laurenjodi's review against another edition
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.
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.
tcgoetz's review against another edition
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.
alifromkc1907's review against another edition
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
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
bookhawk's review against another edition
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.
namulith's review against another edition
2.0
Bosch was great as always, McCaleb is a self-righteous ass.
gmvader's review against another edition
4.0
Michael Connelly never disappoints at mysteries that are intense, focused and well-written tales of suspense and danger. His usual hero, Harry Bosch, has a fascinating set of flaws and skills that keep his stories interesting from book to book. With this novel Connelly decided to combine Harry Bosch’s story with the investigations of retired FBI agent Terry McCaleb.
The story had the same problem that I always have when an author switches between characters that I like to read about. Every time it switches I get mad that I have to leave the previous character behind. Connelly has always been great at his characters. They’re real in a way that feels natural. They are smart and proactive because they are book heroes but they also have fears and concerns and blind spots and make mistakes and occasionally say stupid things.
In other words they are human and because of that they are easily identifiable.
Terry McCaleb is almost instantly likable and he sets out to solve a mystery that gets him involved in the trial that Harry Bosch is in the middle of testifying at. Between the two of them they unravel the mystery and uncover a dark secret that powerful people had put great effort into hiding.
There’s not much more to say about a Michael Connelly novel. If you’ve already read one of his books you are probably a fan. If you haven’t this is as good a place to start as any.
The story had the same problem that I always have when an author switches between characters that I like to read about. Every time it switches I get mad that I have to leave the previous character behind. Connelly has always been great at his characters. They’re real in a way that feels natural. They are smart and proactive because they are book heroes but they also have fears and concerns and blind spots and make mistakes and occasionally say stupid things.
In other words they are human and because of that they are easily identifiable.
Terry McCaleb is almost instantly likable and he sets out to solve a mystery that gets him involved in the trial that Harry Bosch is in the middle of testifying at. Between the two of them they unravel the mystery and uncover a dark secret that powerful people had put great effort into hiding.
There’s not much more to say about a Michael Connelly novel. If you’ve already read one of his books you are probably a fan. If you haven’t this is as good a place to start as any.