bookworm_vee_evans's review against another edition
5.0
So good! Totally very aligned with season 1 except for....nevermind.
grantf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bookhawk's review against another edition
4.0
Connelly crafts a gritty crime detective fiction in the Harry Bosch series. Bosch is a homicide detective with a tough background, flaws and a slight anti-establishment bent even though he ultimately fights for good. In this 3rd Bosch novel, Connelly cracks the hard Bosch veneer to display some emotion and based on caring for his girlfriend Sylvia. The plot is very strong with many twists and along the way to find a serial killer. Recommended reading if you like John Sandford’s Prey series or crime fiction in general.
namulith's review against another edition
4.0
I thought initially this would be a weaker book, because of the trial. Luckily I was wrong. A great Bosch novel.
edwardcooknz's review against another edition
4.0
This book really grew on me, in the end I couldn't put it down.
I prefer action to courtrooms most of the time, but this balanced the two.
I prefer action to courtrooms most of the time, but this balanced the two.
beth_menendez's review against another edition
5.0
It is such a delight to find a new series!! It’s like discovering dessert for the first time. This was another great one. This book continues a story line that started in the first two, however it does so in a way it could be enjoyed as a stand alone though I am too much of a numbers persons to read them out of order. If you are looking for a great police mystery story, this is a great choice. I can never figure out the ending but I am delighted to keep trying. See if you can figure out who is the killer of the concrete blonde and how she relates to justice.
davidgreene's review against another edition
3.0
Like other reviewers, I enjoyed author Michael Connelly's writing in this third installment in the Harry Bosch series, and was engaged with the story more than I was with his first two Bosch installments.
But like others, I also found the protagonist difficult to like and the themes in this book disturbing. A more favorable spin would be to say that the book is provocative--since it wrestles with the moral ambiguities involved in the pursuit of justice.
Because of the moral ambiguities, I find reading about Connelly's Harry Bosch less purely entertaining than reading about Lee Child's Jack Reacher. In Jack Reacher's universe there is little moral ambiguity. Reacher always witnesses the bad guys being decidedly bad before he mixes it up with them. Bosch sometimes mixes it up with people solely on the basis of his speculations. No matter that his speculations are justified retroactively, it pulls me out of an escapist trance to follow a hero with so many self doubts.
Bosch is a loner and outsider who is nevertheless working inside the system. Despite being a cop, Bosch frequently subverts the rules and regulations, and undermines the legal process which he is supposed to represent. His character promotes the view that the rules and mechanics of the legal process provide not so much the foundations of justice as impediments to it. That view didn't stop me from reading the book, but it made it difficult for me to enjoy it.
But like others, I also found the protagonist difficult to like and the themes in this book disturbing. A more favorable spin would be to say that the book is provocative--since it wrestles with the moral ambiguities involved in the pursuit of justice.
Because of the moral ambiguities, I find reading about Connelly's Harry Bosch less purely entertaining than reading about Lee Child's Jack Reacher. In Jack Reacher's universe there is little moral ambiguity. Reacher always witnesses the bad guys being decidedly bad before he mixes it up with them. Bosch sometimes mixes it up with people solely on the basis of his speculations. No matter that his speculations are justified retroactively, it pulls me out of an escapist trance to follow a hero with so many self doubts.
Bosch is a loner and outsider who is nevertheless working inside the system. Despite being a cop, Bosch frequently subverts the rules and regulations, and undermines the legal process which he is supposed to represent. His character promotes the view that the rules and mechanics of the legal process provide not so much the foundations of justice as impediments to it. That view didn't stop me from reading the book, but it made it difficult for me to enjoy it.
pziemlewicz's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25