florapants84's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
marco5599's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Most personal Bosch so far. Also my least favorite Bosch so far. Not very fond of detectives investigating cases that involve their own family, like 'em even less when it turns out to be high profile cover-up as well, like this one. Plausibility is an issue here. As for the psychological aspect of it all; a mixed bag. There's definitely some interesting stuff going around in Harry's head, but the shrink; nah. Blah blah-chapters without an angle that made me go hmm.. And then there's the mandatory (?) love interest. I don't even think she needed to be part of this, but that backstory.. All in all a bit much, no? Too much for my taste. Less would have been more. Highlight? When Harry starts stirring things up and somebody pays the price. By far the best segment of the book.
hi_miche's review
emotional
mysterious
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
daif's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
marbles66's review against another edition
4.0
Harry Bosch's life is on the edge. His earthquake-damaged home has been condemned. His girlfriend has left him. He's drinking too much. And after attacking his commanding officer, he's even had to turn in his L.A.P.D. detective's badge. Now, suspended indefinitely pending a psychiatric evaluation, he's spending his time investigating an unsolved crime from 1961: the brutal slaying of a prostitute who happened to be his own mother.
Even after three decades, Harry's questions generate heat among L.A.'s top politicos. And as the truth begins to emerge, it becomes more and more apparent that someone wants to keep it buried. Someone very powerful...very cunning...and very deadly.
Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has created a dark, fast-paced suspense thriller that cuts to the core of Harry Bosch's character. Once you start it, there's no turning back.
This was a great book. Harry finally finds out who killed his mother. It's not who you think.
Even after three decades, Harry's questions generate heat among L.A.'s top politicos. And as the truth begins to emerge, it becomes more and more apparent that someone wants to keep it buried. Someone very powerful...very cunning...and very deadly.
Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has created a dark, fast-paced suspense thriller that cuts to the core of Harry Bosch's character. Once you start it, there's no turning back.
This was a great book. Harry finally finds out who killed his mother. It's not who you think.
brel102's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
weaselweader's review
5.0
A blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural!
LAPD's Harry Bosch is a troubled man with what the lay person would call lots of issues and some serious psychological baggage. His childhood as a county ward was unhappy and troubled, his wife has left him for good and his home is condemned to the wrecker's ball as a result of recent earthquake damage. When Bosch shoved his superior officer through a plate glass window in the precinct office as a result of his interference in an interrogation, he is summarily suspended, put onto stress leave and his return to active duty was stalled pending a positive report from mandatory psychiatric counselling with Dr Carmen Hinojos. Conversations with Hinojos on his personal life vision, "Everybody counts or nobody counts", together with a review of his family history, prod an angry Bosch into the realization that he (like the LAPD of some thirty years earlier) had swept his mother's murder under the carpet because she was just a prostitute - a life that didn't count for anything and one whose murder wasn't worth the time, effort and expenditure to solve. Against all the rules of his suspension from duty and all of Hinojos' best advice, Bosch pulls his mother's murder book and the scanty box of evidence from the police vaults and sets himself on a belated personal mission to solve his mother's murder and bring her killer to belated justice.
In a superb blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural, THE LAST COYOTE is told strictly from Bosch's point of view but Connelly masterfully flicks from one scene to another - the proverbial psychiatric couch of Dr Hinojos' office; the memories of his troubled youth as the son of a prostitute and a ward at McLaren Hall; Bosch's musings and self-recriminations as he gingerly walks the tautly strung high wire of his own nerves and personally evaluates his life, his actions and his conversations with Dr Hinojos; and, of course, the exciting discovery of his mother's murderer as the events of thirty years earlier impact on those still alive today.
I think it's safe to generalize that psychological thrillers only succeed when the characters are superbly drawn and I think it's also safe to say that Connelly has succeeded once again in bringing an irascible, self-absorbed and driven yet self-doubting Bosch to life for his faithful readers. We are happily witness to his growth and pain as he meets and falls for Jasmine, a lady whose troubled history competes with Bosch's own!
In a marked departure from his other works, Connelly has also treated us to a small slice of mysticism with the introduction of Bosch's dreams of a coyote - his animal totem appearing to him in a vision quest, as it were! It is Bosch's personal identification with the lost, wandering coyote that provides him with insight into his own personal travails as he seeks to re-establish purpose and meaning into a life that is drifting aimlessly!
And, of course, like all well crafted thrillers, the ending comes with a twist that will catch you totally flat-footed. Five stars and two thumbs up to a totally enjoyable read ... again!
Paul Weiss
LAPD's Harry Bosch is a troubled man with what the lay person would call lots of issues and some serious psychological baggage. His childhood as a county ward was unhappy and troubled, his wife has left him for good and his home is condemned to the wrecker's ball as a result of recent earthquake damage. When Bosch shoved his superior officer through a plate glass window in the precinct office as a result of his interference in an interrogation, he is summarily suspended, put onto stress leave and his return to active duty was stalled pending a positive report from mandatory psychiatric counselling with Dr Carmen Hinojos. Conversations with Hinojos on his personal life vision, "Everybody counts or nobody counts", together with a review of his family history, prod an angry Bosch into the realization that he (like the LAPD of some thirty years earlier) had swept his mother's murder under the carpet because she was just a prostitute - a life that didn't count for anything and one whose murder wasn't worth the time, effort and expenditure to solve. Against all the rules of his suspension from duty and all of Hinojos' best advice, Bosch pulls his mother's murder book and the scanty box of evidence from the police vaults and sets himself on a belated personal mission to solve his mother's murder and bring her killer to belated justice.
In a superb blend of psychological thriller, mystery and police procedural, THE LAST COYOTE is told strictly from Bosch's point of view but Connelly masterfully flicks from one scene to another - the proverbial psychiatric couch of Dr Hinojos' office; the memories of his troubled youth as the son of a prostitute and a ward at McLaren Hall; Bosch's musings and self-recriminations as he gingerly walks the tautly strung high wire of his own nerves and personally evaluates his life, his actions and his conversations with Dr Hinojos; and, of course, the exciting discovery of his mother's murderer as the events of thirty years earlier impact on those still alive today.
I think it's safe to generalize that psychological thrillers only succeed when the characters are superbly drawn and I think it's also safe to say that Connelly has succeeded once again in bringing an irascible, self-absorbed and driven yet self-doubting Bosch to life for his faithful readers. We are happily witness to his growth and pain as he meets and falls for Jasmine, a lady whose troubled history competes with Bosch's own!
In a marked departure from his other works, Connelly has also treated us to a small slice of mysticism with the introduction of Bosch's dreams of a coyote - his animal totem appearing to him in a vision quest, as it were! It is Bosch's personal identification with the lost, wandering coyote that provides him with insight into his own personal travails as he seeks to re-establish purpose and meaning into a life that is drifting aimlessly!
And, of course, like all well crafted thrillers, the ending comes with a twist that will catch you totally flat-footed. Five stars and two thumbs up to a totally enjoyable read ... again!
Paul Weiss
sunsetdreams13's review against another edition
4.0
Spoiler
okay so i thought it was mittel for the first 75% but i put my final guess as meredith at page 404 woooooo also i liked the gold earrings/silver belt thing that was cleverflawless1k's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25