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The Narrows (Harry Bosch) by Michael Connelly
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The Narrows (Harry Bosch) by Michael Connelly
Synopsis: Private investigator Harry Bosch confronts the most terrifying killer he's ever known - the monster known to millions as the Poet.
Review: After years in hiding, the Poet has finally returned. Only this time, Harry Bosch is on the case.
FBI Agent Rachel Walling has been dreading the call for years, the one which tells her that the Poet is back. She previously worked on the hunt for this serial killer many years ago, a case which has haunted her ever since. Bosch becomes involved while investigating the death of a friend's husband which ties in with the hunt for the Poet.
As Bosch and Walling team up, they seem to be at odds with the FBI's investigation as the case strays between the desert, the Las Vegas strip and the dark corners of Los Angeles.
This is a fantastic book which grips the reader from start to finish and also throws in characters from earlier Connelly books such as Terry McAleb (Blood Work) and Cassie Black (Void Moon).
This was a long overdue book and brings together some of the great Connelly characters in a dark and terrifying story with one of the most suspenseful climaxes to date in the Bosch series.
Review: A sequel is rarely as good as the original and so is the case here. A good book still, but certainly not as clever as The Poet.
Perhaps I was expecting too much.
Review: I'm going to disagree with another reviewer on this. I think this is better than The Poet. I normally stick with the Bosch books by Connelly but I made an exception for The Poet and was not disappointed, I really enjoyed it. So imagine how much I was looking forward to this book, the Poet meets Bosch. There was only ever going to be one winner but what a twisted tale it takes to get there.
Review: this is a competent, entertaining read but lacked the energy of The Poet. We know who the killer is but the chase/investigation wasn't interesting enough to make up for that, and the characters never really came alive. The death of Backus was a real anti-climax and we still never get to understand why he ever started on his killing spree in the first place.
Review: This is a different kind of story than The Poet: we know who the bad guy is, the point is basically HOW they are going to get rid of him for good. It is still very entertaining, the story-telling is very kinematic, and the surprises are still coming here and there. The dialogs and "first-person" parts (Harry Bosch) ring really true, this is very good stuff overall. Excellent work from Michael COnnelly as usual.
P.S. I re-read The Poet just before this one (I read it first in 97 when it came out) and it really did help. This one refers to it quite of bit as you would expect.
Review: Michael Connelly is a great -- really great -- mystery writer, and Harry Bosch is a compelling character. Having read "A Darkness More than Night" and having become really intrigued with the character of Terry McCaleb, I was hooked by the manner and mystery of his death. Then the book descended into a hunt for a serial killer. I greatly dislike the Patricia Cornwell-Kathy Reich-type books, so call me biased. For me, a mystery becomes magnetic when I know and empathize with the victim - that's when I really want the detective to find the monster who killed him or her. The serial killer books use the victims like statistics -- meaningless corpses who smell horrible, and are disinterred or cut up in grotesque detail. As a reader, I don't care if they are avenged or not, and so the hunt for the killer becomes an academic exercise. This was the basic problem with "The Narrows." There were moments of suspense, but most of the time I didn't care if the murderer was caught or not, because the victims were faceless bodies. And the denouement was a letdown - I came away asking questions, which indicates that there were holes in the plot. I'll read more of Michael Connelly, but will avoid the ones with a serial killer theme.
Review: Connelly follows The Poet with The Narrows but fails to deliver the suspense and surprise of The Poet. Although it lacks the grip and twists of The Poet, The Narrows provides a basic, well-written mystery novel.
The Narrows builds interest slowly as it incorporates characters from The Poet and includes the detective Harry Bosch from other Connelly mysteries. Once the story and case develops, it becomes more interesting and eventually leads to a satisfying end without much in the form of fireworks or climax.
I like the two deliveries used in the book by Connelly. He writes chapters in first-person narrated by Harry Bosch and writes other chapters in third-person. It provides variety and interesting takes on point of view.
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