Tag Archives: Michael Connelly

2013 Mystery Titles

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This is by no means an exhaustive list and availability will vary based on your geographic location. The titles listed here are books that I’ve put on my wishlist or pre-ordered. Open to other title suggestions that I may have overlooked. Thanks!

9780670026456_SerpentsToot_JKF.inddlet me goBad BloodGods and Beasts

 

 

 

 

 

Let Me Go by Chelsea Cain (US, August 13, 2013) Series seems to be going strong with readers. The last book, Kill You Twice (2012) was a decent entry mystery-wise but I was wanting to see less of Gretchen and more of Archie and less of their twisted storyline. No doubt, Chelsea Cain can write thrillers and she excels at urgency. I do plan to read this one because she is an author that is hard to let go no matter what my criticisms have been of her work. If there are any new fans interested in reading her, Heartsick is the first book in the series.

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Do You Ever Wonder What Your Favorite Characters Actually Look Like?

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Do you ever wonder what your favorite characters actually look like? There’s a tweet today by Mulholland Books that asked if readers ever wondered what Michael Connelly thinks Harry Bosch should look like. Here is the interview the author did with Mark Billingham (it’s a two part series):

MB: Have you always had a strong visual sense of Bosch?

MC: Yeah, I have, but I don’t put it in the books.  I don’t have a lot of descriptions of him.  I like it when the reader can build their own character or attach it to someone they know, or a movie star or TV star or something like that.

That’s the way I prefer it to be and he stopped short of actually naming anybody. I’m one of those readers who have a very firm picture in her head about how Harry Bosh looks or even Harry Hole (Jo Nesbø) for that matter. One of the things I don’t like is when a writer says their protagonist looks like the hottest actor/actress on TV or film. Descriptions like that can ruin the book for me. Okay that’s a bit exaggerated. It can be somewhat annoying how about that? What is the point of reading than to use one’s own imagination? 
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Looking Ahead: New 2012 Crime Fiction Novels

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It’s good to be reminded of what’s coming out especially if you use the library. It’s good to get those requests in early. This is not an exhaustive list.

BLACK SKIES (UK, June 21, 2012) by Arnaldur Indridason, previous title was Outrage (UK)  Synopsis: A man is making a crude leather mask with slits for eyes and mouth, and an iron spike fixed in the middle of the forehead. It is a ‘death mask’, once used by Icelandic farmers to slaughter calves. He has revenge in mind.

Meanwhile, with Detective Erlendur absent, his baseball-loving colleague Sigurdur Óli is in the spotlight. A school reunion has left Sigurdur Óli dissatisfied with life in the police force. Iceland is enjoying an economic boom and young tycoons are busy partying with the international jet set. In contrast, Sigurdur Óli’s relationship is on the rocks and soon even his position in the CID is compromised: when he agrees to visit a couple of blackmailers as a favour to a friend he walks in just as a woman is beaten unconscious. When she dies, Sigurdur Óli has a murder investigation on his hands.  Continue reading →

The Black Echo, By: Michael Connelly

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t read Michael Connelly already. He seems to be a well read guy who consistently writes solid police procedurals. Anyway, I’m a huge fan of Connelly’s Det. Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch series. His motto is always: “everyone counts or no one counts.” The Black Echo is the first book in the series set in Los Angeles that introduces us to veteran homicide detective Harry Bosch and it is now on sale for 99 cents at Amazon and B&N and Kobo and Sony for those looking to start with the right price. Unfortunately, the rest of the books in the series are agency priced. Moving on, the story opens with a dead man found in a tunnel. No motive, no clues. Just a body. Continue reading →

The Concrete Blonde, Michael Connelly

The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch)

The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly is the third book in the Harry Bosch series. This story is somewhat loosely related to previous events in a earlier book in the series. I don’t much care for legal thrillers but Connelly manages to merge legal suspense along with a gripping mystery to make this one of the best in the series thus far for me. Caveat is that I haven’t read all the Harry Bosch books. I stopped after The Last Coyote which is another favorite as well. Here is the back blurb:

When Harry Bosch shot and killed Norman Church, the police are convinced it marked the end of the hunt for the Dollmaker — L.A.’s most bizarre serial killer. But now Church’s widow is accusing Harry of killing the wrong man — a charge that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker’s macabre signature. For the second time, Harry must hunt the murderer down before he strikes again.

Michael Connelly is a solid writer. His Harry Bosch series is consistently strong if you look at the reviews from critics and readers alike. What makes Harry Bosch so special? Harry has a creed that he follows in that: everyone counts or no one counts. Connelly makes this series exciting for me because he strikes a nice balance between crime-solving and suspense.
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