Rating: 
Summary: Rises well above genre
Review: This is the first Michael Connelly book I read (am currently reading the third). I was interested in reading one that just came out in paperback, but decided to read earlier books about the two lead characters first...good choice on my part. This is the earliest book I could find and was a good enough introduction to Harry Bosch, although I would've liked to have found earlier adventures of his.It captured me from the beginning with the description of the crime scene and the Los Angeles area locale. The conflict between personalities and branches of law enforcement who should be working together to solve a crime is a constant theme woven throughout the book. And there is a fascination watching as a man's life is pieced together by the investigators. But the real fascination is with the skillful guidance down the wrong path with the main character and the subsequent twists and surprises. There are clues, but I'm learning that Connelly is good also at tossing in irrelevant information in a way that makes it appear relevant for a time. There's no cheating. There's quite a bit that can be anticipated if the clues are caught. The characters are stricty three dimensional, with no cardboard characters. Some you care for and some you don't. But they live and breathe. This can be enjoyed either as an entertaining read, or as a puzzle, a game in which the author plays fairly, and yet very likely will manage to surprise you at least in some of the particulars. There's plenty of depth here if you choose to read from a deeper level.
Rating: 
Summary: hardcover 1st edition published 1997- a pleasurable read...
Review: After a leave of absence, LAPD detective Harry Bosch comes forward via request to investigate the circle of circumstances involving the death of Anthony Aliso, whose body is found in the trunk of the victim's car, parked on Mulholland Drive. Author Connelly immediately catches the reader's attention with depth, each "clue" leads to another piece of solving this thriller - such clues as the mysterious substance found around the victim's eyes. Each time Bosch thinks he has the biggest lead to the murder of Aliso, another corner is turned, leading to more information that detours Bosch to trail the killer(s). Is Aliso's wife involved in any way? Are the individuals who Bosch meets in Las Vegas gambling casinos involved? In the process of investigation, Bosch is taken back in time to a former acquaintance, more-than-friend Eleanor Wish. Bosch encounters "enemies" within the LAPD and FBI who "hold" information over him, attempting to deter and dismiss Bosch from the case. With supportive efforts of the investigation team including head of department Billets, and department members Kiz Rider and Edgar, Bosch continues his travails to catch a killer. Connelly spins this mystery like a smooth operating gambling wheel -- each piece of information, each character, each action, fit into a slot making for a pleasurable, entertaining, suspenseful, intricate and clever mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Good enough to keep reading, yet disappointing
Review: Reading this book, I kept reading to find out whodunnit of course. What I didn't realize was that my suspicions of whodunnit were right from the very beginning. I guess if you read enough murder mysteries, you sort of begin to pick up on the clues that make the story predictable. When things are coincidental, there is probably a reason. When something begins to make sense and fall in place too easily, there is probably a reason. I found the new police characters to be refreshing but tired of the IA inquiry, the boring and rambling dialogues throughout the book and the Harry Bosch greater than thou character. I wouldn't recommend the book. Once you know who the killer(s) really are, the book struggles along and stretches out the story another 75 pages or so that aren't necessary and I felt at the end I should've seen the words, "And they all lived happily ever after".
Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Harry Bosch Novel
Review: TRUNK MUSIC finds Harry investigating an apparent mafia hit on a small-time movie producer. The victim has been found in the truck of his car with two bullets in his head. He was shot from behind at very close range. Of course, Connelly provides plenty of twists before you get to the end. Some will surprise you even if some don't. But between Harry's personal travails and the difficulties of unraveling the case, there is plenty to keep the pages turning. Besides a convoluted plot, Connelly also provides characters of depth and lots of rough edges. This is Connelly's fifth Harry Bosch story and it's the fifth one I've read. I've thoroughly enjoyed each one and I recommend them to anyone who likes gritty police procedurals. It's not really my favorite genre, but these are exceptional. Harry has developed steadily throughout the series, however, and there are elements that crop up from previous books, so if you haven't read any Harry Bosch stories before, I advise going back and starting from the first. I highly recommend TRUNK MUSIC, along with each of its four predecessors.
Rating:
Summary: Another Bosch page-turner, but pc to the nth degree.
Review: Very well plotted. Twists and turns to marvel at. Detective Harry Bosch is terrific. Boy, what a tough guy. You can't believe he is saying or doing THAT! Yet it makes sense, and, of course, he's one of the good guys to cheer for. Atmospherics also good. Subtleties of character interactions, conversations, etc., are exceptional. However, I'm personally not sure I will read another in the series, which would be my third. Underneath all of the toughness and seeming realism is political correctness to the nth degree, which almost becomes humorous. Except for the heroic main character (and by implication the author) and his love interest, you can almost predict the nobility and reasonableness of the characters by what demographic group they fall into. Guess who the biggest villain turns out to be? Don't worry, I won't tell, and you will probably never guess. Michael Connelly is a very good writer --but he should forget about trying so hard to advance social progress through hard-boiled detective fiction and just concentrate on telling his wonderful Bosch stories.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites so far
Review: This is one of my favorites of the Harry Bosch books so far! This book had it all, the suspense, action, drama and even a little love story for Harry.
Rating:
Summary: One turn after another
Review: This book makes so many turns that you will never imagine how is going to end, when you think everything is solved it gets another turn and believe me, you wouldn't be able to close the book until the end.
The must important part of the book is that shows that the police department are men, and as all men of the world, they have their own problems and secrets, their problem is that the life of a policeman is public and everybody knows what happen to them.
The story of Harry and how he work to save his career is almost like superman, but this is a very good reading, if you have this book, just read it.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: This was the first Harry Bosch novel that I read and I found it to be quite enjoyable. The characters were terrific and there was never a dull moment. I would definitly read another. Good mystery.
Rating:
Summary: MORE TROUBLE WITH HARRY
Review: If I were Harry Bosch, I think I'd get a job as a bouncer or something...the poor guy, he's at it again and he's up against more internal affairs investigations. There's one time in here in which his new chief, Grace Bittell, looks at him and says, "Harry, why don't you grow up and stop these pissing games?". Bravo, Grace.
Now, don't get me wrong. Harry's still a great cop and he has a nose for finding out the details in snaring his criminals. Although in this one, he and his cohorts Kimz Rider and Jerry Edgar, blow it big time. But the new chief is a more intricate and understanding one than the previous Harvey Pounds.
Anyway, in this multi-focused book, Bosch is up against the murderer of a small-time Hollywood producer who is killed in the trunk of his Rolls Royce and it looks like a mob hit. Of course, Harry is not so sure about it, so off her goes to Las Vegas to do more research. He stumbles upon a likely suspect in Luke Goshen, who is more than what he appears to be. Lo and behold, Harry also stumbles upon his former love, Eleanor Wish, who has spent five years in prison for her part in a nasty crime committed in an earlier work. So add this to Harry's problem and you've got quite a bit of trouble brewing.
Connelly makes this work for him most of the time, although I tend to agree that the ending comes a little quicker than usual and even though we have an exciting climax in a little shopping mall, there's even one more little twist that Connelly tags on that's not really that exciting. However, there is a surprise for Harry at the end as far as his love life goes.
All in all, you really can't go wrong with Harry Bosch or Connelly. He's a great writer and you can't help but fall in with Bosch and his bullheadedness...he gets the job done!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Rating:
Summary: Altogether average
Review: This is quite good...but at times i had to work hard to convince myself that parts of it weren't a bit dull. The main problem lies in the fact that whatever happened, the reader isn't made to care. The victim is never really fleshed out, and neither are some of the suspects. The writing is great, and the dual cities of LA and Las Vegas are written about well, with a well evoked atmosphere in each case. (As is the norm for Connelly.) Harry Bosch is on fine form once again. In fact, it is him that lifts this book's from a three to a four star rating. When his love interest is introduced about a quarter of the way through, the pace (and interest) picks up a little. However, she is not featured enough, and soon interest drains away once more. The next time it gets interesting is only when there is a plot twist or two. From then on, this book does get better. There are a couple of first class twists along the way that are really unexpected and they freshen up the material. However, the final solution is disocovered about 75 pages from the end, and thenceforth there is almost nothing extra to add to the plot. there is no final surprise, no last twist, no last minute realisations. There is a small surprise, i suppose, but it does not really carry much weight, and the 50 or so pages we travelled to reach it dont seem all that worth it. All this being said, it is quite an interesting book, and there are some unmissable developments in Bosch's love life, which make this book worth reading. By no means his best book, but for Bosch fans, it should be read. Casual perusers should read one of the other Bosch books.
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