John Connolly Books In Order

Publication Order of The Book of Lost Things Books

Publication Order of Charlie Parker Books

Publication Order of Charlie Parker Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Nocturnes Books

Publication Order of Samuel Johnson vs. the Devil Books

Publication Order of Chronicles of the Invaders Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Bibliomysteries Books

Chronological Order of Bibliomysteries Books

Publication Order of Mysterious Profiles Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

John Connolly is an Irish author who mainly writes short stories and novels. He is best known as the author of the Charlie Parker series of private detective novels and the Samuel Johnson series of young adult novels. Connolly’s genres of books include crime fiction, horror fiction, science fiction, drama, and fantasy.

Connolly was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1968 on May 31. For his education, he attended Trinity College in Dublin where he earned his Bachelors of Arts. John then went Dublin City University where he earned his Masters in journalism. His education, background, and life experience positioned him in the direction of telling stories through novels and journalism.

The author had a wide variety of jobs including working as a barman, a waiter, a Harrods department store gofer in London and a local government official. During his time in these professions, he did not find the satisfaction that he was looking for and always kept writing in the back of his mind.

He would eventually go to write as a journalist for the Irish Times newspaper as a freelance journalist, but was ultimately frustrated with his career and began to work on his first novel in his spare time. That book would become Every Dead Thing, the first Charlie Parker book. That book would lead to his career as a novelist taking off. Despite his success as an author, John still contributes to the Irish Times Newspaper through his articles and he does interviews with other authors who are established.

His first novel, Every Dead Thing, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. Connolly would go on to win the 2000 Shamus Award for Best First Private Eye Novel. The Irish author was the first author from outside of the United States to win that award.

Many of Connolly’s works have been optioned for film and television adaptations. His short story, “The New Daughter”, was the first of his works to make it to the big screen. The film was released in 2009 and starred Kevin Costner, Ivana Baquero and Samantha Mathis.

Every Dead Thing is the first book in the Charlie Parker series. The series introduces readers to Charlie “Bird” Parker, a former NYPD detective who now finds himself on the verge of madness. His wife and young daughter were killed and the case has remained unsolved which has left him consumed by guilt and the desire for revenge. Parker is asked by his former partner to help find a missing girl which puts him into a dark world he never imagined, a world made by the serial killer responsible for the deaths that hurt him so badly. Parker ends up using himself as bait in a trap in Louisiana to try and stop the killer. In order to do so, he must seek a brutal confrontation with the Traveling Man.

The Charlie Parker series continues with Dark Hollow, the second book in the series. The story sees more drama for Charlie as he befriends a struggling mother and her child. Not long after, the mother turns up dead. Charlie seeks to investigate and his first suspect is the woman’s estranged husband. He’ll follow his trail to Maine where he soon notices a number of strange events that harken back to a group of unsolved murders from generations before. Those crimes were left unsolved and now Charlie must look for a connection between the cold cases and his current one.

Connolly is also the author of the Samuel Johnson series which begins with The Gates. The young adult novel introduces us to young Samuel Johnson and his dog, Boswell. He is a young man with initiative which leads him to going out trick-or-treating three days before Halloween, thinking he’s beating the rush. His plan leads him to witnessing something very strange that he had not intended to. The Abernathy family has been flirting with the underworld for fun, but end up doing something far worse: calling forth Satan from Hell. Their actions lead to a gap in the universe which brings the gates of Hell to their town. Now, it’ll be up to Samuel to harness the power of science, faith, and love to save the world.

Samuel Johnson returns in The Infernals. The book picks up after the events of the first book as an angry demon is looking for revenge on Samuel. He’ll get his chance when Samuel and Boswell are pulled through a portal into the dark realm, home of the Infernals. The evil beings think that they have him, but catching him won’t be easy. Samuel will get help from his demon friend Nurd as well as two policemen and an unlucky ice cream truck driver.

John Connolly also co-wrote The Chronicles of the Invaders Trilogy with his partner, Jennifer Ridyard. The first book in that series is called Conquest. In this world, the Earth is no longer ours and it is now being ruled by the Illyri, a ruthless alien species. However, humankind is not going down without a fight. Paul Kerr is one of the young Resistance leaders who is leading the fight against the invaders. The aliens are making their home here though and Syl Hellais is the first of the Illyri to be born on Earth. She is trapped inside her father’s stronghold, but she wishes to escape. When Syl turns sixteen, her life changes forever and she’ll become an enemy of her people when she saves the life of Paul Kerr. Now drawn together, these two may be the only hope to save the planet.

He is a standalone novel from John Connolly. This ambitious novel takes place in the Golden Age of Hollywood and paints a unique portrait of the legendary Laurel and Hardy. The lives of the two men end up becoming defined by one another as they build a relationship of tenderness and devotion to one another. Connolly’s novel is a testament to the redemptive power of love.