Rating: 
Summary: Great idea, good movie, okay book
Review: Blood Work is a timely subject, foreshadowing ethical, political, and personal questions which will become more important as we adjust to the transplantation and creation of body parts to keep ourselves alive. The basic story revolves around FBI profiler Terry McAleb's need for, acquisition of, and resulting complications from receiving a life-giving heart donation from a murder victim. Although Connelly's work is good in itself, Brian Helgeland's screenplay makes the story come alive in ways the book cannot. Clint Eastwood has been criticized for many aspects of his self-directing, self-producing, and self-starring roles, but the movie works and it is much more entertaining than the book. The May-September Wanda De Jesus-Eastwood romance enhances the story's theme of renewal of life and adds more poignancy than is possible in the book where the two characters are closer in age. Although Paul Rodriguez's over-the-top performance as the PO'd Latino detective is distracting (albeit, with some funny lines), I think it brings out the ethnic interplay of the characters and the environment better than the book does. After all, this is LA, and this is today. But where the movie really shines is in the portrayal of the villain. In the book, we catch only fleeting glimpses of the killer and never hear about his motives from him. However, in the movie, the villain is an integral part of the story. His life and motives may be a little too obvious and perhaps subtract from the suspense, but the book doesn't do any better job of fleshing out evil. The ending also shines in the movie but falls short in the book. Connelly gave us little dread or anticipation. The movie delivers both, not only with Eastwood's constant concern about his heart transplant going bad and a violent bout with a burly Russian, but also with the final confrontation between Eastwood and the killer himself.
All in all, an okay book, a better movie, but not an all-nighter.
Rating: 
Summary: Connelly's best work in my opinion
Review: Blood Work starts off with an unusual premise and then continues to pull the reader in many unexpected directions throughout the reading. Connelly has a couple of flaws as a writer that shows up without fail in each of his books. That is the villains are pretty much the same from one book to the next and as a reader you get used to looking for what becomes obvious hints. Also he always turns the hero, in this case Terry McCaleb, into a victim. So you could say that every Connelly book is very formulaic. Which is too bad, mainly because Connelly's prose is by my standards up there with the best writers working this genre today, Maybe topped or equaled only by Lawrence Block and Tony Hillerman.
What's great about this book and why I like it even more than the Bosch series is that it is toned down several notches. Not until the very end does it become super sensational and over the top. Not until the end does the formula completely take over in an attempt to neatly tie things up.
I just want to say that it is a privilege to have so many great pulp fiction authors out in the world bringing entertainment to us masses. And I want to thank Connelly for being one of the better of these.
Rating:
Summary: Good work
Review: I give this book four stars because it is not the fast-paced suspense thriller I expected it to be but it was certainly compelling. I also give it four stars because the ending was a little weak. What weakened the ending was the killer's motives. Everything just happened too fast to take in one gulp. I'm not going to give away the ending here. I'd much rather you read the book because in spite of these flaws, the story is good. I give this author credit because he writes the story in such a way that it allows the reader to play detective, as opposed to the story being an obvious giveaway. I've rarely had the chance to read this kind of thriller. I also give the author credit for the originality of the story which, overall, gets four stars from me because it is well written.
Rating: 
Summary: His best work
Review: I have read a number of Michael Connelly's novels. This, I feel, is his best work. The ex-FBI agent Terry McCaleb has just been given a new lease of life with a heart transplant only to be persuaded to take on a case that has the police baffled. McCaleb quickly breaks the case open but, as he does, it gets weirder and weirder. An apparent random killing seems anything but.Graciela River's sister is the victim who manages to persuade McCaleb to take on the case. McCaleb is reluctant at first until Graciela pulls her trump card. Her sister's death is what gave Terry his new life - he has her heart. Using old contacts in the LAPD he manages to get enough information on the case to get it moving where once it lay dormant. One of the subplots in this book is the rankling between the agents on the case and Connelly - particularly as clues seem to point to McCaleb as the killer! This sort of tension can be overused in detective stories but Connelly does a great job of balancing the different aspects of ego, honor and getting the job done. The premise of the book (which I can't reveal without giving the whole plot away!) is truly original. Like many great detective stories the clues are there if you can spot them. Connelly's greatest achievement in this book is to keep the plot rolling and building. Just as you think it has reached a quiet point, something dramatic - but never that unexpected - happens to bring us back to the chase. It's one of those books that you constantly find yourself saying, "Ah, of course!" and is very enjoyable as a result. If you haven't read any of Connelly's novels before, this is a great opener; if you have read them - what are you waiting for?
Rating:
Summary: Far better than the film...
Review: I know it is silly to compare movies to books, esp. when they are this good, but what the heck. I saw the movie before I even knew who Michael Connelly was. I backed into my love affair with Connelly's books...I read Chasing the Dime last year and the Poet soon after. Then I found Void Moon, which I liked, and the Narrows which I loved. And then I went backwards to Harry Bosch. So, after the Narrows where Terry dies (nothing given away there folks), I started fresh with Harry and Terry. The book is a solid love story, exceptional police procedural, and has a tightness the movie lacks. I mean, Buddy as the killer? Even Buddy maligns that choice in the Narrows. The conclusion to the novel is far better!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down!!
Review: I'd never read any of Michael Connelly's work before. I'd heard of the movie, and thought it sounded interesting, so I figured before I watched the movie I'd read the book. From very early on I was completely engrossed. I'm an avid fan of true crime, and Connelly knows his stuff. Suffice it to say, anything else going on in my life was pushed to the side and I finished the book in 24 hours. I did eventually watch the movie, as well. It was ok, but the book was (as is usually the case) far better.
Rating:
Summary: By Far one of his best
Review: Michael Connelly has become one of my all time favorite authors. I had just finished reading the Poet and was a little disappointed. Then I picked this up from the library. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this one. Terry, a former FBI agent in LA, is retired and slowly getting his life together after a heart transplant. HE is visited by a stranger who asks him to help find the killer of her sister. Little does he know, he is connected to this sister in an unusual way. Against his doctor's advice, he starts investigating the murder which leads him on a journey of hard to find clues and speculation. The story line is unique and flows nicely. This is one of the best I have read all year. If you haven't tried a Connelly, you can't lose with this one!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Search for a Killer
Review: Michael Connelly is one of the best crime novelist writers I've ever read. Every book I've read of his has been a rollercoaster of emotions & suspense. I haven't been disappointed yet! I'll admit it took me a little bit to get used to Terry McCaleb, since I'm a huge fan of the Harry Bosch series, and who can top that? However, before long I was enjoying Terry almost just as much. Blood Work is full of twists & turns, in search of a killer. Terry McCaleb, who has just had a heart transplant is supposed to be at home resting, retired from the FBI. Until the woman who's sister died so he could have his heart, asks Terry for his help in finding her killer. How can he turn her down? I don't want to reveal too much, so I'll leave it at that. If you like crime novels and murder mysteries, I guarentee you'll love this book. There wasn't a dull moment. And I'd also recommend the Harry Bosch series, including Concrete Blonde, Trunk Music and Angels Flight.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Search for a Killer
Review: Michael Connelly is one of the best crime novelist writers I've ever read. Every book I've read of his has been a rollercoaster of emotions & suspense. I haven't been disappointed yet! I'll admit it took me a little bit to get used to Terry McCaleb, since I'm a huge fan of the Harry Bosch series, and who can top that? However, before long I was enjoying Terry almost just as much. Blood Work is full of twists & turns, in search of a killer. Terry McCaleb, who has just had a heart transplant is supposed to be at home resting, retired from the FBI. Until the woman who's sister died so he could have his heart, asks Terry for his help in finding her killer. How can he turn her down? I don't want to reveal too much, so I'll leave it at that. If you like crime novels and murder mysteries, I guarentee you'll love this book. There wasn't a dull moment. And I'd also recommend the Harry Bosch series, including Concrete Blonde, Trunk Music and Angels Flight.
Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced, Exciting Mystery
Review: Michael Connelly steps away from his hard-boiled Harry Bosch novels and introduces us to retired FBI Profiler Terry McCaleb. McCaleb is recovering from a heart transplant and living on a boat in the marina when the sister of the woman whose heart Terry received asks him to find her sister's killer. What appears to be a routine robbery begins to take on a more sinister direction as McCaleb begins to piece together some overlooked evidence. This thriller adds a lot of suspense not just from the events surrounding the murder but also from Terry's unstable physical condition. He can't drive, he doesn't know when he's hungry, has to constantly monitor his temperature and blood, and is easily fatigued. Connelly populates the book with an excellent supporting cast of characters such as Graciella Rivers, the heart donor's sister and potential romantic interest for McCaleb; Detective Arrango, a detective who resents McCaleb looking into his investigation; and Buddy Lockwood, McCaleb's beach bum neighbor and part time chauffer. The plot may be a little contrived, but it's Terry's pain at how he received his new heart and the debt he feels he owes that drive this story. McCaleb is a thoroughly enjoyable character. As Terry begins to make certain discoveries, the suspense builds to a final satisfying conclusion.
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