Rating: 
Summary: Interesting conclusion (sort of) to the series
Review: Michael Connelly has been doing these Harry Bosch novels for some years now. Bosch is the stereotypical detective, and if anything that's always been my one main objection to him: he's a bit too much of a stereotype, right down to the jazz on the stereo, the chain-smoking (though he did finally quit), the casual attitude towards superiors, and the dogged determination to clear every one of his cases.The current book follows Bosch and his partner, Jerry Edgar, as they look into what they at first imagine is a false alarm. A man walking his dog in the Hollywood Hills has let the dog run wild, and the pooch returned with a bone in his mouth, which the man thinks is human. This happens regularly, and the bone is usually from an animal, but this time the dog's owner happens to be a retired doctor, and he knows what he's talking about: it's human. Soon Harry and Jerry are working a twenty-year-old homicide, apparently a runaway who was killed, for what reason they don't know. They can't even make an identification. Then it turns out there's a convicted child molester on the street, and things begin to go sideways and get ugly at the same time. Connelly has this sort of thing downpat now. The mystery's not the most surprising one he's done, and the plot is somewhat meandering, but the characterization of Bosch is well-done, and the other characters are interesting too. There are several strange twists in the plot, things that you weren't expecting, all of which aren't directly connected to the mystery of who killed the kid. The ending, which I won't reveal (though I guessed what was coming), is something of a mystery too, though the preview of his next book in the back told me where he was going to take things. Anyway, I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it, though of course anyone reading something like this should first read some of the earlier books, so that they get some background on the characters in the story.
Rating: 
Summary: very good....
Review: I enjoyed this book, it kept me guessing. Connelly didnt give out a lot but gave you enough to wonder what was going to happen next. The books deals with peoples past and how we all have serects that we have to deal with. The life of an LAPD detective with all his twist and turns in about a week in this mans life, trying to solve a case. Over all it was a good book, I hope you enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Never judge a book by it's first 400 pages
Review: I'll be succinct: damn the conclusion stunk.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Bosch is at his best in City of Bones.
Review: In City of Bones Michael Connelly continues to develop his ability to write realistic, thoughtful crime novels. Detective Harry Bosch of the Los Angeles Police Department appears to be at the end of his long career and he is at the top of his form as he struggles to discover who has killed a 12 year old boy buried in a shallow grave in the Hollywood hills. Harry learns that the bones are twenty years old and belong to an abused child. This cold case would have have been quickly relegated to the unsolved murder files, but Bosch identifies with the long dead child and he is determined to track down the killer. First he discovers the indentity of the child and then slowly and methodically collects and interprets the clues he needs to identify the murderer. I have read four other Bosch mysteries and this is the first time I have been satisfied with the overall development and conclusion of the story. Typically, Michael Connelly starts out strong, as with the Edgar Award winning novel, The Poet, but then strains our credulity as the story reaches its conclusion. Not so in City of Bones. While he has a long way to go before he reaches the stature of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, in City of Bones Harry Bosch does emulate some of the deductive prowess of Sherlock Holmes as he sifts through the evidence and moves relentlessly forward in the case. City of Bones has more careful detective work than non-stop action. One shoot-out in the middle of the novel is all the gun play the reader will find. Incidentally, an attractive rookie police officer Harry has come to love is killed as she shoots herself while holstering her weapon. Instead of murder and mayhem, Connelly takes us into the squad room and out in the field with Bosch as he does the careful and painstaking police work that helps him to solve a crime which would frustrate and defeat most other detectives. City of Bones is a carefully written and intelligent crime story that should please most fans of this genre.
Rating: 
Summary: Feh!
Review: What are you people raving about? Pedestrian, lazy writing, dictated on the run to the next story conference.
Rating:
Summary: Nice style, but did I miss something?
Review: Okay, this is my first time reading this author, and I will say it won't be my last, but only because I loved the writing style in this book. The problem is with the ending, but that seems to be an epidemic problem in all the novels I read lately. Perhaps they are just getting too big, and too hurried for that royalty check to awe readers like that HAVE to when they first start out. The killer is just not set up good enough, not really a reason, no real proof, just guess work. This book could have been great, but it was just good.
Rating:
Summary: Fast entertaining read
Review: Enjoyed this book. Hope Harry doesn't really retire anytime soon.
Rating:
Summary: Fizzles
Review: This book gets off to a really dynamic start, and sucks you in. Unfortunatly, the ending doesn't deliver as promised. I was very disappointed. There is also a sub-plot that adds nothing to the story, other than length. If you want a Michael Connelly book, pick something else, unless you have already read all his other books. At least you'll enjoy the beginning.
Rating:
Summary: Michael Connelly needs to take a break
Review: I've been following Michael Connelly since Black Echo and I'm pretty impressed with his detailed plots, fleshed-out characters and crisp writing. However, he seems to be losing his touch with City of Bones. The story started out well but faltered 2/3 of the way. You'll know who is the killer when he is introduced, so there's no surprise at the end. Harry Bosch, despite all the back cover blurbs saying it would change him forever, is still the same, the ending notwithstanding. Maybe we're getting numbed by the current CSI, The Shield, Boomtown, Law & Order assault, but then again, that's just me.
Rating:
Summary: Run of the Mill Cop Yarn
Review: This was my first Harry Bosch book. I do not think I needed to read its predecessors (although there were a few vague references to Bosch's prior problems with the police brass). I found this to be a pretty run-of-the mill detective story. The characters were good, the writing fine and the police procedures interesting when analyzing 25 year old human bones. I thought the plot was going very well - including a few erroneous leads being followed. However, the ending left me disappointed. In the last 75 pages, one suspect is arrested, then the charges dropped and then the real killer identified and the crime solved. After such a long set-up it concluded too fast and in an unsatisfying manner. I enjoyed the book, but I did not find anything in it to recommend it over other detective stories. It was solid but no more. If you are a fan of this genre, I think you will be amused but not ready to rush out a buy some more Bosch books.
| 
