Rating: 
Summary: The Concrete Blonde is a Concrete No Put Down Book
Review: After reading The Poet, my first Connelly novel, I was hooked. I thought to myself, ok, perhaps it was a fluke. While I like mysteries, I am usually too tied up working on an Illusion, that I rarely pick up, less finish a book that I have started. Well, let me tell you, it was like I had found a new food. You know, the kind you order every time you go out to eat? So, I went to my local book store, and purchased The Concrete Blonde. Well, it wasn't a fluke. From chapter one Connely grabbed my attention. And once again, I could thank him for the red lines on my eye whites. The timing of release of just enough information in the style befitting the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, when he wrote for The Strand. It is difficult to review this title, due to the fact that I don't wish to give out any clues as to its end. I can tell you it answered some questions in my mind about police procedure, Hollywood, and the world of Hookers and pornography. Not that in any way was this a "SMUT" book, but it was enlightning to see that Connelly's character doesn't shy away from the life he is in. Keep up the good work Mr. Connelly. I doubt I will miss any of your titles in the future. P.S. I am currently engrossed in TRUNK MUSIC.
Rating:
Summary: Hard Hitter
Review: Almost had to cancel Christmas to finish the book.
As good a "who-dunnit" as I've ever read. It is a keeper...don't lend it or you'll never get it back.
Rating: 
Summary: bad stereotypes, serious plot flaws, good court scenes
Review: Connelly's detective, Harry Bosch, is the same stereotype we've seen for decades. Nothing creative here. The whodunnit plot follows the usual path: crime, suspect, surprising twist or two, dramatic and personal near-disaster in which our hero hopes to save the girl, a bigger twist and the dramatic conclusion in which the whole thing is revealed for those who didn't keep up as it unfolded. Several plot elements are completely implausible. For example, about 1/3 of the book is spent on an early suspect based only on a hunch and a cursory investigation. This adds pages but no substance to the story. The plot involves a courtroom element throughout, and this is well-presented. All my criticisms aside, I found that I just had to know what would happen next, and kept on turning pages, even as I laughed at the many implausibilities. It's a mediocre detective story patterned after the "classic" Chandler novels, and the fact that I like it is more a complement to the genre than to Connelly.
Rating:
Summary: Gets you involved quickly and holds your attention .....
Review: I was browsing through Amazon for new mystery writers and happened upon Connelly. Those who have rated his writings a 10, have not erred, in my estimation. I generally read an hour or two to get drowsy and fall asleep each night. Once I started The Concrete Blonde, I got no sleep. I finished the book in a day and a half. Reminds me of a good movie you want to see again and again. I've picked up my second Connelly book and will start it tonight.
Rating:
Summary: fantabulous!
Review: this book drew me in right from the start and I could not put it down. I guess it is true that you can judge a book by it's cover. I have read all of Michael Connelly's books and enjoyed them all - this one was wonderful. It drew the reader in and really allowed you to get to know the characters. It was well written and totally addictive - once you opend it you couldn't put it down!
Rating:
Summary: It made me a Connelly fan for life.
Review: Looking desperately for new authors (having read through everything else in my collection twice), I bought "The Concrete Blonde" on a whim while standing in a Wal-Mart shopping line. I finished it in a little over a day and a half; I couldn't put it down (and wanted to sacrifice everything else to finish it). Subsequently, I inadvertently read the whole Bosch trilogy ("The Last Coyote" had not yet come out) from back to front, then re-read them in the proper order. Connelly can paint a seedy scene with the best of them. Highly recommended, but not for those with weak stomachs
Rating:
Summary: Superb suspense. Michael Connelly is terrific!
Review: A real winner. Quite a deviation from his other Harry Bosch novels. Exiciting to the end, and you really get to hate the prosecutor here
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing - once you've read it you're a fan!
Review: I selected this novel, a bit disappointed that I couldn't get my hands on a new Lucas Davenport mystery from John Sandford. But all disappointment vanished within five minutes of beginning The Concrete Blonde. It's everything a mystery/detective/suspense reader loves. If you're looking for something totally absorbing, a real page-turner that may keep you up all night to finish it, then this is for you! Truly imaginitive, uniquely creative, it makes you want to get started on another as soon as you put this one down. Having read Black Ice, Last Coyote, and the Poet, I can honestly say that Michael Connelly is "first class," right up there with the best of his genre.
Being an attorney myself, I am usually completely turned of by phony courtroom scenes and by a generally lousy grip of the law that many mystery writers seem to share. But not so here. I think I actually learned something! It's a must read for any mystery lover
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous, with a series of surprising twists
Review: I've read a lot of mysteries: just about the entire "Travis McGee" series by John D. MacDonald; all of the "Fletch" novels (including the two "Son of" books) by Gregory McDonald; every Raymond Chandler piece of fiction; most of Dashiell Hammett; some Ed McBain; many Carl Hiassen books; a few Agatha Christies. Michael Connelly ranks up there with all of those distinguished writers. He has a fluid, detailed writing style that conveys the scene without bogging down in such intricacies that the reader gets lost. The dialogue is snappy and hard-boiled but will probably age well (unlike, say, some of Chandler's). "The Concrete Blonde" is the third novel starring LAPD detective Harry Bosch. (The order goes "The Black Echo," "The Black Ice," "The Concrete Blonde," "The Last Coyote," "Trunk Music," and "Angel's Flight." The new novel coming out in early 2001 involves Bosch as well, but it's not clear if Bosch is the main character or a secondary character.) I've read the first three and the last ("AF"), and, while they are all good, "The Concrete Blonde" is the best thus far. Earlier in his career, an incident that is described or alluded to in virtually every novel, Bosch gained some notoriety and fame for taking down a serial killer known as "The Dollmaker." He was so called because he would use makeup and polish to paint up his victims. The killer sent bad poems to Bosch, taunting him with descriptions of the victims. Eventually, Bosch tracked down the killer and shot him to death when the man reached toward his pillow . . . for a hairpiece, as it turned out. Bosch was cleared of wrongfulness in the shooting, though he was disciplined for not calling for backup. Fast forward four years. The dead man's widow is now suing the LAPD and Bosch for violating her husband's civil rights, and the case is going to trial. All of a sudden, a letter is dropped off for Bosch at the police department: it contains a poem, just like the ones the Dollmaker sent, and it leads the LAPD to another body . . . which is painted up just like the Dollmaker's victims. Could Bosch have killed the wrong man? "The Concrete Blonde" alternates between the court scenes and the investigation of the new murder, and the transitions are deftly handled. While the court scenes are not perfectly accurate (I am, unfortunately, a lawyer by trade), they are much better than in most novels. The mystery is tight and compelling. Having read lots of mysteries, I often am able to guess at the outcome simply because the set-up reminds me of another book I've read. In fact, that happened with "The Black Ice." Not so with "The Concrete Blonde." About 180 pages into it, I thought I had it figured out. With about 50 pages to go, I thought my instinct had been confirmed. Oops. I was wrong, and about as shocked as Bosch! In addition to weaving a great mystery, Connelly paints a reasonably deep picture of his main character, Bosch, a Vietnam veteran (he cleared out enemy tunnels) who is simultaneously cultured but also emotionally damaged. To sum it up, let me put it this way: I started with "Angel's Flight," and when I was finished, I ordered all of the Harry Bosch novels immediately.
Rating:
Summary: Another Winner
Review: Detective Harry Bosch as a character is totally believable. Mr. Connelly's knowledge from being a crime reporter show beautifully in his novels. Very realistic. I wish he had better taste in women. He like them sexually desirable, but shallow and self-centered. They always end up dumping him for cold, selfish reasons. They claim to understand the seriousness of his work, and also understand his commitment; but they leave him at his neediest, because only threir (lesser important) needs take precedence. Disgusting. Hope he figures out he needs to find a real women to build a life with, not just a doll to screw. Overall, an excellent read!!
| 
