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A review by buemlned
The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly
4.0
I know reading paperback crime fiction is good for nothing. Like being intoxicated. The high is short and the thrill seldom sees next day. A week later I will forget the plot and half of the characters. Why bother?
But, one of these days a book will hit the spot so good the hangover is worth it. The prose delicious. The flow so smooth that before I realised, it is the end. The dead tree equivalence of that-bottle-Jay-the-friendly-bartender-hid-under-the-counter. "The Last Coyote", written by Michael Connelly, does that for me.
The four-hundred-page fiction sees veteran L.A.P.D detective Harry Bosch, while suspended from the department, went on a quest for the truth of his mother's murder thirty years ago. While this setting is hardly anything innovative, what is standing out is the "legwork". Go to places, talk to people, chasing leads and bumping into walls. Sounds simple but it is done incredibly well in this book. Locations are drawn out in broke strokes but it is good enough for the cast of vivid, fleshed-out characters - cops, bureaucrats, reporter, politician, was-cop, was-reporter, was-politician, crook and criminal. The conversations are well-written and convincing. Connelly cleverly create tension and suspense in even the most mundane inquiry by putting Bosch out of his comfort zone - stripped off his badge and gun, Bosch is left with his instincts and experiences playing for and against the system. This, combined with his quick temper, creates a natural force that propels the story forward.
I guess, after all, what I enjoy most from a book like this is not the mystery. It is the hero's quest that counts. I simply enjoy seeing someone going to heaven for its climate and through hell for its company.
Originally posted at: https://www.buemlned.me/2019/review-the-last-coyote
But, one of these days a book will hit the spot so good the hangover is worth it. The prose delicious. The flow so smooth that before I realised, it is the end. The dead tree equivalence of that-bottle-Jay-the-friendly-bartender-hid-under-the-counter. "The Last Coyote", written by Michael Connelly, does that for me.
The four-hundred-page fiction sees veteran L.A.P.D detective Harry Bosch, while suspended from the department, went on a quest for the truth of his mother's murder thirty years ago. While this setting is hardly anything innovative, what is standing out is the "legwork". Go to places, talk to people, chasing leads and bumping into walls. Sounds simple but it is done incredibly well in this book. Locations are drawn out in broke strokes but it is good enough for the cast of vivid, fleshed-out characters - cops, bureaucrats, reporter, politician, was-cop, was-reporter, was-politician, crook and criminal. The conversations are well-written and convincing. Connelly cleverly create tension and suspense in even the most mundane inquiry by putting Bosch out of his comfort zone - stripped off his badge and gun, Bosch is left with his instincts and experiences playing for and against the system. This, combined with his quick temper, creates a natural force that propels the story forward.
I guess, after all, what I enjoy most from a book like this is not the mystery. It is the hero's quest that counts. I simply enjoy seeing someone going to heaven for its climate and through hell for its company.
Originally posted at: https://www.buemlned.me/2019/review-the-last-coyote