Rating: 
Summary: Finally...a Smart, Fast-Paced Thriller
Review: Ex-FBI agent Terry McCaleb spends most of his days onboard his boat where he's recovering from a heart transplant. It's a quiet, restful life until Graciella Rivers steps onto McCaleb's boat. She wants McCaleb to find the murderer of her sister Gloria. McCaleb is uninterested until Graciella discloses one addition piece of information: the heart McCaleb received once belonged to Gloria. McCaleb learns that Gloria's murder is more than just a random act of violence during a convenience store robbery. To say any more would give away too much of a great story. What makes the story great? First, Connelly writes smart. The story is intriguing, fast-paced, and most important - believable. As a reader of mysteries and thrillers, I really get tired of writers who jerk you around from one red-herring to another in order to steer your attention away from a plot detail you might have otherwise noticed. Connelly does none of this. His story (and his writing) has a flow that reads very naturally and easily. BLOOD WORK is one of the smartest thrillers I've read in a long time. Well worth your time and money. 496 pages
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Blood Work!
Review: This was my first time reading a book by Michael Connelly. I saw somewhere that Clint Eastwood has a movie version of "Blood Work" coming out in August and what I read of the plot interested me so I got the book. It did not disappoint. I enjoyed "Blood Work", I'm looking forward to seeing what Clint Eastwood did with it and I am definitely checking out some of Mr. Connelly's other books. Terry McCaleb is a retired FBI Agent who specialized in profiling serial killers and he's fresh off a heart transplant. His new chance at life is compromised when he learns that the woman whose heart he was given was murdered - and her sister wants his help in finding the killer. McCaleb's unofficial investigation is hampered by his condition (still recovering from transplant surgery) and turf battles with local law enforcement who don't exactly appreciate hints from a former fed that they may have missed something. Plus he's become emotionally attached to the murdered woman's sister and son, and someone seems to be setting McCaleb up to look like a less than innocent recipient of a life-saving organ. I liked the way Connelly was able to use McCaleb's heart transplant to both drive the plot forward, as a motivating force, and to hold McCaleb back, in terms of the reality of the situation - he couldn't drive a car because of air bags, he had to get someone to drive him or call a cab; he had to take a ton of medication and monitor his temperature to make sure he didn't reject his new heart. Later on in the book, he took a lot of chances that could have jeopardized his health, but it was necessary to the plot (he wasn't going to solve the murder from a hospital bed) and there was always an awareness that he was doing something risky - in fact his doctor was ready to dump him as a patient because of his actions. It put an interesting twist on a murder mystery/thriller. "Blood Work" is fast-moving and entertaining fiction. It's made me want to read other Michael Connelly books and I'm looking forward to seeing the screen version.
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: 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: 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: 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: 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.
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: A different, excellent thriller
Review: This is my first Michael Connelly book. His flowing, easy writing style grabbed me from page one, and along the book the cool plot and the above-average developed, human and likable characters did the rest of the job for me. His other books will be part of my reading list, no doubt. The main character is Terry McCalleb, a retired FBI agent, now living in a boat anchored at a marina in LA. He's retired because his heart played a trick on him, and he had to wait two years at the organ-receiving line, almost loosing his life in the process. Finally, two months after a successful transplant, all he wants to do is fix his boat and drive to Catalina. But then, suddenly, a beautiful woman comes along and asks him to investigate the violent murder of her sister. McCalleb says he's off the game and won't do it, but then Graciela (that's the woman's name) says he should think about it, since the heart now in McCalleb's chest once belonged to her deceased sister. From then on, the book goes from a seemingly simple situation to a very complex plot. It's interesting to see how Connelly makes McCalleb work, sometimes even to complete loose ends, just to a little bit later discover something he had previously missed. McCalleb is a coherent character, and the reader can't help but like him. Other characters are intersting as well, good ones and bad ones. After reaching the end, I noticed that the solution is in plain sight in the middle of the book, if the reader pays enough attention or is interested in spoiling the fun for the end. I suggest not an investigative reading, but an enjoyable one. Just go along with McCalleb and it will be fine. Not the usual serial-killer-forensic-investigation thriller. Way above average. Grade 9.1/10
Rating:
Summary: Smart thriller
Review: This was my first Connelly novel and I wasn't disappointed. I noticed that there was a movie but decided to read the book first. The plot is clever and the book well written. It's quite hard to put down after the first couple of pages. I like to keep an open mind when reading a book, perhaps you can say an emtpy mind, but I figured out where the story was going almost immediately. Still, I couldn't put it down and you won't be able to either. Michael Connelly is definitely an author I will read more off.
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