The Dirty South

A Thriler

By: John Connolly

Narrated by: Jeff Harding

“Connolly’s slam-bang thriller is studded with memorable characters and boasts cliffhangers within cliffhangers.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Brilliant...Connolly is writing at the top of his game.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

The New York Times bestselling author of A Book of Bones and “one of the best thriller writers we have” (Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author) goes back to the very beginning of Private Investigator Charlie Parker’s astonishing career with his first terrifying case.

It is 1997, and someone is slaughtering young women in Burdon County, Arkansas.

But no one in the Dirty South wants to admit it.

In an Arkansas jail cell sits a former NYPD detective, stricken by grief. He is mourning the death of his wife and child, and searching in vain for their killer. Obsessed with avenging his lost family, his life is about to take a shocking turn.

Witness the dawning of a conscience.

Witness the birth of a hunter.

Witness the becoming of Charlie Parker.

Critic reviews

"Mix an excellent story with great characters, and then add audiobook narrator Jeff Harding, who provides a pitch-perfect narration, and it is easy to see why the latest Charlie Parker mystery is so entertaining. . . . Connolly is a master of dialogue, as is Harding, who uses accents and tone to define each character. Harding's rough voice is an ideal complement to the gruff nature of the area's residents. The result is a wonderful, fast-paced audiobook."

Charlie Parker origin

Fun story for the beginning of Bird’s journey, missed some of the more complicated events in the more recent books, but I still enjoyed it.

Excellent read

Sophisticated plot with realistic characters. Dialogue is intelligent & witty. I laughed out loud more than once!

Ok story but...

I found myself losing track of the characters. But my biggest issue was with the narrator. It was like listening to Walter Cronkite read the news.

Love the book

Another great story, with a great narration, 5 stars all around, look forward to the next novel.

good story

a mystery about a killer of young girls with a lot of surprising outcomes. I enjoyed it.

Maybe a “trunk” novel? Regardless, ignore the negative reviews

I love the Parker series and The Dirty South is another excellent entry into the dark, dangerous, and often mildly comic world of Charlie Parker. This novel is not part of the ongoing narrative and saga, and that’s why I wonder if it might have been written previously as almost an aside, and then released at this time. The racial themes are relevant in 2020. Regardless, the classic Parker vibes are here, and it’s a great small-town PI tale. Also — any time you get a dose of Angel and Louis, it’s a win.

Interesting plot. A little slow at times.

Thought that reviews were enough for me to read this book. Although a little slow at times, I kept listening. Sometimes I had to repeat chapters, but overall I enjoyed this book.

Good read.

Well put together easy to follow. Good plot but kind of typical murder suspense drama I still liked it. A good who done it book with a good plot twist at the end.

john's best work

color, color, color in a great way. you don't have to have been following charlie parker like I have for years and years to keep up. great work and wish it went on and on.

Best Dialogue Yet

A pretty gripping story. Harding is the best a narrating Charlie Parker novels. No one does Angel and Louie better. Because of this, I would have liked to have these two characters be a bigger part of the story, but I get that they wouldn’t have fit larger into the local Cargill premise. Connolly has really fine tuned his characters with some of the best and sometimes funniest lines yet. Definitely worth a listen or read.