Rating: 
Summary: Bosch is a good quick read,
Review: I have read several other Connelly novels (Trunk Music, Blood Work, and Void Moon) and have never been disappointed in the quality of the story or the delivery of the character, Harry Bosch. But can there be a character that has more in common with Job than Harry Bosch? Doesn't he deserve a break?In Lost Light Harry Bosch deals with one of the most difficult type of murder cases there is, a cold case. Investigating a four year old murder is tough. But our hero overcomes and in the end settles it all. The story moves along and the characters are believable. This is an entertaining read but lacks the "punch" of his earlier works.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Michael Connelly's ninth Harry Bosch novel, "Lost Light" is told in the first person, giving nice insights into Harry's mind and the demons he fights. In the first person, Michael Connelly feels: "the writer cannot hold anything back without being dishonest." "Lost Light" is hardboiled with quick pacing, ingenious plot twists, intrigue and strong character development. The prose is lean and powerful, with a few overt homages to Raymond Chandler. Michael Connelly has said that: "Harry Bosch is the prism I see LA thru," and LA remains a viable character in "Lost Light." Harry Bosch has left the LAPD, making "Lost Light" Michael Connelly's initial PI novel. Harry revisits an unsolved murder case. Add to this inner mystery, the outer mysteries of a $2 million heist at a movie location and a missing FBI agent. LAPD, FBI and an Anti-Terrorist unit all warn Harry to keep out, making his quest all the more intense. The presumably straightforward plot builds to a sequence of surprises, both in the investigation and Harry's personal life. Harry Bosch never disappoints. Do not wait for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Harry is back!
Review: Bosch is back sans his gold shield but left with the heart and dark instincts of a homicide cop. Bosch remains haunted by one that got away, a cold case brought out for six month review, then quickly sent back to the file drawer. Bosch, tied to the young female victim whose hands were raised as if in prayer at the murder scene, is drawn quickly into a web of relationships between cops, victims, civilians, money and crime that wraps around the Los Angeles scene. With Connelly you know the mood will be dark and the emotions conflicting as Bosch ponders life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice. Even the events of 9/11 figure into this morality drama as Bosch tangles with the new rules of homeland security and intimates that an impending loss far greater than buildings or citizens is at stake, the loss of liberty herself. I could not put this book down. My biggest disappointment is that I must wait a long time for another.
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Bosch Yarn
Review: Michael Connelly is probably today's best mystery writer. He's up there with the likes of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. His Harry Bosch is one of the best, most engaging cop/PI/investigator since the noir years in the 50s and 60s. You know that when you start a Harry Bosch novel, you won't want to let go of it until you turn the very last page. That's why Lost Light is a little bit disappointing. Not that it's a bad book. It's classic Connelly; it reads quickly, the writing is sharp, the dialogue even sharper and the plot moves quickly. Only thing is, Connelly has done this before, and better. In Lost Light, we find Bosch investigating the murder of a young woman who worked as a production assisstant on a movie. That very movie is also under scrutiny, as it was the setting for a 2 million dollar heist that is still unresolved. Mix to this a missing FBI agent and you've got more than enough to keep your mind busy for 360 pages. But the plot itself is quite predictable. You can easily predict Bosch's next step. There are very few surprises for the reader in Lost Light The one intersting thing is that, for the very first time, Connelly chose to write the book in the first person. And I have to admit that it suits the book and the character well. It was great to finally get into Bosch's mind, see how he thinks, what he does. I just love the way this character thinks and acts. He feels so real on the page that he just seems to creep right out of the book. You can see that Connelly is trying to bring his character in a new direction now that he is retired. And retirement works well for Bosch. I liked him a lot as a cop, but I like him even more as a retired PI. And the very last pages of the book offers a surprise that will probably change Bosch quite dramatically in the future. Lost Light isn't a bad book. Far from it, it can be quite entertaining at times. But Connelly has done this before with his earlier books. Maybe I would have liked more surprises, or maybe a bigger payoff in the end. It would only have been fitting that, because Connelly uses the first person for the first time, Lost Light would have been a breaking point in the series. Unfortunately, it isn't. As it is, Lost Light does provide a few hours of entertainment, if only that.
Rating:
Summary: One of Connelly's best books in the Bosch series
Review: I haven't been too excited by Michael Connelly lately. His last three books have had some fairly major problems with them that really detracted from my enjoyment, with _Chasing the Dime_, in particular, a real standout for poor writing. So when I picked up his latest, _Lost Light_, a new Harry Bosch novel, I didn't know what to expect. I was very pleasantly surprised by a book that is one of the best he's ever written. The book picks up with Harry a year after his retirement from the LAPD. He's got a comfortable pension that more than provides for his needs and he's looking for something to fill the time. Lately, he's been visiting an old jazzman at a retirement home and taking saxophone lessons, but it's not enough. So when he's called by another retired policeman, Lawton Cross, who was shot in the line of duty and is now paralyzed, Harry goes to see him. Cross wants him to look into an unsolved case that involves both of them. Four years earlier, Harry was investigating the murder of a young production assistant. Her body had been found with the clothes torn, in a manner that suggested a random sexual assault/ murder. When, a few days later, a movie set was robbed of $2 million in actual money, the earlier murder was re-evaluated and Harry and his partners lost the case, to Cross and his partner from Robbery-Homicide. Harry retraces some of the work that was done and from there, the case gets even more complicated as it grows to include the disappearance of a star female FBI agent, and even overlaps with homeland security. This is a very fast-moving story, told, unusually, from the first-person point of view, so that we get more insight into Harry and his thoughts and motivations. The sequences involving the homeland security plot thread are suitably scary and raise issues of constitutional rights and what can happen when the rules are basically thrown out the window. There's a rogue FBI agent in the book who makes the police who beat up Rodney King look fairly tame. There aren't any of the rather [weak] plot twists that have hurt Connelly's recent books. It's all very believable and it ultimately builds to a very, very touching finale, though once again, as with the conclusion to _City of Bones_, it's kind of hard to see where Harry Bosch will go next. I know I for one will be looking forward to that next book.
Rating:
Summary: Best Bosch Yet
Review: Harry Bosch (Connelly) at his best. A rich tapestry of a retired detective who can't let the image of an old, unsolved case go. Atmospheric views of Los Angeles, relentless police work, credible plot twists and, above all, neat character profiles of good guys, bad guys, old friends and undying love...in one package. Memorable, and I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best, but very good Bosch novel
Review: I enjoyed this novel a lot. After being dissapointed with "City of Bones", I was beginning to think the Bosch series was going downhill. Connelly made the right decision to take a break and write an excellent thriller, "Chasing the Dime" (if you haven't read it yet, do now!). Now comes "Lost Light" which in my opinion is the best Bosch novel since "Trunk Music" (I don't consider A Darkness more than Night a Bosch novel). So I recommend this novel to anyone seeking a good detective story, but fans of Connelly's writing will like it more. All in all, a very good novel, and much better than its predecessor "City of Bones".
Rating:
Summary: This is a novel that will be discussed for quite a while
Review: An immutable admonition of life is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Accordingly, it takes major confidence to take a tried and true (not to mention popular) literary character and change things around. This is exactly what Michael Connelly does with --- and to --- Harry Bosch in LOST LIGHT. That he does it so well is an indication not only of the depth of Connelly's talent but also of the thought that went into doing what has been done here. This is a novel that will be discussed for a while. The largest change, at least initially, in Bosch's life was telegraphed at the conclusion of CHASING THE DIME, when Bosch walked out of L.A. police headquarters with a boxful of files concerning unsolved cases. At the beginning of LOST LIGHT, we learn that one of those cases concerned the murder of a young woman that was apparently tied to the robbery of two million dollars from a movie set and that had remained unsolved for four years. The murder of the woman has haunted Bosch and, retired from the force and independently wealthy, he is free to devote his time to investigate it. Another major change that Connelly makes in LOST LIGHT is relating the story from the first person viewpoint, thus putting the readers inside of Bosch's often enigmatic head. The shift in viewpoint --- and in occupation --- has the effect of reminding the reader of Raymond Chandler and thus Philip Marlowe. Indeed, Connelly seems to pay tribute to Chandler's opening lines of THE BIG SLEEP with the initial chapter of LOST LIGHT, when Bosch appears, freshly shaven and in his best suit, at the front door of a movie mogul. However, Bosch, unlike Marlowe, is seeking information and not employment. As Bosch follows the money trail, he finds that the heist has somehow become improbably intertwined with issues involving national security. He is warned to step down, as his investigation is apparently jeopardizing national interests more important than the death of one woman several years before. Bosch, however, is compelled to keep digging against the odds in order to bring justice and closure to the woman's apparently senseless death. And, while his lack of a badge and the authority that goes with it renders many doors closed to him, it also provides him with a freedom he has not enjoyed previously as he slowly, painstakingly, finds the unexpected answers that will put his life in jeopardy and result in surprising revelations. LOST LIGHT contains two surprise endings, one of which resolves the mystery therein and the other of which dramatically affects Bosch. If Connelly sees fit to write another Bosch book, it seems as if it will be as dramatically different as LOST LIGHT is from its predecessors. Regardless of what he chooses to do, Connelly will no doubt continue to challenge his characters, his readers and himself. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Rating:
Summary: DELICIOUS story-telling.
Review: Ahhhh, Michael Connelly is back with a great story about one of our favorites, Harry Bosch. It is deliciously told with an absolutely crackerjack surprise ending that you will love. Thank you, Mr. Connelly. I'm so glad that you didn't get permanently lost in the nowhere-near-as-delicious "Turning on a Dime." More! More! Bring us more of the likes of "Lost Light" and Harry Bosch.
Rating:
Summary: Bosch is back
Review: Even retirement can't keep obsessed LAPD detective Harry Bosch from pursuing an unsolved case. He must have stumbled onto something because now the FBI threatens, but lucky for his fans Bosch won't give up. Once again Connelly treats readers to his inimitable talent for creating and solving fascinating cases. You won't want to miss this one!
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