Thanks to the Atria books and Netgalley for this eARC.

This 22nd entry in the Charlie Parker series presents another stellar mystery. Followers of this series will be thrilled to reencounter familiar characters in this entry as Charlie investigates the disappearance of "exceptional" children.

For those not already familiar with this series, keep an open mind is worth it as the Charlie Parker series has a bit of an otherworldly bent. 😉

Numerous storylines converge for resolution by the of the novel.

In the months leading up to this book’s release, I became convinced of a conspiracy theory of my own devising.

The way I read John Connolly’s books is not entirely dissimilar to the way many others read Brandon Sanderson books or Malazan books. As Ed can attest, I can theorize for hours about the Charlie Parker series and where I think it’s going at any given moment. I’ve also read every book at least four or five times and in many ways, they’ve become my comfort reads.

My ultimately erroneous conspiracy theory was based on the fact that I found two different summaries on early sale page listings for the book. One was the standard one that is on the book’s jacket presently and the second’s only really added one more detail in; that someone would find their house invested with spiders and other creepy crawlies. Eventually the sites that had the second were changed to having the first summary and thus I became convinced of something crazy.

I texted Ed and told him that I thought Pudd, an early villain in the books whose killing method was spiders, was coming back somehow.

Spoiler alert: Pudd didn’t come back.

I really enjoyed The Children of Eve despite Pudd not returning.

The premise feels somewhat similar to the start of The Woman in the Woods. Someone in an esoteric field is murdered by an unconventional (perhaps supernatural) killer and then a missing child is involved far away. Ultimately, the plot will swerve away from being too similar to Woman in the Woods but the similarities are definitely there. The main antagonist feels most similar to that of the Nameless Ones and with a similar supernatural element. Despite the familiar elements of this story, I thought it worked really well and was ultimately a fun mystery.

In some ways, this book could be critiqued as just taking past elements and repurposing them but where The Children of Eve shines is the way it moves the personal storylines forward for the first time in several installements. Rachel and Sam are back in full force. Sam is now getting ready to go off to college and is considering following in her father’s footsteps and Rachel obviously has thoughts about that. We also learn that Sam and Jennifer aren’t really in communication with each other and that if not for their weird history together, Sam might be convinced that Jennifer was just a childhood imaginary friend. We also get a long overdue conversation between Rachel and Charlie about the presence of Jennifer’s ghost and the supernatural side of things. On the Charlie side, we get further developments into his relationship with Sharon Macy. It’s been a while since we’ve gotten this much focus on these personal elements and it’s nice to get some forward momentum on those subplots.

However, the biggest, and I’m guessing most controversial for fans like me, developments are those in the ongoing saga of Jennifer. Jennifer, for those who aren’t avid followers of the series, is the ghost of Charlie’s first daughter who has become some sort of spirit of vengeance. She used to be accompanied by the ghost of Susan, Charlie’s late first wife, but since Charlie’s near death experience in The Wolf in Winter she’s been absent. Jennifer has mostly been an off screen presence since she took an interest in dealing with the villain of The Nameless Ones minus her expressing some disinterest in Charlie’s burgeoning relationship with Sharon in The Instruments of Darkness. Now, we discover that her at times very active role in her father’s life have drawn the attention of something very bad, specifically maybe the Angel of Death, who keeps coming to Jennifer’s mysterious lake and hunting her. This leads to the most surprising element of this book which is the appearance of the ghost of a long deceased, former ally of Charlie’s who arrives to teach Jennifer about this mysterious new threat.

On the success of these elements, I have mixed feelings. I really enjoyed Sam’s return and the long overdue chat between Rachel and Charlie. Those moments were pretty huge payoffs after a long gap and I think they were solidly done. I’m also a big Charlie and Sharon stan and I like that their relationship is still developing in interesting ways. The Jennifer stuff is more of a mixed bag for me and I fall firmly in a “wait and see” camp on it. In some ways, it feels like a retconn/creation of a new endgame for the series whereas according to my list of open plot holes we still have several threats that already fill that space, like the Buried God/God of Wasps/Black Angel and the mysterious group known as the Backers. If this new Angel of Death thing is a retconning of those loose threads and means we won’t be getting a conclusion to those storylines, that’ll be pretty disappointing but I also have some level of trust and hope that Connolly realizes those things are still on the table and will find a way to tie everything together.

It’s interesting to be editing and rewriting this review after last week’s review of Preston & Child’s Bad Lands. I think that in the past there were moments that I felt similarly about their work as I do presently to the Charlie Parker series. There are also similarities to the things that frustrate me about Preston/Child, that can be found in Connolly’s writing. Ed would say that I’m forgiving of features that he finds frustrating in these books, specifically the occasionally wonky world building and continuity of the Parker books. I think, for the first time, I’m also far more on the same page as Ed in those regards. We are twenty-two books into this series and it feels late in the game to bring in a whole new spiritual adversary. However, the difference for me lies in the quality of the writing. Preston/Child’s books are perfect summer thrillers but there isn’t anything necessarily special to the writing of those books. On the other hand, the reason I come back to Connolly’s books over and over again is the quality of his prose. His books are a joy to read and he brings a poet’s flair to these weird detective/horror stories that I find rare in other books. The only thing I can compare it to is the natural poetry of Scott Lynch’s prose in the Locke Lamora books or that of Sebastien de Castell’s writing in the Greatcoat books. If Preston/Child had that same poetic writing style, I’d probably be more forgiving of some elements of their world-building.

Ultimately, I really did enjoy The Children of Eve. It may not have been an entirely novel installment of this series in terms of the mystery but we got some solid forward momentum on the personal storylines and I’m eager to see where this new Angel of Death plotline might be going. It also was another opportunity for me to re-immerse myself in the poetry of Connolly’s writing which is always a nice experience. It might not be a new favorite in the series but it’s still a thrilling and beautifully written read and for that I’m grateful.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. Another Charlie Parker book. It helps to have read previous Charllie Parker books so that the reader is acquainted with Parker's history and unique gifts.
Here, an acquaintance of Parker's asks for his help in finding her missing boyfriend. The only clue is his cellphone that has the word RUN. Parker's search takes him to many strange places, the abduction of four boxes that could contain children, a sadistic killer and a strange woman. Interwoven is the presence of Parker's dead daughter who has chosen to linger before crossing over to protect her father or is there more to that?
I don't usually like books that have "voo doo" for lack of a better word but I love this series and so far am comfortable with the strange other world that inhabits John Connolly's books.

I'm normally all in for a Charlie Parker tale but had a hard time getting into this one. Sad story but of course our hero is here to solve it!

This is only my second Charlie Parker book by John Connolly and it was a good one. I had a bit of trouble getting invested in the story in the beginning, but thankfully the book picked up and I was able to enjoy this ARC from #NetGalley. #TheChildrenofEve was a fascinating mystery that was well written, with both the plot and characters well developed.

In true John Connolly fashion, The Children of Eve, did not disappoint. It's raw, it's high stakes suspense, it's so good. I would recommend this book. You won't be able to put it down, but that's ok.

I love the Charlie Parker books, and John Connolly is on my must-buy list. The latest installment had appearances by my favorite characters and a new mystery to solve. I found the story engaging and the ending satisfying. I will continue to look forward to Charlie’s and the gang’s next adventure!

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and John Connolly for the eARC.

This was my first book by John Connolly, and it will not be the last. Hoping there will be a follow up to this one! I need to hunt down these Charlie Parker books now!

What can I say, I have been reading Charlie Parker since book one How can I put into words the love I have for each and every one Your words are magic!
You are magic and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing, for allowing me to read this advanced copy.
A book doesn't get any better.
As always simply excellent

It's always exciting when a new Charlie Parker book comes out and this time was no different.

Charlie is hired by the girlfriend of a mysterious man, Wyatt Riggins. Riggins, a former soldier, has recently aided in the abduction of 4 children from Mexico. Problem being those children belonged to a Mexican cartel boss, and everyone knows that's not a good thing. The boss dispatches two people to get the children back. One is a wily man and the other is...well, you'll have to read this to find out!

I've been following this series from nearly the very beginning and I'm always happy to visit with Charlie, Angel, Louis and even the Fulci brothers. I know it sounds silly, but I worry about them, even when I'm not reading a book they're in. They are real to me and I have an affinity for them. This series has gone on for so long I can't help but feel that things are going to wind up soon and each new book brings more trepidation on my part.

This time around these main characters spend most of their time off screen while the story focuses on the abducted children and the people surrounding them. That was ok because John Connolly writes like no one else. However, I felt this tale could have been trimmed a bit with no ill effects. We did get a peek at both of Charlie's daughters and that was an...interesting twist. One I look forward to hearing more about in future books.

While I wish we had seen more of Charlie and his crew, this was still an excellent read. John Connolly always delivers and once again, I am left looking forward to the next Charlie Parker book!

Recommended!

*ARC from publisher

This book has antiquity smugglers, drug dealers,stolen children and hired killers. There is a lot of jumping around among these groups. Sometimes the transition from one group/locale to another takes a little mental adjustment. But I still love Parker and the author’s writing style. The dialogue is really terrific. Actually, Parker is missing from large chunks of the book while the evil doers take center stage, and Parker’s colleagues make only a brief appearance. The missing children are definitely the creepiest part of the story. I did not see that coming. The ending of the book suggests that something dark is in store for Parker’s dead daughter.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Private investigator Charlie Parker is hired by Zetta Nadeau to find her boyfriend, Wyatt Riggins, who has disappeared without notice or notification - just his cell phone that has a one-word message: Run. It turns out that Riggins and some associates had gone to Mexico and abducted four children - belonging to a cartel boss, Blas Urrea. But Parker quickly discovers that Urrea’s children are all safe in Mexico, so whose children are they? And Urrea is relentless in trying to get the abductees back - hiring brutal agents, one of whom is Eugene Seeley, an utterly ruthless fixer, accompanied by a secretive woman, who follow a trail that leaves a lot of bodies behind. Parker, and his associates Louis and Angel, follow a very convoluted trail to a strange (in my mind) conclusion.

This is the 21st book written by Connolly featuring Charlie Parker - and the first that I have read. I found the book tedious at best - too many characters, too much jumping around, not enough build up to understand what the story was about, and several chapters that just did not seem to add to the story. When the story finally provided an explanation, I was just trying to finish the book for which I give thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Note: After writing my review, I went back and looked at reviews of others. Amazing to me that 75% of all reviews were 5 star - so maybe it was just me. I requested this book because I had heard/read good things about the author - maybe I needed to start reading him years ago in order to appreciate him and his books.

If Stephen King and James Lee Burke had a baby—an unnatural one, of course—it would probably look a lot like John Connolly. Connolly has a genius for creating tales that take place on Earth, and are in most regards realistic, while adding elements of the supernatural that go well beyond magical realism. There’s the mystery, and there’s the horror, and if we’re reading a Charlie Parker mystery, we cannot have one without the other, nor should we.

My tremendous thanks go to NetGalley and Atria Books for the review copy of The Children of Eve, the 22nd Charlie Parker mystery. This book is for sale now.

The story commences when Charlie is contracted to find and protect a man named Wyatt Riggins, who has disappeared. Riggins has thrown in his lot with some baddies, and may have bitten off more than he can chew. As Charlie—and we—pursue Riggins, we learn of some seriously nasty skullduggery that’s afoot involving international art thieves. Added to the mix are four missing children, believed to have been kidnapped. There’s not a single slow moment as Charlie tracks Riggins, and we see, through the third person omnipotent, the manner in which these thieves have fallen out, and the trail of bodies that are left in their wake. This is grisly business, and not for the squeamish, although I will say that some horror and hardcore detective novels do go places that I can’t, but Parker novels always manage to stay just inside my own boundaries.

Recurring characters Angel and Louis, perennial favorites, return briefly. At one point, Parker has been roughed up and is in the hospital. Angel and Louis have been listed as his next of kin, and they seem unlikely nurturers. While guarding Parker’s room, for instance, Louis amuses himself by making those that pass by him nervous. And when he is discharged on the condition that he not be alone for the next 24 hours, Angel and Louis make the doctor uneasy as well. She asks Parker whether he has “any other friends? Any at all?” I would have loved to see more of these two, but perhaps Connolly is keeping them in the shadows, lest they grow stale. That’s hard to imagine, but no other reason makes sense. I also enjoyed the brief glimpse of the Fulci Brothers, hired (but not brilliant) muscle men that resemble “bears in green leisure suits.”

Perhaps the most disquieting aspect of this novel—scratch that, not “perhaps”—is the development of Connolly’s dead daughter, Jennifer, who has come to him periodically and watches over him. I won’t say anymore about that, but I finished this book 2 days ago, have been reading several other books, and yet I can’t get Jennifer out of my head.

For those that love gritty detective novels, and for those that are drawn to things that go bump in the night, this book, and this series is strongly recommended.

I have been a fan of John Connolly for a while however this novel did not hold my attention. It was written well I just personally did not connect with the story. I have talked to many who have enjoyed this one though!

I have never read a Charlie Parker book before and this one left me wanting more! The ghost/thriller combo was addictive. Loved it and now I need to read the rest.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Book #22 in the excellent Charlie Parker series. When reading EVERY DEAD THING in 1999, who would have thought that Charlie Parker would survive all of the adventures John Connolly sends him on? But survive, thrive, and solve he does. In CHILDREN OF EVE, Charlie is hired to find a missing man. Charlie never works on anything as simple as a missing person. Wyatt Riggins, the missing person, is involved in the abduction of four children who are not who he thinks. His actions will lead Charlie to face killers who will stop at nothing to regain the children. Along the way, readers are swept into the dark consequences of Riggins' actions. With Charlie Parker and his team working to save him, there's a great chance he'll escape and live to tell the tale.

John Connolly's Charlie Parker series is the best series out there! I absolutely love his series. I wish it had more of the supernatural element in the books. This is another gripping tale in the Charlie Parker series, with a complex and mysterious plot. Connolly's writing is a strong as ever, and the book is very engrossing. I love that we get to read more about his daughter. This 22nd book in the series is filled with gruesome and exciting action. I will keep reading every single Charlie Parker book that John writes. I love them!!

Huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley!

A haunting and gripping narrative of violence and death that only John Connolly could do justice to. It holds onto you with every page and keeps you breathless for more.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this free copy of "The Children of Eve."

Let me just take a minute here to rave about the Charlie Parker series. I do a happy dance every time author Connolly releases a new book in the series or even hints that he's writing one.

This is without a doubt my favorite series, and I'm always amazed at how Connolly keeps the stories exciting, thrilling, suspenseful, and current. Yeah, they're violent and intense, but with the supernatural elements, they're unlike anything else I've ever read.

I'm not going to summarize the book for you, but I will tell you that I was so happy to finally get some answers on a plot line from several books ago. And there was an interesting development so I'm wondering how it might unfold in future books.

OK, I'm finished telling you that this series is amazing. I'm just thankful that Connolly has more Charlie Parker (and friends and family) stories to tell.

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.

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