Reviews

The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

book_concierge's review against another edition

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3.0

Harry Bosch is a recently discredited Los Angeles police homicide detective, now working the Hollywood beat. When he’s called out to investigate a dead body in a drainage pipe it seems routine – a homeless man who crawled into the pipe for temporary shelter and OD’d there. But there’s something not quite right about the scene, and Harry realizes he recognizes the victim – from his service in Vietnam.

Harry has to battle internal affairs, the FBI, and his own past demons to arrive at the truth. He’s not sure whom to trust, and a possible love interest is clouding his judgment. Ultimately he will have to choose between justice and vengeance.

Connelly plots a good story and there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader on his/her toes. There’s something appealing about Harry … an honest cop, but with his own code of conduct. I didn’t guess the extent of the plot, and was surprised. But I didn’t really enjoy the ending. It felt forced and “untrue.” Still, I feel I should give Harry Bosch another try; he’s a character who may grow on me.

I listened to the audio book on CD produced by Brilliance Audio and performed by Dick Hill. Hill does a credible job of narrating, though his “female” voice is irritating. The particular version I got was abridged, but didn’t seem to be missing any real plot points. What I didn’t like about it was the way it was engineered. Each disc had 96 to 99 tracks! Some were as short at 7-9 seconds. Really? You couldn’t record a longer track and have a more normal 20-25 tracks per disc? I just found this irritating.

lulo49's review against another edition

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5.0

I'm re-reading the first book (and perhaps the entire series) in the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly via audiobook as I run each day. I especially wanted to listen to this book since Titus Williver is the narrator and he also plays Bosch on the video series that I recently watched. Williver IS Bosch in voice and attitude. Great story, excellent performance.

alidottie's review against another edition

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3.0

3 and a half
Another foray into guy lit--not my style, but a well-written story. Minus the cop conversational colorful language, I would have liked it a whole lot more.

twotoes's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

4.25

aneesh0101's review against another edition

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3.0

3.25/5

is_book_loring's review against another edition

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4.0

Fun, entertaining and well written.

caleb8's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

coleycole's review against another edition

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3.0

I ABSOLUTELY NEVER guess the murderer early on and I totally did!!!

odessaseven's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

3.0

gabmc's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the first Harry Bosch book and I really like how Michael Connelly introduced him - he already has a past and this is explained throughout the book. When a man turns up dead in a tunnel, Harry is called in. He realises he knows the dead man, Billy Meadows, from his time in Vietnam. Although it looks like a drug overdose and Meadows has a history with drugs, Harry is not convinced. It soon turns out that the FBI is involved and Harry partners up with Eleanor Wish, FBI agent. There was a bank robbery over the Memorial Day weekend the previous year and tunnels were involved, so there is a link to Meadows. What follows is an intense cat and mouse chase, with suspicion changing all the time.