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A review by weaselweader
City of Bones by Michael Connelly
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