The Overlook (Harry Bosch) | Michael Connelly | A great addition to the "Harry Bosch" series!

The Overlook (Harry Bosch) | Michael Connelly | A Great Overlook!!!

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The Overlook (Harr...

	The Overlook (Harry Bosch) Michael Connelly Vision, 2008 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 188 reviews view larger image
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In his first case since he left the LAPD's Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctor's death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city.
Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harry's one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Bosch's job to prove all of them wrong.

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A great addition to the "Harry Bosch" series!

I became a fan of the "Harry Bosch" novels by Michael Connelly late in life. I think it was the movie, Blood Work, starring Clint Eastwood and based on one of Connelly's other books, that caused me to buy The Narrows when it came out in paperback. I read that and found myself immediately hooked on the Bosch character. I've since gone back and purchased the other novels in the series (thirteen in all) and have loved each one of them. The Overlook is the newest one out in paperback and please don't confuse it with the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's greatest horror novel, The Shining. There's no relation between the two.

The story begins with a murder at night on a bluff off of Mulholland Drive, overlooking (hence the title of the book) the city of Los Angeles. The victim, Stanley Kent, was shot twice in the back of the head, and LAPD Homicide Detective Harry Bosch is called out to investigate. Several things then happen in a relatively short period of time. The first is that Harry's ex-lover, FBI agent Rachel Walling, shows up within a few minutes of him getting to the crime scene, and she makes it clear from the start that Kent's death is now a matter of national security and that the FBI is taking over the case. It appears that the victim was a doctor with access to radioactive materials such as cesium, which is used for the treatment of cancer. Kent and his wife, Alicia, had apparently been warned sometime back by Walling and her partner that they could be the focus of Middle Eastern terrorists because of the doctor's ability to get cesium at the local hospitals. The cesium could then be used to create a radioactive bomb. When Harry and Walling visit the Kent's home to break the news to Alicia of her husband's death, they discovered her naked and bound in the master bedroom. It seems that two men with Middle Eastern assents entered the home and tied her up, then called Stanley and told him to steal a supply of cesium, if he didn't want them to kill her. The victim did as required and was then murdered on the bluff. As the FBI pursues the investigation with the belief that terrorists could be planning to set up a bomb in Los Angeles, Bosch refuses to be kept out of the loop and diverts his attention to primarily solving the murder. It's his belief that either all count, or no one counts, and he won't allow the death of Stanley Kent to fade into the background of the bigger picture.

The Overlook was originally published as a serial in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and then as a hardcover and now as a paperback. The book is shorter than the others in the series and that certainly makes for a faster pace. In fact, I read this in just two days. I quickly got caught up in the murder investigation, Bosch's newest partner, Ignacio "Iggy" Ferras, who seems to fight his mentor every step of the way with how he chooses to do things, the tension between Bosch and his former lover, Agent Wallings, the struggle between the LAPD and the FBI, and the question of whether or not the death of one person should be forgotten in order to stop the possible deaths of thousands. Connelly has definitely created one of the finest characters of police procedurals during the last half of this century. Harry Bosch is the kind of guy you want covering your back when you go through the front door of a dangerous situation. And, if you go down the hard way, Bosch will make sure that justice is delivered one way or another, no matter what the rules are. I have to also state that the author captures the beauty and desolation of Los Angeles in ways that stay with you long after the novel is finished. On one side of the coin, it's a place where dreams can come true, while on the other side it's a city filled with crime and death and people who will do whatever it takes to get what they want, no matter how many individuals are hurt in the process.

In terms of how good a novel The Overlook is, I would rate it in the top five of the "Harry Bosch" novels. I definitely enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading the series.

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A Great Overlook!!!

This current Harry Bosch offering by Michael Connelly is just as exciting as all his other Harry Bosch offerings. Michael is an expert in writing detective novels, as he was a Crime Reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Harry is a Detective for the Hollywood Special Homicide Division and his first case from being transferred from the Cold Case Unit, has him finding a body on the Overlook over Hollywood. With his young partner, Iggy, they, along with the FBI, attempt to track down the murderer of a Phycisist working with Cesium, a radioactive isotope used for treating ovarian -uteran Cancer. Along with murder, Harry is thwarted by the FBI, who wants Harry out of the loop, since a heist of this isotope by known terrorists makes this a National Security issue. With a few plot twists and turns, this makes for an outstanding who-donut. If you can handle the few bad words, this is a great novel. Since I was born and raised close to LA, there are places very familiar to me. If you want to learn more about how Homicide works and all the politics between the divisions and between the locals and the Feds, you'll enjoy this offering and the rest of the Harry Bosch books. Michael's new one with Harry comes out in a few days. I highly recommend this page-turner, as it takes you straight to the last page to resolve the case.

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New case, old problem

Harry Bosch is back on the homicide squad - and even though the call he goes out on seems like it might be more related to Organized Crime, he is loathe to give up his first fresh case in years. Contradictions quickly arise - as they always do in these books - showing that the murder victim, who appears to have been the victim of a mob-type "hit" has no ties to organized crime - but he did have access to radioactive material from just about every hospital in the LA area. The FBI show up - including Rachel Walling, one of Bosch's former lovers - and want a piece of the action - preferably the biggest piece.

While Harry tries to solve the crime, being thwarted on almost every side, a deadly danger could be menacing LA. Can he find the answer in time?

Great story - lots of action and suspense. A definite recommend.

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Bare Bones Bosch

Michael Connelly fans know Harry Bosch. He's the kind of scrupulously honest, clever, always-ready-to-break-the-rules-to-solve-the-case kind of detective you would want on the trail, assuming you're a good guy. Having read several Bosch novels, I was able to fill in the blanks a lot here, for the characters, several of whom appear in earlier works, are not well developed.

The plot centers on a Connelly staple: the tension between the feds (Foolish Bureau of Investigation?) and the locals. There's also the classic bit about the grizzled veteran breaking in the new partner.

The big mystery is the cold-blooded murder of a man who is carrying a large amount of radioactive cesium. It seems the cesium was stolen by terrorists.

The first fifteen chapters read like something Connelly could have written in his sleep. But, fortunately, it heats up, and the last eight chapters build to an exciting climax.

One thing I've found from Connelly's books: pay attention, particularly when Bosch is sniffing around. Connelly doesn't clutter his work with meaningless leads.

I haven't rated any of the other Connelly books that I have read, but I believe they were all solid fives. However, this book needs more depth, more detail. So, holding this work up against the high standards of other Connelly novels, I have to give it a four.

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Good, short introduction to Harry Bosch

I started reading The Overlook in the New York Times back in 2006. For various reasons, I stopped reading the weekly installments. Later, Connelly revised the story, making it more the novel it wanted to be rather than sixteen sections of equal word length. I read the novel and quite liked it.

In The Overlook, Harry Bosch is with a special unit of robbery homicide and he gets the call around midnight. Like many times throughout his books, Bosch is asleep in an easy chair, fully dressed, ready for a case. He gets one, a murdered man out on the overlook over Mulholland. He's breaking in a new partner, a kid half his age, and the crotchety self of Bosch comes out. That's the least of his worries as FBI Special Agent Rachel Walling, old flame and fellow adventurer of previous books (including The Narrows), shows up and pulls federal rank. Bosch doesn't like that--natch--and the case is on.

The Overlook is short, unlike nearly all of Connelly's books. That feature alone makes it a nice introduction to Bosch. He's all there, at least as I can tell from the four previous books I read. Knowing some of the detail that Connelly brings to his books, it's a nice break to have a lighter book with a straightforward plot. I can only imagine how many readers first read the story in the New York Times and proceeded to buy more Bosch books. He's a great character. He ages in real time. He gets hurt and, well, it hurts him. He's not above it all, although he thinks he is some of the times.

Connelly's writing style is, to me, of the Elmore Leonard School of Writing. Leonard, like Connelly, gets out of the way as much as possible when he writes. You actually forget that Connelly is the one writing the book. Unlike, say, Don Winslow or Ken Bruen--you read a few sentences and you know, right off the bat, who the writer is. That's cool for them. Connelly's different. You take any one paragraph out of any of his books and, chances are, you'd be hard pressed to name the writer. That is a great trait to have, in my opinion. It does not get in the way of the story.

Another aspect of Connelly's style that more obvious to me is what I like to call the Put-Every-Detail-In way of writing. Leonard has stated that he likes to start a scene as late as possible and get out before the scene ends. Connelly writes everything: what the characters eat, how they dress, every detail is laid out, scene by scene. I do think this is an effective way to write and I tend to be of this variety more often than not. My critique group likes to excise stuff that, upon re-reading, I see I don't need.

A word about the audio: Len Cariou is a good reader for the older Bosch. Dick Hill, the reader for a lot of the other Bosch books, is a good reader, too, but Cariou was especially effective for The Overlook. Cariou's gravelly voice gave Bosch's dialogue readings an edge to them especially when Bosch was irritated with the youth and inexperience of his new partner.

The Overlook provides a unique opportunity to learn from a professional writer in his prime. That is, if you have access to the novel as well as the original New York Times version. I have both and I read a few chapters, side by side, and made comparisons. It was fascinating. Things Connelly left out of the NYT piece (because of word count constraints) he fleshed out in the novel proper. There were passages where only one word was changed. I actually got the impression that the NYT version was a rough draft. Much like Springsteen does in his concerts, he sometimes considers the album versions of his songs to be rough drafts. If anyone wants to compare the two, go on over to the New York Times website and conduct a search for it. It's still there. Put both versions side by side, examine and study the differences, and ask yourself why Connelly made certain changes. It's a wonderful insight into the mind of a professional author and it's surely will help you become a better writer. It has for me. (excerpted from http://scottdparker.blogspot.com)

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