Reviews

3 stars.

This is the fifth book in the Harry Bosch series that I have read. There isn't much to say that hundreds of other readers haven't already said. I will point out that the first three-quarters of the book holds in terms of what you expect from a Bosch novel with an interesting investigation, noir aspects, and Bosch being his own worst enemy. The story kept me interested. Connelly has his style. It works. It's not Tolstoy, but it delivers in the quality you'd expect for the genre being read.

But it went off the rails near the end. It seems like the publisher demanded that a ridiculous action scene get thrown in for no apparent reason, ruining the Double Indemnity (James Cain) comparison, and turning this into a C-quality action movie farce. The main interrogation also defied all logic given who was involved. And who ended up at the scene of the climax made no sense. And bringing back the love interest was misguided. To say more will mean spoilers.

In short, I'll give it three stars because 75% of the book was good. And I mark it down because the last quarter flopped. I'll keep going with the series because Connelly is entertaining at what he does. I just hope he righted the ship after this one.

amiew's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

philantrop's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

»“Still the same old Bosch. Your way or the highway.”«

In this instalment, Bosch is back from his involuntary leave and investigates a case of the eponymous “trunk music” - a murdered man in the trunk of his own car. Bosch himself is pretty much as he always was but around him, things changed: His lieutenant, Pounds, is on another kind of involuntary and permanent “leave” and was replaced by Grace Billets.

Bosch: »I’d heard that you didn’t have any actual time on a homicide table while you were coming up,” he said to her.
Billets: “That’s true. My only job as an actual detective was working sexual crimes in Valley Bureau.”
Bosch: “Well, for what it’s worth, I would have assigned things just the way you just did.”
Billets: “But did it annoy you that I did it instead of you?”
Bosch thought a moment.
Bosch: “I’ll get over it.”«

I liked this exchange - which is indicative of their entire relationship in this book - because, yes, he’s still “same old Bosch”: Direct, confrontational, but honest, and willing to move beyond his prejudice.

Billets recognises the old-fashioned cop and is equally direct, sparing him no challenges. She also stands up for him repeatedly. I very quickly took to Billets and greatly enjoyed her character.

»“It’s Bosch.”
“Well, the Michelangelo of murder, the Rodin of homicide.”«

Alas, not everything is as good as usual: There’s a major twist after more than two thirds of the novel that the reader long sees coming. I was impatient with Bosch and colleagues to realise it and that somewhat marred my enjoyment.

Nevertheless, the writing is still very good and there are some very suspenseful parts of the narration. I also enjoyed the reappearance of Eleanor Wish and “that one stop” in Vegas…

3.5 stars out of five, rounded up to 4 stars.

Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam

bowienerd_82's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

book_concierge's review against another edition

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3.0

Book on CD read by Dick Hill

Book number 5 in the Harry Bosch series finds the detective back on the job after a previous suspension. He’s also back on homicide and he’s called to the scene of a potential mob hit. The car has been in the woods for a few days and the corpse in the trunk is pretty ripe. Harry and his new partners, Kiz Rider and Jerry Edgar, soon find themselves traveling to Las Vegas to track down leads in the case.

This is a typical Harry Bosch detective mystery. Lots of twists and turns. Lots of Harry battling against the police force bureaucrats that are the bane of his existence. It’s fast-paced and kept me guessing until pretty close to the end. I’m not sure I’m satisfied with the ending, though.

Dick Hill does a great job of narrating. I’ve listened to him voice Harry several times now. However, after the audio arrived from the library I realized it was the abridged version, so I chose to read the book rather than listen. There is an unabridged version that is also narrated by Hill.

dixiedarling33's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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