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A review by chaotic_reading
Echo Park by Michael Connelly
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"Bosch considered himself a true detective, one who took it all inside and cared. Everybody counts or nobody counts. That's what he always said."
Michael Connelly is one of the first authors I can remember reading when I was younger and thinking, 'hey, I wanna read more of this guys stuff!' Recently I've been in a bit of chaotic period of my life and wanted to read something that would bring me back to my roots - so I looked no further than my very beat-up paperback copy of Echo Park from 2007.
Looking back on my memories of first reading this book, I was definitely waaaay too young. However, upon my reread I began remembering why Echo Park, and particularly Michael Connelly, came away as a "go-to" read for me. Harry Bosch is a strong-willed detective who takes no shit and appears to be fighting "the good fight" - everybody counts, or nobody counts when it comes to the victims and their cases that come across his desk. While these books are in the Harry Bosch Universe, they can all be read as standalones, in publication order, or really in any order you care to pick them up in. The continuity of the Universe is interesting and it's enjoyable getting to read about other players in the game (Mickey Haller, Jack McEvoy), but I also like that I can pick anyone of Connelly's books up and it can read as a standalone as well.
This book, as a crime novel, has a lot of moving pieces and I'm quite content with how the book was resolved overall. For me, this book would've been a five if the ending hadn't felt so rushed...but I find that this is a common denominator with a lot of Connelly's books and therefore I mostly chalk it up to his particular writing/story telling style and me just not meshing. Otherwise, a really good read that I would recommend to crime novel enthusiasts, or anyone looking to jump into crime novels
Michael Connelly is one of the first authors I can remember reading when I was younger and thinking, 'hey, I wanna read more of this guys stuff!' Recently I've been in a bit of chaotic period of my life and wanted to read something that would bring me back to my roots - so I looked no further than my very beat-up paperback copy of Echo Park from 2007.
Looking back on my memories of first reading this book, I was definitely waaaay too young. However, upon my reread I began remembering why Echo Park, and particularly Michael Connelly, came away as a "go-to" read for me. Harry Bosch is a strong-willed detective who takes no shit and appears to be fighting "the good fight" - everybody counts, or nobody counts when it comes to the victims and their cases that come across his desk. While these books are in the Harry Bosch Universe, they can all be read as standalones, in publication order, or really in any order you care to pick them up in. The continuity of the Universe is interesting and it's enjoyable getting to read about other players in the game (Mickey Haller, Jack McEvoy), but I also like that I can pick anyone of Connelly's books up and it can read as a standalone as well.
This book, as a crime novel, has a lot of moving pieces and I'm quite content with how the book was resolved overall. For me, this book would've been a five if the ending hadn't felt so rushed...but I find that this is a common denominator with a lot of Connelly's books and therefore I mostly chalk it up to his particular writing/story telling style and me just not meshing. Otherwise, a really good read that I would recommend to crime novel enthusiasts, or anyone looking to jump into crime novels