Rating: 
Summary: Bosch's Mission Gets Personal !
Review: "The Last Coyote" is Michael Connelly's fourth book, was first published in 1995 and features Harry Bosch as its central character. Something of Bosch's background has been covered in the previous three books. Bosch's mother was a prostitute who was murdered when he was twelve - he spent his teenage years in and out of youth halls. He enlisted in the army and served in Viet-Nam, before returning home and joining the police force. Once a member of the LAPD's elite Robbery-Homicide Division, Bosch currently works at the Hollywood Division's Homicide table. He's still a jazz-loving loner, seen by some as a maverick, with a taste for coffee, beer and cigarettes. There have been some changes in his life since the end of "The Concrete Blonde", though - his relationship with Sylvia Moore has finished and his house has been damaged in a recent earthquake. Despite the fact that it's been declared unfit for habitation, he's still unofficially living there.
As "The Last Coyote" opens, Bosch is in trouble with the department again. After his boss, the bureaucratic Harvey "98" Pounds, interfered with the questioning of a suspect, Bosch lost his temper and pushed Pounds head-first through an office window. As a result, he's been placed on involuntary stress leave and has to attend regular sessions with Dr Carmen Hinojos, a psychiatrist at Behaviorial Sciences Division. These sessions contribute to Bosch deciding to investigate the one case that really matters to him : his mother's murder. Although he's working on the case unofficially and has lost his badge - albeit temporarily - he still manages to pull the original case file. Opened in October 1961, it was investigated at the time by two detectives called Eno and McKittrick. Leaving aside the apparent lack of effort to solve the case, a few things seem odd to Harry. The mentions an interview with Johnny Fox - his mother's pimp, and therefore an obvious suspect. However, the file doesn't contain an interview summary. A passing reference to Arno Conklin also catches his eye. At the time, Conklin would have been one of the city's top prosecutors and subsequently became the city's DA. Although exactly what role he had is unclear, his involvement in the case seems curious. The only other person apparently interviewed was Meredith Roman - a 'colleague' and old friend of his mother's, who'd also worked for Johnny Fox. The starting point, Harry feels, is to track these people down - though cut off from the LAPD's resources, he has to be a little more creative than usual in how he achieves this. He starts by using a new contact at the LA Times, Keisha Russell, to gather some stories on Conklin and Fox. Based on what he's read, Harry adds Conklin's campaign manager, Gordon Mittel, to his list of suspects. For other police-related information, Harry isn't above 'borrowing' Harvey Pound's identity to acquire it. However, just because a case is over thirty years old doesn't mean the investigation will be safe - least of all when important people are involved.
As with Connelly's previous books, I found this to be a very enjoyable book - and it deals with the very case I had wondered about. It's probably better, though not strictly necessary, to read the books in order. The 'newcomer' won't feel left out, as this book covers enough of Bosch's past to tell the story without any gaps. However, reading the previous books and getting to know the 'full story' will add to the enjoyment of this instalment. The other books ("The Black Echo", "The Black Ice" and "The Concrete Blonde") are very enjoyable also - reading them will be anything other than a burden !
Rating: 
Summary: Doggone good
Review: "The Last Coyote" is the first of Connelly's Bosch novels that I have read. I enjoyed the story thoroughly.LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is very much a flawed hero. Throughout this novel he is on adminsitrative leave from his job as a result of having assaulted and battered his lieutenant boss. He decides to use the idle time (when not in sessions with a charming female police psychologist whose recommendation will determine whether or not Bosch is restored to active service) looking into an unsolved murder from 1961. The victim of the murder was none other than Bosch's prostitute mother. Bosch's unauthorized investigation leads to some very powereful political figures and puts not only Bosch's job, but also his life and liberty in danger. There are villains galore, but even the villains may not be all bad. Part of the intrigue of this book is that it shows there can be a fine line between good and evil, and in the end Bosch has to come to grips with the evil of his own ways. The story is fast-paced, and it is nice to read about a hero who is all too human. The plot is entertaining and involves enough surprises to keep the reader guessing up to the very last page. My only criticism is that I found some parts of the book -- for example the descriptions of Bosch's exact street routes from one place to another in Los Angeles -- a bit tedious at times. Also he uses some awkward sentence constructions that bothered me. I find that when a writer's style attracts my attention negatively, it distracts me from my enjoyment of the story. Still, "The Last Coyote" was an excellent, fast and compelling crime novel that kept me awake far to late a few nights just because I wanted to find out what would happen next.
Rating: 
Summary: THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY
Review: ...is he doesn't know when to stop being such a hard-boiled contrary son of a gun. Even though that's the whole premise behind Harry Bosch, his flagrant disregard for his superiors and for the badge he wears sometimes makes him infuriating. But, heck, what the heck...this is a darned good entry in the Bosch series. It has a lot of haunting imagery and his dealings with the murder of his prostitute mother bring out a very poignant and sensitive side of Harry that he is too willing to hide. Poor Harry...once again, he is "suspended" because he put Harvey Pounds (you'll remember him from the previous novels) head through his glass window. Now undergoing psychiatric evaluation by a very understanding female psychiatrist, Harry decides to take his off time and investigate the 30 year old murder of his mother. No one ever solved it, and of course you know that Harry will dig deep to find out who did it and why. This one has plenty of surprises, including some deaths you won't believe happened, and a real twist at the end. Women may pick up on the hidden clue better than men, as we tend not to worry about how we're dressed. Anyway, I have to agree with a previous reviewer who found Harry's terminated romance with Sylvia somewhat disappointing. Seemed like in the "Concrete Blonde," Harry and Sylvia were at a reconciliation point, and now she's gone off to Venice. What happened, Michael? And now Harry's involved with a woman named Jazz, and he's head over heels in love with her, but I gather from the previous review, she's not mentioned in Bosch's next novel. What gives, Michael? Getting Harry into bed is not a requirement of these novel's excellence. It tends to weaken Harry rather than strengthen him. Hopefully, as I go through the series, some of these questions will be resolved. If not, so be it. It's still a compelling read and one that adds credence to the continuous of the Bosch series.
RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping, wonderful tale of crime and mystery
Review: After being hooked onto Michael Connelly after reading "The Poet", I began "The Last Coyote" and instantly thought that this one was better. The mystery involving the murder of his prostitute mother decades ago is solved by Harry Bosch after he is on an involuntary leave from the police force. The identity of the killer was a complete surprise at the end, and the confrontation between Bosch and his prime suspect was chilling. This is one of my favourite novels and anyone who likes the mystery/crime genre should most definitly read this.
Rating:
Summary: Very good book - ending a bit weak
Review: Again an absolute must for mystery readers. Bosch is digging in his past, in his roots. What he finds is depressing, but it helps him too. It is a novel full of tension. But the ending is not so good. A man like Harry Bosch should be able to cope with what he found. He is not someone who cracks too easily. Or does Michael Connelly want to forget him?
Rating: 
Summary: Cop w/BIG personal problems solves mother's 30 yr old murder
Review: Another Harry Bosch mystery. All of the plot twists and Harry's ongoing angst about himself, his life, his view of the world. He trolls through the nasty underside of politics and police work, digging to find the killer of his mother - 30 years ago when he was 12. Best line: he finds the cop who informed him that his mother was dead. The cop thinks that Harry's after him about the loose ends on the incident and has a gun on Harry. Harry tells the cop how he found Harry at a swimming pool to tell him. The cop says "you're the kid" and Harry answers "I'm the kid". (I love scenes that echo something that happened years before). Anyway, a very good read, and several sets of false clues, just to keep you guessing.
Rating:
Summary: Somehow it all works--I really don't know how he does it...
Review: Another wonderful book by Connelly. This one goes straight for Harry's heart. Everything in his life broken (yes, even more broken than usual) and he goes straight into what he calls in Concrete Blonde the "dark heart." Harry finally begins to solve the murder of his mother (again, I could not help but think of James Ellroy's real life struggles) and his own guilt. Some of the twists here are indeed shocking--Pounds for example, but again Irving surpises and we meet some new stars--Russell, Jazz, and even a decent IAD cop. When the story threatens to go off the tracks, connelly brings it back and adds a final surprise just at the end. This guy is SO good.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Coyote
Review: As a just-retired police officer (25 yrs.) I related to Mr. Bosch. I liked him. Connelly has "the job" down pat. He has really done his homework . . . on everything from the department shrink to the fishing trip. He thinks like a police officer would in Bosch's situation. Bosch was so . . . real. This is the kind of book a cop would read and not roll her/his eyes in disbelief. Thanks Mr. Connelly!
Rating:
Summary: This time . . . it's personal
Review: As in Greek tragedy, this story starts in the middle of the action. Harry Bosch, an LAPD homicide detective, has been relieved of duty and must attend psychological evaluation sessions. Through these sessions, we learn about how he got to this point, and we see the hint of what is to come. Harry must deal with why he became a detective and what he hopes to accomplish before finding closure for his mother's death. Michael Connelly, the author, has many balls in the air for Bosch to deal with. Always in the back of the reader's mind, and Bosch's mind, are the many different things going on in his life. Watching how Bosch deals with each one shows the author's skill in linking all the pieces together. Parts of the plot may seem like deux et machina, but in review, Connelly had everything in mind all along. There is a love interest for Bosch, but the character seems more like an afterthought. Due to his brief association with her, more trouble brews for him at the police force. It does seem a bit too contrived. I was also expecting to get more from the psychologist, but that would have been too cliched. I would recommend to fans of crime stories.
Rating:
Summary: Gritty, realistic, amazing
Review: Connelly writes in a darkly poetic manner which serves this book very well. This novel reveals more about Bosch's past than any of the earlier books, and it allows readers, old and new, to see Bosch in a new light, while weaving an interesting, heartfelt story coupled with an edge-of-your-seat mystery as Bosch delves into the past and investigates the now ancient but never closed murder of his own mother. Every obstacle only pushes Bosch further into the case and hardens his determination. I found myself sucked in very early and I hung on until the very end. Astoundingly good.
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