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Summary: One of the best by today's best crime fiction writer
Review: Bosch is back. He is now a PI hired by Graciela, wife of his friend, Terry McCaleb. It seems Terry died of heart failure while on his boat. Graciela is concerned that he might have been murdered. As Bosch looks into it, he discovers that someone tampered with Terry's heart medication. At the same time, it seems a killer has reemerged nicknamed The Poet. FBI agent, Rachel Walling is on his trail. The Poet was formerly her mentor and chief in the FBI. As she follows the trail of bodies to a desert site outside of Las Vegas, Bosch's investigation leads him to the same location. They decide to join forces to capture this very dangerous and worthy adversary before he kills again.
THE NARROWS is just another example of Mike Connelly doing what he does best- simply writing the best crime fiction novels being published today replete with superbly sketched characters and frequent plot twists and turns including one big zinger at the end. Mike's books should be carefully studied by anyone wanting to write in this subgenre. It simply doesn't get better.
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Summary: The master!
Review: Connelly is sooo good and he just keeps getting better! I Lost a bunch of sleep last night cause I could not stop reading and now that I am finished I feel a little sad cause its over! All you fans will not be disapointed, and those of you who are unfamiliar with Connelly check him out you will not be disappointed!!!! and also check out "A Tourist in the Yucatan" a great thriller mystery set south of the border!
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Summary: The Return of the Poet
Review: Some years ago, I read a pair of novels by Michael Connelly, back when pretty much no one knew who he was. The Black Ice and Black Echo were pretty good detective novels, but they were also pretty formulaic. The character was the typical slob loner, obsessed with catching bad guys and unable to form a meaningful relationship with a woman unless she was in the department and the relationship itself was work-related. I've followed Connelly's career from there, and worked my way through his books as they've come out (with the exception of Lost Light, which I have but haven't read yet). He's grown tremendously as a writer, adding layers to his characters, his prose style, and his plots. Several of those plots (notably Blood Work, the Poet, Angel's Flight, and the Concrete Blonde) are standouts in detective fiction, so cleverly written that the mystery's just wonderful, and adds layers to the story.Here, the plot is more straightforward. Terry McCaleb, the protagonist of Blood Work, has been killed. Though he and Harry Bosch (Connelly's main character in most of his books) didn't really get along well in life, McCaleb's widow, Graciela, is concerned that his killing wasn't the heart attack it seems, and asks Harry to look into it. Meanwhile, Rachel Walling, the heroine of The Poet, is called out of exile from South Dakota. The FBI HQ in Quantico has recieved a strange package, addressed to her, which leads them to a stretch of desert on the road between LA and Las Vegas, where they discover ten bodies buried in the ground, and strange indications that it might be the same Poet. Their stories merge partway through the book. This is one of the most satisfying books I've read in recent years. I will admit that Connelly's choice to jump between first person narration (with Bosch doing the talking) and third person (mostly following Rachel) was a bit jarring at first, but I got used to it. There are most of the Connelly touches: an enigmatic character who just fades in and out in one scene, but will be recognizable to Connelly fans as Cassie Black, the thief heroine of Void Moon, and of course Connelly's almost encyclopedic knowledge of Southern California. He even gets things like the place to hold a large retirement party right. I like Michael Connelly, and I especially liked this book. I would highly recommend it, though people who haven't read other of his books might want to look into a few others, first.
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Summary: Simply, His Best!!
Review: I have liked most of Michael Connelly's novels, but until this one, I always thought The Poet was his best. With this one, building upon that novel, Connelly has out done himself. Harry Bosch has agreed to look into the death of a good friend at the request of the widow. Everyone thinks it was a heart attack. Through careful sleuthing, Bosch comes up with a scenario which suggests murder, but no obvious reason or suspect. In the meantime FBI agent Rachel Walling, last seen in The Poet, has been drawn back into another search for the serial killer, whom all thought dead. The Poet was her mentor as an FBI agent and he clearly has plans for more killing. As the story moves between Walling and Bosch the lines of the story intersect and Bosch and Walling, while dealing with FBI higher ups that make your teeth hurt, follow the clues and find the truth. If you only buy one harcover book this summer, buy this one. It is flat, dead great.
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Summary: Another Great Read From Michael Connelly!
Review: I always look forward to a new book by Michael Connelly and I was not disappointed in "The Narrows." I read "The Poet" several years ago and re-read it prior to "The Narrows." Although it's not necessary to know who and what The Poet is to enjoy the new book, it allows a better understanding of who Harry Bosch and Rachel Walling are pursuing. Reference is also made to Terry McCaleb from another great Connelly book, "Blood Work." The blending of Bosch's LAPD background and Walling's FBI skills makes one great read!
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Summary: Best of then new books by Connelly, Child, and Sandford.
Review: In a period of one week I purchased and read The Narrows, The Enemy, and Hidden Prey. By far the best read was The Narrows, which continues with characters from The Poet. Plenty of action which keeps the plot moving at a fast pace. If you are going to buy only one of these books, buy the Narrows.
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Summary: Great writing, great reading
Review: I first read Michael Connelly when I read "The Poet" with Terry McCaleb. I became an immediate fan and read all of his Harry Bosch novels and have kept up with that series and the Terry McCaleb series since then as well as Connelly's other books. I have never been disappointed. I thought "A Darkness More Than Night" with both Harry and Terry in it was one of his best. "The Narrows" allows Harry and characaters from "The Poet" and the other McCaleb books to meet and work together to finally eliminate the Poet. Harry's efforts to find out who murdered colleague Terry McCaleb is a thrill ride filled with well-drawn characters and detailed policework. Connelly is one of the best mystery writers out there and whether or not you've read any of his previous works, you won't be disappointed with this one. In fact, after reading it, I am now going back to reread "The Poet" and then reread all of Connelly's books. It doesn't matter to me (like it appears to matter to other reviewers) that we now know what happened to the Poet. It does bother me that one reviewer couldn't even get McCaleb's name right (they called him Gerry more than once!). If you want a good, fast-moving, well-written mystery, then spend a few hours with "The Narrows". You'll become a Connelly fan--if you aren't already!
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Summary: Well Done!
Review: This book had it all. A good story, good characters and well paced writing that made it fun, interesting and easy to read. When Michael Connelly is "on," there is nobody better. In this book he is "on." And I loved the way he incorporated characters and storylines from previous works that had, until now, been unrelated. Well done!
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Summary: First-rate thriller
Review: THE NARROWS revisits Connelly's earlier books, THE POET and BLOOD WORK incorporating the characters of both into this story, but the main focus of the story is The Poet who ten years earlier committed a gruesome series of killings. Thought to be dead, we now find out that Robert Backus AKA The Poet is alive. Rachel Walling is the one credited with not only shooting The Poet, but also with major screw-ups in the case was her banished to the North Dakota office. She sees her chance to get back into the FBI's good graces when she called back into the new manhunt for Backus. Former LAPD detective, Harry Bosch, is asked by the widow of Terry McCaleb (protagonist in BLOODWORK) to look into her husband's death. Backus emerges as the prime suspect in Bosch's case. Bosch and Walling reluctantly decide the work together when their cases intersect. Connelly successfully intertwines the plots of the two earlier works into a suspenseful and gripping new thriller. I would recommend reading THE POET first since many of the characters are from that book. Characters from BLOODWORK are less integrated into this story so it is not really essential to know that story before the current one. We are also shown another side to Bosch's personality while he copes with being a father to a child he barely knows. Michael Connelly's characters continue to evolve with each installment of the series.
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Summary: Great read!
Review: I've long been a fan of Connelly; I've read Blood Work, The Concrete Blonde, The Poet, Angels Flight, Trunk Music, City of Bones, Void Moon, and Black Ice and put each novel down looking with anticipation towards his next great story. Good old Harry Bosch gets to confront a killer's killer in 'The Narrows', the Poet, one bad dude. The stuff nightmares are made of. I have all the Harry Bosch thrillers, and have even read a couple more than once. Connelly is a master at shaping rich characters you long remember, like Bosh and the Poet; his story and plot development skills are amongst the best, as he manages to develop a complete dynamic synchronicity between the two. Some readers don't like the author's switching between the first person and third person accounts, but it grows on you. The thrills, the chase, the suspense, the clues that drive you to logical preemptive guesswork, will all drive you happily crazy as you flip through the pages, staying up long after your normal bedtime. I strongly recommend this book, the audio version is also great. I highly recommend 'The Da Vinci Code' by Brown, 'Therapy' by Kellerman, 'A Hole in Texas' by Wouk, 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' by Baigent, and 'Alien Rapture' by Fouche - which is rumored to being made into a movie. Three of five of my recommendations are books based on real conspiracies, check out the reviews.
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