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gmvader's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t read a lot of mystery novels — at least I don’t think I do. Part of that reason is that it seems easy for the story to take on a formula. This is most obvious in the serial police shows on television. You see one episode of Castle or Psych or CSI or Bones and you’ve seen them all. They hit all the notes right on cue for commercial breaks so that you can call the next event by what time it is. I’ve seen that a lot in books as well. Once an interesting new character and voice come out they are exciting and then a few books later it becomes apparent that these authors and their heroes have a modus operandi that is just as easy to spot as the serial killers they are talking about.
The reason I keep returning to Michael Connelly and his books is that I haven’t seen that happen yet. As long as he can keep me guessing and wondering what’s going on then I’ll keep coming back.
I’m not the most astute reader so it’s pretty easy to keep me guessing. If you keep presenting reasonably plausible actions and exciting scenarios I’ll completely miss the clues and be surprised by the ending. That’s why it’s so disappointing when a mystery writer fails to produce any mystery. If there is nothing driving me to learn who committed the crime that opened the story then I’m not interested and the fastest way to lose the mystery is to make it too obvious.
What makes Connelly’s mysteries so great is that his characters make reasonable mistakes. Sometimes they chase the rabbit down the wrong hole.
In City of Bones Harry Bosch gets called in when a man’s dog finds the leg bone of a human child buried in the hills behind his house. That sets off an investigation into the murder of a 12-year-old boy twenty years before and the secrets of his past that have remained hidden all that time.
This is probably the most emotional we’ve seen Harry Bosch and there are a lot of politics at play in a public case like this one. Mistakes are made and a dark history is uncovered that will send chills down anyone’s spine.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what Michael Connelly’s books so good and I think I’ve narrowed it down. His characters are compelling — not just the main guy. Harry Bosch is a collection of flaws and fanatical drive bundled in a jazz-loving, intolerant workaholic and he’s a fascinating character to be inside the head of. But that’s not all, every character that Bosch interacts with is just as fully realized with their own agenda, personality, desires, needs and thoughts. They’re not always friends but they’re real people. The characters make the stories come alive in ways that feel inevitable when another person jumps out and starts talking.
The other thing I think that Connelly uses so well is his pacing. At every turn there is action but not the kind that you might think of. There are police chiefs throwing political caltrops in his way, there are ambitious detectives making foolish choices and suspicious victims unwilling to testify until pressed. The action is usually just talking but its always action and always moving, pushing back and forth.
And finally, Connelly just really knows mysteries. He knows the police and the pressure they go through and the politics they deal with. He knows the stress and pain and heartache. And he respects it. That shows through in everything he writes. Harry Bosch is one of the good guys.
The reason I keep returning to Michael Connelly and his books is that I haven’t seen that happen yet. As long as he can keep me guessing and wondering what’s going on then I’ll keep coming back.
I’m not the most astute reader so it’s pretty easy to keep me guessing. If you keep presenting reasonably plausible actions and exciting scenarios I’ll completely miss the clues and be surprised by the ending. That’s why it’s so disappointing when a mystery writer fails to produce any mystery. If there is nothing driving me to learn who committed the crime that opened the story then I’m not interested and the fastest way to lose the mystery is to make it too obvious.
What makes Connelly’s mysteries so great is that his characters make reasonable mistakes. Sometimes they chase the rabbit down the wrong hole.
In City of Bones Harry Bosch gets called in when a man’s dog finds the leg bone of a human child buried in the hills behind his house. That sets off an investigation into the murder of a 12-year-old boy twenty years before and the secrets of his past that have remained hidden all that time.
This is probably the most emotional we’ve seen Harry Bosch and there are a lot of politics at play in a public case like this one. Mistakes are made and a dark history is uncovered that will send chills down anyone’s spine.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what Michael Connelly’s books so good and I think I’ve narrowed it down. His characters are compelling — not just the main guy. Harry Bosch is a collection of flaws and fanatical drive bundled in a jazz-loving, intolerant workaholic and he’s a fascinating character to be inside the head of. But that’s not all, every character that Bosch interacts with is just as fully realized with their own agenda, personality, desires, needs and thoughts. They’re not always friends but they’re real people. The characters make the stories come alive in ways that feel inevitable when another person jumps out and starts talking.
The other thing I think that Connelly uses so well is his pacing. At every turn there is action but not the kind that you might think of. There are police chiefs throwing political caltrops in his way, there are ambitious detectives making foolish choices and suspicious victims unwilling to testify until pressed. The action is usually just talking but its always action and always moving, pushing back and forth.
And finally, Connelly just really knows mysteries. He knows the police and the pressure they go through and the politics they deal with. He knows the stress and pain and heartache. And he respects it. That shows through in everything he writes. Harry Bosch is one of the good guys.
ealcock94's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
andrew61's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
8th in the Harry Bosch series finds him first on the scene when a dog digs up a human bone. the resulting investigations finds Harry on the trail of the historic killer and leads him up a costly wrong track and a new romantic relationship. Another solid page turner by a master of the thriller craft.
llkendrick's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
I really liked seeing how to solve the mystery of finding 30 year old bones and figuring out who they belong to, why they were killed, etc. I didn't care for the ending because I wanted more justice.
I really liked seeing how to solve the mystery of finding 30 year old bones and figuring out who they belong to, why they were killed, etc. I didn't care for the ending because I wanted more justice.
robynbookends's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kamzilla's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
terrik_409's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
marbles66's review against another edition
4.0
On New Year's Day, a dog finds a bone in the Hollywood Hills--and unearths a murder committed more than twenty years earlier. It's a cold case, but for Detective Harry Bosch, it stirs up memories of his childhood as an orphan. He can't let it go. As the investigation takes Bosch deeper into the past, a beautiful rookie cop brings him alive in the present. No official warning can break them apart--or prepare Bosch for the explosions when the case takes a few hard turns. Suddenly all of L.A. is in an uproar, and Bosch, fighting to keep control, is driven to the brink of an unimaginable decision.
readymadereader's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
weaselweader's review against another edition
4.0
Keep 'em coming! I'm an addicted Harry Bosch fan!
City of Bones, Michael Connelly's eighth entry in the spectacularly successful Harry Bosch series, works on two distinctly different but equally compelling levels.
First of all, City of Bones is a pure police procedural. A dog, out for a walk with its owner, finds a bone in a wooded area off of Hollywood's Wonderland Drive. When the owner who happens to be a doctor recognizes that the bone is unquestionably a human humerus, the hunt is on for the identity of the 20 year old skeleton and the killer who buried it so many years ago.
Connelly covers it all - internal police politics; forensic science; dogged routine investigation; suspect interviews; budgetary constraints; publicity and media; legal subtleties from search warrant execution to the requirement to Mirandize suspects to potential issues relating to libel; the necessity for the police force to maintain an awareness of its own public image; and much, much more.
On a second level, long time fans will savour the continuation of the dark, complex, deeply psychological story of the life of Harry Bosch, the noir bad-boy who refuses to toe the LAPD policy line. Right alongside Harry, readers will allow themselves to ignore departmental fraternization policies and to fall in love with Julia Brasher, the mature rookie cop who, like Harry, totes a jam-packed set of personal psychological baggage. She sees herself as a potential hero who wants to achieve something of lasting importance in the world, no matter the cost.
There is nothing of the high speed suspense thriller in City of Bones. But it is a deeply satisfying novel that ends with a breathtaking twist that, while not particularly surprising given Bosch's personality, will definitely have fans looking for the next novel to see where things are headed.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
City of Bones, Michael Connelly's eighth entry in the spectacularly successful Harry Bosch series, works on two distinctly different but equally compelling levels.
First of all, City of Bones is a pure police procedural. A dog, out for a walk with its owner, finds a bone in a wooded area off of Hollywood's Wonderland Drive. When the owner who happens to be a doctor recognizes that the bone is unquestionably a human humerus, the hunt is on for the identity of the 20 year old skeleton and the killer who buried it so many years ago.
Connelly covers it all - internal police politics; forensic science; dogged routine investigation; suspect interviews; budgetary constraints; publicity and media; legal subtleties from search warrant execution to the requirement to Mirandize suspects to potential issues relating to libel; the necessity for the police force to maintain an awareness of its own public image; and much, much more.
On a second level, long time fans will savour the continuation of the dark, complex, deeply psychological story of the life of Harry Bosch, the noir bad-boy who refuses to toe the LAPD policy line. Right alongside Harry, readers will allow themselves to ignore departmental fraternization policies and to fall in love with Julia Brasher, the mature rookie cop who, like Harry, totes a jam-packed set of personal psychological baggage. She sees herself as a potential hero who wants to achieve something of lasting importance in the world, no matter the cost.
There is nothing of the high speed suspense thriller in City of Bones. But it is a deeply satisfying novel that ends with a breathtaking twist that, while not particularly surprising given Bosch's personality, will definitely have fans looking for the next novel to see where things are headed.
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss