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Summary: VOID MOON IS MASTERFUL, MAGNIFICENT & MARVELOUS!
Review: I have now read every single book that Michael Connelly has written and I believe that each book definitely gets better and better. I enjoyed Void Moon and Angels Flight the most. Void Moon was so good. I kept picturing a movie in my mind the whole time because the scenes were so intricate in detail and the description of the characters and their surroundings were so well done. Action, suspense, betrayl, and death are all in this book. I couldn't believe how so many people died in this book! Jack Karch is one evil man. Mr. Connelly created a wonderful lunatic to chase Cassie across Las Vegas and the state. I hope Cassie Black is back in his future novels because she is a great character, although you can definitely call her a "Bad Girl" considering the fact that she robs people when they're asleep, she is still portrayed as the protaginist. I can't wait for "A Darkness More Than Night" on January 23, 2001!
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Summary: Literate, exciting, real.....
Review: This was the first Connelly book I read. (on the advice of a friend i trust). Those who know Connelly from his Harry Bosch series won't be a bit surprised at the tense, exciting REAL quality of this novel.Connelly really gets you into the head of his main character, Cassie Black, a reformed thief who is forced into one last job by circumstances beyond her control. Connelly really gets inside the head of this woman, who has some secrets in her past, and wants to begin a new life. The intricate plot also leads to new information about the death of Cassie's lover and mentor. To say much mroe would spoil your enjoyment. Check out this literate thriller by ex-crime reporter Connelly.
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Summary: Somewhat anticlimactic
Review: This is a decent read with no real twist. I found myself not wanting to finish the book at times, but did anyway. I would not recommend this book.
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Summary: -"hooked on outlaw juice"-
Review: This is a fast paced story of a professional thief by the name of Cassie Black who's "hooked on outlaw juice," the thrilling world of crime. Cassie's out on parole and obsessed by the death of Max, her lover and partner in crime. Because of a well kept secret, she's willing to risk her life and freedom to perform one last big time robbery. Jack Karch adds the sinister touch to the story. Our lady thief makes a very sympathetic and likable character which is what makes this story work. It was also interesting to read the exacting details of planning a big robbery. I was very amazed to read how much technical knowledge and skill that a master thief needs to have. Michael Connelly is one author who knows how to entertain and keep the reader interested. I've read and enjoyed every book that he's written.
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Summary: An Interesting Experiment for Mr. Connelly
Review: I admit that I enjoyed _Void Moon_, but I didn't absolutely love it, the way I did such books as _Angels Flight_ and _Blood Work_. This is an interesting deviation from the sorts of material--police procedurals, serial killers, intricate plots, etc.--that Michael Connelly usually presents in his books. Ultimately, though, it just wasn't as good. Maybe part of the problem is that I've just come from a year wherein I read the complete Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) Parker series, about an amoral thief and his carefully organized heists. It's hard to measure up to that standard. Cassie Black, the protagonist in _Void Moon_, is an ex-convict who once specialized in burglarizing the casino/hotel rooms of high rollers, with her lover, Max. Some years ago, the two of them ran into some misfortune and, due to the Byzantine laws in effect in Las Vegas, Cassie was imprisoned for manslaughter in Max's death, even though she was waiting for him in a casino lobby at the time. Now out on parole and working in a Porsche dealership (a pretty comfortable, high-profile gig for an ex-con), she's inexplicably drawn back to attempt one more job, in the same casino where things went so wrong. In the course of the job, she crosses paths with private detective and psychopathic casino dirtywork man, Jack Karch, the son of a deceased magician of some renown. Karch is an effective creation, a scarily-convincing bad guy, who very quickly picks up Cassie's trail in an effort to retrieve the money she's stolen. On the whole, though, this wasn't as ingenious a plot as I'm used to with Michael Connelly. I guess I've come to expect more twists and turns, a more carefully, deviously plotted story. This is a good book, don't misunderstand me, but I just don't feel that it lives up to some of his previous novels.
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Summary: No other book like it!
Review: This book is absolutely his best, and one of the best I have ever read. It will grab you from page one, and hold you to the very end. You'll never guess how this one turns out. It combines fabulous suspense, a tug at the heart, outrageously delicious plot twists, and characters that are just cliche enough (intentionally so, I'm sure) to make you shake your head and smile. A true treasure of this genre.
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Summary: A Caper to End All Capers
Review: From page one, Cassie Black's story intrigues. Connelly masterfully hints at a past that while memorable is also painful and retribution seeking.
Grant you, Connelly does not have the luxury of developing Cassie's character over a series of books as he does in his Harry Bosch novels, but within the 300+ pages, the reader gets a satisfactory portrayal of a woman in transition.
Cassie, an ex-con, works in a Porsche dealership in the L.A. that Connelly uses as a backdrop in most of his novels. The routine of her job combined with her regular parole visits jolt suddenly when she discovers that another far more important and unrevealed portion of her routine will be disrupted. In an instant, the old need for what Connelly describes as "outlaw juice" hits her, and she decides that instead of the quiet life of the reformed thief, she desires nothing more than to go back to her old life of precarious excitement in Las Vegas. She makes the connections she needs with the precision of a Swiss watch, and within days a job is set into motion that places Cassie in the path of Jack Karch, one of Connelly's sleazier villians in an already excellent portfolio of the underworld's sleaziest characterizations.
I'll admit that when the story switches from the third person Cassie Black viewpoint to that of Jack Karch, I was a little disappointed as the direction in which the novel heads becomes easier to track. But Connelly keeps up the pace and I found myself reading page after page until at 3 AM I finished the book and decidedly spent the ensuing day happily sleep deprived. Once Jack rears his ugly head, the story catapults into a satisfying tale of "the caper" with all the adrenaline inducing charge of film stories like "The Italian Job" or "The Thomas Crown Affair" told in the more world weary underbelly of Las Vegas and L.A. while still maintaing its ability to depict a complex animal like Karch and reveal all his Freudian impulses in a complete and unboring fashion.
I will not reveal the plot; its certainly provides enough entertainment for anyone who enjoys probing the psyches of the amoral within the confines of a fast-paced popular novel. While the overall outcome of the story could be worked out by the reader, the manner in which it all is accomplished is successfully employed by Connelly and the outcome provides an entertaining respite from the reader's routine world. Recommended to all who like a quick well-done suspenseful read where there is no need to lessen the pace to look up a word in the dictionary.
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Summary: 4 Stars Good read
Review: Just finished reading this book and I really liked it. Ex con takes an inside job and get more than she bargined for. Las Vegas and lots of trouble. Cassie is trying to get things back to normal in her life but cant seem to shake the horrible death of her lover Max. This book takes many twists and turns and keeps you guessing till the end. My first Connelly book and I cant wait to read more by him. If you like cons, Las Vegas, and suspence this is for you.
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Summary: I wasn't Moonstruck, but not disappointed
Review: I never had a problem putting this book down. Sure it reads fast, but it didn't grip me. Though I enjoyed the book, I never found myself looking forward to picking it up and reading it. I never stayed up into the wee hours reading or read instead of doing more constructive activities. One of the literary mechanisms Connelly employs is to drop hints, or character memories or semi-cryptic dialog throughout the book enticing you to read further in order to discover their hidden meaning. I don't remember if he used this device in either The Poet or Blood Work, but in this book I found it tedious and annoying. Maybe I'm just being cranky and overly critical, but it did nothing to entice me to pick up the book and read more or prevent me from putting the book down. Hey, your mileage may vary. Overall, it was a good read. I've read a lot worse and a lot better, but I am not disappointed that I read this book or feel it was a waste of time. It was worth it just for the ending. Next to revenge plots, I love a triple-double-double-super-duper-double-cross ending. I'd recommend it as good book for a trip or some escapist reading. For more details, go to aj.huff.org. Thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: Not on par with Connelly's other books
Review: I'm a huge Michael Connelly fan, but this book didn't do it for me. Initially, I thought the problem was that it wasn't a Harry Bosch novel, but then Poet and Blood Work weren't and I didn't hate those the way I hated this book. In fact, Poet is one of my favs. No, the biggest problem is that Connelly didn't make me care for the main character, or her plight. She's an ex-con whose life was turned upside-down by her own poor choices and now she's making another bad choice thinking that it will fix the things she's messed up in the past. Personally, I didn't really care if she did what she set out to do or not. Then there's the reason she's doing it all--to get back a daughter she gave up years before. My thought as I was reading the book: "You've already caused the kid enough trauma. Why add to it by making her feel like a yo-yo or a tug-of-war rope?" Some parts of the story were just unbelievable--from her easily acquired high-tech burglary equipment to the fact that's she's a washed up burglar going after a stake even bigger than she planned and, of course, being chased by the people she stole from. Then Connelly added in bit of information about a dead ex-husband,who I cared even less about than the main character. The ex-hubby was also a thief but not lucky enough to be jailed for his last crime--he died while committing it. And now, many of her tasks take her into the same footsteps as that fateful night that she lost him. (snore) Even the glitzy Las Vegas wasn't enough to breath excitement into this dull book.
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