Rating: 
Summary: Go deeper with Bosch thoughs
Review: Well, I'm skipping the whole summary thing since others have been doing that ...I'm not a long-time fan of Harry Bosch. In fact, I just discovered this series 4 months ago when I bought the omnibus version. But, I've been catching up and I found myself drawn into this lonely complex determined man. In "Lost Light", Michael Connely wrote from the first person point of view. The result was it took me deeper into Harry Bosch's thought, as he tried to unravel an unsolved case. He was retired from LAPD but he hadn't lost his beliefs and spirits of finding answers. And along the way, he crossed path with some old friends ... former partner Kiz Rider, the reporter Keisha Russell, the FBI guy Roy Lindell, and his ex-wife Eleanor Wish. I agree that this must be the "lightest" Bosh story, compared to the previous eight. However, it was absolutely great still. The ending did brought a light gasp to me but the again Harry was now 52 and somehow I was relieved knowing that he found his way home at last. Like with "City of Bones", I don't know which direction Michael Connelly will bring Harry Bosh in the next book ... but I surely hope I'll be there to see it.
Rating:
Summary: Back in the Sadddle Again
Review: Harry Bosch, last seen walking away from his career as a homicide detective with the LA PD is back in the latest book from Michael Connelly. Even without a badge and a gun Harry is still driven by his personal demons to seek the monsters in the world who maim and murder. If you follow the series you will meet characters from earlier books, but it is not necessary to appreciate this book entirely on its own. Harry runs afowl of FBI agents assigned to use any means to uncover terrorist activities under the cover of Homeland Security. As always, Harry will use any and all means to solve a murder from years earlier that still echoes in his mind. I did not predict the ending or the many complications which evolve logically and reasonably from the evidence. Unlike many novels in the series, the outcome is hopeful for Harry and new possibilities open up that may be explored in future novels.
Rating:
Summary: The new master of noir
Review: Michael Connelly has reached top form in "Lost Light." After the less than stellar "City of Bones" , the Harry Bosch series is back on track, and oh what a track it is. Connelly has now
adopted the mantle of (arguably) the most proficient noir writer today. He has captured the true underside of society known only to those who profit from it and those whose job it is to try to
stop it from reeking havoc on the rest of us. With a pension from the LAPD, and freshly minted Private Investigator License, Bosch packs his hip flask and heads out to right-the-wrongs inflicting Los Angeles, one at a time. Bothered by an unsolved murder, Bosch flings himself headlong into the investigation. In doing so, he opens fresh wounds and antagonizes more than one of the "higher ups." All that aside, reading Connelly can be a true joy. He has mastered the first person narrative style that was prevalent in the noir novels of the 30s , 40s and 50s. Consider the following prose regarding Los Angeles and Hollywood. "I used to like this town," I said, just to say something and not to be thinking too hard. "A long time ago. There were trees along Wishire Boulevard. Beverly Hills was a country town. Westwood was bare hills and lots offering at eleven hundred dollars and no takers.Hollywood was a bunch of frame houses on the interurban line. Los Angeles was just a
big dry sunny place with ugly homes and no style, but goodhearted and peaceful.....Los Angeles has Hollywood-and hates it. It ought to consider itself damm lucky. Without Hollywood it would be a mail order city." Hollywood was always best viewed at night. It could only hold its mystique in darkness. In sunlight the curtain comes up and the intrigue is gone, replaced by a sense of hidden danger. It was a place of takers and users, of broken sidewalks and dreams. You build a city in the desert, water it with false hopes and false idols, and eventually this is what happens. The desert reclaims it, turns it arid, leaves it barren. Human tumbleweeds drift across its streets, predators hide in rocks. Although these two paragraphs could easily have come from Connelly, only the second is taken from "Lost Light." The first appeared in Raymond Chandler's "The Little Sister." It does seem
that Harry Bosch may be the second coming of Philip Marlow. One note of peeve. I thought that Connelly took some unnecessary shots at the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Connelly constructs scenes that can at best be
taken from the worst nightmares of the ACLU. Yet there have been no reported instances of abuses of the powers provided by the Patriot Act. But as Bosch notes "Sometimes paranoia can
be a good thing."
Rating: 
Summary: Is this the end of Harry Bosch?
Review: Starts out a little slow and can be a little unbelievable at times, but this is once again an excellent Harry Bosch novel. Except for City of Bones, every book that Connelly has written starring Harry Bosch has been excellent. I picked up Black Echo about a month and a half ago, and just this morning I finished Lost Light. I literally went through one book after another until today. I feel like Harry Bosch and his world became mine over the past 45 days, and I must be honest, I am sad to say goodbye to that world. I have enjoyed this series more than many others I have read (the only one that tops this is Len Deighton's Bernard Sampson 9 book sequence). I have read all of Crais', Pelecanos', and Lehane's books with their own starring characters, but Connelly really does top them with Bosch. Bosch doesn't come up with cutesy phrases, doesn't go over the top and the story lines are generally believable. Don't get me wrong, these books, especially Lost Light, are not flawless. I could do without the Elenor Wish tangents.....I bit hokey for my tastes. Some of the philosophical ponderings also get a bit old after a while (like the syrup reference.....have more syrup on pancakes because it is a nasty world out there and sweetness is rare....). Still, each time I started one of the Bosch books, I was unable to put them down. I also found myself thinking of them throughout the day, providing a nice escape from the working world. If this is your first Bosch book, put it aside and start with the first, Black Echo. As someone earlier said, there are many references to earlier characters, which will mean nothing to you if you don't have the background. You could easily purchase most of these books through Amazon's used section for under $3 each. there is also a hardcover version that has Black Echo, Black Ice and Concrete Blonde in one volume. Start there. I will end by saying that while I will miss Bosch, I do hope that Connelly finishes with this one. I see the potential for reworking too many old themes. Plus, how many cops really go on rogue missions for years after retirement?
Rating:
Summary: 3 1/2 Stars -- Worth Reading But Not Connelly's Best!
Review: Let's start with the obvious to anyone who's read a book in the Harry Bosch series. Lost Light is a very well written mystery, the main character is one of the best developed and multi-dimensional to be featured in a mystery series, and the plot is complex and keeps you guessing. However, on a comparative basis, Lost Light is more slow paced and less action-packed and suspenseful. Perhaps Bosch's now being a private eye versus a cop has made it seem to me that he doesn't have the same toughness and "edge" that made him such a memorable character in earlier books in the series. It will be interesting to see what direction Connelly takes Bosch in upcoming books. If you read this book you'll see that Connelly has created several options for Bosch. I'll be anxious to travel along with Bosch (and some other characters Connelly has featured in other books) in his next adventure, The Narrows, which will be released soon.
Rating:
Summary: A different kind of Harry
Review: Lost Light feels a bit weird as you're reading it- it's strange that Harry Bosch is NOT a cop any longer. No authority to investigate, no badge to impress the people he's trying to gather data from, and the FBI breathing down his neck! This book features Bosch looking into a case he started 4 years ago, but never solved. With one woman murdered, 2 million dollars stolen, 2 policemen who were shot- one dead and one left paralyzed and one missing FBI agent...there's a lot of work ahead! But, do all of these things tie in together, or are they just coincidence? And most importantly, who's responsible? I enjoyed most of this book. I do agree with one reviewer in that it was a little hard to get into at first, I can't pin point why, it just was. Once you get into the story & the players, you're propelled along at a very quick pace. This is a great mystery, it will have you reading late into the night to figure out what happens next. However, I do have to say that the ending was not as clean as I think it could have been. I felt the conclusions were just a little shaky. It was a pretty good surprise towards the end though, so that makes this reading very worthwhile. Also, a few characters from other Bosch novels pop up, which is always cool, including his ex-wife!
Rating:
Summary: The Start of an Addiction
Review: I picked this book up in the airport for a quick read while in flight. What a mistake -- what I thought was a speed read has developed into a full blown habit where I am quickly acquiring all the Harry Bosch novels and am detemined to read them in sequence.
Admittedly, I read 'Lost Light' first when I should have read it last and now I know the bottom line regarding Bosch's personal life and the significance of the 'Lost Light' from a long range perspective. Maybe a good thing . . .
In 'Lost Light', Bosch comes across as an angry outsider who has something to prove and doesn't give up when he thinks he is right. No longer with the police department, he goes solo, investigating a cold case that he had been assigned to years before and then pulled off of when the murder became associated with a high profile robbery. Something about the case sticks in Harry's mind and even a Bosch novice like myself recognizes the bulldog tenacity at work that is surely a Bosch trademark. As Bosch comes closer to an answer, he is warned off by the usual-suspect bureaucrats who unlike Harry are unwilling to jeopardize their positions for the truth. As Harry dodges bullets and mudslings designed to ruin his reputation once and for all, he finds solace in places that he thought were as cold as the murder itself. The pieces fall into place almost haphazardly, the way they probably do in real police situations and Harry stumbles onto one too unexpected truths that rekindle that lost light in his own soul.
Definitely recommended to all readers of Michael Connelly, but also to those who enjoy a fast paced novel set to jazz rhythms, shadowed by the darkness of the world of crime and its players and yet, over time also has the ability to completely and competantly explore a complex character who struggles with emotional holes to fill yet continues to perservere. Although the novel has the strength of a stand alone, I recommend reading the books in order, to keep the names, places and Bosch history in proper perspective.
Rating:
Summary: Bosch or Cole
Review: Love the book. I read all the reviews but is it my imagination or does he make a refrence to Robert Crais private dick Elvis Cole (page 237 in the paperback)
Rating:
Summary: Mixed emotions.
Review: Bosch is back and this time he's an official outsider instead of just the department lone wolf. Combine an injured cop and a cold case and throw in a little bit of Eleanor for good measure and you've got a classic Bosch book. Perhaps a little *too* classic-- while I enjoyed the book I didn't approach it with the same delight as I did the first few books. Some of the schtick feels a little too much like schtick. It (like Harry) feels like it's getting a little bit old and tired. The ending of this book implies a change in the weather for Harry, and I hope that Connelly follows through. Bosch has done his time and deserves to have a little bit of comfort in the world. If you haven't read Harry Bosch before, start with _Black Echo_ or _Black Ice_, but if you're already a fan this should deliver the fix that you need.
Rating:
Summary: Master builder
Review: Hollywood, a retired cop, and a dead body--what could be more perfect for a crime thriller? This material in most other author's hands would be pulp of the worst kind, but in Connelly's skillful paws it becomes nothing short of a great read. Masterfuly done, with great characters and a plot that holds your interest, this Raymond Chandleresque book is worth its weight in gold. I read it in two very enjoyable sittings and could do it again. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
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