Rating: Summary: Good Twist on the Serial Killer Genre Review: The only book I'd read in the Harry Bosch series before this was City of Bones, and I have to say this is a fair amount better. At first, I didn't even realize it was a Harry Bosch book. It starts with the bizarro ritualistic murder of a sad case loner, which brings an ex-FBI profiler Terry McCaleb into the picture. Just as I was about to sigh and groan at yet another FBI profiler vs. serial killer story (ever since Red Dragon/Manhunter and Silence of the Lambs, why does anyone bother?), the case starts bumping into LAPD Det. Harry Bosch.Bosch is the key witness in the murder trial of a big-time Hollywood director, who is accused of having strangled a nobody actress while having sex. While the sensationalist aspect of the case and trial are pretty cliché, the details of the courtroom ebb and flow of the trial are quite interesting and well done. Intermingled with the court case, and its various last minute complications, is Terry McCaleb's off-the-record investigation of the ritual killing. His personal life gets a little cheezy as well, as he's started a new life with a younger wife and tiny daughter on a transplanted heart, but can't resist the lure of an interesting case. Saying any more about how McCaleb's case and Bosch's trial are connected might tip the plot away, but suffice to say there's a good twist or two and some deep dark secrets that come to light. I don't know if some of them relate to previous books in the series, but one might want to read them in order to avoid spoiling anything.
Rating: Summary: Excellent mystery Review: While they are usually intriguing, I have found team-up stories to be generally disappointing. When an author takes a couple of different series characters and puts them in the same book, the result is ofteen mixed; the characters often work well on their own but don't complement each other. With Connelly, however, there is nothing but enjoyment in his team-up of Terry McCaleb and Harry Bosch. This is because this is not really a team-up: although both characters are in the novel, they have very different roles; in addition, Connelly does not evenly balance the two; this is really a McCaleb book. In this story, McCaleb is recruited to look into a ritualistic murder; his evaluation comes up with an unusual suspect, Bosch. It doesn't help that Bosch's behavior and comments are not above suspicion, but then again, Bosch has little sympathy for the victim; in addition, he is entangled in an O.J. Simpson-style high-profile trial in which he is the key witness. McCaleb and Bosch have two different agendas in this book. McCaleb's are rather evident, but since Bosch is a suspect, his motives are more ambiguous. As readers familiar with the half-dozen other Bosch novels, we know that the killer is someone else. Don't we? Then again, Connelly is quite adept with the plot twist, so even Bosch isn't above suspicion. It is not essential to have read the other books in the series to enjoy this one (but it doesn't hurt either). Connelly has had quite a string of top-notch thrillers and this continues the string. If you enjoy mysteries, you can't go wrong with this book.
Rating: Summary: Entertaining but ... Review: ... like one of the reviewer said, "Not Enough Bosch". And when he appeared, he usually on the court ... not spending his time investigating. Compared to the previous one, "Angels Flight", this one is a little behind. But I still enjoy the mystery and the "art lesson" of the real "Hieronymous Bosch".
Rating: Summary: TERRY JOINS HARRY Review: After reading Connelly's "Blood Work," I wondered if he'd do another book with Terry McCabe. Well, here it is, and it's a winner. Terry is now married and has a young child, and is drawn into a complex murder case by his former cohort, Jaye Winston. Of course, Graciella doesn't want him involved, even though they would never had met if she hadn't drawn him into her sister's murder years earlier. Anyway, Terry jumps in and guess who the main suspect is? Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch!!! The way Connelly uses Harry's name is unique and a focal point in why Terry thinks Harry's guilty. Of course, Harry's involved in trying to put away a sleazy Hollywood director, accused of murdering a rising starlet. The case rests on Harry's testimony, as the smug killer confessed to Harry that he did indeed kill the girl. Terry investigates and finds many unusual clues, such as an owl, which leads him to discover the painter Hieronymus Bosch, who Harry was named after. The pictures reveal murders that fit the graphic crime scene, and McCabe is certain Harry may have finally gone off the deep end. The plot moves along and you keep wondering, what in the world is going on? Is Harry bonkers? Is he being set up? And why did Graciella turn out to be such a whiny woman? This is answered and more, and the dark sides of both Terry and Harry are revealed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating: Summary: Not Enough Bosch Review: I'm a great fan of Michael Connelly's and would recommend the Harry Bosch books to anyone who likes a good detective novel. It's obvious that Connelly has read Chandler and read him closely, and while he can't reach the heights that Chandler did, Connelly gives Hollywood a dark and tawdry glamor. Bosch is an interesting character, sometimes traced back to "Dirty Harry" Callahan, but Bosch has been enriched and rounded out over the novels that precede "A Darkness More Than Night." Bosch is willing to break all the silly procedural rules and he's dogged in pursuit of the truth, but from the beginning a reader knows there's no real cruelty in Bosch. Anger, yes; impatience, yes; short-sightedness, yes. But no real cruelty. So anyone familiar with the earlier Bosch books would have trouble accepting the premise that Harry has crossed over to the dark side and taken to executing criminals. Anyone familiar with the reputation of Terry McCaleb, master profiler, would have trouble accepting the premise that McCaleb would easily embrace the idea of Bosch's transformation. Yet that's precisely the situation that we're faced with in "A Darkness More than Night." Speaking for myself, I didn't find McCaleb that interesting in the earlier "Blood Works," and I was less impressed with him here. McCaleb is almost as whiny as his wife, Graciela. Glad to see the new heart's working out, but it's hard to believe this man was ever a crack FBI agent. Perhaps the immuno-suppressive drugs have eroded McCaleb's intuitive capabilities. So--this book has too much meandering McCaleb and not nearly enough Harry. The ending, too, with a moment of weak-kneed insight for each major character, is no way to end a hard-boiled police procedural. Connelly's weaker offering is still better than the average writer's best. But I hope in the future he leaves McCaleb parked out on Catalina and gets Harry back on the streets of Hollywood.
Rating: Summary: Medium Review: I'm a big fan of Connelly (Angels Flight is a classic detective novel) but this is one of his average efforts. I agree with other reviewers that the solution is telegraphed. I also think that the "revelation" about Bosch in the last few pages (McCaleb's last visit to Bosch) doesn't withstand scrutiny. I won't explain why because I don't want to give away the plot but I can't see how it jibes with the rest of the book. Still, I could barely put the book down and it was very entertaining.
Rating: Summary: Highly Entertaining But Uneven Tone Review: Isn't this what all readers dream of? Their favorite author combines several of their well-known characters in one book? That's what A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly proposes to do. I have to say that the title is just great and every book I've read by Connelly is both well-written and also one of those books you want to read as quickly as possible to find out what's going to happen. Often his books aren't about solving the mystery so much as delving into the motivations and inner demons of the detective solving the mystery. This book, more than any of his others, is more about what the two detectives, Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb, are thinking and feeling. But since the book shifts back and forth between the two of them, the tone is uneven and a bit disorienting. Still, it was a great read, but I found that there were a few dangling characters and ideas in this book, things that are introduced and then discarded. The book does raise interesting ethical questions about legal procedure versus punishing the guilty. I would highly recommend that you read the other Harry Bosch works and the Terry McCaleb book (Blood Work) before you read this one, since it reveals a lot of the plot details from previous novels.
Rating: Summary: Mccaleb and Bosch in one book! Review: ...The book gripped me from the beginning, as being Connelly one of my favorite authors. A very well written novel. 5 stars.
Rating: Summary: When I figure out the mystery before the profiler does ... Review: ... I lose interest in the book. It is not badly written and has some fairly engaging moments, but once it became obvious what was going on (about halfway through) I just skipped ahead to the ending. With some mystery/thrillers, you can figure out the killer and his plot and still enjoy the book, but I didn't find this to be one of them.
Rating: Summary: starts and ends well but soft in the middle Review: This is the first Connelly novel I have read and it did not meet the hypeI liked the way he began the novel and it had a strong ending as well.The attempted frameup of Bosch was alsoclever. However the middle 200 or so pages of the book seemed padded at times and connelly's unfelicitous prose did not help. I recommend the book but only marginally
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