Rating: 
Summary: Can't put Connelly down!
Review: I read (or listen) to everything Michael Connelly writes, and he never disappoints. This is the ninth novel featuring Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch, who remains dedicated to uncovering the truth no matter where it might lead. Harry has retired from the LAPD, disillusioned by his countless battles with police bureaucracy and hypocrisy, but he remains haunted by the sight of a murdered victim's hands that were arranged by the killer in almost a supplication. He decides to track down a few leads to see if he might get somewhere. The case involved the death of Angela Benton, who had worked for a bank that loaned $2 million in cash to a movie company to be used as part of a set during a movie. The cash was taken during a robbery on the set. In a seemingly unrelated case, Harry has been called to visit a cop who had been paralyzed during a shooting in which his partner had been killed. Harry learns that an FBI agent had been killed in a seemingly separate case, but before she died she had discovered an anomaly in the list of serial numbers of the $100 bills heisted from the movie set. Harry wonders if there might possibly be a connection between the three cases and begins to investigate. Suddenly he's confronted by stone walls and official FBI and police notice that he stay as far away from the case as possible. After he tries to borrow some files from the paralyzed cop, he's unceremoniously taken by FBI, to facilities they use to keep suspected terrorists under wraps. He learns that the elite Homeland Security Team is involved in the case and is using its dictatorial authority and secret powers to maintain control of the case.
That's when the book gets really interesting, because Harry captures on videotape the FBI manhandling the paralyzed cop. He had originally installed the equipment to check on the cop's wife, who the cop claims has been abusive to him. He uses the video to extort information from the FBI and to retrieve information about the original murders that no one would provide. It's really fun to watch them get manipulated so masterfully.
Rating: 
Summary: Lost Light - A Shining Light
Review: This well written Harry Bosch story comes with a big difference from all its predecessors. No longer is he the badge carrying, full time detective Harry Bosch, but Harry Bosch retired and Harry Bosch, private investigator. In his own words "Like a reformed smoker whose hand digs inside his shirt pocket for the fix that is no longer there, I constantly found myself reaching in some way for the comfort of my badge. My job in this world, badge or no badge, is to stand for the dead." Harry picks up on an old case from his days in the Los Angeles Police Department when Angella Benton, a production assistant on a movie set, was brutally murdered. Just a few days later there was an armed hold up and robbery of $2million from the set of the same film which Angella had been working on. In the aftermath of these crimes a former colleague who also worked on the case is left paralysed after being ambushed in a terrorist style attack in a local tavern. It is clear that despite his retirement of now 4 years Harry is uncomfortable that these crimes remain unsolved and will likely remain that way unless someone starts digging again. He is the ideal person. Indeed, he is determined to "stand for Angella". As Harry starts asking awkward questions he unearths a myriad of rumour, gossip, innuendo and the like. It is not at all clear whether these scraps fit together or even whether they are relevant. It would not be unlike trying to do a jig-saw when you are on the other side of a glass which is steaming up and you don't even know if you have got all of the pieces, but at the same time are sure that some of the pieces are from a different puzzle. Harry's lack of official credentials, and in particular the all-powerful LAPD badge, make his task harder still. Adding to the challenges are the post 9/11 environment and increased police operational powers which combine to place more obstacles and hazards in Bosch's quest for the truth. Michael Connelly introduces a number of characters from earlier Bosch novels into Lost Light which gives regular readers a sense of bonding with Harry. His serious girlfriend Eleanor and two or three former colleagues are the main "old friends". The romantic relief provided by Eleanor is a welcome diversion from the violence and intrigue which form the main thrust of the storyline. The plot twists and turns and only those who really think "out of the square" will be able to work out the dramatic and surprising ending.
Rating:
Summary: Harry's a PI Now and He's Better than Ever
Review: Harry Bosch has left the LAPD and now has a PI license. When he left the job, Harry took files from an unsolved case with him. A two million dollar robbery on a movie set had left one man dead, another wounded and one of the robbers had been wounded by Bosch himself. Prior to the robbery, the production assistant for the movie company, Angella Benton, had been murdered. Now Bosch feels the two crimes were related. Quadriplegic former fellow officer Lawton Cross, whose partner was killed in the same incident that wounded him, was shot in the line of duty. His memory was partially affected by the injuries, but he wants Harry to track down the criminals. Bosch, meanwhile, is haunted by the memory of Angella Benton's hands as she lay dead. During the course of his investigation Harry runs foul of the FBI as he becomes involved in the disappearance of a woman agent who is tied to the crimes he is examining. Harry is challenged emotionally as well, when he has to turn to his ex-wife for help in his case. This is a dark story with depressing themes and lots of violence, blood and gore. It's also a page turner of the first order. The action is furiously fast, the characters are all too real and for Bosch buffs like me, it's not to be missed. Reviewed by Judith Ann Cole
Rating:
Summary: Harry Bosch Back In Action
Review: For anyone who thought Harry Bosch was over and done with, think again. This is a great book that will keep you guessing and has a surprise ending. Also, interestingly, it is told in the first person by Bosch. If you have never read Michael Connelly's books, just wait until you find out what you've been missing! If you've read all but this one, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read . . .
Review: I found this book to be compelling and suspenseful - one of the best in the series. While I don't really like Harry Bosch the man, the complexity of his character makes him both interesting and real. He is further developed in this novel yet he continues to juggle right and wrong, arrogance and experience in his pursuit of justice on a four year old murder case. The plot is fascinating and weaves into it a number of events and characters. The reader moves right along with Bosch (all the more easily due to the first-person narration), as he tries, and eventually succeeds, in putting all the pieces together. The book includes a look at post September 11 law enforcement practices that should give us all pause and continues to examine the dark side of human nature while still managing to provide an ending full of hope and promise. A must-read . . .
Rating:
Summary: losing the light
Review: serial novels always run the risk of growing tired and i think the harry bosch novels are falling into this category. they're good, quick reads, but that's because they feel like they were written quick. i would not say don't read "lost light", but i will ask you to be a little critical of it so that mr. connelly realizes his readers aren't buying his short cuts anymore. his ending is way too neat and while i don't want to give away any spoilers, harry bosch is starting to feel more like an indestructible superhero than a real cop. while robert parker's spencer series often falls into conveniences, i still feel the character is believable. harry bosch is starting to get on his high horse and his self-serving, moral soliloquys are getting tiresome. i feel that while a great deal of energy went into creating an intricately plotted crime, there's a huge lack of believability going on here that smacks of rushed writing. ignore your publishers and try writing one novel every two years and see the stark improvement. mr. connelly's novels are getting tired and it's a shame because he is capable of great stuff and still young. i dread the 47th harry bosch novel and hope the character is dead by then. this reminds me of henning mankell, my favorite crime writer, who realizing that his detective kurt wallander might fall victim to the same fate, decided to stop writing him. it hurts because i truly love that character but i appreciate mankell's strength in sacrificing wallander instead of letting him become a pastiche of himself. bosch needs the same clemency...
Rating:
Summary: What an Ending!
Review: I, like many of his fans, have read all of his books, including some of the stand-alones that I felt were beneath his ability (especially Chasing the Dime). This book, though, was back to his amazing talent. I missed reading The Last Coyote in the order in which it was written and, without reading that one, always pictured Harry as a Columbo-like character. Boy, was I wrong! I would suggest that, if you haven't read The Last Coyote, take the time before you do this one as I think you cannot appreciate this one as much without having read that one. How's that for a sentence! I will admit that his use of the first person threw me off and it took several chapters for me to adjust to the style. And I will admit that I like the third person better, especially for this character. That, though, is probably my only complaint! The book was fast-paced but complete. And I, for one, was totally stunned when I got to the end. Endings are more important to me than just about anything else (except for editing!) and this one ranks way up there on my list!
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: Author Connelly's latest in the adventures of detective Harry
Bosch is so good, it might be the best mystery/novel published
in the last year.
The story, in its barest form, concerns Harry's attempt, now that he is retired from LAPD, to look into a 4-yr old case of
murder that was never solved, and which had been transferred early on to another branch of the police, so Harry was never able to properly follow up personally. He is still haunted by
the sight of the young woman lying strangled and violated in her own building, and he feels morally obligated to solve the
crime.
He doesn't have the badge of a police officer to open doors any
more, but he has something better--his determination to learn
the truth.
As is usual with him, he puts his whole being into his investigation, and he continues with it even after being warned
off by the higher ranks of LAPD, as well as a harrowing trip to
a secret cell operated by the local FBI. Despite the efforts
of everyone else to get him off the case, Harry plows on, making
more enemies and further endangering his own life.
His inquiries quickly lead him to more unsolved cases, one of them being the spectacular robbery of more than $1 million from a movie set, where by happenstance, Harry was interviewing someone about the murder of the girl, and then the shooting of
two police officers who were handing the movie set robbery.
Harry quickly feels there might be some connection, although there are no facts supporting his theory, and he sets out to
gather those necessary facts.
As the cases become interconnected, the mysteries deepen at the
same rate as the danger.
But missing from any description or review is the tone Michael
Connelly sets while outlining and explaining the story. Absolutely no one can, with writing, draw a reader into the
emotions of the humans involved with the passion and dexerity
of Connelly. The serious reader will feel sympathy for some
of his characters that is unnerving, both positive and negative.
We feel the mental aches as well as the physical pains suffered by Harry Bosch, and we suffer along with all the victims he encounters. The author's writing is so superb, we truly go along for the ride whenever Harry goes; we feel both the thrill and excitement of discovery, as well as the depression of learning the worst about our fellow-humans.
Plus, in addition to all the empathy we feel for the people we
run across in his mystery and investigation, we see and feel the
roller-coaster of emotions Harry goes through as he thinks about his ex-wife and explores his true feelings for her and their lost marriage.
While Harry is chasing murderers and con artists, he is also
wondering what the future holds for him personally, and whether is to permanently become a loose end in life.
So Connelly interweaves the complex elements of a murder-mystery
along with the emotional chaos of a man in love with a woman
now gone from his life.
And, finally, when the multiple murders are solved, and the case is put to rest, and the police and FBI are reduced to trying to agree on a story they can put out to the public about all the things Harry has uncovered, and we think the story has
finally reached the end, we turn the page to find another chapter. So there is another surprise waiting on the reader.
But, even then, Harry's story is not quite over, and yet another chapter explores another mystery yet, this one from Harry's personal life.
Nobody but Connelly could bring this entire series of stories
together in one book and explore all the emotions and reach such
satisfactory results.
In this one, most readers will be impatient to race to the end,
and then they will be unhappy they have finished. The story is
so good, you won't want it to conclude.
Rating:
Summary: Connelly churns out another good novel
Review: Connelly did it again with Lost Light. His work is everything you're looking for and yet the story is unpredictable enough to keep you reading and turning the pages. Like most characters in this genre of books, Bosch's life is written out as a chronology. In this novel he's now retired and he does reflect back, if briefly, on some of the previous cases we all read about. Its an appealing element to the Bosch series in that you find yourself relating to the character, almost as if you can imagine getting to know them. If you like Connelly, you'll probably find that this is one of his best works. You can see his continued growth as a writer and his works generally continue to get better and are more polished. Connelly shows again that he's one of the most gifted writers in this genre. All in all, another great read.
Rating: 
Summary: Lazy Author, Lazy Editor: Lost Light, or Fading Star?
Review: Even an amateur armchair detective with acute myopia can't fail to realize, early on and all at once, that Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch have crossed over a frontier. Question is, which frontier? The one barring Paradise, or the one guarding Darkness? Either way, time will tell, and I expect Connelly's longtime fans will cut him a break on this Lost Light. However, I'd say to Mr. Connelly: "Stick to third person narration. And get out amongst the people you write about, and Listen to them speak. Your dialogue is so unauthentic and stilted that I lose the tempo of the story."
Remember what O'Hara said about dialogue: It's the most effective way to lead the reader down your story trail. I'd say to Mr. Connelly's editor: "Iron beams? Check California's building code." These glaring trips in dialogue and fact-checking bespeak of laziness and torpor. I can imagine an author and his editor, lunching at some fancy-schmancy bistro, feting the latest deal, sipping Petrus and lighting Churchills with hunnert-dolla bills. Not the greatest tastes to leave in the mind of the reader.
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