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paws42's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
prodigalstudent's review
4.0
This is a standard Michael Connelly book with perhaps a few changes. One change being that Harry Bosch is dealing with 2 parallel cases instead of 1. The first, part of his part-time police job, deals with catching the screen cutter, a serial criminal, and the second, part of his private investigator job, deals with determining the heir of a billionaire. Since Connelly had to lay down the groundwork for both the cases, the first half of the book was a bit of a slow-burn and at times a slog. However, after the halfway point in the book, things started getting a lot more interesting. I also appreciated the fact that Connelly did not stretch the stories out by artificially holding out reveals. I also was pleasantly surprised by his characterization in this novel of both the titular character Bosch, and the secondary characters. They were not black-or-white, but complex and thus unpredictable. Overall, you got just what you expected out of a Michael Connelly Harry Bosch novel.
agnesperdita's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
paulabrandon's review against another edition
2.0
It's been a while since I've read a Michael Connelly book, but all the previous ones I have read by him were really good, so when I saw this in the local library, I thought I would revisit the series. What I got felt like a subpar episode of your standard police procedural TV show.
Harry Bosch is asked by ageing billionaire Whitney Vance to track down any possible heirs he might have to his fortune. He got a girl pregnant back in 1950 and family shame made him abandon the girl before she gave birth. This could be a potentially volatile case for Bosch, because when there are huge sums of money involved, people are capable of doing anything. Bosch is also working part-time for the San Fernando Police Department (for free), and he's involved in a case called the Screen Cutter rapist case. He must find time to work on both matters.
Having two plotlines is something I might expect from a Women's Murder Club book by James Patterson, or a dozen other (usually British) police procedural writers, but not from Michael Connelly. The two plotlines are completely unrelated, making this book feel almost as if it were written for the "Bosch" TV series on Amazon Prime, or any other crime procedural show on television. It was very disappointing.
Connelly is a good writer, so I can't accuse this of being a bad book per se, but it's just very dry and unremarkable. Neither plotline is all that complicated, so it was hard to invest in either of them. Indeed, it felt as if Connelly didn't have enough meat for either story, so he just threw them together. The search for Vance's heir storyline just held absolutely no urgency, and thus no suspense. The Screen Cutter rapist case was similarly too simple to generate much interest, mystery or suspense, and their identity was completely arbitrary because there were hardly any suspects. It also resulted in the entirely gratuitous that does nothing to serve the overall story.
My other big pet hate: endless, endless, endless descriptions of the routes Bosch takes to get places. Is this a thriller or a freaking street directory? It was ridiculous. I might have been bothered less if I hadn't been so bored and underwhelmed by the two opposing, under-cooked, completely separate storylines. Hopefully my next Connelly read is better than this!
Harry Bosch is asked by ageing billionaire Whitney Vance to track down any possible heirs he might have to his fortune. He got a girl pregnant back in 1950 and family shame made him abandon the girl before she gave birth. This could be a potentially volatile case for Bosch, because when there are huge sums of money involved, people are capable of doing anything. Bosch is also working part-time for the San Fernando Police Department (for free), and he's involved in a case called the Screen Cutter rapist case. He must find time to work on both matters.
Having two plotlines is something I might expect from a Women's Murder Club book by James Patterson, or a dozen other (usually British) police procedural writers, but not from Michael Connelly. The two plotlines are completely unrelated, making this book feel almost as if it were written for the "Bosch" TV series on Amazon Prime, or any other crime procedural show on television. It was very disappointing.
Connelly is a good writer, so I can't accuse this of being a bad book per se, but it's just very dry and unremarkable. Neither plotline is all that complicated, so it was hard to invest in either of them. Indeed, it felt as if Connelly didn't have enough meat for either story, so he just threw them together. The search for Vance's heir storyline just held absolutely no urgency, and thus no suspense. The Screen Cutter rapist case was similarly too simple to generate much interest, mystery or suspense, and their identity was completely arbitrary because there were hardly any suspects. It also resulted in the entirely gratuitous
Spoiler
rape of a major supporting female characterMy other big pet hate: endless, endless, endless descriptions of the routes Bosch takes to get places. Is this a thriller or a freaking street directory? It was ridiculous. I might have been bothered less if I hadn't been so bored and underwhelmed by the two opposing, under-cooked, completely separate storylines. Hopefully my next Connelly read is better than this!
eleyden's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I will never get enough of the Harry Bosch series. This book may be one of my favorites in the series. I loved the simultaneous cases and didn’t find it confusing to follow.
I immediately fell in love with Bella, Harry’s partner, and was worried about her at the end of the novel. I felt more invested in the Screen Cutter cause but probably because it was a crime against persons case.
I love whenever Mickey Haller is also involved in the books and was happy to see him in this one!
I immediately fell in love with Bella, Harry’s partner, and was worried about her at the end of the novel. I felt more invested in the Screen Cutter cause but probably because it was a crime against persons case.
I love whenever Mickey Haller is also involved in the books and was happy to see him in this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence and Violence
Minor: Rape
roseleaf24's review
5.0
If you haven't read Connelly's Bosch books before, do so now, just so you can get to this one. Definitely one of his best. For the most part, what I've said positively about Connelly's books in the past all applies here. One standout compliment to leave here, though, is the way that Connelly addresses critical issues by beautifully telling the difficult stories around them, but doesn't use them to make a political point. The heartbreaks for unwed mothers in the 1950s and the struggles of illegal immigration are both explored, but through deeply felt personal stories, not sound bites.
greaydean's review against another edition
4.0
I've dabbled in other mystery writers.
Every year Michael drops another gem.
He does a great job. He can handle multiple story lines.
He drops bits of realism without drenching the story in description.
Always a pleasure.
Every year Michael drops another gem.
He does a great job. He can handle multiple story lines.
He drops bits of realism without drenching the story in description.
Always a pleasure.
mattgorski's review
4.0
More of what I like about Bosch- I'm not yet tired of this character.
Good story about Bosch being hired as PI as he volunteers as a cold case detective post-retirement. Two cases that aren't related, but pull him in different directions as he tries to live by his code of always remembering the victims.
The first case, his PI case involves finding an heir to the founder of a huge multi-billion dollar company. Bosch fights greedy, unseen corporate types who are trying to get control of the company as the founder is dying.
The cold case might not be so cold as Bosch uncovers patterns with older assault case's with a current murder case.
Of course, the two cases end up coming together for Bosh as he races to save those close to him from danger and uncover and identify the bad guys.
I don't like all the LA geography lessons the Connelly uses here - he has always shown a detailed knowledge of the LA area, but this book seemed to go into directions and freeway travel even more than other books. MC does go into some nice detailed LA history that was nice to learn.
Good story about Bosch being hired as PI as he volunteers as a cold case detective post-retirement. Two cases that aren't related, but pull him in different directions as he tries to live by his code of always remembering the victims.
The first case, his PI case involves finding an heir to the founder of a huge multi-billion dollar company. Bosch fights greedy, unseen corporate types who are trying to get control of the company as the founder is dying.
The cold case might not be so cold as Bosch uncovers patterns with older assault case's with a current murder case.
Of course, the two cases end up coming together for Bosh as he races to save those close to him from danger and uncover and identify the bad guys.
I don't like all the LA geography lessons the Connelly uses here - he has always shown a detailed knowledge of the LA area, but this book seemed to go into directions and freeway travel even more than other books. MC does go into some nice detailed LA history that was nice to learn.