Angels Flight - Michael Connelly

**** A formidable and very human detective, who however revels in his own misfortunes

Harry Bosch is undoubtedly one of the best literary detectives I have ever come across. Since the first book of this series, “The Black Echo”, I immediately found myself in tune with him, with his tearing apart the rules to find the culprit, with his weaknesses and his sad past. What makes these novels by Connelly real crime thrillers is the way in which the protagonist is personally involved in the cases he works in, so much so that the cases themselves are a tool of conflict that contributes to the evolution of the character. The problem arises, however, when the series gets longer and, in order to continue to have a protagonist who takes some personal demons with him (i.e. a flawed hero), every time that in a novel his life seems to take a positive turn, in the next one, what he got has to fall apart.

It was what I feared would happen in “Angels Flight”, which is why after I finished reading “Trunk Music”, featuring a happy ending, I hesitated for years before going on. Unfortunately, I had already bought the book; otherwise, I would have stopped at the previous one.

Obviously, my bad feeling has come true.

In “Angels Flight”, we see Bosch dealing with a murder that took place on the Angels Flight funicular. The victim is a black lawyer who is famous for cases against the police.

As always, Connelly expertly mixes fictional events and characters with real ones, giving us a realistic picture of social tension in Los Angeles in the late 1990s. What I particularly appreciate about this author is precisely the care he puts into detail, a sign of in-depth research work and a remarkable understanding of the subject. In this credible context, our Bosch moves, navigating among the press, colleagues who get in the way, intolerance towards the rules and the people who are under investigations. He does it as always with wit, following the evidence and his own intuition, and also risking his neck.

In this novel in particular, investigations lead him to discover inconvenient and unspeakable truths, which tend to lead him astray. The culprit will eventually turn up. I admit that I had guessed their identity simply by ruling out the others. But here the author adds a master stroke, giving us an unexpected and dramatic ending, and at the same time a perfect one.

What I didn’t like about this book, however, concerns the personal sphere relating to Bosch. As I imagined, the balance and happiness he finally achieved unexpectedly (and perhaps too easily) in the previous book are immediately shattered, and eventually he finds himself back to where he started. His character undergoes an involution whose purpose is to make sure he is the same flawed hero in later novels (which I have no intention of reading).

In particular, I did not appreciate the evanescence of an important character like Eleanor Wish, who in the first book of the series was crucial in defining Bosch in the eyes of readers, but who both in “Hard Music” and “The Spider” looks more like a soulless puppet, whose purpose is to bring him up and then make him fall again (poor Bosch!). It’s a shame, because I liked Eleanor, and she deserved a lot more substance.

Angels Flight at Amazon.

Trunk Music - Michael Connelly

***** A perfect ending

After several months, I went back to reading the stories of Harry Bosch born from the pen of Michael Connelly and I did it with the fifth book in the series, which is now more than twenty years old.

This time Bosch has to solve the murder of a film producer who is found dead in the boot of his car. It looks like a typical mob execution, which is precisely called “Hard Music”, like the title of the book, but the reality will be much more complex than what appears obvious at the beginning of the investigation.

As always, Connelly shows us the ambiguous face of police investigations in Los Angeles and, in this case, even in a Las Vegas that seeks to clean up its image from the negative influence of the past domination of the Mob on the city. But there is still a boss that the police cannot wait to eliminate, Joey Marks, and there are links between him and the victim. But the solution to the crime could be elsewhere.

Here and there are a few coincidences, which allow the protagonist to carry on his work and avoid to be killed, but they aren’t so bad.

It was nice to see the Las Vegas of those times in the pages of this novel, the same that I saw with my own eyes a few years before its publication. When Bosch describes the Mirage’s lobby with the white tigers behind the armoured glass and the sharks in the aquarium, I found myself looking at the same things in wonder. This allowed me even more to identify myself with his point of view and to experience the story as if it were real.

Beyond the investigation, however, what I liked most about this book is the return of a character from the past of Bosch who has an important role in the story’s development and especially in the epilogue. Too bad that the personality and the point of view of Bosch himself is preponderant, making the character less three-dimensional than how they appeared in the other book in which they were previously seen. In general, Bosch gives minimal space to the other characters, invades the whole scene, tending to make all the others look like tools enslaved to the plot.

The ending is absolutely perfect, as he himself says, without the usual bitterness or uncertainty that characterised the previous books. In reading it, I thought that the author intended to conclude Bosch’s story here and that only later he decided to go ahead, perhaps at the insistence of his publisher.

For me, if I didn’t already own the next book, I could stop here and be completely satisfied. Certainly, I will wait again several months before continuing with the reading.

I recommend this book to all crime thrillers’ lovers, but to really appreciate it you have to read the previous four, since the heart of these novels is indisputably Bosch, of whom the author each time shows you some new aspect making you experience his evolution through his point of view.

Trunk Music on Amazon.

The Last Coyote - Michael Connelly

***** Bosch never disappoints you

This time Harry Bosch has to deal with a case from the past that personally concerns him: the murder of his mother, a prostitute whose death has never found an explanation. For a long time he wanted to avoid taking care of it, but now in a new period of crisis he’s facing (his woman left him, his house will be demolished and he is suspended from work for attacking his boss, while he sees the returning of his problems with alcohol) he decides to make clear about a murder of which nobody has never cared, except him.

Connelly’s pen throws us into Los Angeles’ most obscure places in the 90s and 60s to follow Bosch in his quest for truth. Once again, the author shows us another facet of this wonderful character, so complex that it is an inexhaustible source of conflicts that never bore and succeeds in making the reader identify in him.

As in the previous novels, we are led to a number of theories, but the answer is before our eyes, yet invisible until the end, because our involvement in Bosch’s personal and emotional events makes us almost blind to the details, just as it happens to him.

The Last Coyote on Amazon.

The Concrete Blonde - Michael Connelly

***** Less original than the previous ones, but technically perfect

This third novel in the Bosch series is so far the one I liked the most. Although it is apparently more straightforward than the previous ones (which I usually do not like), the author played his cards very well.

Finally we find out about the event that represented the character’s genesis: the fact that he killed a disarmed man, thinking the latter was about to pull out a gun. The man in question was nothing more than a serial killer, but Bosch had acted without calling the backup and for this reason he had been demoted in his police job.

Four years later, while Bosch is under civil lawsuit for that killing, by the serial killer family, a new homicide comes up carrying the same signature, but it had occurred later.

Has Bosch killed the wrong man? Or is this an emulator?

The story takes place between court and case resolution. This is a pretty conventional serial killer case, where the killer is one of the characters in the story and needs to be identified. The author tries to take you in many wrong directions. It would all be easy (or almost) if there was no trial in the middle that distracts you and makes you change perspective.

This novel is not as original as the two previous ones but is technically perfect and, unlike the previous ones, also gives the reader the little satisfaction of having the elements to understand in advance who the killer is. That doesn’t mean the reader is bound to succeed, though.

In this context the private aspect of the protagonist’s story continues to develop, which remains central in the plot of the book and is likely to have dramatic implications. 

The reassuring ending seems like the prelude to a new storm.

The Concrete Blonde on Amazon.

The Black Ice - Michael Connelly

***** The corrupt cop

Another nice complex story for the second book in the Bosch series.

Although you find the same messed-up character of the first one, it is not a separated episode, because only after the reading of the first book you can completely understand this one.

Bosch is back from the vacation taken after the first case and now the Christmas season is approaching, which causes him further depression. The whole story takes place in a few exciting days. There is also a brief mention, without the name, to a character of the previous book, which, apparently, will return in one of the next ones.

This time the topic is drug trafficking across the border with Mexico and its links with the police. The atmosphere reminded me of the film “Sicario”. Connelly puts all the elements before your eyes, but you are distracted by so many and such details (beautiful descriptions and reflections on Los Angeles, as well as those on the two border cities: you have the impression to be there) that you realise what’s obvious only at the end, when he slams it on your face.

Of course there’s the usual romantic break, although as usual it implies a certain melancholy and despair.

I liked the resolution of the story in which the protagonist chooses not to follow the rules and the open ending on Bosch’s life.

I can’t wait to read the next one.

The Black Ice on Amazon.

The Black Echo - Michael Connelly

***** The first Bosch is never forgotten

I had never read anything by Connelly in the past and I admit that I was attracted to this series because it was brought to my attention by the existence of a TV series produced by Amazon Studios. Apart from that I knew nothing of the main character, Harry Bosch, nor had I read the book description of this first novel. I just decided to take it and read it, and then defer the judgments to a later time.

Well, it was love at first sight.

I quickly managed to create a strong bond with this character, so flawed as to be a perfect anti-hero. Harry drinks too much, smokes too much, sleeps little, eats little, is unruly, which led him to be exiled in Hollywood Homicide Squad. But Harry is clever, stubborn, has a great intuition, which in the past has earned him considerable success. Despite his life has become problematic, he does everything to accomplish his job, in particular, as it happens in this book, if he realises that somehow he ended up involved in the case.

In fact this is not a mystery, but a crime thriller. The degree of involvement of the protagonist with both the victim and one of those responsible for their death makes him an integral part of the main plot, thus making the character undergo a growth over the course of story.

It is also true that the disappointment he incurs (I don’t specify the reason of such disappointment, to avoid spoilers) could block this process and causes that the character is repeated as such in the subsequent books, but the existence of a complex subplot gives me hope.

I found very interesting the historical reconstruction relative to the tunnel rats in Vietnam. Something I appreciate a lot in the novels I read is their ability to teach me something unexpected and “The Black Echo” succeeded in that, too.

I also find it suggestive to read a story set in a time when people still used the landline to communicate, there were no cell phones, and computer access was difficult even for a police detective. All this makes the investigation most complex and compelling.

The introspection of the character is magnificent. One cannot but love him and want to know more.

The plot is super intricate, never falls into banality, forcing you to read very carefully throughout the novel.

The structure in long parts (divided in the few days when the story takes place) pushes you to read as much as possible and so the novel runs off fast, despite the large number of pages.

Personally I found it as a great inspiration when writing a book of mine characterised by a similar mood, and this discovery was for me like the icing on the cake, which made it an even more satisfying read.

So, in general I can say that it is a great novel, and I will no doubt read the next ones.

The Black Echo on Amazon.