Tag Archives: Michael Connelly

My First Tag of 2010

My reading efforts and my life in general has been pretty lacklustre of late. Nothing eventful to blog about. Couple of weeks back, the snubnose was down with pneumonia. In the ensuing worry, leave from office, and so on, I have had to do some massive catch-up with work, and it is not over yet.

I have also had to ~~slow down~~ completely halt my reading of Bleak House. I stopped reading when the snubnose fell ill, and I have just not been motivated enough to pick it up (or even any other book) again. Strange for me! I must really be feeling the blues…

Anyway, I saw this interesting meme on Mae’s blog, and I liked the questions enough to take part myself. So, without much ado, here we go:

Favorite childhood book?
If it was early childhood, I would agree with Mae and list The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. By the time I was ten though, I was headlong in love with Robert Louis Stevenson … in particular Treasure Island and Black Arrow.
What are you reading right now?
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
What books do you have on request at the library?
None
Bad book habit?
Spilling food/water/tea on my books. I always munch when I read.
What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Bleak House by Charles Dickens, and Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. I am on a classics kick now.
Do you have an e-reader?
I have an iPad, and I do use iBooks for reading.
Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?Strictly one book at a time.
Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I pay more attention to the book, I think…I note down sections that I like. I make the effort to check up certain facts mentioned in the book to see how accurate they are. Basically, blogging has made me a more conscientious reader…or that’s what I’d like to think .
Least favorite book you read this year (so far)?
That’s easy…Witch & Wizard by James Patterson
Favorite book you’ve read this year?
The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky comes close, but I have to admit that my favorite book was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. I love books with dogs.
How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
A lot. I love variety when it comes to books.
What is your reading comfort zone?
There are some authors – unfortunately most of them dead who always do it for me. My favorite authors I turn to are Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, and Victoria Holt (gothic romances). Generally, any well-written mystery with a dash of romance will do the trick for me.Of the living authors, I think Sophie Kinsella is creeping up on me.
Can you read on the bus?
Nope…not on bus, train, airplane…nothing. I tend to fall asleep when the vehicle is in motion.
Favorite place to read?
Sofa
What is your policy on book lending?
I have no problems with it…no problems when it is not returned either…I just go ahead and buy a new copy if it is a book I particularly like. I generally bargain hunt a lot while book shopping, so monetarily also it’s not a huge loss.
Do you ever dog-ear books?
All the time. I am not precious with books ever…my dad keeps complaining about how he knows exactly which books in his massive collection that I have read just by the number of dog-ears!
Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Never…my dad would kill me if I ever did that.
Not even with text books?
OK, that I do…
What is your favorite language to read in?
English. I can read Hindi and French, but it’s really a struggle. I’d just cave in and read a really good translation. I do wish that I could read Bengali. Kal’s blog with its frequent references to Tagore’s poetry and books makes me wish that I could read them in the original language. Our Indian languages are extremely rich…something always gets lost while translating into English.
What makes you love a book?
It’s really hard for me to say. I think the plot must be interesting enough to span the length of the book. Some books lose out when they are needlessly long, while other books end rather abruptly. I think a well-plotted, and well-edited book regardless of the genre will always win with me. I’m being rather vague with this answer, but that’s how best I can explain it.
What will inspire you to recommend a book?
In person, I rarely recommend books. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, and I believe that strongly. Mostly friends read my blog for recommendations. Also, in real life…very few of my friends are bookish.I do sometimes recommend books to my mom, though
Favorite genre?
Thrillers and Fantasy
Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Non-fiction, philosophy
Favorite biography?
Nothing in particular comes to mind. There was a mad phase when I read a bunch of stuff on the life of Marilyn Monroe. I outgrew that pretty fast. I am not very much into biographies in general.
Have you ever read a self-help book?
Ah, no…I read strictly for pleasure, not to improve myself ;. Also, some of the more obnoxious people I know are heavily into the self-help style of reading, so I have always felt self-books are rather dangerous . Plus, I am really not that interested in knowing who moved my cheese
Favorite cookbook?
Nah…I just filch recipes off from the internet or from my favorite cooking blogs. Not that I ever actually cook them . They are just saved up for the time when I retire and have all the time in the world to really cook, rather than the 20-minute slap dash fare I make now.
Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?Inspirational? Nothing this year. Last year, I read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and felt very inspired by the strength of the two women protagonists.
Favorite reading snack?Chocolates
Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I won’t say my reading experience was ruined. Ruined is too strong a word. I will just say that I did not enjoy The Swan Thieves as much as I expected to. I don’t think the book really lived up to the hype. Not that it’s a bad book…but just overhyped. I also think the Inkworld series by Cornelia Funke was way overhyped.
How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I don’t always agree, but I like and respect the different perspectives that people bring to a book review
How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
If it’s a book I bought or borrowed, I don’t have a problem with negative reviews at all. I do struggle though when authors/publishers give me bad/mediocre books to review. Then I really struggle .
If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
There are so many. I would choose French because how awesome would it be to read Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas in French. But, I would also choose Bengali for its rich regional literature, and Tamil – also rich in local literature, and it’s my native tongue and I can’t read it. Shame on me!!!
Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Mason and Dixon by Thomas Pynchon. Indecipherable and BORING. The fact that I finished it is a true tribute to my will-power and persistence.
Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Nothing really. I don’t get intimidated…I start off and then get stuck.
Favorite Poet?
Edgar Allan Poe
How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
4 because that’s my library’s limit.
How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Hardly ever. I’m persistent, remember .
Favorite fictional character?
Current faves are Harry Bosch – the detective from the Michael Connelly series, and Vish Puri – the detective in the Tarquin Hall books.
Favorite fictional villain?
Long John Silver from Treasure Island. Also Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair.
Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
A book based on the place I am going to. Or, at least as close as it gets.
The longest I’ve gone without reading.
I did neglect reading during my school board exams – for about 2 years, I read nothing but textbooks. During my college years, I partied a lot and read very little. That’s the only time I can remember when books took a back seat in my life.
Name a book that you could/would not finish.
War and Peace is a book I never managed to even get halfway through, forget about finishing. I hope Bleak House does not end up in this category!
What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Nothing, really. I tend to get engrossed. My family members get really annoyed sometimes.
Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Lord of the Rings, and Silence of the Lambs. Generally, most thrillers make good movies as well.
Most disappointing film adaptation?
The Harry Potter movies – especially the later ones seemed to miss a lot of the richness and wonder of the books.
The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
I’m quite thrifty when it comes to book buying. Mostly second-hand for me. I don’t think I have ever spent more than Rs.1000/- at any given time.
How often do you skim a book before reading it?
I don’t skim. I just go ahead and read.
What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Usually, if something much more attention-grabbing happens in real life, and I end up having to stop reading, or if it is blah, blah, blah like War and Peace.
Do you like to keep your books organized?
Yes, Organizing my book shelf is actually a comforting activity for me. Though, I always end up leaving it half-finished and starting on some book that has caught my interest there
Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I would keep some – the ones I loved, the author-signed ones, etc. The others I wouldn’t mind giving away.
Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
I am avoiding books 2 and 3 of the Stieg Larsson series and the Hunger Games trilogy. I want to take my time and read those books long after the blogosphere chatter has died down, and I am no longer as influenced by the hype.
Name a book that made you angry.
I think the sloppy writing on The Dangerous Days of Daniel X made me very angry. My book review also reflects that I think
A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
I expect to like most books, that’s why I read them
A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
I know I am flogging a dead horse here, but I really expected to like Twilight and the rest of the books in the series. I find vampire fiction fun as a rule, but these books were damp squibs.
Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
Agatha Christie, Georgette Heyer, Victoria Holt

Whew! I finally finished this meme. Anybody else want to take it up? Go on, do it, and then link to me after

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The Black Ice – A Book Review

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The Black Ice by Michael Connelly

I hope I am not boring all you folks with my obsession with Michael Connelly. I do read other authors, I swear!

In fact, I think I am boring myself as well with my reading choices. To shake things up a bit and break the monotony, I loaded myself with classics from the library last week. Yes, heavy duty ones, and I am now just hoping that I will have the time to really do justice to these massive tomes I have so ambitiously checked out.

Anyway on to this review.

What is The Black Ice all About:

This book is the second one in the Harry Bosch series.

And from the start of the book, it is very obvious that the writer is just feeling his way through the character of Harry Bosch and the direction this series is going to take.

There is nothing specific I can point out. However, a certain self-assuredness and confidence is lacking in the writing. The book rambles where it should not ramble and tightens up when the reader longs for more description or explanation.

The plot itself is vintage Connelly. A narcotics cop is found dead with his head blown off in a seedy hotel – an apparent suicide. Soon, it becomes clear that this suicide is anything but apparent. Investigations into the dead man’s past brings about troubling revelations about a good cop gone wrong, and a wounded man obsessed with his past.

Harry Bosch in charge of a separate murder investigation finds that the trail of his murderer leads to the dead man and his past.

The investigation then moves to Mexico, and a drug lord there, before ending in an exciting shootout, and a twist in the tale.

My Thoughts: This is a good, solid book. However, it does not come close to some of the better books that come later on in the series.

I did like the insights into Harry’s past, and liked reading about the beginning of his relationship with Sylvia Moore – the dead cop’s widow. She makes regular appearances in a couple of other books (The Concrete Blonde, for example). She seems a nice person, but I really wish that Harry chose someone livelier. All his girlfriends seem to be so intense and driven that the relationships seem really heavy going.

All in all, a pleasant few reading hours, but nothing to write home about. If you are starting the series with this book, expect the later books to me more fast-paced with taut plotlines.

Btw, if you are curious about the order of the Harry Bosch series, here it is:

The Black Echo
The Black Ice
The Concrete Blonde
The Last Coyote
Trunk Music
Angels Flight
A Darkness More Than Night
City Of Bones
Lost Light
The Narrows
The Closers
Echo Park
The Overlook
9 Dragons

Enjoy

The Lincoln Lawyer – A Book Review

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The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

Mickey Haller is The Lincoln Lawyer, a Los Angeles defense attorney who does most of his work out of the back of his chauffeured Lincoln Town Car. Mickey approaches his job knowing that the law has nothing to do with truth and justice or guilt and innocence. Instead it’s a system to be worked to find a way to get his clients off and make a nice payday in the process.

It didn’t matter…whether the defendant ‘did it’ or not. What mattered was the evidence against him–the proof–and if and how it could be neutralized. My job was to bury the proof, to color the proof a shade of gray. Gray was the color of reasonable doubt.

When he’s hired to defend a spoiled playboy against a charge of attempted murder of an escort, Mickey takes it knowing the rich kid will pay handsomely. As he investigates the case, it appears that his rich client could be one of those rare cases – that of an innocent man, or he could be evil personified. Which one is he? Mickey Haller is always afraid of defending the innocent man. He is afraid that he can no longer recognize the signs of innocence, and that he always assumes that his clients are all guilty.

What appears to be a simple straight-forward case suddenly gets complicated by murder, and now Mickey Haller finds himself fighting for justice, and safety for himself and his family.

My Review

People who read my blog know I am a huge, huge fan of Michael Connelly’s books. I literally need to stop myself from reading all his books continuously. What if I finished them all off, and he retired or something?? . Seriously speaking, as far as I’m concerned Connelly is the tops when it comes to modern-day mystery/thriller writing.

In this book, he has created an amazing character in Mickey Haller. Mickey Haller is an LA lawyer, but that does not mean he is a glitzy, Hollywood kind of player. No, he is a pretty much low-level lawyer always concerned with making his house payments on time. His clients are mostly from the wrong side of the tracks. To identify with them, Mickey listens to tough LA rapsters like Tupac, Biggie Smalls, and Ludacris. In fact, if you wanted to associate a book with music like Alita so often does, then To Live and Die in LA by Tupac Shakur would be the most apt song.

The pace and plotting of the novel is near-perfect. There is not much mystery as such though. By the middle of the book, we know who the killer is; the real thrills in the book are the courtroom hi-jinks, and the arguments between the prosecution and the defense. So, this book is much more of a legal thriller on the lines of John Grisham’s books.

I confess that I enjoyed this more than The Firm, which is high praise indeed.

The Poet – A Book Review

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The Poet by Michael Connelly

This is the year of thrillers, it seems. Last year, I read lots of young adult and fantasy, but this is the year of thrillers, and here is one more that I am reviewing for you guys.

I spent last night wide awake compulsively turning the last 100 odd pages of The Poet by Michael Connelly, and I can’t say enough good things about how well the book made that lack of sleep all worthwhile.

The book starts off with the following sentence:

Death is my beat. I forge my professional reputation from it. I treat it with the passion and precision of an undertaker – somber and sympathetic about it when I am with bereaved, a skilled craftsman with it when I’m alone. I’ve always thought the secret of death was to keep it at arm’s length. That’s the rule. Don’t let it breathe in your face.

The above sentence is how professional crime reporter Jake McEvoy introduces himself and his profession – a crime reporter.

He finds himself at odds with the above philosophy when his twin brother Homicide Detective Sean McEvoy is found ostensibly to have committed suicide. Although initially, Jake believes this version of events, while writing an article on police suicides for his newspaper, he stumbles across startling evidence that his brother might have been murdered, and that there might be a serial killer operating successfully across the country.

He goes to the FBI with this story, and soon a nationwide manhunt begins for a serial killer dubbed as the Poet. He is called the Poet because of his habit of leaving behind snippets of Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry as the dead cop’s supposed suicide note.

The rest of the story moves quickly at breakneck pace, finally ending in a thrilling climax.

My Review:

I am a big Michael Connelly fan and am completely surprised that I had not read this early novel written by him – set in the mid 90s. It’s a shame really that I have waited this long to read this one. The reason being that many other thriller writers seem to have derived considerable inspiration from certain aspects of this story. And having read all these derivative novels, The Poet did not have as much impact on me as it could have had if I had been somewhat less exposed.

That said, he is easily one of the masters in this genre. And in spite of the datedness of this book (sections of the book describe digital cameras as a completely new technology), I still enjoyed and relished every bit of it.

One reason being the amazing way Poe’s poetry has been integrated into this book. I love Poe’s writing so when I recognized snippets of Poe’s For Annie as part of a suicide note, I was sold –

And the fever called “Living”
Is conquered at last.

How chilling to read that one liner as a suicide note!

Another reason why I like this book is the characterization of the Poet. This man is the stuff of nightmares, literally a monster walking amongst us preying on the unwary. Although, he is completely real, there is an almost other-wordly aura about the man, and his ability to commit murders and escape notice. Jake after a brutal final encounter with the Poet talks about looking into his eyes, which were a pool of darkness with the fires of pure-evil…something like that…I can’t remember exactly the way it was written, but when read at 3:00 in AM, it definitely sent shivers up my spine.

All raves aside, I don’t think this book is for everyone. People who do not like gruesome murders should not be reading this. In addition, the many insights into the killer’s mind are extremely disturbing especially the paedophile-related details. We all know that these people exist, but reading a book where the killer’s sick needs are openly discussed was very disturbing in the least.

It really made me wonder how safe we and our kids are…we presume our playgrounds and schools are safe, but could there be people out there looking on from outside wondering how/when to take advantage. I know that I will be much more alert than I currently am with regard to the safety and security of the snubnose.

That said…I loved this book

Note: I am including this as the first book in the Orbis Terrarum reading challenge (USA).

The Pleasures of Rereading

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So, I have been a bit distracted from blogging this past week or so. The times, they have been busy! At such times when I am swamped with work and totally stressed to boot, I would love to unwind with a good book. However, I rarely am able to focus and pay attention to books; let alone be able to blog about them afterward.

At these times, rereads come in useful. I just pick up something that I remember knowing and liking, but without actually remembering the plot in detail. I am particularly fond of thrillers/science fiction, because these were books that I devoured when I was in school and college. And unfortunately, I rarely find good books in either genre these days.

Last week, I picked up these books from Eloor Library:

The Concrete Blonde – a police procedural / crime thriller novel from Michael Connelly, and
The Andromeda Strain – Michael Crichton

The Concrete Blonde is one in a series of books featuring Harry Bosch – a detective working in the LAPD. His personal motto is: Everybody counts or nobody counts. His most defining character trait, it describes his motivation to find the truth in any case, no matter where the investigation leads, and no matter the nature of the victim and the circumstances.

I picked up The Concrete Blonde because Michael Connelly has a couple of new books out and I have been craving for a dose of Harry Bosch. I have been reading excellent reviews for 9 Dragons (one of them here), but since I could not get the book (and also because I know I am not in the frame of mind to enjoy it), I picked up an older classic book in the series.

And, it was every bit as excellent as I remembered it. Because this series of books is so character-driven and because Harry Bosch is such a strong and intense person, these books make quite friendly rereads. They are also tightly-written stories with great plot twists, without being overly clever or brutal. Not too many thrillers can boast of that.

The Andromeda Strain on the other hand was a huge disappointment. I remember reading this book in my teens and thinking wow, this is terrific. Unfortunately, that feeling does not hold up on second reading.

The book’s concept seems promising. An unmanned mission to outer space returns to Earth infected with some deadly bacteria. Scientists need to gather and figure out how to isolate and contain the spread of the bacteria and the infection. Michael Crichton has used a similar premise successfully in later books. Unfortunately, here it falls flat.

The book reads very outdated; especially some of the computer technology parts. I usually find scientific details in books interesting, but the manner of writing and the writer’s gaps in knowledge showed through here. Still a reasonably quick if slightly distracted read.

This week, I am going to be reading some more light books. A little Sookie probably, and one chick-lit romance that so far is a feel-good read.

I do have one mammoth chunkster which I have ambitiously borrowed from the library, with a solemn promise to return it within 2 weeks.

Let’s see how much I end up paying in fines

I think it’s worth it though, because this chunkster has had a lot of good reviews, and I really wanted to pick it up before someone else got a hold of this copy!!

The Good Guy – A Book Review

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The Good Guy

Always on the prowl for a good suspense thriller writer ala John Sandford or Michael Connelly, I stumbled onto Dean Koontz, and took a chance on “The Good Guy”.

Dean Koontz is not a new author, he has been writing consistently since the late 1970s. It is just that I have not really registered him on my radar much. When I picked up this book, it was in the hope that it would introduce me to a whole new series of great thrillers.
Well, “The Good Guy” is a decent book, but still somewhat disappointing.

The premise of the story is as follows:

Tim Carrier (the protagonist) is a loner who frequents a bar most evenings. One night, a case of mistaken identity leads him to discover that a woman (Linda Paquette) who he’s never met is the target of a hit or contract. He has a choice: Stay out of it, or help the poor girl. He decides to help her and before he knows it, they have fallen in love and the two of them are forced to go on the run from a psychopathic killer.

The idea seems good, but the characters are pretty bland. The hero and the heroine are practically caricatures; they fall in love pretty much on first sight, and get along so well even in really stressful situations. In addition, both their backgrounds are pretty mysterious (why is the assassin after Linda? How does Tim know so much about self-defence), however, when their secrets are revealed, it turns out to be a damp squib.

The really interesting character is the psychopathic assassin (Krait), who is a homeless guy who does not remember anything about his life prior to 18 years. He fantasizes that he has come from a “Mirror” world and that he does not belong in this world (lot of references to “Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll here). He also seems quite literary and quotes a lot of poetry. However, his character is not fleshed out beyond this, and although I was very curious to learn about his background, the author has chosen to keep him a mystery. Very disappointing!

I was also curious as to the reason why the assassin was after Linda. Who is the person who had paid him to kill her, and why? However, this aspect was also disappointing. The reason was too bizarre and unbelievable, and turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for me.

This book is decent enough for an airport/train read. But, if you want real thrills and chills, look elsewhere. This book was just too tame for me.

Readers of Dean Koontz/thriller buffs, do you think I should continue trying other novels of his? Are they all pretty much the same, or did I just happen to stumble onto a boring one? Which books would you recommend? What are your favorite thrillers/thriller writers?

Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva – Book Review

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I am a big fan of thrillers, in particular if there is any serialization involved (a single character appearing in multiple novels – and there is a particular order in which the books should ideally be read).

Some authors and their series thrillers that I enjoy are :

Sue Grafton – The Kinsey Millhone Alphabet series
Michael Connelly – The Hieronymus Bosch series
John Sandford – The Prey series
Patricia Cornwell – The Kay Scarpetta series (the first few novels only)

Since, most of these series are coming close to an end (or more accurately I am reading them faster than the writer can produce them), I have been on the lookout for other such novels…

One that I read recently is Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva.

Moscow Rules

The protagonist is Gabriel Allon – an art restorer turned secret servant agent who works for the Israeli government. He is put in charge of tracking illegal arms sales to Al-Qaeda by a Russian arms dealer.

The plot moves quickly and has a lot of action. However, some points really brought the tone of the book down.

Stuff I didn’t like :

The agents are able to get assistance from US, UK, and France so easily, that it is simply unbelievable. Just does not seem remotely realistic.
Gabriel Allon is able to escape twice from the hands of the Russian goons twice ! just because of pure dumb luck. In the climax, things are looking exceedingly black for him. But for the help of a would-be Russian defector who rescues him and helps him get out of Russia, he would have been tortured and killed. I would have liked the novel much better if he had been able to get out because of his own ingenuity.
The climax is crap (as you might have guessed from the above point). Happy endings all around – even the villain does not die. He continues to live in luxury in Russia accompanied by a supermodel.

However, in spite of these issues, the book is not all bad. Decent timepass, and I wouldn’t mind trying another one from the series before I pass a value judgement on the entire lot.