ParaNormalRomance.org

"A great action-packed drama"

The dog dug up the remains in a shallow grave in Hollywood Hills. The Los Angeles Police Department forensic team performs magic on the decaying bones by determining the victim was approximately twelve years old, was battered, and finally killed by a blow to the head around 1980. Not much more for the head Detective Harry Bosch to work on except the nearby-buried surfboard is quite distinguishing looking.

Since the homicide much of the neighborhood has turned over as people moved away. Harry follows the thin leads accompanied by rookie Julia Brasher. Not long after sharing the case, the two cops share a bed. After identifying the victim through his surfboard, Harry and Julia begin inquires with friends and family of the lad that take them to a series of individuals who make the "City of Angels" seem more like the "City of Lost Souls". Violent incidents occur leaving Harry to wonder if the efforts to solve a two decade old crime could prove dangerous for those involved today including two police officers.

Harry remains Harry as he retains that same edge that readers enjoyed in his previous book, A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT even with brash Julia to take some of the edge off the hero. The investigation is engaging and the secondary cast of losers adds depth to the plot while keeping Harry in the darkest environs of society. However, Michael Connelly's effort to bring peril into the present deletes from the overall plot of a powerhouse investigative tale of a twenty year old murder. Still, CITY OF BONES is a taut Harry Bosch police procedural.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted March 20, 2002

When the bones of a 12-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 not 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 Bosch in more trouble that ever before in his turbulent career. The investigation races to a shocking conclusion and leaves Bosch on the brink of an unimaginable decision-one that will leave readers hungrily awaiting Michael Connelly's next masterpiece.