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jonetta's review against another edition
4.0
Harry Bosch just gets better and better. This time he's having to see the department psychologist, suspended pending her evaluation of his suitability to return to work. Harry's earthquake damaged home has been condemned and he's surreptitiously investigating a cold case murder of someone who was close to him. It's a recipe for disaster.
This was a gnarly case with lots of players and potential suspects. I liked that each lead didn't necessarily take Harry down the right path, giving me an opportunity to develop my own scenarios. The twists, turns and jaw-dropping surprises had me riveted to the book. Dick Hill's narration, even with a few flubs, just works for me, too.
Another great installment in this series that has me wondering what's next for Harry. Still wild about him, imperfections and all.
This was a gnarly case with lots of players and potential suspects. I liked that each lead didn't necessarily take Harry down the right path, giving me an opportunity to develop my own scenarios. The twists, turns and jaw-dropping surprises had me riveted to the book. Dick Hill's narration, even with a few flubs, just works for me, too.
Another great installment in this series that has me wondering what's next for Harry. Still wild about him, imperfections and all.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
suburban_ennui's review against another edition
5.0
I've been a casual fan of Connelly's work for the last four or five years, generally dipping in to one of his novels after I've finished something a bit more "hefty". The Harry Bosch books are generally a pretty easy read - gripping, for the most part, and quick to get through. A few months ago I decided I may as well just read them all, and have been filling in the gaps in a chronological fashion. This, the fourth Harry Bosch book, is definitely the best of the dozen or so I've read, and we really get to see Harry on the edge, on involuntary stress leave, drinking and smoking too much, and opening up some deep old wounds. As usual, the plot involves some kind of conspiracy, and pits Harry against the LAPD powers-that-be. Yup, it's formulaic as hell, but, like the other Connelly novels, pretty unputdownable.
gritgirl's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cblunier's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
meoreyn's review against another edition
3.0
I am surprised that this is one of the most highly rated books in the series, to be honest (by a small margin, but still). If anything, I think that this is my least favorite of the bunch, up until now. I obviously don't hate it and it was a fun and quick listen that did what it set out to do, but some of the themes I found repetitive and I think the character work is not his best. Mainly, I get tired of Harry always being in a situation at work at the beginning of every book. Be it the Dollmaker case that haunts him, then the IA people that haunt him, and then The Dollmaker again for the third book (I am not saying more because I know some people do not read these in order), we didn't need a suspension-for-mystery-reasons at the beginning to be interested in the story. All I am saying is that a detective novel, even in a series, can start on a regular Tuesday following a regular Monday and still be good.
Harry's relationship with women is still not good and while I know it is an unsaid rule of the genre that your main character has to be more or less subtly misogynistic, I will still comment on it. I hated how the Sylvia plotline was handled, especially after the end of the last book. I like doctor Hinojos, but she is clearly just a device, a place for Harry to be introspective and thoughtful without this sensitive side of him being in the way of his normal, every day, manly self. The reporter is okay I guess, rounding up the number of POC girlbosses to 2, which is more woke than I expected, but at the end of the day, she is still just a cog in the investigative machine of Harry Bosch. And Jazz is just this universe's version of a manic pixie dream girl, there just to fulfill the romance quota of the novel, and I can't wait to see how they make her disappear in the subsequent books. Also, this is a PSA for Harry: you are allowed to just have sex with a girl you just randomly met, not every romantic encounter you have has to be deep and/or described as making love.
The mystery part of the book was good. It's nice to have closure on a thing you heard about since book 1, the police work was okay and the twist at the end was well executed. I sure would like Harry to be nice to at least one person who is actively helping him, against the rules and their better judgment, but that would make him too much of a good guy, I guess? I am sure that there has to be at least one Venn diagram in this world where the gruff-loner-detective circle and the a-dick-to-everyone-not-a-mildly-attractive-female circle don't completely overlap, but that's not the case here. Also, I would like a present-day investigation, not a cold case, in the next (or I guess next-next, given that the next novel is not about Bosch) installment. Oh, and I am a sucker for metaphor, so I quite liked the parts about the coyote.
Overall, a low 3 stars, but I am not listening to this for its literary merits, so it's a 3 star nonetheless.
Harry's relationship with women is still not good and while I know it is an unsaid rule of the genre that your main character has to be more or less subtly misogynistic, I will still comment on it. I hated how the Sylvia plotline was handled, especially after the end of the last book. I like doctor Hinojos, but she is clearly just a device, a place for Harry to be introspective and thoughtful without this sensitive side of him being in the way of his normal, every day, manly self. The reporter is okay I guess, rounding up the number of POC girlbosses to 2, which is more woke than I expected, but at the end of the day, she is still just a cog in the investigative machine of Harry Bosch. And Jazz is just this universe's version of a manic pixie dream girl, there just to fulfill the romance quota of the novel, and I can't wait to see how they make her disappear in the subsequent books. Also, this is a PSA for Harry: you are allowed to just have sex with a girl you just randomly met, not every romantic encounter you have has to be deep and/or described as making love.
The mystery part of the book was good. It's nice to have closure on a thing you heard about since book 1, the police work was okay and the twist at the end was well executed. I sure would like Harry to be nice to at least one person who is actively helping him, against the rules and their better judgment, but that would make him too much of a good guy, I guess? I am sure that there has to be at least one Venn diagram in this world where the gruff-loner-detective circle and the a-dick-to-everyone-not-a-mildly-attractive-female circle don't completely overlap, but that's not the case here. Also, I would like a present-day investigation, not a cold case, in the next (or I guess next-next, given that the next novel is not about Bosch) installment. Oh, and I am a sucker for metaphor, so I quite liked the parts about the coyote.
Overall, a low 3 stars, but I am not listening to this for its literary merits, so it's a 3 star nonetheless.
ankhamun's review against another edition
5.0
I very much enjoyed this story. This book was done so much better than the storyline in the tv show. It was kind of a shame to see how they botched what was a super compelling story about Harry finding the killer of his mother compared to how compelling it was in the book!
sbl661's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jennyrbaker's review against another edition
5.0
1) The Black Echo ★★★★★
2) The Black Ice ★★★★☆
3) The Concrete Blonde ★★★★☆
4) The Last Coyote ★★★★★
2) The Black Ice ★★★★☆
3) The Concrete Blonde ★★★★☆
4) The Last Coyote ★★★★★
tscompton's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a little slower and less interesting than the other three books I've read in the series but it was still a really good read. And if you're following Harry Bosch then it's worth the time to see where his life is going . . .