missing boyfriend. Her boyfriend who got tangled up in a HUGE mess.

As I mentioned this book started on the slower side and I was worried that this might be one of the first books in the Charlie Parker series that I won’t enjoy. But he pace did pick up and this book became more and more enjoyable and intense as the subplots began to merge and things became more dicey and more mysterious. So, who are "The Children of Eve"? One will need to read this book to find out! The Children of Eve has many chilling, intense, gripping, and interesting parts. There are also some parts where readers will notice that Charlie is not as young as he used to be, and things hurt a little more than they once did.

But what doesn't get old, is the characters, their relationships, their banter, their love, and their teamwork. I love seeing them together, how they solve their unique cases, and how the depths of their love and courage shine through. As with the previous books in the series, The Children of Eve is wonderfully written, brimming with tension, atmosphere, twists, revelations, the supernatural, and dread.

Be sure to read the author's note to learn what trip he took inspired him to write this storyline.

Folks, we have another winner from John Connolly. The Children of Eve, number 22 in the Charlie Parker series, is another home run knocked out of the park. For this reader, he continues to have a batting average of 100%.

In this installment, Parker is asked by a local artist to search for her boyfriend, who abruptly disappeared after receiving a text message that simply says “run”. As is par for this series, this isn’t anywhere near a simple case, and this slow burn of a novel propels itself towards an unexpected otherworldly conclusion. I literally could not put the book down.

Highly recommended, even if you’ve never read anything in the series previously.

My sincere gratitude to Atria Books and to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of The Children of Eve.