The Black Ice (Bookcassette(r) Edition)

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Summary: A Great Harry Bosch mystery!!!
Review: What starts out as a obvious suicide by a Los Angles narcotics officer, turns into a top notch Harry Bosch mystery. This one is a real page turner, that will take you to the darker side streets of L.A. to the poverty stricken border town or Mexacali Mexico. And all the way through you will be kept on the edge of your seat as you try to guess who is who. Michael Connelly has to be one of the best mystery writers around. His characters are so real and life like, it's as if they are just going to jump right off the page. I strongly recommend this book, you won't be disappointed.

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Summary: Enter the world of Detective Harry Bosch-you'll never return
Review: A cop who was 'in the wind' (disappeared) is found quite dead with a shotgun blast to his head. Suicide? Everyone thinks so--but not Harry Bosch. Something doesn't fit. In this second novel by Connelly, he revs up his caharacter so that we learn, piece by piece, just what it is that makes this shrewd detective tick. A PUZZLE! It is all a puzzle - the suicide is the center piece - before you catch your breath , the four corners are in place. You may think you know where the next piece will fit - but Harry twists it and turns it until it fits right where he wants it. L.A. - Mexico - murder - drugs -med flies- good cops - bad cops -monstrous bulls and 'The Pope' - how do they all connect to the death of the cop, Colexico Moore? Harry somehow makes sense of all these elements and fits the last puzzle piece snuggly in place as we try to catch our breath. Done with expertise, sensitivity , compassion and brute force coupled with the resolve of a good man and an intelligent cop. The surprises never end-but with MICHAEL CONNELLY, they never do! DON'T MISS IT - I'm on to the next in his series "The Concrete Blonde!

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Summary: Strong contemporary pulp fiction for fans of true noir
Review: A troubled anti-hero in love with a hot widow, a convoluted mystery, and strong, natural descriptions of police procedure and departmental politics makes this a strong entrant for the attention of fans of contemporary pulp fiction. Not for those seeking politically correct fiction or glamourized "sleuthing." If you like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Elmore Leonard, Andrew H. Vachss, James Ellroy, and Chester Himes, and can't stand Jonathan Kellerman, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, Dick Francis, and all the other pretenders, you'll enjoy Connelly.

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Summary: Connelly is good.
Review: First, THE BLACK ECHO, now THE BLACK ICE. I hadn't read any of Connelly's books until this summer and now I can't wait to get to THE CONCRETE BLONDE. His characterization of Harry Bosch is near to brilliant and his plot structure keeps me reading until it's over, because I, at least, never can QUITE figure out where it's going. And that's the beauty of Connelly and Bosch. Keep 'em coming, Michael.

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Summary: Good Hard-Boiled Writing
Review: Michael Connelly has hit another one out of the park with "The Black Ice." The writing is fast-paced, taut, and grippng. "Black Ice" flows better than a bottle of scotch on a Saturday night. Harry Bosch and the other characters are so real that you can smell the cigarette smoke, taste the border dust, and see the blood on the bathroom floor. If you enjoy modern hard-boiled detective writing than this is the book for you.

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Summary: The on-going trials and tribulations of Harry Bosch
Review: Everyones favorite troubled detective, Harry Bosch, dives into another seemingly closed case - and opens more than anyone could have possibly imagined. As with all of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series, this is well written and keeps an even pace all through the book. What is sad, is nobody gets his personal life kicked in the groin more than Harry, and just once I would like to see him come out on top! The main character is very real, and easily identifiable with the reader. My heart rises and falls with each new spin on the tail, and this book is non-stop on spins. Great book, as all the Harry Bosch books are... just let Harry win one once in awhile!

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Summary: Tragic characters and good plot make a great read.
Review: This mystery has it all for the lover of the "hard-boiled" genre. Harry Bosch is a compelling, unpredictable, intelligent, and, of course, tragic character. He makes his second appearance in The Black Ice, following his debut in The Black Echo. After reading The Black Echo, I immediately purchased The Black Ice and was not disappointed. Harry's character is "true" and multi-dimensional. The plot is complicated but not beyond belief. The other characters in the story add to the richness of the whole by giving an emotional undercurrent to the events unfolding. Michael Connelly writes police procedurals that have intelligence, tragedy and heart. The Black Ice is, in my opinion, the best of the five Harry Bosch novels, although they are all worth a read, just to keep up with Harry.

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Summary: Fast paced, character driven thriller!
Review: I've started reading the Harry Bosch novels in order (I'm funning that way). This of course is the second in the series. The characters were fresh and real. The mystery in the plot was there, however when all was revealed you could go, "ah ha". Hope you enjoy.

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Summary: A GATEWAY TO BETTER BOSCH...
Review: The Black Ice is book number two in the series of books by Michael Connelly that star detective Hieronymous Bosch. It is in ways more symbolic and experimental than both its predecessor and all of its successors. While this is interesting, and not entirely without merit, it all adds up to a sum that is less than its parts.

This is the weakest of the Bosch novels so far.

There is an overwrought, yet uncompleted feel to The Black Ice. Its conclusion in particular is more than a little far-fetched and all too convenient.

With that said, here is why The Black Ice is worth reading:

1. Michael Connelly is one of the most interesting and talented writers out there. The combination of his journalistic training and his ability to paint cinematic word pictures that still work as lengthy pieces of fiction is unmatched by other genre writers.

He links all of his books together in interesting ways. Once you step into his world, you begin to get inklings of just how vast it is. This is something rare in genre fiction--at least it is very rarely done this well.

2. Harry Bosch is one hell of a character. Rather than being the one-sided archetype so often found in genre fiction, Bosch is fully human. He is exceptional in that though he is quite humanized, he is completely dedicated to his "mission" as a detective--most ably summed up by Bosch himself:

"Everybody counts, or no one counts."

(An aside: I was recently discussing with my wife who her favorite character in Stephen King's Dark Tower Series is. We have read the books together. She went the emotional route and chose Oy--a sentimental, furry little creature.

When asked who mine is (outside of Cuthbert, who is a bit player in books 1 & 4) I answered Roland.

My wife does not like Roland. He is too mission-driven for her taste. I find, that like Bosch, Roland is more human for having to labor under the weight of a mission (I also feel that Oy gives his all for the mission as well, that he is not all cutesy and cuddly, but that is neither here nor there). The point being, that Bosch and Roland are two of the most fully fleshed out characters that I have come across in some time.

I feel that this is because, conciously or not, we all live by a "mission" of sorts; be they for ill or good.

an aside within an aside: my wife likes Bosch.)

3. The Black Ice is the gateway to the rest of the Bosch books. The books take a huge leap in quality from book three on. Its well worth paying the price of admission: reading the first two books.

I recommend the Bosch series of books very highly.

As part of that recommendation, I suggest you grin and bear The Black Ice.

Who knows, maybe you will find more here than I did.

Rating:
Summary: Another superior noir by connelly...
Review: This book was even tighter in it's execution than Black Echo. Bosch figures out a series of drug related murders and the puzzle fits nicely. Connelly jumps expertly from the FBI/Break in caper of the first novel to the DEA/drug murders of the second. Is Black Ice real? It certainly seemed to be. Bosch also continues to grow as character--as do Irving and others. A superior mystery.