The Last Coyote

Rating:
Summary: I thought the book was outstanding.
Review: I really like the main character Bosch. It encourages me to buy others. I just don't know what to read next. I bought Trunk Music. Im looking forward to Blood Work. This book was so good that I finished this book real quick, considering how long it was.

Rating:
Summary: Clever Story Line
Review: In this one, Harry (being Harry), gets himself into one mess after another and one pull of the plot is to see how he is going to clear his name. I think Trunk Music was a little better, but this one has a lot to recommend it. Vivid characters, clever story line, and plenty of action. A fast easy read. Michael Connelly always leaves you wanting more.

Rating:
Summary: a great read of nostalgia
Review: you have to read all of the former Harry books to get into the mind of a lonely but troubled hunter in the concrete jungle. I totally disagreed at those readers' comments on Mr. Connelly's books about H.B. Mr. Connelly is a serious writer with a conscience. He is neither a common, mediocre writer such S.Grafton(A to Z stuuu-pid), F.Kellerman(salsa deep), or T. Hillerman(Indian relics) small-times-yet-try-to-be-a-big-deal writers, nor a hilarious, run-away writer such as Carl Hiaassen, or an ill-logic, or unbalanced writer as the author of "Justice Cause"(the only good one). Mr. Connelly gives us a romantic, heartfelt, lonely and very deep character(and those tragic heroines) in the madding crowd. I have been deeply touched by his narrative nostalgic feelings about life, death and love, even principles, if not too much. I usually rarely shedded tears for a character, yet I have wiped my eyes several times for this tragic-flawed but perfectly human hero. There are only two books I did not quite like, The Conrete Blond and the Poet. The Last Coyote was like a season finale, making people think that Mr. Connelly had fulfilled the Harry B. character and wanted let him go into the sunset. That's why "The Poet" was written. But obviously, Mr. Connelly knew, like us, he has to go back to visit Harry often, once he has collected and assembled enough stories to make Harry hit the road again. That's why after the Poet, he made Harry returned, Trunk Music or not, just don't lose that kind of nostalgic touch that Mr. Lawrence Block finally totally and completely lost it! We need such kind of writer as Mr. M. Connelly, to do the Cathasis therapy for us

Rating:
Summary: Connelly continues to excel
Review: I loved this book. The Bosch series just gets better and better. I have come to really like Harry. He is so real. He is a great cop but he makes mistakes. The interesting thing is, he realizes it and always tries to improve on it while he continues to fight the demons that haunt him from his past and present.
My advice is, if you are going to read the Bosch series, start from the beginning (Black Echo). Each book pulls from the previous ones regarding characters and story lines. That's what makes these books so good. This series ties everything in and gives closure at the end. It makes you want to read the next one...right away.

Rating:
Summary: Bosch's Mission Gets Personal !
Review: "The Last Coyote" is Michael Connelly's fourth book, was first published in 1995 and features Harry Bosch as its central character. Something of Bosch's background has been covered in the previous three books. Bosch's mother was a prostitute who was murdered when he was twelve - he spent his teenage years in and out of youth halls. He enlisted in the army and served in Viet-Nam, before returning home and joining the police force. Once a member of the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division, Bosch currently works at the Hollywood Division's Homicide table. He's still a jazz-loving loner, seen by some as a maverick, with a taste for coffee, beer and cigarettes. There have been some changes in his life since the end of "The Concrete Blonde", though - his relationship with Sylvia Moore has finished and his house has been damaged in a recent earthquake. Despite the fact that it's been declared unfit for habitation, he's still unofficially living there.

As "The Last Coyote" opens, Bosch is in trouble with the department again. After his boss, the bureaucratic Harvey "98" Pounds, interfered with the questioning of a suspect, Bosch lost his temper and pushed Pounds head-first through an office window. As a result, he's been placed on involuntary stress leave and has to attend regular sessions with Dr Carmen Hinojos, a psychiatrist at Behaviorial Sciences Division. These sessions contribute to Bosch deciding to investigate the one case that really matters to him : his mother's murder. Although he's working on the case unofficially and has lost his badge - albeit temporarily - he still manages to pull the original case file. Opened in October 1961, it was investigated at the time by two detectives called Eno and McKittrick. Leaving aside the apparent lack of effort to solve the case, a few things seem odd to Harry. The mentions an interview with Johnny Fox - his mother's pimp, and therefore an obvious suspect. However, the file doesn't contain an interview summary. A passing reference to Arno Conklin also catches his eye. At the time, Conklin would have been one of the city's top prosecutors and subsequently became the city's DA. Although exactly what role he had is unclear, his involvement in the case seems curious. The only other person apparently interviewed was Meredith Roman - a 'colleague' and old friend of his mother's, who'd also worked for Johnny Fox. The starting point, Harry feels, is to track these people down - though cut off from the LAPD's resources, he has to be a little more creative than usual in how he achieves this. He starts by using a new contact at the LA Times, Keisha Russell, to gather some stories on Conklin and Fox. Based on what he's read, Harry adds Conklin's campaign manager, Gordon Mittel, to his list of suspects. For other police-related information, Harry isn't above 'borrowing' Harvey Pound's identity to acquire it. However, just because a case is over thirty years old doesn't mean the investigation will be safe - least of all when important people are involved.

As with Connelly's previous books, I found this to be a very enjoyable book - and it deals with the very case I had wondered about. It's probably better, though not strictly necessary, to read the books in order. The 'newcomer' won't feel left out, as this book covers enough of Bosch's past to tell the story without any gaps. However, reading the previous books and getting to know the 'full story' will add to the enjoyment of this instalment. The other books ("The Black Echo", "The Black Ice" and "The Concrete Blonde") are very enjoyable also - reading them will be anything other than a burden !


Rating:
Summary: The best Bosch novel?
Review: The Last Coyote might be the best of Connelly's Bosch series. I hesitate to lay such a claim upon this book if only because it does have some weaknesses in that there is much in the way of unnecessary plot additions here. A love affair that is tired and stalls the stories development comes to mind. Later in this series, you will find tighter stories, but they run into the far fetched over the top sensationalism that makes these books read like a Hollywood blockbuster rather than a serious crime drama. With that aside, I whole-heartedly recommend this book. You should enjoy it for the guilty pleasure that it is. I would say that you should build up to it, don't skip the first books in the series. It is not necessary, but it adds quite a bit to know Bosch's past history.

Try Hillerman or Block for consistent good books in a mystery series, or `Becker's Ring,' by Steven Martin Cohen for a good mystery read. On the more adult side try Quincunx by Palliser or `Wind Up Bird Chronicle' by Murakami. Try Hammett, Chandler, Jim Harrison, or Edward Bunkers Dog Eat Dog. These are all mysteries that are a little more serious and just as enjoyable as what Bosch offers.



Rating:
Summary: Somehow it all works--I really don't know how he does it...
Review: Another wonderful book by Connelly. This one goes straight for Harry's heart. Everything in his life broken (yes, even more broken than usual) and he goes straight into what he calls in Concrete Blonde the "dark heart." Harry finally begins to solve the murder of his mother (again, I could not help but think of James Ellroy's real life struggles) and his own guilt. Some of the twists here are indeed shocking--Pounds for example, but again Irving surpises and we meet some new stars--Russell, Jazz, and even a decent IAD cop. When the story threatens to go off the tracks, connelly brings it back and adds a final surprise just at the end. This guy is SO good.

Rating:
Summary: Early Bosch but still GREAT
Review: Michael Connelly is fast becoming the pre-eminent Mystery/Crime novelist and rightly so. Having read all his books I can't think of anyone who I've enjoyed more consistently. Whether his main character is the endearing Detective Hieronymous (Harry)Bosch, Retired FBI profiler Terry McCaleb, FBI agent Rachael Walling or none of the above, I've enjoyed every story, all fourteen of them.

Of course my favorite main character has to be the intractable Detective Bosch, offspring of a call girl whose murder in 1961 left young Harry orphaned at the age of twelve. The Last Coyote, Connelly's fourth novel, sees Bosch, placed on indefinite leave for putting his Lieutenant's head through a plate glass window and taking advantage of his new found free time to reopen the aged cold case of his mother's murder.

Everybody or Nobody

As far as Harry is concerned, everybody, no matter what their station in life, gets equal treatment under the law. That's why his personal motto is "Everybody or Nobody" and he lives by that creed. Is that a coincidence, I think not. It probably goes back to his childhood and his mother's unsolved murder.

Harry's Mother's name was Marjorie Lowe. After receiving a card five years previously from Marjorie's best friend, Merideth Roman, Harry pulled the murder file to try to reopen the case but he wasn't yet ready emotionally. So now he decided to try again. He had plenty of time between the three weekly visits to Carmen Hinojos, the departments anger management consultant (shrink), so he decided to give it another go. This time Harry got far enough into the murder book to decide that as he suspected, the investigation was whitewashed and some V.I.P.s were involved. Harry discovers Marjorie was seeing Arlo Conklin a former DA. Also possibly involved was Gordan Mittel, Conklin's former aid and now political kingmaker.

Harry has plenty of time but he has no authority and no gun, so when he starts nosing around it disturbs some people. He is still angry at Harvey Pounds, his lieutenant and he needs a badge so he steals Pound's, on the sly. He also throws Pounds name around and this turns out to be a mistake, as it ends badly.

Harry's an endearing character but he's certainly not delicate. Sometimes his investigating style is like a bull in a china shop. He gets results but some dishes get broken. In this case Harry's investigation leads to a couple more murders and almost Harry's demise. But let me tell you, I found the ending to be most surprising, even the second time around. If you can guess the ending before he gives it to you in the last fifteen or so pages, you're a better sleuth than me and I'm pretty good.

CONCLUSION

Bosch is a complex character who doesn't even seem to know himself. On one hand he is a resolutely honorable human being while being both difficult and uncompromising. This dichotomy is not appreciated among his superiors but because he is a extremely competent at his job, they cut him some slack. I think he is so popular a character because many of his readers identify with him in his travails against both bad guys, unfairness and bureaucracies.

Author Michael Connelly is/was a crime reporter for the LA Times for years, which seems to give him a special insight into the world of crime and crime fighters, which is evident in his books. Having been a writer before an author also gives him a concise, economical, smooth writing style that is user friendly, which this reader appreciates. I just finished reading this book for the second time - actually the first time was an audio book - and I'm still amazed how Connelly can jerk the reader around, in a good sense, continuously making the reader guess the wrong bad guy and the wrong outcome. He is a master at misdirection.


Rating:
Summary: Masterful Entertainment
Review: This is the fourth installment in the Harry Bosch series, and overall it was excellent. Fast paced, action packed, a terrific thriller. Harry still has S#@t for taste in woman, but that is actually par for the course in this genre. But, overall, this is a great story.

Rating:
Summary: The Last Coyote,
Review: The Last Coyote, by exciting writer, Michael Connelly, may not be the best in the Detective Harry Bosch Mystery Series, but the series overall was absolutely the best. I enjoy stories that go from one book to the next. I find the ongoing storylines very exciting and think most people who enjoy this genre will feel the same way. I like getting to know the characters on an intimate level. Makes the story seem very real.