Rating: 
Summary: Another outstanding Connelly story...
Review: These books--thrillers, crime novels, whatever you want to the call genre--are often cliche ridden, filled with hollow characters and dialogue, and have all too neat endings. Connelly avoids all of that. He writes exceptionally well and the characters here are fleshed out and vivid. I have not read any of the Harry BOsch novels; sticking only to COnnelly's stand alone works. This is a very interesting story; with a compelling lead character. Connelly writes Cassie as a strong, flawed, and very real woman. Karch is a wonderful foil for her. I wasn't thrilled with the use of the little girl in the climax, but suprising it avoids most cliches. I particularly liked the subtle twists in the last 75 pages. Connelly does not stretch his scenes. He lets them stand on their own power. Another strength...the last chapter. It is not a "neat" ending, but a good one. One note--beware how the publisher is trying to wring every last dollar out of you. Try not to buy the "trade" paperback; the bigger and more expensive one. IS it worth the extra 6 bucks? I don't think so. I hate when they are that transparent in their attempts to make money. Oh, well. That isn't Connelly's fault.
Rating:
Summary: Cassie Black- a unique character
Review: The unique thing about this book is that the main character is a criminal, kind of a "bad guy". BUT- you like her. You sympathize with her, you enjoy her. Void Moon takes place in Las Vegas and is about Cassie Black, who was recently released from prison and who is now on parole for involuntary manslaughter. The death took place while she and her partner were robbing a man who had just won thousands, only to find that a crime they were veterans at, went awry. Now, struggling between a "normal" life and the fast-paced exciting life of crime is where Cassie finds herself. Then enters an offer to make money she's never known, in a crime that's taylored for her...but the gamble is huge- will she survive or ruin her life trying? Void Moon is not my favorite of Connelly's, but I certainly enjoyed it. It is fast-paced, and with a setting like Las Vegas, the tapestry is rich and filled with quirky and memorable characters. Definitely be sure to check out other books by Connelly in his Harry Bosch series- including Angels Flight and A Darkness More Than Night.
Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
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.
| 
