Rating: 
Summary: A master of the genre disappoints
Review: This falls far short of the very high standard Michael Connelly set with his fabulous early books Black Echo and Black Ice. Later efforts have varied in quality, and this unfortunately isn't one of his better ones.The pivotal piece of the plot is not even vaguely credible. Without spoiling it for you,the main character (a retired FBI agent) would have to be a complete idiot to respond as he does to the key "clues." A second key turning point is equally unconvincing. He is still writes well and can move the story, but one hates to report the decline in one of the best mystery writers.
Rating: 
Summary: A Typically Good Bosch
Review: Harry Bosch is one of the characters that I never get tired of reading about. His personality and demeanor have been well developed by Mr. Connelly. McCaleb on the other hand is a little too wishy washy for me. If I never read about him again, OK. Bosch is what makes this amost enjoyable book. It must be hard using the same character again and again, however Mr. Connelly does a superb job. As a frequent mystery reader, I find that I look foward to Mr. Connelly brand of detective fiction. He is my favorite writer, and I look foward to his next novel.
Rating:
Summary: Almost 5 stars...Connelly continues to grab me!
Review: I agree with other reviewers, that, to appreciate Connelly, you need to go back to the beginning & read his books in order. For airport shop readers, that's not good news, but if you consume books like wildfire, you're always looking for a series to last you a few weeks. Both Harry Bosch & Terry McCaleb return in this novel, and although it is great to have Terry back, it is truly Harry Bosch that withstands the test of Connelly's skill in developing a character. We see Harry at his most poised, in the courtroom, and at his most influential - when he turns the tide for McCaleb and sets the two of them on a path to resolve the newest crimes to dot the much maligned LA landscape. The tie in to Harry's namesake, the frightening artist Bosch, is worthy of Michael Crichton. In concluding the book, the reader realizes that it has not been a great "mystery" just a fully absorbing read of profiling and the constant rollercoaster changes that arise in solving a crime. Personally, I know that I've had a great read when I walk around the house all evening, from task to task, carrying the book with my finger in the place I stopped - so I can gulp a few more paragraphs between tasks. In this, "Darkness" did not disappoint, and Connelly keeps me looking forward to his next plot invention.
Rating: 
Summary: Another big winner from Michael Connelly.
Review: What a strong novel. It never loses its hold on the reader. It is extremely hard to put down even for sleep. Mr. Connelly is a master at keeping you turning the pages. The melding of Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb is both a treat and a wonderful juxtaposition of characters. Can they become friends or will there be enough doubts raised to make them adversaries? I strongly recommend going to www.michaelconnelly.com to get the short story that give you the back story and how Bosch and McCaleb first meet. It's very good insider knowledge. It is not easy to to give a precis of ADMTN without divulging too much. The book does a spectacular job of developing the characters of Bosch and McCaleb. My only regrets are that I read it so quickly and now I have another year to wait for the next one by Michael Connelly; and that I did not reread "Bloodwork" and "The Poet" (as reporter Jack McEvoy joins the cast of ADMTN) before starting "A Darkness More Than Night." As a solution I reread "Bloodwork" after ADMTN and will do the same with "The Poet" shortly. Then I plan to reread the entire Harry Bosch series in order (one a month) and that should take me to next MC release. I have been fortunate enough to catch Mr. Connelly on three occasions at book signings. He is just as compelling speaking as he is in print. If he is making an appearance in your area, be certain to attend.
Rating: 
Summary: He Must Have Red Dragon on His Night Stand
Review: A former serial killer profiler for the FBI recovers on an island with his new wife and new baby...until a former colleague brings him a file to look at...the file intrigues him...he gets the scent again...the murders are inspired by famous renaissance paintings... This is my first, and now only, Michael Connelly book I've read...prodded by all the good reviews here... The above description fits DARKNESS, but it could also fit Thomas Harris's first Hannibal book, RED DRAGON, which is a classic of the genre, whereas DARKNESS is just business - selling tired plots without a clearly drawn central evil-doer (unlike, obviously, Hannibal)...the film producer of DARKNESS is only shown at the defense table reacting to the trial...the actual perps are only tossed in at the end...an in between you get an average level of police-procedural dialogue... An extremely disappointing read.
Rating:
Summary: A Journey Well Worth The Effort
Review: If you are familiar with the characters Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb, there is really no mystery here. But, as they say, it's not the destination that is important, but the journey itself. Connelly's writing is fast paced and streamlined. We are not given large doses of non-essential information just to prolong the story, as happens with quite a few other authors these days. We learn a little more about Harry but he remains a mystery, and that is the hook. A journey well worth the effort.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 1/2 stars
Review: See story summary above. This, in my opinion, was a very average mystery. I've read one previous Connelly novel and thought the same of it. I guess if I would have read all his previous novels with both Bosch and McCaleb, my opinion would be different, but just by itself, it's average. It was interesting learning about the actual painter by the name of Heironymus Bosch-who's theme has a major role in this novel-and his rather gruesome paintings. The book did have a steady pace with a better than average ending that I enjoyed. Recommended for mystery/procedural buffs.
Rating:
Summary: Harry Bosh AND Terry McCaleb all in one mystery! ! !
Review: Michael Connelly has combined two fascinating heroes from past books in a suspenseful novel that keeps you up until you reach the end. Terry McCaleb who received a heart transplant and is on disability, has been spending his days waiting for fishing charters. His wife, Graciela, from his book Bloodwork, has given him a new baby daughter that he is enamored with. However, when Jaye Winston from the Sheriff's Department shows up to ask his help in solving a murder that is getting colder and colder, Terry can't wait to get into the "book." At the same time Harry Bosh is the key witness in a sensational trial involving David Storey accused of killing a date after consensual sex and then trying to make it look like sucicide. How the two cases meet and put Harry nearly on the wrong side of the suspect list is the heart of the storey. Just read it! As an interesting aside, there is a minor character in the book that is the central character in a Michael Connelly short storey published on the internet. While I printed it out to read and found the writing just as good as expected from Connelly, I was disappointed in the story. Probably I just prefer the fleshed out longer pages of a full size Connelly novel, and I will look for the next one. At the end of A Darkness More than Night the relationship between Bosh and McCaleb appeared to be terminated, but anything is possible with fiction. I hope they come back to work another case.
Rating:
Summary: Good--but the best writer you've ever read?
Review: I've read a review here that acclaims Mr. Connelly as the best writer that reviewer has ever read (excepting Scott Turow). Well, Connelly is good, but that (semi-easily) impressed person needs to go back and check out the old school before he starts declaring the masters of the field. Hell, even the title of Connelly's new book comes from the grand master of hard-boiled fiction: "The streets were dark with something more than night." --Raymond Chandler, "The Simple Art of Murder," 1944. Everyone great stands on the shoulders of giants (and Turow ain't no giant).
Rating:
Summary: Another outstanding novel by Connelly
Review: With each novel Connelly writes he continues to prove he is amoung the elite writers of the genre. His prose is flawless as is the character development. Darkness is a book very hard to put down once you start (I was up most of 1 night ). I thought it was a nice touch how Connelly weaved together characters from his previous novels, and still keep them in believeable roles. The only reason I give the book 4 stars is I was able to solve the mystery about 100 pages from the end. But this novel is still WELL worth the read.
| 
