I continue to read my way through Michael Connelly’s series about L.A. cop Harry Bosch. CITY OF BONES is the eighth book, and the best since the fourth one, THE LAST COYOTE.This novel begins with Bosch catching a call on New Year’s Day. A dog has found a human bone in a wooded area on a hilltop in Laurel Canyon. At least at first, this is more of a straightforward police procedural than some of the Bosch books, as the various units of the LAPD converge to find the rest of the bones and start investigating who the victim is and what happened to him or her. Bosch and his partner Jerry Edgar head things up, and Bosch, always a man on a mission, finds things more complicated when he begins an affair with a rookie female cop who’s also part of the investigation.
As always in Connelly’s books, there are layers upon layers of plot, and he peels them back with his usual skill. He combines the procedural aspects of the case with the personal life of his main character as well as anybody and better than most. Most of the time I’m pretty good at spotting the killer in Connelly’s books, even if I don’t know all the details of the plot yet, but I didn’t in CITY OF BONES. It’s a fine novel that ends with some changes in Harry Bosch's life, and I’m looking forward to the next book to see where he goes from here.
6 comments:
I am always amazed at the consistency of Connelly's work. I've read maybe ten of his books, and didn't care for only one of them.
When I start one of his books, I always think the dispassionate, almost clinical tone will put me off, but by the end I can't turn the pages fast enough.
We're in agreement there, Graham. I've read eleven of Connelly's novels and the only one I didn't like was ANGEL'S FLIGHT. And I think that was more a case of me just not being in the mood for it rather than anything being wrong with the book.
If I remember the details right, I liked Angel's Flight a great deal. Is it the one with the child pornography angle?
City of Bones I thought was excellent, really one of the best ones he's written.
I don't remember any child pornography in ANGEL'S FLIGHT, but it's been a while since I read it. Maybe someone else here knows.
Okay, then it's a different book, since it's a big issue in the plot. I'll try to check it out.
Juri,
Don't go by me. My short-term memory is notoriously undependable. You may be right about ANGEL'S FLIGHT.
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