Lost Light

Rating:
Summary: better than the last
Review: But the end is obvious, long before it needs to be. First person narration changes the view, but the character's world weary attitude seems to be the author's attitude as well. Needs to find his energy again.

Rating:
Summary: Gone But Not Forgotten
Review: Harry Bosch is older, retired, and more philosophical than ever, but he is bored and BACK. An old case continues to haunt him, and as he gets drawn into an investigation on his own, he discoveres that no one wants the case solved or meddled with. Enough has been written and reviewed about the plot of Lost Light. It's a well written, good plot with a great surprise ending for Harry. I hope he comes back again.

Rating:
Summary: Connelly has sold out
Review: Michael Connelly's books have been steadily going down-hill. He was one of the best detective series writers ever in classics like The Last Coyote, The Concrete Blonde, and Angels Flight, and he made me a loyal fan. The last 4 books have been getting simpler and simpler. Lost Light reads like Sue Grafton. And its not just that the writing has gotten simplistic, the character Harry Bosch has lost his punch. Now he's just a nice bumbling guy. Why do so many authors abandon the style that made them famous once they arrive? Lost Light reads like any of the stupid best selling authors out there, Michael Connelly has lost the original voice he once had. Seeing how many people like this book just proves the point that he's figured out how to make more money by making his books easier to read and easier to write so he can write them quicker. Very unfortunate, we've lost a great one.

Rating:
Summary: Connelly has sold out
Review: Michael Connelly's have been steadily going down-hill. He was one of the best detective series writers ever in classics like The Last Coyote, The Concrete Blonde, and Angels Flight, and he made me a loyal fan. The last 4 books have been getting simpler and simpler. Lost Light reads like Sue Grafton. And its not just that the writing has gotten simplistic, the character Harry Bosch has lost his punch. Now he's just a nice bumbling guy. Why do so many authors abandon the style that made them famous once they arrive? Lost Light reads like any of the stupid best selling authors out there, Michael Connelly has lost the original voice he once had. Seeing how many people like this book just proves the point that he's figured out how to make more money by making his books easier to read and easier to write so he can write them quicker. Very unfortunate, we've lost a great one.

Rating:
Summary: Harry Bosch Through The Eyes of a First Time Reader
Review: While I have been aware of Michael Connelly's impressive reputation as an author and the many readers who are fans of detective Harry Bosch, this is my introduction to this series. My five star rating indicates that I enjoyed the book tremendously and felt that it was exactly what the book jacket led me to expect and what the author was trying to accomplish. This is neither a great work of fiction nor is it even the best crime story that I have ever read, but it is well plotted, fast paced and very enjoyable with enough surprising details before the case is solved to keep the reader's interest.

Recently retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is still haunted by the four year old unsolved murder of twenty-four year old Angella Benton, an assistant to a famous movie producer. He is also bothered by the apparently coincidental robbery and murder that occurred on the movie set as he was investigating Angie's murder a few days later. The two million dollars taken in the heist was never recovered. Furthermore, the cops in the Robbery-Homicide Division who took over the case became the victims in a subsequent apparently unrelated robbery that left one dead and the other completely paralyzed and extremely bitter.

This is a classic detective story, and while it has many of the ingredients of a police procedural one of the important elements is that Harry is no longer on the force and has to rely on favors from his friends rather than having the power of his badge to get to the truth. The reader knows what happened and suspects that the question of why will in some way relate all the apparently random elements to the heist, then waits for Bosch to uncover who was involved and how they escaped apprehehension.

The thing that I appreciated about the story was the author's ability to add enough complexity so that even when the clues were sufficient to lead the reader in the general direction of the solution, you still wanted to learn how all the various threads were interrelated. The other surprising fact was that my concern about reading a novel whose main character had appeared in so many previous books was totally misplaced. The references to Harry's previous cases and relationships were self explanatory, and the use of the first person technique with Harry as the narrator of the story allowed a first time reader to easily develop a familiarity with him, since his motivations are an integral part of the story. In fact, as is often the case in long running detective series, this book is as much or perhaps more about Harry and his life in a post-LAPD world than it is about the case.

This is a very fast read, and should be enjoyed by long time Connelly fans as well as first time readers such as myself. The details and relationships of the characters are as important to keeping your interest as is the major story line; if you succeed in solving all the unexplained elements of the various crimes before Harry, then you should undoubtedly become a mystery novelist yourself. I also found the last scene both unanticipated and very upbeat. LOST LIGHT was so entertaining that I definitely plan to read some of the earlier books in the series.

Rating:
Summary: Complex and Entertaining
Review: I was sad to think we would see no more of Harry Bosch when he retired at the end of "City of Bones". "Lost Light" brings his complex character back but with a different perspective. As Harry investigates an unsolved case because it haunts him, we learn a lot about him and his feelings for his ex-wife. Michael Connelly is one of my favorite authors to read because his novels are well written, complex and entertaining. "Lost Light" kept my attention and was a quick and enjoyable read with lots of twists and turns and a totally unexpected twist related to Harry's personal life at the end. I can't wait to the next installment! If you are a fan of Harry Bosch and Michael Connelly, you can't go wrong by spending a few hours with "Lost Light".

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read!
Review: Wonderful addition to the Harry Bosch series. One of the best! Thoroughly enjoyed this book and love the ending.

Rating:
Summary: Master Class
Review: This is how it's done. The plot is as tight and as silky smooth as a spider's web. All the hints and facts are there. There is no misdirection, no cheating. Each revelation is dead sure and it ends up feeling like a child's puzzle when there are really 1,000 pieces.

While I generally prefer Michael Connelly's standalones such as THE POET, this is absolutely first-rate work, done with a light touch and a firm hand. The movies have been terrible this spring, but the crime novels have been exceptional. This is among the very best. Michael Connelly is always reliable and this is an excellent example of his special strengths.

Rating:
Summary: Luckily for us, Harry Bosch finds a good life after LAPD
Review: Lost light means several things in the latest entry into the popular Harry Bosch series: some force coming back that was lost to you and the indirect light in a dark cave. Both are very relevant to Harry Bosch's first adventure after his abrupt retirement from the LAPD at the end of "City of Bones"
After his retirement Harry is somewhat lost about what to do with his life. Then he decides to work on a particularly vexing closed case that was never solved when he was in the LAPD. He doggedly follows up on clues despite the loss of security and entree provided by his former badge.

Something is definitely amiss when he is immediately warned off the case by an old partner in the LAPD and then followed and jailed in an anonymous underground cell by the FBI. Harry's investigative skills are as good as ever and soon he learns that the murder of a young women assistant at a movie production company is linked into more complex crimes.

The action is brisk, the case complex and challenging and the villains particularly nasty and pervasive--we are in heaven...

We learn more about Harry's personality and personal life. He has several encounters with his ex-wife Eleanor Wish who left the FBI and now plays cards professionally in Las Vegas.

The ending is particularly satisfying as both the story is wrapped up in an exciting way and Harry gets some satisfaction in his personal life.

It will be very interesting to see the new directions his character takes in subsequent stories and we will all be waiting to enjoy them

Rating:
Summary: nobody does this better
Review: The brooding, dark, [angry] character of Harry Bosch is so fully developed and flshed-out that after finishng one of Connelly's books you find yourself wondering what's Harry up to now. What's he doing today? The plots are tightly drawn and don't suffer from what so many books in this genre are afflicted with: grandiosity that renders them unbelievable. You can't stop reading, but not because Connelly writes page turners in the traditional sense of the word. You want to see how Harry, with his self-destructive tendencies and high sense of integity, is going to get out of his latest mess. These books are so enjoyable one gets the idea Connelly doesn't labor over them too much but he must. Writing this good doesn't come easy. It's like watching Hank Aaron in his prime. He never seemed to be working all that hard. He just hit more than 750 home runs. I can't wait for another Bosch bomb.