The Black Ice (Harry Bosch) by Michael Connelly
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Book Reviews of The Black Ice (Harry Bosch)
Book Review: "The Black Ice" -- A Dark, Cold Detective Story
Summary: 5 Stars
In "The Black Ice," Michael Connelly delivers another spellbinding mystery initially set in the underbelly of Los Angeles. Connelly owns this turf as no mystery writer has since Raymond Chandler: the Hollywood Hills, hugged by houses perched precariously on stilts; the once-respectable, now seedy motels; the dirty streets; the hierarchy of bars, from bleak to bleaker to bleakest; and the empty, soul-less creatures who need one more shot to get through another day. This is the Los Angeles where Hieronymous (Harry) Bosch tries to piece together a puzzling series of murders, which start as separate crimes but are soon seen to be interrelated.
No "Joe Friday" LAPD booster, Bosch works his cases alone, often contending with the infighting within the LAPD and the rivalry between the LAPD and other agencies. The bureaucracy itself can be mindboggling. Bosch is initially assigned to one of these cases simply to improve his division's "cleared" statistics. As Bosch walks through Parker Center (LAPD headquarters), he is acutely aware of the jealously-guarded fiefdoms invisibly dividing each floor. And his initial meeting with a DEA agent, where each man is holding back information, sadly rings true.
The cases themselves, starting with the suicide of a fellow officer and spreading to the deaths of drug dealers and more, take Bosch from Los Angeles to the sister cities of Calexico and Mexicali. Connelly has clearly done his research, and the descriptions of those cities and the bull-fighting spectacles south of the border are first rate. Despite being both helped and hampered by the Mexican police, Bosch painstakingly solves the cases. The last plot twist was a complete surprise to me.
This is the second Harry Bosch mystery I've read (I'm reading them in order) and I believe it is even better than Michael Connelly's first, Edgar-winning effort, "The Black Echo." I look forward to reading more works by this engaging author.
Book Review: Back in Black
Summary: 5 Stars
If you need a book that will get you interested in reading again, then this is it. Harry Bosch is back and couldn't be more of a badass in this notorious, stay up until 4 AM, can't stop, won't stop thriller that will make you wish that this novel was a movie. With Harry Bosch's relentless attitude, it's a mystery book to end all mystery books, that makes Law and Order look like Connely's slightly retarted cousin. Harry Bosch has balls the size of grapefruits and an even larger brain with twists and turns so confusing that it makes you glad that Bosch is on your side. Do not pass this up for some scooby doo novel, and if you do I will personally come to a book store near you and kick your ass. You miss it, you diss it. Holla Back.
-Keith Bartley
A.K.A.
Don't Blink
Book Review: A page turner featuring the great detective Harry Bosch
Summary: 5 Stars
In Black Ice, the second novel featuring LAPD detective Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly has developed Bosch's personality to a point where his cynical, darkly comic character quirks made me laugh out loud. In this book, Bosch is trying to track down the reasons behind a fellow cop's apparent suicide. In doing so, he uncovers the cop's links to a Mexican drug ring that sells the "black ice" of the title -- a potent combination of cocaine, heroin and PCP.
Bosch's efforts to unravel the story behind his friend's death lead him to a Mexican border town, where readers get a look at the conditions that drive some Mexicans to risk their lives and their freedom to cross illegally into the US.
This is the novel in which Bosch meets Sylvia, the dead cop's widow and the woman with whom he will fall in love by the time of his next case, detailed in The Concrete Blonde.
Book Review: Tight as you'd expect
Summary: 5 Stars
The first book in the series Black Echo was very good. Black Ice is great. Connelly captures the feeling of the city, the air, the tension, the danger, the possibility, and gives it his own literary twist.
Harry Bosch is a detective's detective. He is the flawed protagonist that other writers wish they could create. The frailty of his existence keeps Bosch fresh.
I know that sometimes the convenience of clues and sleuthing gets to some readers (I have a friend that does not like the series AT ALL because of it), but it doesn't bother me all that much. I just look at it as "tv police work" and that's ok as long as it is done well, and doesn't look like just a rip off of a television show.
I recommend all of the books in this series, but maybe Black Ice the most.
Ted
Book Review: Very entertaining LAPD action novel
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first Michael Connelly book I've read, yet is the second book in the Harry Bosch series. Makes sense? Well the first book was sold out so I started with the second book. Thoroughly entertaining book. Other reviews mention that this book is ridden with cliches and I can certainly agree with that but that doesn't particularly bother me. What bothered me more was the constant use of acronyms which sometimes had me scratching my head. e.g. RHD. (Robbery Homicide Department), DEA (Department of External Affairs or Drug Enforcement Agency/Administration it's actually the latter)
These are just minor gripes/nitpicking and I can whole-heartedly recommend this book for action fans. I've found another good author.