Customer Reviews

The Drop

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Just finished The Drop and must say, it's great to see Harry Bosch back in great form. I'm hopeful that there will be many more books with Harry in them. (Hint, hint Mr. Connolly). I enjoy the Lincoln Lawyer books but prefer Harry Bosch. I like his acerbic humour and outlook but am aware of his great humanity too. It doesn't always come out in the books but in the Drop, you see more of that side of him. And his failings. That's ok too...it's good to get to know a character. His treatment of his partner Chu doesn't sit well but I also understand where that comes from. Harry is a loner and is probably at his best when he has no partner or just a partner to do his leg work and office work for him. That discusses the character but not the book. It's great. The story is easy to follow and in this case, Harry has two cases at the same time. Connolly manages to keep the two plot lines separated enough so there is no confusion. Some great characters emerge from the story. Well described and easy to picture in your mind. All in all, a good book, well written.

After some misses in the last couple of Harry Bosch novels, not to mention those Lincoln Lawyer stories where Harry plays a supporting role, which is not a good use of his character, I am glad to see that he is back in form in The Drop. The story is well plotted and paced and an entertaining read. Even if it is not fully up to the angst and edge of the early Bosch novels, it is still enough so to put it head and shoulders above most of the competition. Recommended.

LAPD's Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is a great character with more lives than a litter of cats. The entire series has been entertaining with a 'noir-lite' atmosphere that does very little to extol the virtues of Los Angeles. But it is the gruff but loving Harry who carries each outing. Borrowing a Sherlock Holmes' convention of presenting two mysteries in one book, Connelly has Harry trying to solve a brutal murder that has remained unsolved for twenty years while chasing down a politically charged potential suicide. The most compelling relationship is that between Harry and his partner...it provided a bridge between the two cases and was the most interesting part of the whole outing. One may complain that both Harry and his format are growing stale but his understated nobility and genuine desire to make the city safe have me anticipating the next installment.

Harry Bosch returns in Michael Connelly's latest book - The Drop. Harry has three years left until mandatory retirement kicks in. He's working in the cold case squad now. When he and his partner Chu get a DNA hit from a twenty year old sample, they think a mistake has been made. The perp is in the system, but he would have been eight years old at the time. But just as they start investigating further, they are told to drop everything to investigate the death of a prominent city counciller's son. The summons comes from the top - Harry calls it 'high jingo' - there are political factions at war and work here. But of course, Harry works both cases.

Although I've read everything Connelly has written, this is the first of his books that I've listened to. Len Cariou was the reader. At first I found his slightly sibilant esses annoying, but as I got further into the story, I didn't hear them. His voice is rough and gravelly and immediately brought to mind the mental image I have of Harry. He also handled the other roles well, providing a different voice for each character.

The Drop had two great cases as the primary story lines. But it also has secondary plot lines involving Harry's personal life, notably with his daughter Maddie. I am enjoying Harry as a dad. Really, I can't say much more than The Drop is classic Connelly - an excellent read with a character I am quite partial to. And Connelly has left it open for another book with Bosch.

Michael Connelly doesn't fail to keep up to his usual standards in this book. Here Harry Bosch is dealing with 2 mostly unconnected cases - the death of a man who happens to be the son of a long-time enemy, Irvin Irving and the discovery of a serial killer who has been successfully concealing himself and his crimes for a long time. As far as I'm concerned, this book is a top-notch success. Bosch has to deal with his own personal failings, the complications of looking after his daughter Maddie, the politics of "high jingo" and a former partner's role at the highest levels of LAPD - oh, yeah he has cases to solve. Connelly is better than most at handling the ambiguities of the situation while still allowing us to understand and admire Bosch and what he is trying to accomplish.

At some point, Connelly is bound to disappoint, but not this time.

This is a well-written book, I would say. It grabbed my attention right from the opening chapter. It is the best novel I have read in months in the mystery genre, with true to life characters, a plot to kill for and a brilliant presentation of the story through the right mix of dialogue and narration. The convergent of the plot from multiple angles reminds me of the thriller Flash of the Sun. The amazing thing about this novel is the unique insight Connelly provided on solving cases that makes this book not only a page-turner, but also a guide on crime solving.

"For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work;" -- 2 Thessalonians 2:7 (NKJV)

As the book opens, Harry Bosch is looking forward to getting a new case in his role as a detective in the Open-Unsolved Unit of the LAPD. He soon receives one as well as the unexpected news that his mandatory retirement has been extended by 39 more months under the DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Program). The case is a touchy one: there's a DNA match on a rape-murder to a man who was 8 years old at the time. What's going on here?

Almost before Harry can draw a breath, yet another case lands in his lap, Councilman Irvin Irving's son has just been found dead at the tony Chateau Marmont. Did the younger Irving jump, was he pushed, did he fall, or did someone drop him after knocking him unconscious? Harry doesn't relish the case, and he's astonished to learn that Irving has insisted that Harry be the lead investigator . . . in light of their many years of battling one another. Soon, Harry is up to his eyeballs in politics. Irving has cut off overtime at LAPD. Could it be that the results of his investigation are part of a political deal to get overtime back?

Meanwhile, Harry is doing his best to be a dad to Maddie. But with so much going on, she's really raising herself.

On the personal front, Harry finds himself attracted to a most unusual woman and has major problems with his partner.

The two cases don't involve much action. They are primarily police procedurals, but Michael Connelly has added fascinating details that make the mysteries much murkier than I expected.

Harry isn't quite as wild and off the reservation as usual. Maddie seems to be calming him down.

The book shows different sides of Harry as he makes mistakes that will echo into future stories, I'm sure.

Some may find the endings to the two cases to be unsatisfying. I don't agree. Both "solutions" involve quite revealing insights into LAPD, Harry, and his philosophy of policing.

The book's main drawback is that either mystery could have been developed much more thoroughly in a standalone book. I thought that much of the potentially tasty pulp was left out of the orange juice in the process.

See what you think.

Another great read ---- interesting plot ---- always enjoy harry bosch and his way of solving crime and dealing with his associates

This is the 2011 book in the Harry Bosch series, here he investigates an old sex killing and a new high profile death, Along the way he meets a love interest and pushes and pulls his LAPD coworkers with his drive for justice and tricks of the trade. The stories roll out at a realistic pace until it's time to wrap things up. Once again a good police step by step, sprinkled with a lot of verisimilitude.

Seen Connelly's books on the shelf but never read one. Glad I ordered this as I really enjoyed the read. The Bosch character is one that you love to hate but he keeps you moving with him and wanting to solve the case. This particular novel has some interesting twists and turns which keeps you wanting to turn the page and not go to bed. If this novel is any indication of Connelly's work than I would place him in the league of James Patterson and almost a Baldacci ...

Michael Connelly writes very well; clearly, logically and concisely. He creates well-rounded and indepth characters that make the story plausible and fun. I enjoyed this character so much that I just ordered and already received the Bosch Novels with three highly rated stories ... looking forward to this!