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A Darkness More Than Night Unabridged

A Darkness More Than Night Unabridged

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $26.39
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not his best....
Review: As an avid fan of Mr. Connelly, I was a little disappointed in this book. It was great to see McCaleb and Bosch together in the same book. And as always, Connelly weaves in characters from other novels, which makes for an interesting read.

What I found hard to believe is the shadow of suspicion cast upon Bosch, and that McCaleb and the others fell for it so easily. A seasoned investigator, Bosch is involved in his own high profile murder investigation and prosecution, and now the reader is to believe that McCaleb seriously considers that Bosch is on the streets dishing out his own brand of vigilantism? Give me a break - Bosch is one of the good guys.

This wasn't the page turner Connelly has churned out in the past, but the characters were well developed, and the plot lines interesting. If you're new to Michael Connelly, try one of his earlier novels first....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Tome of Earthly Delights!
Review: I have read every one of Connelly's books and this strikes me as the best to date although "The Poet" and "Bloodwork" are masterful. Hats off to the pairing up Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb. What makes Connelly such a singular storyteller is his literacy -- an extraordinary ability to write detective fiction with lofty brushstrokes of intellect.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Weak on Plot
Review: Like most of the other reviewers, I have read all of Connelly's work. He has got the "pulp mystery" down as far as style. He is unevem on plot, though. Sometimes this means a complete surprise ending involving characters that were not even relevant until the last 20 pages -- clueless (to the reader) perpetrators, in a sense. "Darkess" is the opposite. The readers knows who did it within the first 30 pages and also knows that the leading suspect throughout the book is not the guilty one. So disappointing to know so quickly where things are going and then read on to discover you were right. A good effort with a majoy weakness.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Enjoyable, entertaining, a fast-paced thriller
Review: This is only my second Michael Connelly book (the first being "Void Moon"), so I wasn't familiar with the two principal protagonists. However, after reading this book, I want to know all about them. I am in the process of scouring book-sellers and auction sites for earlier Michael Connelly novels, particularly books featuring these two characters..

This book draws you right in from the opening chapter and is paced well. It certainly keeps you turning pages. The finally little twist in the plot gives you something to consider. Michael Connelly is a skilled and entertaining writer. After only two books, I am adding him to my list of "Buy anything new by..." authors.

Whether or not you are familiar with his other books, please do yourself a favor and read: "A Darkness More Than Light."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Page Turning Excitement!!
Review: I started this book at 2 o'clock in the morning and barely managed to turn my light out an hour and a half later!! After receiving permission to virtually ignore my family, I curled up with this book and didn't set it down until I was finished!! Riveting is too calm a word for this union of Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not His Best, But I Liked!!
Review: Mr Connelly does it again. I've ready all his books and have yet to be disappointed. I just wish this book had more Bosch in it than McCaleb. Harry Bosch is one of the best characters of Connelly's novels. He solves crimes like no other. I won't give away any of the plot, but I definitely recommend. Can't wait for his next novel.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wow
Review: Good thriller, two detectives pushed(?) together - but not really working together - and a dead-end murder that ties everything so neatly together. I was a bit surprised at the end (and I won't say what with, obviously), but it worked for me. Another one that's hard to put down.

I also enjoyed a short story that appeared on ... which explains the background of cooperation between McCaleb and Bosch (but, even without it, you don't miss out anything).

Read this book.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good but not great.....
Review: While this book was more entertaining than a lot of books out there, it does not live up to the normal high standards set by Mr. Connelly himself. To me the mark of an outstanding book is one in which I feel frustrated if I have to put it aside to do other normal daily activities. This book did not meet that criterion. If the book had disappeared for some reason before I'd finished it I would not have cared much. I too did not find it reasonable for McCaleb a seasoned, experienced former agent to fall so easily into believing the worst of Bosch. I would recommend Connelly's earlier works if you want to read truly excellent writing.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Tired and implausible
Review: Sometimes, when an author's been around for a while and finally gets a book that hits the best-seller lists, it isn't necessarily the author's best book. But hitting the lists is roughly the equivalent of an Academy Award an actor gets for past performances even though the award is being given for a new movie that's less than wonderful. That is definitely the case here, with A Darkness More Than Night.

There are two books here, with two heroes--both featured in previous novels by Connelly. One works, the other doesn't. Harry Bosch has, from day one, been a viable character. Terry McCaleb was viable in Blood Work. In this book, he's absurd. What Connelly posits here is that a very experienced former FBI profiler would make a gaff of such epic proportions that he puts Harry Bosch in the soup. Sorry, that doesn't fly.

While McCaleb is busy profiling, the real narrative is happening in the Harry Bosch chapters. That's when the book comes alive and gets interesting. Sadly, Connelly is trying to pull off a double whammy and every time he goes back to McCaleb the book falls on its face. This makes for tiresome reading. It's a plot that simply isn't worthy of the work Connelly's done before. I can only hope that he'll go back to focusing on one hero at a time, rather than attempting to push two into the package for the price of one.

The McCaleb part of this book is simply implausible, and therefore annoying. And the title is worked to death; it must figure in the text twenty-five or thirty times. Rather than slogging through this one, I would recommend going back and reading the early Connelly books, where the energy is full force, the plotting is tight, and the characters are up and running at full speed. A Darkness More Than Night reads as if the author had a deadline to meet and was working on only two cylinders. It's tired, not believable, and very disappointing.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A master of the genre disappoints
Review: This falls far short of the very high standard Michael Connelly set with his fabulous early books Black Echo and Black Ice. Later efforts have varied in quality, and this unfortunately isn't one of his better ones.

The pivotal piece of the plot is not even vaguely credible. Without spoiling it for you,the main character (a retired FBI agent) would have to be a complete idiot to respond as he does to the key "clues." A second key turning point is equally unconvincing.

He is still writes well and can move the story, but one hates to report the decline in one of the best mystery writers.


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