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.

Another fantastic chapter in the Charlie Parker series by John Connolly! The Children of Eve doesn't hold back, the "mother" is a force to be reckoned with and I wonder if we'll see her again. The connection between Jennifer and her father is strong and I wonder if I need to re-read the series, something has been forgotten by Charlie and Jennifer is trying to protect him... What was forgotten??! Also, what is with the dark angel, something worse?! The suspense in this one is high and well worth the read.

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.

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.