Product Description

Detective Harry Bosch returns in an outstanding thriller with begins with a 20-year-old murder case...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21400 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-07
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Michael Connelly's world-weary cop Harry Bosch gets another outing in City of Bones, torn apart by having to investigate the long-ago killing of a much abused boy and by his doomed affair with a much younger woman cop. This is not the best or the most ingenious, but is the gloomiest and perhaps most thoughful, of Connelly's thrillers about Bosch, thrillers which take the assumptions of the police procedural and makes them part of the creation of a mood in which to investigate is to struggle with the tragic forces in life. Connelly is especially good on the more positive aspects of canteen culture, that real desire to protect the innocent and serve society that Bosch calls "the blue religion"; when, as here, a paedophile witness is outed to the press or a suspect shot in dubious circumstances, it is not just good standards of policework, but something more important that is being betrayed. If City of Bonesturns out to be the last of Connelly's books about Bosch, or the last in which he is controlled and constrained in his mission of justice by his role as a police officer, it will not be a dying fall to one of the more impressive thriller series of our time. --Roz Kaveney

Synopsis
When the bones of a twelve-year-old boy are found scattered in the Hollywood Hills, Harry Bosch is drawn into a case that brings up the darkest memories from his own haunted past. The bones have been buried for years, but the cold case doesn't deter Bosch. Unearthing hidden stories, he finds the child's identity and reconstructs his fractured life, determined that he won't be forgotten. At the same time, a new love affair with a female cop begins to blossom for Bosch - until a stunningly blown mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before in his turbulent career. The investigation races to a shocking conclusion and leaves Bosch on the brink of an unimaginable decision...

About the Author
A former police reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Michael Connelly is
the author of twelve acclaimed Harry Bosch thrillers and several other
bestselling novels. He lives in Tampa, Florida, with his wife and daughter.

Customer Reviews

One of the better Bosch plots
After reading a few weaker efforts (Darkness More Than Night and Echo Park) which both suffered from rather far fetched plots and excessive corny coincidences, Bosch is back to real gumshoe detection in City of Bones and it is an interesting case of child abuse and murder from the past with lost threads and old family skeletons (literally and metaphorically) and, as usual, Bosch's sometimes maverick methods cause friction in his team and department. As well as good descriptive procedural writing, there are also a few shocks (I wont spoil it for you)and Harry's mood is certainly darker here than in recent books. The eventual resolution is satisfyingly uncovered by a combination of the usual forensic evidence, searching through archives and knocking on doors. Bosch may never quite match the charisma of Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade or Lew Archer but he gets close at times in this episode.

Another In The Harry Bosch Series
I am working through Michael Connelly's books and this is the second of the Harry Bosch novels I have read.

The 20 year old bones of a child are found and Bosch is determined to find out who had abused and finally murdered this child. The story has numerous twists and turns, some of which were a little predictible. The ending was satisfying enough but perhaps didn't stand up to the story that was unfolding. The character of Bosch is excellent and I look forward to reading more of his exploits!

7/10

Slow and Thoughtful
I have had the pleasure of reading Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch novels in order and this gives me the ability to put 'City of Bones' in a wider context. As a character Bosch is one of the most well written in crime fiction. Connelly has made him a driven but vulnerable man who will do almost anything to solve a case.

Case solving is not always that easy when the murder occurred 20 years ago. Whilst working the New Years Day shift Bosch gets a call to look at a bone that has been found by a dog. Turns out that a child has been killed and buried in the woods some 20 years earlier. Can Bosch uncover the truth after all this time and fight his own demons?

'City of Bones' does not have the strongest story and I would not recommend it as the introduction to the series. Connelly has decided that this novel will be more about Harry than the case. This is great for fans as we get to see him develop a little and understand more that drives him. However, as a straight crime story it falls very flat as there is little movement from a linear path.

However, as a fan I can not fault Connelly's excellent writing style. He is, in my opinion, the best at this LA crime noir genre. Due to the great style and interesting character development, I give this a four. If you are new to the series try reading them in order as doing so will enrich this book.