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clayjd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
marisa_thorne's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
marbles66's review against another edition
4.0
The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his female victims. Now with a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.
But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man-- an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.
So for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go-- the darkness of his own heart.
With The Concrete Blonde, Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has hit a whole new level in his career, creating a breathtaking thriller that thrusts you into a blistering courtroom battle-- and a desperate search for a sadistic killer.
Another good Harry Bosch novel
But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man-- an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.
So for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go-- the darkness of his own heart.
With The Concrete Blonde, Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has hit a whole new level in his career, creating a breathtaking thriller that thrusts you into a blistering courtroom battle-- and a desperate search for a sadistic killer.
Another good Harry Bosch novel
weaselweader's review against another edition
5.0
The Harry Bosch franchise just gets better and better!
Four years ago, Harry Bosch was part of a task force assigned to find a brutal sexual serial killer known as "The Dollmaker". In the course of following a hot lead, faced with one of those terrifying life-or-death decisions that all police officers fear may eventually come their way, Bosch was forced to use lethal force and shot a completely naked, unarmed Norman Church. Despite subsequent forensic investigation having proved that Church was "The Dollmaker" and an internal police investigation that cleared the night's work as a "good shooting", Bosch is now stunned to find himself in court as the defendant in a civil lawsuit alleging improprieties from improper entry to excessive use of police force seeking millions of dollars in punitive damages. What's even worse is that his inept city-appointed defense attorney is squared off against the awesome court experienced power of well-known civil rights attorney "Money" Chandler, who has yet to meet the stone that she couldn't squeeze blood out of!
During Bosch's trial the police department receives a note that discloses the location of a body buried in the concrete foundation of a burned out pool hall. The nature of the note and the state of the buried blonde corpse seem to suggest that "The Dollmaker", far from being dead, is in fact alive and well and continuing to kill with sadistic sexual abandon. Faced with the possibility that Norman Church never was "The Dollmaker" and that Bosch shot an innocent unarmed bystander who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, things are looking mighty bleak for the outcome of his trial. But - Bosch is Bosch, after all - and in the unwavering conviction that his actions that night were not only justified but completely correct, Bosch investigates the possibility of a copycat killer that he nicknames "The Follower". The hunt is on! If Bosch can't find the new killer before the jury begins deliberations on his trial, he'll almost certainly see the end of his career as a homicide detective in LAPD.
Michael Connelly is undoubtedly today's acknowledged master in the crafting of thrilling police procedural novels. And this provides the entrée, as it were, in THE CONCRETE BLONDE banquet. But Connelly serves up the gustatory delights of some cleverly conceived side dishes, aperitifs and deserts as well ... stirring courtroom drama, insight into the nature of internal police politics, a warmly realistic love story that exemplifies the difficulties and worries that must face the spouse of a police officer every single day of their lives, a down and dirty close up essay on the realities of the skin flick industry and, of course, a continuing character study on Hieronymus Bosch, who has to be one of the most interesting literary characters for whom pen was ever put to paper.
If there's any weakness in Connelly's Harry Bosch series yet, I certainly don't know what it might be! Highly recommended!
Paul Weiss
Four years ago, Harry Bosch was part of a task force assigned to find a brutal sexual serial killer known as "The Dollmaker". In the course of following a hot lead, faced with one of those terrifying life-or-death decisions that all police officers fear may eventually come their way, Bosch was forced to use lethal force and shot a completely naked, unarmed Norman Church. Despite subsequent forensic investigation having proved that Church was "The Dollmaker" and an internal police investigation that cleared the night's work as a "good shooting", Bosch is now stunned to find himself in court as the defendant in a civil lawsuit alleging improprieties from improper entry to excessive use of police force seeking millions of dollars in punitive damages. What's even worse is that his inept city-appointed defense attorney is squared off against the awesome court experienced power of well-known civil rights attorney "Money" Chandler, who has yet to meet the stone that she couldn't squeeze blood out of!
During Bosch's trial the police department receives a note that discloses the location of a body buried in the concrete foundation of a burned out pool hall. The nature of the note and the state of the buried blonde corpse seem to suggest that "The Dollmaker", far from being dead, is in fact alive and well and continuing to kill with sadistic sexual abandon. Faced with the possibility that Norman Church never was "The Dollmaker" and that Bosch shot an innocent unarmed bystander who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, things are looking mighty bleak for the outcome of his trial. But - Bosch is Bosch, after all - and in the unwavering conviction that his actions that night were not only justified but completely correct, Bosch investigates the possibility of a copycat killer that he nicknames "The Follower". The hunt is on! If Bosch can't find the new killer before the jury begins deliberations on his trial, he'll almost certainly see the end of his career as a homicide detective in LAPD.
Michael Connelly is undoubtedly today's acknowledged master in the crafting of thrilling police procedural novels. And this provides the entrée, as it were, in THE CONCRETE BLONDE banquet. But Connelly serves up the gustatory delights of some cleverly conceived side dishes, aperitifs and deserts as well ... stirring courtroom drama, insight into the nature of internal police politics, a warmly realistic love story that exemplifies the difficulties and worries that must face the spouse of a police officer every single day of their lives, a down and dirty close up essay on the realities of the skin flick industry and, of course, a continuing character study on Hieronymus Bosch, who has to be one of the most interesting literary characters for whom pen was ever put to paper.
If there's any weakness in Connelly's Harry Bosch series yet, I certainly don't know what it might be! Highly recommended!
Paul Weiss
climbingprofessor31's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
flawless1k's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
frankb12's review against another edition
4.0
Very good story with lots of twists surprises. Leaves you guessing till the very end as to who the bad guy was.
ashleylm's review against another edition
4.0
Very much a page-turner rather than a literary masterpiece, but despite being darker and more violent than is my ideal, I'm still drawn in rather than repelled. I'm sort of a tea-with-the-vicar person, so it's remarkable that the first book was about soldiers and a gang of bank robbers, the second was about drug smuggling, and the third about a serial killer, none of which particularly appeal, and yet I gobble them up like so much popcorn.
At a time when, while reading so many books, my reaction is "yawn, who cares, next one," this is fairly remarkable!
In case in the future I forget which one this is, it's the one where Bosch is being sued by the family of the fellow he shot (the shooting which had instigated his removal from his preferred department prior to the first book), and there are suspicions (not from Bosch!) that he shot the wrong man.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
At a time when, while reading so many books, my reaction is "yawn, who cares, next one," this is fairly remarkable!
In case in the future I forget which one this is, it's the one where Bosch is being sued by the family of the fellow he shot (the shooting which had instigated his removal from his preferred department prior to the first book), and there are suspicions (not from Bosch!) that he shot the wrong man.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)