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Review: "Stay out of the narrows...", the children of Los Angeles are told. Of Connelly's 14th novel, which takes its name from the LA flood drainage system, it is advice best taken. If you are new to his work, that is - because THE NARROWS is essentially both a coming together of all Connelly's work up to this point, and, I think, a renaissance. If you're a long-term reader, disregard it entirely. Dive in. Indeed, you probably already have. The Poet is back in business. The serial killer escaped at the conclusion of Connelly's novel of the same name. The official word, though, was that he had been killed. But now he's surfaced again, and leads the FBI to a site in the barren Mojave desert where they begin to uncover fresh victims. The FBI brings in agent Rachel Walling, who worked the original case, as an advisor. Meanwhile, in L.A....an old acquaintance of Harry Bosch's dies. His widow comes to the retired homicide-detective-turned-PI and asks him to investigate, citing some very suspicious circumstances that suggest the death was anything but natural. The pre-publication buzz about this novel was remarkable - helped along no doubt by the fact that no advanced copies were doled out, destined in the end for sites like eBay. The level of hype may be part of the reason why I'm a little disappointed. Hell, not very though, it's still a terrific book. Although while I was suspecting it might be Connelly's best, it's not quite. As I've said, THE NARROWS is a melding of all his work to date. As a result, it is actually not quite as convincing as all the other Bosch novels unfailingly are. Too, Connelly has always been excellent at stitching his work into real-life; other authors often try, but the result often seems perfunctory and vacuous. Here, though, while the copious references might absolutely delight some fans, I thought he went slightly over the top, referencing to such an extent that it sometimes becomes rather surreal, making this book neither of this world nor quite of the fictional one - it seems to exist in an awkward limbo. Sometimes, the touches are magical, but here I think he's trying slightly too hard - after all, the reader is all too aware of the true nature of Connelly's world, and the fact that these characters and events don't exist in reality, just their own internal one - even if it's nice to think that, somewhere, they may do, and no matter how many times they chat about the movie Blood Work. (It was nice to see Ian Rankin, though, if only in pictorial rather than corporeal form!) All that above, though, is just me being pedantic and silly. Because, when it comes right down to it, I did love this book. I didn't even mind too much that we don't spend a lot of time in L.A., Connelly's evocation of which is masterful and a great strength of his series. After a while, I didn't at all miss the exceptional passages about the city. Mainly because I didn't have time to, the plot moves at such thrilling pace. It's slick, engrossing, and interlocks just as excellently as it did in The Poet. I certainly would not be surprised if Connelly, and his characters, came back from this work even stronger than before. Considering that he's probably the best crime writer in America, that bodes incredibly well. He's also the most accomplished crime writer I know at keeping his series fresh, and once again there's a wealth of new directions he could go after this. THE NARROWS is very well-written, very enjoyable, and very clever. It shows a crime-writer writing as crime-writers write best. The conclusion, incorporating the aforementioned narrows, is tense and, along with a nice twist, forms an excellent culmination to the book. The last word, though, must go to Bosch. Almost stereotypically fascinating, he stands out because he is probably the least static protagonist in all crime fiction. Both his situation and his character are continually undergoing an evolution, and of course even more is to come now that he's discovered he's a parent:
"All I knew was that I didn't want to teach her anything. I felt tainted by the paths I had taken in my life and the things I knew. I had nothing from it I wanted her to have. I just wanted her to teach me."
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Summary: Harry, Rachel, Terry, the POET and a cameo by Cassie. WOW!
Review: "Murder in the murderer is no such ruinous thought as poets and romancers will have it; it does not unsettle him, or fright him from his ordinary notice of trifles: it is an act quite easy to be contemplated, but in its sequel, it turns out to be a horrible jangle and confounding of all relations." Ralph Waldo Emerson. The POET Returns! And what a JANGLE of relationships he has created in bringing together Harry Bosch, Rachel Walling and Terry McCaleb with the diabolical POET. Even Cassie Black is referenced here as Harry's motel neighbor. Not one to leave happy endings from previous novels alone, Connelly has created a vortex of murder & revenge that none of the protagonists can avoid and as each are drawn in by their own needs they know they will emerge changed, if they even survive. I look forward to see where the future takes these wonderfully realized characters. Even his throw away comments about the screen treatment of Blood Work, I found refreshing: 'When you take the money, don't complain.' Michael Connelly is at the top of his craft with this excellent novel!
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Summary: Sizzling
Review: "The Narrows" by Michael Connelly is probably the best book I've read in months. Of the three books I've recently had the pleasure to come across--McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood," "The Rule of Four," and "The Narrows," this one is the best. Excellent writing, coupled with great character developement and an impecable sense of timing make this one great book. It was simply riveting. Just riveting.
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Summary: awesome read!
Review: awesome read. read it in one day. Harry Bosch at
his best.
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Summary: One of the best by today's best crime fiction writer
Review: Bosch is back. He is now a PI hired by Graciela, wife of his friend, Terry McCaleb. It seems Terry died of heart failure while on his boat. Graciela is concerned that he might have been murdered. As Bosch looks into it, he discovers that someone tampered with Terry's heart medication. At the same time, it seems a killer has reemerged nicknamed The Poet. FBI agent, Rachel Walling is on his trail. The Poet was formerly her mentor and chief in the FBI. As she follows the trail of bodies to a desert site outside of Las Vegas, Bosch's investigation leads him to the same location. They decide to join forces to capture this very dangerous and worthy adversary before he kills again.
THE NARROWS is just another example of Mike Connelly doing what he does best- simply writing the best crime fiction novels being published today replete with superbly sketched characters and frequent plot twists and turns including one big zinger at the end. Mike's books should be carefully studied by anyone wanting to write in this subgenre. It simply doesn't get better.
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Summary: The master!
Review: Connelly is sooo good and he just keeps getting better! I Lost a bunch of sleep last night cause I could not stop reading and now that I am finished I feel a little sad cause its over! All you fans will not be disapointed, and those of you who are unfamiliar with Connelly check him out you will not be disappointed!!!! and also check out "A Tourist in the Yucatan" a great thriller mystery set south of the border!
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Summary: Housecleaning
Review: Connelly kills off one character, probably to preclude Eastwood making a bad movie from one of his books. The return of other characters leads to a housecleaning of sorts. Bosch finds reemployment and perhaps rejuvenation for the next outing. This one felt like a half-hearted movie sequel.
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Summary: The master is back!
Review: Deception, intrigue, thrills, and mystery - what more could you ask for? This latest entry in the Harry Bosch serries is another winner. In this book we get to see a little deeper inside Harry, and he does redeam himself with the police department. Besides the great plot, this book delivers complex, belivable characters, which is what keeps drawing me back to Connely's writing! Also recommended: 'A Tourist in the Yucatan' thriller that has become an underground hit!
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Summary: One of the best Bosch books yet
Review: Detective Hieronymous (Harry) Bosch and FBI agent Rachel Walling are brought together to investigate the death of former FBI agent Terry McCaleb as well as the possible reemergence of serial killer Bob Backus, aka The Poet. We also get a dose of Bosch's daughter, his ex-wife, Kiz Rider, Buddy Lockridge, and McCaleb's widow. In the world of Michael Connelly characters, this is a family affair.
Given the integration of previously disparate storylines, you might expect this novel to fail, or to succeed only as a gimmick, in the same way that an Abbott and Costello meet the Three Stooges special is destined for mediocrity.
However, I'm happy to say, this book works as a novel, and is one of the most enjoyable in the series to date. To me, Connelly's biggest shortcomings are that he tends to include a plot twist too many and that his walk-through of investigatory procedurals can become so convoluted that the forward motion of the plot becomes mired in details. Neither of those shortcomings is evident here.
One of the remarkable things about the Bosch character is that, in every novel, we see another layer of his humanity. There are so many dimensions to what makes him tick that he really seems like a living, breathing person. And yet, he's a person unlike any that we've ever known; driven, relentlessly drawn to the act of chasing criminals like a shark pursuing prey. And like a shark, Bosch never stops moving; if he did, he might die.
In this novel, Bosch's pursuit of justice is intermixed with visits to his daughter Maddie, and with his temptation to rejoin the LAPD. His investigations lead him to a mass grave and to a Nevada brothel, among other places. He finds himself in conflict with the FBI, which is more concerned with the FBI's image than with a speedy, relentless pursuit of the victim.
About half of the novel is told in Bosch's words, and half in a third-person narrative focused on Rachel Walling. There are also occasional bits of story that center around the villain. Despite these bits, and some pondering by Bosch, we never really get a feel for the villain as a character; he's just the daily special on Bosch's plate. I didn't feel strongly about the divergent narrative one way or the other; I will say that Bosch's character voice isn't much different from Connelly's writing style.
The writing is very well done, and the novel is well-paced. We get to see the agents engage in some interesting field work, and Bosch's attention to detail is fun to see. Yet, the story is more sparse than most of Connelly's work, with a more direct path from point A to point B. I think it works very well. Moreso than in any other Bosch book, I liked the ending. Endings are hard; Connelly got it right this time.
I highly recommend this book, although I wouldn't choose it as my first Connelly novel. You should read a couple other books so that you can appreciate the secondary characters based on their histories in past novels.
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Summary: Reading this book by Connelly was like going home...
Review: everything was so familiar..the characters..the settings..the cases and crimes and of course Hieronymous Bosch, former detective in the LAPD. This author-driven novel of mystery and suspense is the best of the best. I would not have believed that Connelly could bring together so many of his characters and cases and blend them as smoothly as chocolate pudding. He certainly makes the reading tasty and leaves the reader hungry for more. Meeting Backus again, the villain from his best-seller THE POET, was thrilling and chilling as Bosch and Rachel Walling, exiled FBI agent, track down this cunning thought-dead serial killer. Backus has re-surfaced, his newest victim a close friend of Bosch who worked with him on many cases. Connelly has Bosch circling from the left and Rachel Walling circling from the right...both on a collision course that meets at a burial site in the Nevada desert and ends in the Narrows of the Los Angeles River. A comfortable lounger, a rainy day and Michael Connelly's THE NARROWS will lead you down a path of unbridled suspense and mystery, however you might want to read it in bright sunlight surrounded by friends and family if you are feint of heart. Now that Bosch is back, we hope that Michael will sate our hunger for him in another novel...very soon. I must add that Connelly's adherence to police and FBI protocol is amazing in that it is ever-present and precise yet so well incorporated as to not overwhelm the reader. Thank you for another great one Michael. I hesitate to say this is your best because you keep making them better and better...this is the best so far and I eagerly await the next.
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