John Connolly Books in Order: Charlie Parker & Complete List

By Anna Marie CarrollThriller

If you’re looking for the John Connolly books in order, you’re probably most interested in Charlie Parker. I’ve included that complete series first, followed by Connolly’s fantasy, science-fiction, standalone, short-fiction, and nonfiction books.

The dates below use the first U.S. publication year when a U.S. edition is available. Original U.K. titles are included when they differ.

Jump to:

Charlie Parker Books

Charlie Parker is a former New York City police officer who becomes a private investigator after the murder of his wife and daughter. The cases begin as dark crime stories and gradually develop a stronger supernatural thread. Parker’s history, relationships, injuries, and conflicts carry from one book to the next.

I recommend reading the series in publication order the first time. The Dirty South is a prequel, but it works better after you already know Parker.

For the chronological order and a closer look at the connected novellas and stories, see my dedicated Charlie Parker books in order guide.

  1. Every Dead Thing (1999)
  2. Dark Hollow (2001)
  3. The Killing Kind (2001)
  4. The White Road (2003)
  5. The Black Angel (2005)
  6. The Unquiet (2007)
  7. The Reapers (2008)
  8. The Lovers (2009)
  9. The Whisperers (2010)
  10. The Burning Soul (2011)
  11. The Wrath of Angels (2013)
  12. The Wolf in Winter (2014)
  13. A Song of Shadows (2015)
  14. A Time of Torment (2016)
  15. A Game of Ghosts (2017)
  16. The Woman in the Woods (2018)
  17. A Book of Bones (2019)
  18. The Dirty South (2020) (Prequel)
  19. The Nameless Ones (2021)
  20. The Furies (2022) (Two short novels)
  21. The Instruments of Darkness (2024)
  22. The Children of Eve (2025)
  23. A River Red with Blood (2026)

The Reflecting Eye is a Charlie Parker novella included in Nocturnes. It takes place between The White Road and The Black Angel.

Bad Men is a standalone novel set in the wider Parker universe, so you’ll find it in the standalone section below. The five-part novella “The Fractured Atlas” in Night Music: Nocturnes, Vol. 2 also connects to the supernatural arc that continues through The Woman in the Woods and A Book of Bones.

Charlie Parker Novellas and Companion Books

  1. The Reflecting Eye (2005) (Novella in Nocturnes)
  2. Parker: A Miscellany (2016)
  3. Charlie Parker: A Mysterious Profile (2022)

Parker: A Miscellany includes commentary, music selections, and other material connected to the series. Charlie Parker: A Mysterious Profile is a nonfiction profile of the character rather than a new mystery.

Other John Connolly Series

The Book of Lost Things

The Lost Things books are dark fantasy novels with strong crossover appeal for adult and younger readers. They share a world shaped by stories, grief, memory, and the sometimes dangerous power of imagination. Read them in order.

  1. The Book of Lost Things (2006)
  2. The Land of Lost Things (2023)

Samuel Johnson vs. the Devil Books

Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, stumble into a comic battle involving demons, particle physics, and the gates of Hell. The books are funny, strange, and written for younger readers without talking down to them.

  1. The Gates (2011)
  2. The Infernals / Hell’s Bells (2012)
  3. The Creeps (2013)

Samuel returns in The Monks of Appalling Dreadfulness (2020), a short story set after the trilogy.

The Chronicles of the Invaders Books

John Connolly wrote the Chronicles of the Invaders with Jennifer Ridyard. The young adult science-fiction trilogy follows Syl, the first Illyri child born on Earth, and Paul, a human resistance fighter, as they uncover a threat behind the alien occupation. Read the trilogy in order.

  1. Conquest (2015)
  2. Empire (2016)
  3. Dominion (2017)

John Connolly Standalone Books

Bad Men combines crime and supernatural horror on an isolated Maine island. It stands on its own, though it shares the wider world of the Charlie Parker novels. he is a fictional portrait of Stan Laurel and is very different from Connolly’s crime fiction.

  1. Bad Men (2004)
  2. he (2018)
  3. The Castle (2027) (Forthcoming U.K. edition)

The Castle is a standalone mystery set against the political turmoil of the early 1970s. Its U.K. edition is scheduled for 2027.

John Connolly Short Story Collections and Novellas

Connolly’s shorter fiction ranges from ghost stories and literary fantasy to crime and supernatural horror. Several of the individual novellas were later collected, so you may already own them inside one of the larger volumes.

Short Story Collections

  1. Nocturnes (2005)
  2. Night Music: Nocturnes, Vol. 2 (2015)
  3. Night & Day (2024)

Nocturnes contains the Charlie Parker novella “The Reflecting Eye.” Night Music includes “The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository” and the expanded five-part version of “The Fractured Atlas.” Night & Day combines nine stories with a revised and expanded version of Connolly’s Horror Express monograph.

Individual Novellas and Stories

  1. “On the Anatomization of an Unknown Man (1637) by Frans Mier” (2008), first published in From the Republic of Conscience
  2. The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository / The Museum of Literary Souls (2013)
  3. The Wanderer in Unknown Realms (2013)
  4. “Holmes on the Range: A Tale of the Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository” (2015), collected in Night Music: Nocturnes, Vol. 2

The Wanderer in Unknown Realms became the opening section of “The Fractured Atlas” when the longer novella appeared in Night Music.

John Connolly Nonfiction

Connolly’s nonfiction covers crime writing, true crime, film history, and Irish genre fiction.

  1. Books to Die For (2012) (With Declan Burke)
  2. Filthy Rich (2016) (With James Patterson and Tim Malloy)
  3. Horror Express (2018)
  4. Shadow Voices (2021)

Books to Die For brings together crime writers discussing the mystery novels that mattered most to them. Filthy Rich examines Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, his earlier conviction, the treatment he received from the justice system, and the experiences of his victims. Horror Express looks at the 1972 film and the memories and interests it sparked for Connolly. Shadow Voices combines literary history with stories from Irish genre writers.

Selected Anthology and Essay Contributions

Connolly has also contributed stories, essays, character profiles, and chapters to collaborative books and periodicals. The entry beside each title identifies his contribution when it’s especially useful.

  1. Like a Charm (2004), contains “The Inkpot Monkey”
  2. Moments (2005), contains “The Cycle,” published as Laura Froom
  3. Dangerous Women (2005), contains “Mr. Gray’s Folly”
  4. Downturn Tales: Stay-Up-All-Night Stories from Your Favorite Bestselling Authors (2008), contains “A Haunting”
  5. Dark Delicacies III: Haunted (2009)
  6. The Lineup (2009), includes a Charlie Parker profile
  7. The New Dead (2010), contains “Lazarus”
  8. From the Republic of Conscience (2010), contains “On the Anatomization of an Unknown Man (1637) by Frans Mier”
  9. Down These Green Streets (2011) (Essay contribution)
  10. Cinema Futura (2011) (Essay contribution)
  11. A Carnivale of Horror (2012)
  12. Inherit the Dead (2013) (Collaborative novel)
  13. Oxcrimes (2014)
  14. Black Static Issue 47 (2015) (Magazine issue)
  15. Once Upon a Place (2015)
  16. Trouble Is Our Business (2016)
  17. Echoes of Sherlock Holmes (2016)
  18. Exit Wounds (2019)
  19. First Edition (2020)
  20. Daggers Drawn (2021)

Who is John Connolly?

John Connolly is an Irish author of crime, supernatural, fantasy, and science-fiction books. Before writing full time, he worked in local government, hospitality, retail, and journalism.

He studied English at Trinity College Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University. He then spent several years working as a freelance journalist for The Irish Times while writing his first novel.

Every Dead Thing introduced Charlie Parker in 1999 and won the 2000 Shamus Award for Best First P.I. Novel. Connolly was the first writer from outside the United States to win that award. His work has since expanded well beyond Parker to dark fantasy, comic horror, young adult science fiction, historical fiction, short stories, and nonfiction.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more thriller authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Thriller Books in Order index.

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