The Harry Bosch Novels, Volume 1: The Black Echo / The Black Ice / The Concrete Blonde (2001) - Plot & Excerpts
Maybe not quite 4 stars but again the 5-star system doesn't allow enough fineness, and 3 certainly is more wrong than 4.This book contains the first three novels of the Harry Bosch detective series, now apparently numbering 17 novels, by Michael Connelly. It got it at a deep sale price, designed to get people to buy more of the series if they like it. That's a good tactic that's used a lot, though I've seen people do it wrong, e.g., by offering a book from the middle of the series. At least I consider it wrong.So, the book. The character Harry Bosch is a police detective who, through various anti-establishment or rogue attitutes and activities, is not exactly in favor with the higher-ups. Of course. We learn that he was a "tunnel rat" in Vietnam - somebody who goes into Viet Cong tunnels to go up (so to speak) against the enemy. As soon as you read that, you might guess that there are going to be tunnels in his future. Sure enough, the first novel, "The Black Echo," starts right in on it. A body is found stuffed in an abandoned pipe, and there you have your first reference. Then there's more tunnelling underfoot as we learn about robberies involving underground entries and paths through sewer and other underground lines. The next novel is titled "The Black Ice," referring both to a kind of narcotic being smuggled into LA and to hidden dangers. Bosch pursues drug dealers, smugglers, and corrupt cops, and exposes himself to hidden danger and turmoil. There are no tunnels in the third novel, "The Concrete Blonde." But that's OK, because early on we've learned that tunnel is a metaphor for Bosch's troubled past, his inner turmoil, and the problems he continues to make for himself, creating more troubled pasts as he goes along.I mentioned "The Black Ice" standing for at least two things, and this kind of duality echos, if you will, throughout these novels. The second one in particular is rife with dual meaning, parallelism, foreshadowing, and back references. The stories are deeper and denser than your typical breezy private eye / detective book, and yet in a different way from some of the classic heavier yet slicker PI books.There's a lot to these novels and I'll likely come back at some point. They are good reads but not exactly easy reads: there's a lot of darkness, a lot of literary self-reference, a lot of reflection. When I learned that there are 14 more of them I had mixed feelings. These three made a pretty good set, and I think that too many more of them might just dilute them - imagine if Hammett wrote 17 novels about the Continental Op. (and no, don't take that to mean that these are on that level.) Hopefully I'll come back some day for another round.
Black Echo: Inaugural novel in the Harry Bosch series. I'd read it years ago when it first came out in French in the early 90's. I was very fuzzy about the plot. I kinda remember that the bad guy was someone from inside. Still I remembered the twist just before the last chapter. Harry Bosch becomes even better with age just like very good wine. His opening bow is full of angst and penned up anger. We kinda get an image of the man but he still have much, much to offer down the road. Connelly is a good storyteller, you get into the plot and see the action thru Harry's eyes. Black Echo passed the test of reread for me.The Black Ice : We find Harry Bosch still at the Hollywood division, still being ostracize by the LA PD brass. A narcotic's cop of the Hollywood division turns up dead in a motel room on Christmas night. Suicide, murder? The cop was under investigation by Internal Affairs. Bosch is on call but doesn't get called but shows up anyway at the crime scene. He knows the cop Calexio Moore somewhat from an on going investigations of a drug carrier Bosch is working on. Very soon Bosch turns up information the brass doesn't want to know about and that Bosch can't let go off. We end up following a trail of bodies all the way to the California/Mexico border where the past joins the present. It's a good, decent plot with compelling characters. I kinda didn't take on Sylvia (Moore's ex) but overall it was a good second novel with one or two hunches that in the end are logically explained.
What do You think about The Harry Bosch Novels, Volume 1: The Black Echo / The Black Ice / The Concrete Blonde (2001)?
This is the first time I have read Michael Connelly and I am very happy that I did. This collection contains the first three books in the what is called the Harry Bosch series. The author delves deep into the development of Bosch's character and motivations for the things he does. Bosch is a Homicide Detective in the Hollywood branch of the LAPD. He is essentially a loner, having antagonized most of the department brass but is very effective at his job. The author also spends many pages describing the various locations in and around LA. It is interesting to read of actual places that I've visited or at least heard of.Harry Bosch is a very compelling and complex character with as many flaws as redeeming qualities. I plan to read the rest of Connelly's Harry Bosch novels in the future and would recommend them to anyone who likes a good, character driven murder-mystery.
—Phil Schaffer
Just completed the first one of the series - The Black EchoMy recently rekindled interest in noir fiction is completely in line with this Connelly novel, and hopefully, with the other 16. Harry Bosch is a rugged cop with LAPD, with a past and a penchant for breach of compliance. He is a war vet with psychological issues, and a tunnel rat experience. A mysterious body turns up in a pipe, which turns out to be a fellow vet and Harry kick-starts a series of investigations, culminating in the unveiling of an elaborate setup. The brooding hero, a comforting but secretive FBI associate, a robbery, a killing and a thrilling chase. The Black Echo has all elements of classic noir. Can't wait to get started with the next one - The Black Ice.The black ice and concrete blond take the thrill quotient one notch up.
—Rohit
The third in the Harry Bosch series is one of the best of the entire thirteen currently available (yes, I've read them all). This entry has everything. Hard boiled Harry is the defendant in a civil trial, the plaintiff the widow of a suspected serial killer, "The Dollmaker", whom Harry shot to death four years ago. The plaintiff's attorney is a star, Honey "Money" Chandler, whose trial record is legendary and who is characterizing Harry as a coldblooded rogue cop. Harry is stuck with the unimaginative LA hack provided by the city. Just as the trial begins, a note appears in the police station taunting him with the claim that The Dollmaker is alive and well, and to prove it, provides directions to the grave of one of his victims.The harrowing trial itself, along with Harry's attempts to discover the truth - did he shoot the wrong man? - form the plot of this novel, which is tautly organized and full of mis-steps and surprises. Harry's colleagues come under suspicion, and it's likely that someone within the department is acting as a snitch. One of the most suspenseful sequences in the book is the account of an illegal search that he conducts in a suspect's home. Another is the lengthy passage when he fears that his lady friend, whom he is coming to love, has been targeted by the psycho. The outcomes of both trial and investigation are truly unforeseen.
—Linda
