Reviews

A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly

bfordham's review against another edition

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5.0

If you love Bosch, you'll love this.

One of the better ones, but also different than the previous ones I've read.

kenziebyrnes's review

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slow-paced

laurenjodi's review against another edition

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4.0

A Darkness More Than Night
4 Stars

Retired FBI profiler, Terry McCaleb finds himself embroiled in another case when he is approached to review an unsolved murder with disturbingly ritualistic elements. Terry is soon horrified by the realization that his profile points to one suspect - a fellow law enforcement officer and friend - LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.

Series note: This is book #2 in the Terry McCaleb series. It also slots in after book #7 of the Harry Bosch series. Numerous references are made to events in Harry's life that are covered in his books, and it is, therefore, recommend that the books be read in order.

The plot is comprised of two threads that ultimately intersect, but given the nature of the two storylines, the connections are obvious and predictable from the start.

While the narrative is presented from both Terry and Harry's POVs, it is primarily a Terry McCaleb story and Harry Bosch is a secondary character. These two men are very different in their investigative methods with Terry being more of a thinker and Harry more of a man of action.

Unfortunately, Terry's character suffers not only from being in close proximity to Harry, but also from his suspicions. It is disappointing that he so easily accepts the idea of Harry as an evil killer, and that he seems to be forcing the facts to fit his theory rather than following the evidence to its logical conclusion.

Overall, a good mystery and the detail on the life of Hieronymous Bosch and his paintings is very interesting. As with most of Connelly's books, my main criticism is with the drawn out writing style, which is too focused on the internal musings of the characters and the long winded philosophical descriptions of scenery. Connelly needs to get to the point more quickly because the first 50% of most of his books can be tedious.

thatthomas's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

3.75

tcgoetz's review against another edition

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3.0

I went into this thinking it was a Harry Bosch book and was a little disappointed when I realized it was mostly a Terry McCaleb book. I also didn't like that it was more focussed on the courtroom than the investigation.

velvetsreader's review against another edition

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5.0

By far my favorite Harry Bosch I've read yet.

tylerc's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

4.75

alifromkc1907's review against another edition

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4.0

Gut Instinct Rating: 4
Characters: 4.25
Believability: 4.5
Uniqueness: 4
Writing Style: 5
Excitement Factor: 4
Story Line: 3
Title Relevance: 5
Artwork Relevance: 3
Audiobook Narration: 4.25
Overall: 4.10

djhobby's review against another edition

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4.0

7.5 out of 10 stars.

bookhawk's review against another edition

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5.0

A Darkness More Than Night is an excellent police procedural mystery. Connelly always writes well yet this book was mildly genius and amazingly bold. I always prefer to read a series in order to best appreciate the larger character arcs in play. Reading these and the related books of Bood Work and the Poet helped tremendously in the appreciation of this book. Connelly’s book are sometimes a bit dark and long and extremely worth reading.