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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
More like a 3.5. Ate this up like candy and felt somewhat similar afterwards--not quite as satisfied as I would have liked. Connelly is a strong writer and I almost always enjoy Harry Bosch's stories. I'd say this was stronger than the last few Bosch stories, but Connelly's strengths are starting to feel just a little formulaic. Some formula is necessary and I even like it, but when Bosch inevitably takes off on his own (not really a spoiler; he does it in every book), I felt just a tiny bit weary.
Fantastic story as I have come to expect from this series.
Not my favorite of Connelly's, but still a good read.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I hadn't read a Harry Bosch for a while - really good to be back. This one had Harry solving a 20 year old crime that seemed gang related, but turned out otherwise. At the same time, Harry was being investigated by Internal Affairs. Typical, wonderful Harry.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
For some reason, I really love the Cold Cases...and how Harry Bosch's mind works.
In this story, Bosch is shown as the outsider, again...and further exacerbated by his contentious relationship with his boss, O'Toole.
I love that Harry has people he's able to reach out to, even though some of them are ex-lovers. I also love the fact that he knows that, in this case, the person told the other person, that he's a shit magnet of sorts.
He's still paired with Det. David Chu, and I think that he's starting to respect this younger detective, for he's trying harder to keep him "in the loop", but it's still contentious.
Love his relationship with his daughter, Maddie. Loving the age progression, for she's now becoming a fuller character, which is pushing Harry into new territory, that makes him understand that he'll have to change to allow Mads, more and more into his life.
This was a great story, and I'm glad that I read it...immediately after the previous book. BUT, I do think...that I might have rated it harsher, because of how much I loved the previous story. Oh, well.
In this story, Bosch is shown as the outsider, again...and further exacerbated by his contentious relationship with his boss, O'Toole.
I love that Harry has people he's able to reach out to, even though some of them are ex-lovers. I also love the fact that he knows that, in this case, the person told the other person, that he's a shit magnet of sorts.
He's still paired with Det. David Chu, and I think that he's starting to respect this younger detective, for he's trying harder to keep him "in the loop", but it's still contentious.
Love his relationship with his daughter, Maddie. Loving the age progression, for she's now becoming a fuller character, which is pushing Harry into new territory, that makes him understand that he'll have to change to allow Mads, more and more into his life.
This was a great story, and I'm glad that I read it...immediately after the previous book. BUT, I do think...that I might have rated it harsher, because of how much I loved the previous story. Oh, well.
Reviewed first at Brunner's Bookshelf
Anyone who reads my blog knows that I have been on a mad rush to catch up on all of the Michael Connelly books I have missed. I’m going to be really bummed when I finally catch up because I have read some amazing books in the last month. Black Box opens with the LA Riots in 1992, a topic that has been referenced a few times in the Bosch series. Bosch is called out to try and help anyway he can because the police are horribly outnumbered. While bouncing from homicides he comes across the death of a photographer and begins to investigate the case. Something about this one sticks with him and he wants to find out what happened, but then he is taken off of it and the case goes to the Riot division. It never gets solved.
20 years later Bosch links a bullet from a recent case to the death of this photographer. Finally he can try to close this after all these years. I guess I expected more form this book. The other Bosch novels I had read recently like The Drop were really good. I think my problem is that since this book came out in 2012 I have heard nothing but rave reviews about it. Critics and publishers couldn’t talk about this book enough. Normally I don’t put any stock in those reviews but Connelly hasn’t let me down yet so I guess I really got my hopes up. I liked it but it wasn’t my favorite of the series.
The reason I didn’t care for this was that I felt there were big chunks of the book that were a little slow. I had a hard time staying focused on what I was reading a little and found excuses to do something else. This never happens with one of Connelly’s books which seems to make it even worse. Have you ever read one of your favorite authors and been made at yourself for not enjoying the book like you feel you should?
Black Box may have been slow at times but I wasn’t necessarily disappointed so don’t think this will be a negative review. The end of this book did pick up quite a bit and I enjoyed the last quarter of it. I also really like Bosch as a character; the little interludes about his daughter and life outside of the force are really enjoyable. I just couldn’t get into this case.
I felt the book was written very well and the problem wasn’t with how it read just with keeping my attention. It’s kind of hard to describe exactly how I feel about this book. I want to give it 4 stars because I love Connelly as an author and Bosch is one of my favorite characters to read. However, the story was just not up to the standards I am used to. The Mickey Haller books are about trial law and those can lose me from time to time because that subject isn’t my taste but even those I felt were better than Black Box. I’m also trying to catch up on the Kathy Reichs books I have missed and have been comparing the two authors. I fear that I have grown out of Kathy Reichs’s books, I don’t feel that way with this one, and I still can’t wait to read the next one from Connelly. This just wasn’t one of my favorites and now I can move on. It happens, and I think I will rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. It pains me to do so because Connelly is one of my favorite authors and anything less than four is tough to do for me.
Anyone who reads my blog knows that I have been on a mad rush to catch up on all of the Michael Connelly books I have missed. I’m going to be really bummed when I finally catch up because I have read some amazing books in the last month. Black Box opens with the LA Riots in 1992, a topic that has been referenced a few times in the Bosch series. Bosch is called out to try and help anyway he can because the police are horribly outnumbered. While bouncing from homicides he comes across the death of a photographer and begins to investigate the case. Something about this one sticks with him and he wants to find out what happened, but then he is taken off of it and the case goes to the Riot division. It never gets solved.
20 years later Bosch links a bullet from a recent case to the death of this photographer. Finally he can try to close this after all these years. I guess I expected more form this book. The other Bosch novels I had read recently like The Drop were really good. I think my problem is that since this book came out in 2012 I have heard nothing but rave reviews about it. Critics and publishers couldn’t talk about this book enough. Normally I don’t put any stock in those reviews but Connelly hasn’t let me down yet so I guess I really got my hopes up. I liked it but it wasn’t my favorite of the series.
The reason I didn’t care for this was that I felt there were big chunks of the book that were a little slow. I had a hard time staying focused on what I was reading a little and found excuses to do something else. This never happens with one of Connelly’s books which seems to make it even worse. Have you ever read one of your favorite authors and been made at yourself for not enjoying the book like you feel you should?
Black Box may have been slow at times but I wasn’t necessarily disappointed so don’t think this will be a negative review. The end of this book did pick up quite a bit and I enjoyed the last quarter of it. I also really like Bosch as a character; the little interludes about his daughter and life outside of the force are really enjoyable. I just couldn’t get into this case.
I felt the book was written very well and the problem wasn’t with how it read just with keeping my attention. It’s kind of hard to describe exactly how I feel about this book. I want to give it 4 stars because I love Connelly as an author and Bosch is one of my favorite characters to read. However, the story was just not up to the standards I am used to. The Mickey Haller books are about trial law and those can lose me from time to time because that subject isn’t my taste but even those I felt were better than Black Box. I’m also trying to catch up on the Kathy Reichs books I have missed and have been comparing the two authors. I fear that I have grown out of Kathy Reichs’s books, I don’t feel that way with this one, and I still can’t wait to read the next one from Connelly. This just wasn’t one of my favorites and now I can move on. It happens, and I think I will rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. It pains me to do so because Connelly is one of my favorite authors and anything less than four is tough to do for me.