Rating: 
Summary: Dense reality, hard reality
Review: The H. Bosch novels have a lot of people and situations and the thinking of the people in the situations.All of it seems true: people have quirks and extraneous concerns and agendas. A good, if standard, set of cops and management. Only a bit strained in the way Harry always ends up alone with the perp, and how Harry is the smartest man on the team, and therefore always figures everything out via pure reason. Also, of course, after being wrong the required 2 times. (OK, cops are selected to have IQs of around 100, but tests aren't very good, so there could be a Harry who is much smarter than most cops. Also, the best at any profession are 10X the average whereever statistics are collected. So, maybe.) Other than this, great novels.
Rating:
Summary: His best yet!
Review: I have only read the first three of these (savouring my way through the series) but so far, this is far and away the best! This is a corker of a book. Connelly hand;es the parrallel plots (investigation into the new Dollmaker body and the court case) with the skill of a master. Both the plot twines are superb, and so well plotted and written. They are full of tension and surprise. The legal-thriller side of the book is even more compelling than Grisham. It rings with authenticity and is exciting and tense. I loved following the case, and trying to decide which way the veridct would go, what else would happen during the course of the trial, etc. The investigation into the new Dollmaker body is also great. It is puzzling, intriguing, suspenseful, exciting, and a whole load of other adjectives. Due to both the plots running next to each other i just couldn't stop turning those pages. The book always felt fresh and readable because of the fact that the focus on plot kept switching between the court and the Dollmaker case. Harry Bosch is a great character. And i do wish he and Sylvia would work it out. She is a good match for him, and they would be a good couple. Bosch needs a bit of romance in his life to stop his character from getting stagnant.... The plot is so well devised and drawn that i was amazed. It is so completely original. I have never read anything quite like it. Intriguing, different, exciting, compelling, taut. I couldn't wait to find out how everything was going to resolve itself. And, boy, was it a cracking resolution! I loved the ending, and the solution to whodunnit. I never saw it coming, evne though by rights i probably should have. Also, the final death is quite upsetting to the reader, because even though the victim has been against Bosch for much of the book, she is still quite a likeable character, and you can sense that Bosch likes her and respects her too. A great book. (For all who like Michael Connelly, i have to reccomend Ian Rankin to you. He is the Scottish Michael Connelly. (Actually, to be more accurate, Michael Connelly is the American Ian Rankin, as Rankin has been writing for longer.) Rankin's novels are very similar in mood, plot, sense of place, and character. Bosch is very like Rankin's lead character Rebus. Bosch was in Vietnam, Rebus was in the SAS. Rebus is flawed, as is Bosch. They are both somewhat unsucessful with women, and can't seem to keep a relationship going for long. Connelly's LA shimmers with life, and Rankin's Edinburgh literally breathes and pulses like an entity. The plots are also similar in style. If you are a fan of Connelly, you should really like Rankin.)
Rating: 
Summary: A keeper
Review: This is the second book by Michael Connelly that I have read. I think i will read more, now. He gives each of his characters not just a life, but quirks. You often find slite humor in the words. Not luagh out lound humor, but humor as what you and a co-worker would chuckcle at, when your boss comes into the office. As for pacing of the book, excellent. Nothing is a give me. You brain specualtes but you can't go far, the book will not let you. Read it, enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Detective Thriller
Review: Raymond Chandler defined the detective genre in the 1930's. Trouble, gritty, driven, decisive, Phillip Marlowe wandered a world of fallen angels and moral decay. Transposing the 30's with modern Los Angeles, Michael Connelly's "Concrete Blond" nails the genre with a masterwork of crackling authenticity and breathtaking pace. After tracking and killing a notorious serial killer, Harry Bosch-our modern hero-finds himself the poster boy for LAPD's rampant abuses. Sued by the dead man's widow for using excessive force, he's blistered by the legal system, the media and a charismatic attorney as he discovers that maybe he was wrong after all-the killer may still be out there. Brilliant and stylish, the"Concrete Blonde" delivers on every level.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best !
Review: I will start by saying that I read the previous two Bosch books and I loved them. The strengths of the novels have always been the characters, especially our hero, Bosch, who is a complex and very interesting, fully developed character. That being said, I had very high expectations for the Concrete Blonde and I was NOT disappointed! I thought it was the best yet. Bosch and company is in top form, as usual; but there is also a compelling and superbly plotted mystery that needs to be solved. There are several plausible suspects and Connelly keeps you guessing until the end. One of the minor criticisms I had with the previous novels was that Bosch was too much of a loner; he never had anyone on his side and he didn't have any friends. In this one Bosch has some allies; it isn't "Bosch versus the world" and that makes for much more of a plausible and compelling story, and Bosch seems fore human. It was a nearly flawless novel of the genre and I consider it to be one of the best that I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: As good as the "Prey" series
Review: Having read (and liked) Mr. Connelly's "The Poet", I picked up this book (number 3 in the Harry Bosch series) and couldn't put it down once I started. I will now start reading the remaining five Harry Bosch novels in chronological order because "The Concrete Blonde" was that good. Harry Bosch is a tough and extremely credible character, the book itself is an exciting read and very well written. I especially liked the fact that it kept you guessing right to the end, providing the reader (and Harry Bosch) with a lot of false tracks to explore. If you like John Sandford's Minneapolis-based "Prey" series, you can't go wrong with Michael Connelly.
Rating:
Summary: Connelly's break out book.
Review: I have read all of Connelly's books in an odd order, but I must say that the details and the twists in this book made me more than happy. The plot and the characters were strong throughout. The Dollmaker is a great villian yet unlike Patterson everything gets resolved in this incredibly good novel.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, suspensful
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was not a typical I know who did it book, I really didn't know. Great mystery, great clues, suspensful and a little bit different. I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Quite possibly the best detective/crime book I have read, and I have read many. Connelly is a superb storyteller with a gift for gritty description and capturing dialogue. His characters are believable and have no hint of the "I'm going to make a fatally-flawed hero to make him appear realistic" mentale that currently pervades this genre. Original, exciting, refreshing and a taut read. Don't start it unless you are prepared to read it in one sitting.
Rating:
Summary: One of Connelly's best
Review: Connelly is a great writer. I've picked up a few of his books with some trepidation, such as the Poet or Void Moon and I always find myself pleasantly surprised. The Concrete Blonde is the territory where I feel more comfortable, it is the world of Harry Bosch, Connelly's usual protaganist. The novel is a brilliant combination of courtroom action and slick detective work peppered with just enough police lingo to immerse the reader in a realistic world without losing them in lots of technicalities. This book delves into past events mentioned in earlier Bosch novels while not alienating new readers. Gritty and poetic, Connelly exceeded my expectations with this book. A must for hard-boiled detective fans, mystery readers, and Connelly fans.
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