laurenjodi's review against another edition
4.0
Blood Work
4 Stars
Former FBI profiler, Terry McCaleb is recovering from a heart transplant when he learns that his donor was murdered during a robbery, and the case remains unsolved. McCaleb decides to investigate the crime himself, and soon realizes that a diabolical killer with a disturbing motive is at work.
Series note: This is book #1 in the Terry McCaleb series. Book #2 is a continuation of the Harry Bosch series and slots in after book #7.
Additional note: This book has been made into a movie and seeing the movie prior to reading the book had a significant impact on my perceptions of events in the story. Knowing the identity of the killer from the movie led me astray while reading.
McCaleb is an intelligent, skilled and resourceful investigator, and following along with him as he works through the clues is enjoyable. There is, of course, the inevitable comparison with Connelly's signature character, Harry Bosch, and suffice it to say that McCaleb is far less angsty or prone to deep psychological musings than Harry.
The case is very compelling and the killer's motive and machinations are very intricate yet plausible. Nevertheless, as is always the case with Connelly's writing, there is too much repetition in some of the descriptions of events and evidence.
Overall, a solid police procedural with a likable main character, but it is long winded at times and could have been 50-75 pages shorter.
4 Stars
Former FBI profiler, Terry McCaleb is recovering from a heart transplant when he learns that his donor was murdered during a robbery, and the case remains unsolved. McCaleb decides to investigate the crime himself, and soon realizes that a diabolical killer with a disturbing motive is at work.
Series note: This is book #1 in the Terry McCaleb series. Book #2 is a continuation of the Harry Bosch series and slots in after book #7.
Additional note: This book has been made into a movie and seeing the movie prior to reading the book had a significant impact on my perceptions of events in the story. Knowing the identity of the killer from the movie led me astray while reading.
McCaleb is an intelligent, skilled and resourceful investigator, and following along with him as he works through the clues is enjoyable. There is, of course, the inevitable comparison with Connelly's signature character, Harry Bosch, and suffice it to say that McCaleb is far less angsty or prone to deep psychological musings than Harry.
The case is very compelling and the killer's motive and machinations are very intricate yet plausible. Nevertheless, as is always the case with Connelly's writing, there is too much repetition in some of the descriptions of events and evidence.
Overall, a solid police procedural with a likable main character, but it is long winded at times and could have been 50-75 pages shorter.
spray76's review against another edition
5.0
Michael Connelly has a way of writing his books so that it seems like there are surprises in every chapter. As soon as you thought you knew who the murderer was a new piece of evidence would take you down a different path. But I never thought it would turn out the way it did. Such a shocker!
clayjd's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
dmwade's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
ronross's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.25
bookhawk's review against another edition
4.0
Blood Work is another fine Michael Connelly book. The story seems to meander a bit in the first half but all of the details become important as Connelly masterfully weaves together an ending that builds excitement to the vey end.
weaselweader's review against another edition
4.0
Did you catch the double meaning of "BLOOD WORK"?
Terry McCaleb, ex-FBI agent and skilled profiler of serial murderers, retired to a quiet peaceful shipboard existence on his boat anchored in Los Angeles harbour after a heart attack and heart transplant surgery forced him off the job. When Graciela Rivers introduces herself to McCaleb and tries to solicit his assistance finding her sister's murderer, his first inclination was to politely beg off and recommend she seek the services of a licensed private detective. But she got his full attention and completely snared him with an overwhelming sense of personal obligation when she revealed that the heart he had received in surgery was her sisters, available as a transplant organ only because of her apparently senseless murder. As McCaleb internalizes that debt and cautiously begins the investigation, he soon discovers that, far from being the apparent robbery-related homicide that the LAPD had given up hope of solving as a now cold trail case, the murderer was by some bizarre coincidence, much more likely to be the type of serial killer with which he was all too familiar.
Connelly's fans, by now thoroughly familiar with his skill at writing sophisticated, engaging police procedural novels, will not be disappointed by BLOOD WORK. Not only does he lead the reader through a complex set of clues, forensic procedures, dead-end investigations, twists and turns, interrogations and the minutiae of a realistic, complex homicide investigation but he adds in the gut-wrenching tension of a first-rate thriller as well. The growth of the relationship between McCaleb, Graciella Rivers and Raymond Torres, the young 9 year old son of Rivers' callously murdered sister, is heartwarming and never drifts into soap opera or melodrama. The very clever double meaning of Connelly's title, BLOOD WORK, will be revealed to readers as the climax approaches.
Already a rabid fan of Connelly's hero, Harry Bosch, I've now added Terry McCaleb to my list of characters to watch for in Connelly's future novels. With some amusement, I also spotted a reference to Michael Haller Jr, a noted LA attorney who I was pleased to read about in one of Connelly's much later novels, THE LINCOLN LAWYER. Connelly has got his finger on the pulse of the LA police and crime scene. No doubt about it ... he's the man!
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss
Terry McCaleb, ex-FBI agent and skilled profiler of serial murderers, retired to a quiet peaceful shipboard existence on his boat anchored in Los Angeles harbour after a heart attack and heart transplant surgery forced him off the job. When Graciela Rivers introduces herself to McCaleb and tries to solicit his assistance finding her sister's murderer, his first inclination was to politely beg off and recommend she seek the services of a licensed private detective. But she got his full attention and completely snared him with an overwhelming sense of personal obligation when she revealed that the heart he had received in surgery was her sisters, available as a transplant organ only because of her apparently senseless murder. As McCaleb internalizes that debt and cautiously begins the investigation, he soon discovers that, far from being the apparent robbery-related homicide that the LAPD had given up hope of solving as a now cold trail case, the murderer was by some bizarre coincidence, much more likely to be the type of serial killer with which he was all too familiar.
Connelly's fans, by now thoroughly familiar with his skill at writing sophisticated, engaging police procedural novels, will not be disappointed by BLOOD WORK. Not only does he lead the reader through a complex set of clues, forensic procedures, dead-end investigations, twists and turns, interrogations and the minutiae of a realistic, complex homicide investigation but he adds in the gut-wrenching tension of a first-rate thriller as well. The growth of the relationship between McCaleb, Graciella Rivers and Raymond Torres, the young 9 year old son of Rivers' callously murdered sister, is heartwarming and never drifts into soap opera or melodrama. The very clever double meaning of Connelly's title, BLOOD WORK, will be revealed to readers as the climax approaches.
Already a rabid fan of Connelly's hero, Harry Bosch, I've now added Terry McCaleb to my list of characters to watch for in Connelly's future novels. With some amusement, I also spotted a reference to Michael Haller Jr, a noted LA attorney who I was pleased to read about in one of Connelly's much later novels, THE LINCOLN LAWYER. Connelly has got his finger on the pulse of the LA police and crime scene. No doubt about it ... he's the man!
Highly recommended.
Paul Weiss