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readingwithmyeyes 's review for:
The Concrete Blonde
by Michael Connelly
The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly is the 3rd book in the Harry Bosch Universe. The book is half mystery on the streets and half courtroom drama. Connelly will go on to successfully write the Lincoln Lawyer series that follows that format. The courtroom drama is written really well and it is easily explained so the reader doesn't get confused. This novel has a lot of twist and turns that make this book hard to put down. The villain is hard to spot I guessed wrong and followed the red herring. Honey Chandler is a great foil, a trail lawyer that knows the system in an out and breaks the same rules Harry does on the police side to make her cases. To quote Harry Bosch when speaking about her, "I don't like her, but like her." So far none of the Harry Bosch books have required to read the previous book/s this one is no exception, but for reader who do read it in order will get nice tidbits of info about what happened to Sylvia's husband, the favor the reporter has done in the past, and what Harry found out about his mother and father last book. The Dollface serial killer is pretty terrifying, and I love how focused the plot is if Harry got the right man or not. The Concrete Blonde is my favorite Harry Bosch novel so far. This novel was a re-read and will maintain my same star rating. This does come with a trigger warning of sex related crimes there's a lot of it and it goes into some detail
Plot Summary: Harry Bosch is on trial for a civil suit in the wrongful death of a suspected serial killer known as the Dollface Killer. Bosch got a tip from a prostitute who escaped that new unpublished details of the killer. It was a late call and Bosch was the only one there, he didn't want this guy killing anyone else, so he kicked in the door to find the man naked. Bosch yelled police then told him to freeze but the suspect grabbed under his pillow and Bosch fired killing him. The problem was the suspect wasn't reaching for his gun, he was reaching for his hair piece. Despite that Bosch is confident he the Dollface killer. The trail is four years after the incident, and Bosch just had a note delivered to his desk from someone claiming to be the Dollface killer, that points to a new body that is buried in concrete. Did Harry Bosch get it wrong and kill the wrong man?
What I Liked: The twist and turns in this story are really great, and put the reader on the edge of their seat with every bit of new information. Side character's are not just one note some are fully fleshed out, I loved Money Chandler's character so much, I also love the portrayal by Mimi Rodgers in the Bosch and Bosch Legacy Shows of the character, which is different and yet the same, this story hasn't been told on the show yet. I like how creepy the Dollface Killer is who kills them by strangulation and use their makeup to dress them up as a doll with it. I loved how focused this plot is there's only a couple scenes that show Bosch and Sylvia's relationship that were good for characterization but didn't always move the plot forward. I didn't mind those scenes though cause they filled some background in for Harry's character. I liked that I had read this book 15 years ago and could not remember who had done it, I was not satisfied with who did it but at least I forgot about it. I like that it dips into the psychology of why Harry pulled the trigger, and I love the bit with his mom's murder where he starts questioning himself if he did kill for revenge.
What I Disliked: The person that did it in the who done it was just an okay reveal. Connelly tried to quickly fill in the background, but it was too rushed, maybe if we got some of this background earlier when the character turned we could get the real story.
Recommendation: I recommend you check this book and series out. Harry Bosch is such a good character that I just enjoy seeing how his mind works. Read this story before it becomes a plot line in the Bosch Legacy story. I rated The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly 4 out of 5 stars. The order of the Harry Bosch Books so far 1) the Black Echo, 2) The Black Ice, and 3) The Concrete Blonde. The order in which I rank them from best to worst is 1) The Concrete Blonde, 2) The Black Ice and 3) The Black Echo.
Plot Summary: Harry Bosch is on trial for a civil suit in the wrongful death of a suspected serial killer known as the Dollface Killer. Bosch got a tip from a prostitute who escaped that new unpublished details of the killer. It was a late call and Bosch was the only one there, he didn't want this guy killing anyone else, so he kicked in the door to find the man naked. Bosch yelled police then told him to freeze but the suspect grabbed under his pillow and Bosch fired killing him. The problem was the suspect wasn't reaching for his gun, he was reaching for his hair piece. Despite that Bosch is confident he the Dollface killer. The trail is four years after the incident, and Bosch just had a note delivered to his desk from someone claiming to be the Dollface killer, that points to a new body that is buried in concrete. Did Harry Bosch get it wrong and kill the wrong man?
What I Liked: The twist and turns in this story are really great, and put the reader on the edge of their seat with every bit of new information. Side character's are not just one note some are fully fleshed out, I loved Money Chandler's character so much, I also love the portrayal by Mimi Rodgers in the Bosch and Bosch Legacy Shows of the character, which is different and yet the same, this story hasn't been told on the show yet. I like how creepy the Dollface Killer is who kills them by strangulation and use their makeup to dress them up as a doll with it. I loved how focused this plot is there's only a couple scenes that show Bosch and Sylvia's relationship that were good for characterization but didn't always move the plot forward. I didn't mind those scenes though cause they filled some background in for Harry's character. I liked that I had read this book 15 years ago and could not remember who had done it, I was not satisfied with who did it but at least I forgot about it. I like that it dips into the psychology of why Harry pulled the trigger, and I love the bit with his mom's murder where he starts questioning himself if he did kill for revenge.
What I Disliked: The person that did it in the who done it was just an okay reveal. Connelly tried to quickly fill in the background, but it was too rushed, maybe if we got some of this background earlier when the character turned we could get the real story.
Recommendation: I recommend you check this book and series out. Harry Bosch is such a good character that I just enjoy seeing how his mind works. Read this story before it becomes a plot line in the Bosch Legacy story. I rated The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly 4 out of 5 stars. The order of the Harry Bosch Books so far 1) the Black Echo, 2) The Black Ice, and 3) The Concrete Blonde. The order in which I rank them from best to worst is 1) The Concrete Blonde, 2) The Black Ice and 3) The Black Echo.