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Summary: .
Review: "Stay out of the narrows...", the children of Los Angeles are told. Of Connelly's 14th novel, which takes its name from the LA flood drainage system, it is advice best taken. If you are new to his work, that is - because THE NARROWS is essentially both a coming together of all Connelly's work up to this point, and, I think, a renaissance. If you're a long-term reader, disregard it entirely. Dive in. Indeed, you probably already have. The Poet is back in business. The serial killer escaped at the conclusion of Connelly's novel of the same name. The official word, though, was that he had been killed. But now he's surfaced again, and leads the FBI to a site in the barren Mojave desert where they begin to uncover fresh victims. The FBI brings in agent Rachel Walling, who worked the original case, as an advisor. Meanwhile, in L.A....an old acquaintance of Harry Bosch's dies. His widow comes to the retired homicide-detective-turned-PI and asks him to investigate, citing some very suspicious circumstances that suggest the death was anything but natural. The pre-publication buzz about this novel was remarkable - helped along no doubt by the fact that no advanced copies were doled out, destined in the end for sites like eBay. The level of hype may be part of the reason why I'm a little disappointed. Hell, not very though, it's still a terrific book. Although while I was suspecting it might be Connelly's best, it's not quite. As I've said, THE NARROWS is a melding of all his work to date. As a result, it is actually not quite as convincing as all the other Bosch novels unfailingly are. Too, Connelly has always been excellent at stitching his work into real-life; other authors often try, but the result often seems perfunctory and vacuous. Here, though, while the copious references might absolutely delight some fans, I thought he went slightly over the top, referencing to such an extent that it sometimes becomes rather surreal, making this book neither of this world nor quite of the fictional one - it seems to exist in an awkward limbo. Sometimes, the touches are magical, but here I think he's trying slightly too hard - after all, the reader is all too aware of the true nature of Connelly's world, and the fact that these characters and events don't exist in reality, just their own internal one - even if it's nice to think that, somewhere, they may do, and no matter how many times they chat about the movie Blood Work. (It was nice to see Ian Rankin, though, if only in pictorial rather than corporeal form!) All that above, though, is just me being pedantic and silly. Because, when it comes right down to it, I did love this book. I didn't even mind too much that we don't spend a lot of time in L.A., Connelly's evocation of which is masterful and a great strength of his series. After a while, I didn't at all miss the exceptional passages about the city. Mainly because I didn't have time to, the plot moves at such thrilling pace. It's slick, engrossing, and interlocks just as excellently as it did in The Poet. I certainly would not be surprised if Connelly, and his characters, came back from this work even stronger than before. Considering that he's probably the best crime writer in America, that bodes incredibly well. He's also the most accomplished crime writer I know at keeping his series fresh, and once again there's a wealth of new directions he could go after this. THE NARROWS is very well-written, very enjoyable, and very clever. It shows a crime-writer writing as crime-writers write best. The conclusion, incorporating the aforementioned narrows, is tense and, along with a nice twist, forms an excellent culmination to the book. The last word, though, must go to Bosch. Almost stereotypically fascinating, he stands out because he is probably the least static protagonist in all crime fiction. Both his situation and his character are continually undergoing an evolution, and of course even more is to come now that he's discovered he's a parent:
"All I knew was that I didn't want to teach her anything. I felt tainted by the paths I had taken in my life and the things I knew. I had nothing from it I wanted her to have. I just wanted her to teach me."
Rating:
Summary: Sizzling
Review: "The Narrows" by Michael Connelly is probably the best book I've read in months. Of the three books I've recently had the pleasure to come across--McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood," "The Rule of Four," and "The Narrows," this one is the best. Excellent writing, coupled with great character developement and an impecable sense of timing make this one great book. It was simply riveting. Just riveting.
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Summary: Michael Connelly at His Best
Review: Michael Connelly brought all of his writing skills to bear on his newest book. The Narrows is one of his best, if not THE best of this series. It ties up loose ends from several earlier projects. In addition, the plot of The Narrows moves Harry Bosch's life and character forward significantly. It was good to see Bosch shake the depression he has been in since his last days with the LAPD. But if he was still depressed, he didn't have a moment to waste on moodiness in this action-packed thriller. I spotted a new character who seems likely to turn up in one of Connelly's future plots: Jane Davis, his next-door neighbor at the motel in Las Vegas. I will be keeping an eye out for her.
Rating: 
Summary: Lose the gimicks, please.
Review: While I like all of this author's books, this one felt a little like a stunt to me. The author seemed to go out of his way to have all his protagonists from previous novels meet, and the one from "Void Moon" had no purpose other than to complete the set. The pop-culture references come fast and furious, including numerous references to the movie made based on "The Poet" and many other recent high-profile murders. I'm left to wonder if the book was too short and he needed to pad for length.
There are a few major developments in the lives of his characters, so if you read the series, you'll want to make sure to read this one. Hopefully with the next book, the author will return to the form that drove me to read all his previous books.
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Summary: When It Rains, Stay Away From The Narrows
Review: I had strayed away from Michael Connelly's last book, but heard that with this one "The Narrows", he had brought back the best of his writing. Oh, so very true. This is a page turner in the grandest tradition. Hieronymous(Harry)Bosch has retired from the Detective Division of the LA Police Department, and is doing free lance work. A little private PI work here and there. In the meantime he has discovered that he has a 4 year old daughter, Maddie, who lives with her mother in Las Vegas. He zips up the Interstate several times a month to see her, He has even secured a long time rental of a serviceable kitchenette, bedroom motel room near the airport, something he can afford. The relationship between Maddie's mom and Harry is best at times "troublesome". Into this new PI work, his former partner, Gerry's wife, Graciela, has requsted that Harry help her investigate why Gerry died. Something is not right-Gerry had had a heart transplant several years ago and was doing well. Then all of a sudden he died of heart failure...Graciela found that his anti-rejection pills had been tampered with. Filled with sugar powder. Harry delves into this mystery and finds another mystery in the making that Gerry was looking at. Maybe this will help reveal what happened to Gerry. The LA police are investigting why six men from the LA area have disappeared while in Las Vegas, and no sign of the men has ever been found. Someone had been following Gerry and his family and had taken photos of them and sent the photos to Gerry. At the same time there is a picture of a sign on a desert highway near Las Vegas called ZZYZX Road. And Gerry has written his investigation into small snippets- something about a triangle. Bosch decides to go to ZZYZX Road to see what he can find. At the same time Rachel Walling, FBI assigned to Minot, North Dakota as a result of her last big case that went haywire, is summoned to Las Vegas to help investigate the finding of 11 bodies near ZZYZX Road. She has been notified by one of her former mentors gone bad, The Poet, that he is once again enmeshed in another fiendish crime. Ah,ha, never the twain shall meet? Oh, they have already met in another case, and Rachel at odds with the FBI and Bosch team up to uncover the truths of these grisly murders and to unveil the truth of The Poet. Will they get to the truth in time, will the FBI get their man? When it rains, it pours! A fascinating murder mystery, told with zest and zeal. Compelling and frightening- you bet- one of the best Harry Bosch mysteries. Welcome back, Harry! prisrob
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Summary: Another Good Mystery Delivered
Review: I did not read The Poet and I can see now that there's no point. Regardless, this was a terrific "pre-summer read." It was well written, fun and suspenseful. Read it in three sittings and enjoyed every minute of it.
Rating: 
Summary: The Poet Revisited
Review: In 1996 Michael Connelly treated us to one of the best psycho-sexual serial killer novels of all time. I am usually not a big fan of that genre. Usually authors get to caught up in the slash and dash bizarre elements of such crimes. They almost revel in the depravity often mistaking gore for tension. Connelly never made that mistake. In The Poet, we find that we don't need the in depth details of the crimes to give us the chills, it's enough to see the effects these crimes have on the surrounding players to know we are dealing with a true madman. The Poet was truly that, a madman targeting Homicide detectives. All these detectives were particularly disturbed and obsessed with particular case and when they were found dead in apparent suicides, no one questioned it.
Connelly let us in on the hunt, and when the end of the book came we were truly shocked by the identity of the killer, and dismayed with his escape. Well, it seems that Connelly was equally dismayed. Recently in an interview Connelly mentioned how he resisted writing a sequel to The Poet, but after 9/11 he just didn't feel right letting this evil still roam his universe. Connelly needed to exorcise his demon, and to do that he needed to invite along his dearest friends.
So Connelly pulls together all the characters from his series and stand alone novels to battle this evil. Rachel Walling, the disgraced FBI agent who handled the original case. Harry Bosch, the hard nose retired LAPD Homicide detective who is the object of the majority of Connelly's work and Terry McCaleb, the retired FBI profiler and heart transplant recipient. In a way this is not just a sequel to The Poet, but a linking of his entire universe.
Like a master chess player Connelly spends the first half of the book putting his pieces in the right places. Connelly knows how to build tension through intelligent development instead of explosions and gore. His also infuses a bit of humor into the mix by including many references to the Theatrical version of Bloodwork, and the movies complete disregard for the original tales ending.
Connelly takes on a tough task of trying to complete the tale that The Poet started. While clearly not as good as the original, The Narrows is a worthy follow up to that tale. Connelly's task is tough, because for the most part we know who the killer is and what drives him to do what he does. What he does is create a balance to the world he has created, ending some characters stories, while rejuvenating others.
Rating:
Summary: Housecleaning
Review: Connelly kills off one character, probably to preclude Eastwood making a bad movie from one of his books. The return of other characters leads to a housecleaning of sorts. Bosch finds reemployment and perhaps rejuvenation for the next outing. This one felt like a half-hearted movie sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Not Sure I Agree
Review: I read at least two books a week, time well spent as I rarely watch television. One news program I did see had a reviewer who compared Michael Connelly to Raymond Chandler. I'm sorry, but I don't share that opinion: Raymond Chandler's use of language and his ability to paint extraordinary human portraits does not appear part of Mr. Connelly's repertoire. I find Harry Bosch very bland, his love life could not be more pedestrian, and some of his plot devices -- an F.B.I. agent turned serial killer -- just fabrications. The two best mystery-thriller writers I have found in the last 10 years are both San Francisco writers: Oakley Hall, in his extraordinary series of Ambrose Bierce mysteries set in old San Francisco, and James Dalessandro, author of Bohemian Heart and the just-released 1906, a crime/corruption thriller set against the great San Francisco earthquake that is just mesmerizing. I have just starting posting these reviews, at the urging of a friend, and feel that in addition to telling people what I think about the book I just read, I should speak up about the truly wonderful writers I discover. James Dalessandro and Oakley Hall are the best.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular!!!
Review: Harry Bosch is asked by a friend's widow to investigate her husband's death. She suspects that it was murder, not a heart attack. Concurrently, tarnished FBI agent Rachel Walling (on a "hardship posting" in South Dakota) receives a late night phone call from Quantico indicating that a demonic serial killer, assumed dead, is back in business. The simultaneous plots converge at the Zzyzx Road exit on Highway 15 between Las Vegas and LA. Harry's quest and Rachel's investigation eventually lead to a partnership that adds tension to the story. The characters are well drawn and believable; their strengths and weaknesses probed. Mr. Connelly is a master at quietly producing continuous action that explodes exponentially into a white-knuckle ride. His ability to hide clues in plain sight is extraordinary Taut suspense, intricate plotting and the captivating premise propel Harry and Rachel in their pursuit of the diabolical villain. It is "cat and mouse" at the highest level. The overriding struggles and characters are potent and persuasive, the plot labyrinthine, the twists logical yet unforeseen. Michael Connelly is the magical virtuoso of present day crime fiction. He defines and refines the genre---never playing it safe. "The Narrows" is the most peerless example of contemporary noir writing imaginable. I am certain one can enjoy "The Narrows" without having read "The Poet"---but if one does, it will spoil one's reading of "The Poet."
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