Customer Reviews

Trunk Music(CD)(Unabr.)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Michael Connelly does something unusual in Trunk Music: He makes Harry Bosch fallible in his work as well as in his private life. The result is that Harry has setbacks that go beyond his usual run-ins with LAPD authority. The result is entertaining and convoluted, providing novelty to this excellent series.

This isn't my favorite in the series by a long shot. The noir aspects just aren't as dark as in Connelly's best efforts.

Gallows humor saves the book, beginning with finding a corpse in a car trunk where the crime scene can be seen from the audience at the Hollywood Bowl. Even Harry knows that he's got to avoid messing up the concert. The show must go on!

The Las Vegas parts of the story open up many new threads for future tales, including a meeting in this book with an old friend from The Black Echo.

"Trunk Music" was Michael Connelly's sixth book, his fifth to feature Harry Bosch and was first published in 1997. Although Harry remains a cigarette-smoking, beer-swilling, coffee-drinking jazz-fan, his life has seen a few changes since "The Last Coyote". It's been about eight months since Harry returned to the Hollywood Division from involuntary stress leave, but roughly eighteen since he 'officially' investigated a homicide case. Bosch has spent the previous eight months working the burglary table - officially, this was to ease him back into detective work. In reality, however, it was a slap on the wrist for his 'unofficial' investigation outlined in "The Last Coyote" - while he was his involuntary stress leave. He's also spending much of his free time redecorating his house - condemned after an earthquake, it's been demolished and now rebuilt.

The Hollywood Division is now under the command of a new Lieutenant, Grace Billets. In turn, she has decided that all homicides should be investigated by three detectives. Harry is the team leader of Squad One : his partners are Jerry Edgar, who he'd worked with previously, and Kizmin Rider. Rider transferred in around the same time as Billets, both from the LAPD's Pacific Division. "Trunk Music" covers Harry's first case back at the homicide table under these new arrangements. A body has been found in the trunk of a Rolls Royce along Hollywood Drive, overlooking the Hollywood Bowl. Certain factors seem to indicate the victim - Tony Aliso - was killed by the Mob. As such, the case should be turned over to the Organized Crime Intelligence Unit. However, when notified, OCID take a pass - although Harry's happy he hasn't lost his case, he still finds that decision a little strange. To complicate matters, it later appears the officer Harry contacted - a man called Carbone - is taking a 'casual' interest in the case. Harry believes there's more to this than meets the eye, but knows he'll have to be careful. While OCID are supposed to concentrate on organized crime, it is widely believed they hold thick files on many - including the Police Chief and the Mayor. In other words, they're not afraid to play dirty to get what they want.

Aliso, although a small-time player in the movie business, still made a healthy living from it. Married to one of his former actresses, he took regular trips to Vegas. The length of these trips would vary, depending on his luck at the poker tables - however, his wife suspected he did more in Vegas than just gamble. He was returning from one of these trips when he was apparently intercepted and killed. Realising the killer may have followed Aliso from Vegas, Harry takes a trip there to try and retrace his steps. The trip, however, throws up one or two surprises - and it wouldn't be a Harry Bosch novel if he didn't find himself in serious trouble.

Connelly has written another excellent book, and has also introduced two very likeable characters - Billets and Rider. Billets, unlike Harry's previous boss, seems to care about clearing cases - rather than fiddling statistics to make the department look good. Rider, meanwhile, is considered an excellent detective and is tipped to go right to the top. It would probably be a slight advantage to have read at least a couple of the previous Bosch novels- for example, there are certain slight references to some of the events from "The Black Echo" and "The Last Coyote". While it's not entirely necessary, I would recommend reading them first - they are both excellent books, and knowing the "full story" will add to the enjoyment of this instalment.

This is the 5th book of the Harry Bosch series. I've read every one. Michael Connelly has developed a character who is real. Harry loves being a cop. He has his flaws but he continually tries to improve himself. I love the way Connelly ties in characters and story lines from book to book. You definately have to start from the first of the series (Black Echo). I highly recommend this series.

Reading this book, I kept reading to find out whodunnit of course. What I didn't realize was that my suspicions of whodunnit were right from the very beginning. I guess if you read enough murder mysteries, you sort of begin to pick up on the clues that make the story predictable. When things are coincidental, there is probably a reason. When something begins to make sense and fall in place too easily, there is probably a reason. I found the new police characters to be refreshing but tired of the IA inquiry, the boring and rambling dialogues throughout the book and the Harry Bosch greater than thou character. I wouldn't recommend the book. Once you know who the killer(s) really are, the book struggles along and stretches out the story another 75 pages or so that aren't necessary and I felt at the end I should've seen the words, "And they all lived happily ever after".

After a leave of absence, LAPD detective Harry Bosch comes forward via request to investigate the circle of circumstances involving the death of Anthony Aliso, whose body is found in the trunk of the victim's car, parked on Mulholland Drive. Author Connelly immediately catches the reader's attention with depth, each "clue" leads to another piece of solving this thriller - such clues as the mysterious substance found around the victim's eyes. Each time Bosch thinks he has the biggest lead to the murder of Aliso, another corner is turned, leading to more information that detours Bosch to trail the killer(s).

Is Aliso's wife involved in any way? Are the individuals who Bosch meets in Las Vegas gambling casinos involved? In the process of investigation, Bosch is taken back in time to a former acquaintance, more-than-friend Eleanor Wish. Bosch encounters "enemies" within the LAPD and FBI who "hold" information over him, attempting to deter and dismiss Bosch from the case. With supportive efforts of the investigation team including head of department Billets, and department members Kiz Rider and Edgar, Bosch continues his travails to catch a killer.

Connelly spins this mystery like a smooth operating gambling wheel -- each piece of information, each character, each action, fit into a slot making for a pleasurable, entertaining, suspenseful, intricate and clever mystery.

TRUNK MUSIC finds Harry investigating an apparent mafia hit on a small-time movie producer. The victim has been found in the truck of his car with two bullets in his head. He was shot from behind at very close range. Of course, Connelly provides plenty of twists before you get to the end. Some will surprise you even if some don't. But between Harry's personal travails and the difficulties of unraveling the case, there is plenty to keep the pages turning. Besides a convoluted plot, Connelly also provides characters of depth and lots of rough edges.

This is Connelly's fifth Harry Bosch story and it's the fifth one I've read. I've thoroughly enjoyed each one and I recommend them to anyone who likes gritty police procedurals. It's not really my favorite genre, but these are exceptional. Harry has developed steadily throughout the series, however, and there are elements that crop up from previous books, so if you haven't read any Harry Bosch stories before, I advise going back and starting from the first. I highly recommend TRUNK MUSIC, along with each of its four predecessors.

This is one of my favorites of the Harry Bosch books so far! This book had it all, the suspense, action, drama and even a little love story for Harry.

This book makes so many turns that you will never imagine how is going to end, when you think everything is solved it gets another turn and believe me, you wouldn't be able to close the book until the end.
The must important part of the book is that shows that the police department are men, and as all men of the world, they have their own problems and secrets, their problem is that the life of a policeman is public and everybody knows what happen to them.
The story of Harry and how he work to save his career is almost like superman, but this is a very good reading, if you have this book, just read it.

This was the first Harry Bosch novel that I read and I found it to be quite enjoyable. The characters were terrific and there was never a dull moment. I would definitly read another. Good mystery.

If I were Harry Bosch, I think I'd get a job as a bouncer or something...the poor guy, he's at it again and he's up against more internal affairs investigations. There's one time in here in which his new chief, Grace Bittell, looks at him and says, "Harry, why don't you grow up and stop these pissing games?". Bravo, Grace.
Now, don't get me wrong. Harry's still a great cop and he has a nose for finding out the details in snaring his criminals. Although in this one, he and his cohorts Kimz Rider and Jerry Edgar, blow it big time. But the new chief is a more intricate and understanding one than the previous Harvey Pounds.
Anyway, in this multi-focused book, Bosch is up against the murderer of a small-time Hollywood producer who is killed in the trunk of his Rolls Royce and it looks like a mob hit. Of course, Harry is not so sure about it, so off her goes to Las Vegas to do more research. He stumbles upon a likely suspect in Luke Goshen, who is more than what he appears to be. Lo and behold, Harry also stumbles upon his former love, Eleanor Wish, who has spent five years in prison for her part in a nasty crime committed in an earlier work. So add this to Harry's problem and you've got quite a bit of trouble brewing.
Connelly makes this work for him most of the time, although I tend to agree that the ending comes a little quicker than usual and even though we have an exciting climax in a little shopping mall, there's even one more little twist that Connelly tags on that's not really that exciting. However, there is a surprise for Harry at the end as far as his love life goes.
All in all, you really can't go wrong with Harry Bosch or Connelly. He's a great writer and you can't help but fall in with Bosch and his bullheadedness...he gets the job done!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED