A review by laurenjodi
The Narrows by Michael Connelly

3.0

The Narrows
3 Stars

When an old friend dies suddenly, Harry Bosch is approached by the widow with evidence that her husband may have been murdered. As Harry delves deeper into the case, he finds a connection to a serial killer long believed to be dead. With the FBI reluctant to share information, Harry and disgraced agent, Rachel Walling, team up to uncover the truth.

Series note: It is necessary to read The Poet first in order to understand the backstory.

Like many of Connelly's books, the build up is rather slow as Harry follows the clues and collects evidence. However, everything ultimately comes together smoothly in the 2nd half and the last few chapters are action packed and exciting as Harry goes head to head with one of the most nefarious villains in Connelly's books.

One problematic aspect is Connolly's decision to kill off a major character from previous books. Not only is the death quite shocking, but the final twist in the tale in disappointing as it undermines everything that this character has gone through in the past.

On a final note, the alternating 1st person narrative for Harry and 3rd person narrative for other main characters is exceedingly distracting. This makes it difficult to listen to the audiobook despite Len Cariou's engaging narration.

The next installment in the series has Harry once again returning to the LAPD as a cold case investigator, and I look forward to seeing him in his element once again.