I’ve mentioned Christopher Moore in previous posts as an author I admire as a professional and whose work I enjoy. Mr. Moore occasionally updates his website with a list of books he recommends.  By the way, reviewing books can be an actual career — not just something you do on your blog to attract more readers. People who also love great books like this often enjoy earning masters degrees online.

John Connolly is an author Mr. Moore is excited about, one he compares favorably to other favorites of mine like Joe Lansdale and James Lee Burke. With such strong recommendation, I picked up Connolly’s first, Every Dead Thing.

I’m not excited about it, but I finished it and enjoyed the ride. However, the total value of the book was less than the sum of its parts. Connolly gave us a compelling narrator, and some brilliant turns of phrase….but the story was tepid and the “surprise ending” was obvious from a few chapters in.

On the other hand, it was Connolly’s first. It’s a good enough effort that I’ll be trying some later works to see how he has grown in the intervening decade. Every Dead Thing places #8 on my year of best books I read during this year, between Sandford’s Bad Blood and Lansdale’s Devil Red.