Rating: 
Summary: Quick Summer Entertainment from Connelly
Review: I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but (as a mystery reader) I had the outcome of this book figured out about 100 pages into it. I had read "Blood Work" and "Last Coyote", so was happily familiar with both Terry McCaleb and Harry Bosch as characters, and with Michael Connelly as an author.
Despite thinking ahead to the resolution, I was compelled to finish by Connelly's crisp writing about some good, solid detective work. (Even though I do feel the references to Bosch, the painter, were contrived, I guess suspending one's imaginative boundaries allows for fiction in the first place.)
For a quick summer read, people could do lots worse than Connelly. And even if you know where it's headed, there are some nice twists and turns along the way to keep you motivated.
Rating: 
Summary: VERY CAPTIVATING
Review: I read a number of works by Michael Connelly and all of them were quite captivating. Michael Connelly was always able to combine a good story with an excellent presentation. A Darkness More Than Night is not the best of his works and it is not the worst of them. It is just one of them, as good as the rest of them. I enjoyed it very much and, of cause, you should see it for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Sheesh
Review: ... The premise of this book is ludicrous: a respected and dogged police detective, of many years standing, becomes the prime suspect in a grisly killing? And might have killed a bunch of other bad people? Huh? If you've read any other Bosch books (...), you'll know that Harry ain't no freakin' killer. The whole idea is aggravating. The wimpy asides of his detectives make me gnash my teeth, and the awful (even embarrassing) predicaments he shoves them into make you wonder how they ever got to the lofty heights he claims for them. The former FBI profiler in this book is an idiot. And his wife and kids, over whom so much angst is spilled? Nonentities...
Rating: 
Summary: Weak
Review: OK then. The name of the (first) detective is Hieronymous Bosch. A murder is committed where the crime scene is stuffed full of clear allusions to motifs in paintings by Hieronymous Bosch. So obviously it was Bosch what done it. Or so thinks the (second) detective McCaleb for quite a long time really until... Is it really as silly as that? Yes it is.
Rating:
Summary: A Darkness of the soul
Review: In the long series involving his signature character Harry Bosch, Mr. Connelly writes of the darkness found in good men everywhere. Police officers who deal with the worst that society has to offer while trying not to lose their own decency. This novel is no exception and another pleasurable read. If this is your first exposure to Mr. Connelly's prose, you are in for a real treat. Harry Bosch is a LAPD detective and is currently involved in an O. J. style celebrity court case. An actress is dead, and a movie director who was last seen with her is on trial for her murder. Bosch knows the defendant did it, but proving it in a court of law under the watchful eye of the media is becoming increasingly difficult. Separately, Terry McCaleb, three years after his life saving heart transplant in the earlier novel 'Blood Work' is dragged into reviewing the death of Edward Gunn. McCaleb isn't an F. B. I. Profiler anymore, having given it up to start a new family and move on in to a less stressful life by doing fishing charters. But when contacted, he reluctantly agrees to review the case and becomes drawn in realizing that there is nothing that he would rather do than find and stop the psychos that walk among us. As surprising links are formed between the case and the court trial, Mr. Connelly examines the fine line between good and evil. He poses the moral question that if a killer was going to be killed by another killer, and it could be stopped, should it? By knowing it would happen, are you responsible? After looking into the abyss so long, when do you become part of it? Like his other excellent novels, Mr. Connelly once again mixes the elements of a strong plot, tough dialogue, and strong characters in his own very distinctive style. While these characters are the ones that we know and love, they are in no way static, but constantly changing and evolving. Each new novel brings about new shadings of the Harry Bosch character as well as others in the ensemble cast. A Darkness More Than Night is no exception to the rule and it will be interesting to see if what is hinted at in the ending is true. If you are new to Mr. Connelly's gritty work, I strongly encourage you to begin at the beginning of his series with the novel 'Black Echo.' Like all his books, his first is filled with the trademark items that make his work so enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: This book breaks boundaries
Review: A sequel to the brilliant Blood Work although can be read without reading the former. This book is not as good as Blood Work but is still worth more than the money you'll pay for it. This time ex-FBI profiler Terry McCaleb who now has a family helps the LAPD track down a serial killer. What makes this book brilliant is that the hero detective from Connelly's other books (Harry Bosch) is McCaleb's main suspect. This book breaks boundaries. It would be like the question could Alex Cross actually be a serial killer himself in James Patterson novels? Could he? Could Harry Bosch? Think about it? You'll need this book to answer that question.
Rating:
Summary: Major Problem Sinks Plot
Review: That Terry McCaleb (of Connelly's earlier novel _Blood Work_) could somehow, even for a moment, suspect Harry Bosch of being a murderer? This is a plot twist that pretty much blows the book apart--if you're even a tiny bit familiar with the Bosch series, this is going to hurt your reading. This twist marks the beginning of a three-book downturn for Connelly, which he's only recently recovered from with _Lost Light_.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed, but still enjoyable.
Review: The bad news is that compared to some of the other Connelly books, _A Darkness More Than Night_ is a bit of a disappointment. The good news is that a disappointing mystery by Connelly is much better than the best of most other writers. While combining McCaleb and Bosch was an intriguing idea, it never quite worked out in terms of plot. The contrast between the two men and their different philosophies is striking (probably what captured Connelly's interest about the idea) as is the difference in approach that they take to the demons they both specialize in hunting. McCaleb has chosen for a new life, a baby daughter, a different way. Bosch walks the same dark roads he's always walked-- his marriage in ruins, his actions often heavily limned in shadow. Unfortunately, it seems as though Connelly gets so caught up in his characters that he takes his eye off the ball-- the ending was predictable to the point where I think most readers figure the angle way too early to be able to effectively maintain interest. It's also straining credibility to add McEvoy to the mix-- a reunion of former characters is just a little too precious. So, while Connelly fans may enjoy despite the flaws (I did!) this review should serve as a note of warning to first time Connelly readers-- don't begin with this book. There are better books to start with if you're going to start with either Harry Bosch or Terry McCaleb as characters. For Harry Bosch (bitter avenging cop), pick up _The Black Ice_. For Terry McCaleb (retired ex-profiler, pick _Blood Work_.
Rating: 
Summary: Standard Hollywood detective fare
Review: Standard in this case is good, as there are a lot of good writers of detective/murder mysteries. You've got at least one veteran that's seen it all, and that person probably has an authority figure problem. There are strains on personal life. And the mystery somehow draws the protagonist personally into the story. That's usually what you find in these books, and you find all of it here. So when this happens I'll look to see if the mystery teaches me something about a world I've not been exposed to. In the case of this book, there's not much to offer. The protagonist is a retired profiler, and we've seen that. The mystery also takes place in the Hollywood area, with people big in the movie business involved. We've also seen all that before, and only have to look in the newspapers to see stories just as good. We do get a bit of an art lesson, in that a killer is basing the crimes on the work of a medieval painter, and this is what gives it the third star. But that's not enough to bring it into higher ground, especially with so much competition in this field.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: "A Darkness More Than Night" is a book that restores my waning interest in mystery fiction. The plotting, pace, level of legal detail, and characterization are outstanding. Michael Connelly writes with a gritty, no-nonsense style that makes no attempt at wit, pretense, or flourish. The result is a classic hard-boiled detective tale of top quality. The only problem with the book is that the story's premise starts out eerily similar to Thomas Harris' "Red Dragon," in which Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter makes his debut (and which the movie "Manhunter" was based on). An ex-FBI profiler (Terry McCaleb) with a medical condition (and a family that wants him to stay out of the sicko-hunting business) is approached by an ex-partner (Winston) for assistance in the bizarre, unsolved murder of ex-con Edward Gunn. He takes the case, of course, straining his health and family relations. But from there the story veers from Red Dragon and is quite unique and compelling. McCaleb's analysis of the ritual-style murder scene uncovers hidden clues that connect the murder to 500-year-old paintings by Hieronymus Bosch, whose works depict his vision of hell and the sins of Man. When links to the deceased and LA detective Harry Bosch are found, McCaleb narrows his focus. Then he finds a print of one of these paintings in Bosch's apartment--and a possible motive for Gunn's murder. The case, though strange, begins to look routine and all but solved. But, of course, Connelly is only toying with the reader. The plot is complicated by a seemingly separate high-profile murder case that Bosch is currently testifying at for the prosecution. McCaleb must determine whether Bosch is the actual killer, or the target of an elaborate frame. He must do so before Bosch's credibility is destroyed, ruining the prosecution's case. And he'd better do it before he and a few others get killed for their efforts. This is a marvelously twisty tale. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of BIG ICE.
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