I hope I am not boring all you folks with my obsession with Michael Connelly. I do read other authors, I swear!
I think I am boring myself as well with my reading choices. I loaded myself with classics from the library last week to shake things up a bit and break the monotony. Yes, heavy-duty ones, and I am now just hoping that I will have the time to do justice to these massive tomes I have so ambitiously checked out.
Anyway, on to this review.
About the Book
This book is the second one in the Harry Bosch series.
And from the start of the book, it is undeniable 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 are lacking in writing. The book rambles where it should not 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 bring about troubling revelations about a good cop gone bad 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 Review
This is a good, solid book. However, it does not come close to some of the better books later in the series.
I liked the insights into Harry’s past and enjoyed 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 wish Harry had chosen someone livelier. All his girlfriends seem so intense and driven that the relationships seem heavy going.
All in all, a pleasant few reading hours, but nothing to write home about. If you start the series with this book, expect the later books to be 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
I hope you enjoy the series as much as I do!
