The Concrete Blonde (A Harry Bosch Novel, 3)

I thought that this was so-so until I immediately began sense. They are really one book that explains a lot about Harry Bosch. I read the three most recent Bosch books which are about 18-20 when he has formally retired from LA police and works for a some force in the Valley because his life is suddenly empty when his daughter goes away to college and he is bored. His need to help people drives his life intensely and you learn why in Blonde in Concrete and The Last Coyote. They are worth reading so you understand his life as an orphan and his feelings that he must find out about a serial killer who kills 9 women and is then killed. The Blonde in Concrete is discovered due to the large LA earthquake in 1992 which cracks the concrete basement in a house. Harry is in the middle of a trial about a man he thought was abusing and attacking a women crying for help in a neighborhood that had been involved with the serial rapist. Harry did not wait for backup, broke down the front door, confronted the man harming the woman who began to scramble looking for something, which Harry believed was a gun. After three warnings, Harry shot and killed the man. He was being charged with homicide in a trial against a famous, very skilled prosecuting attorney when the Blonde inthe Concrete was found and he went to the scene after trial was over for the day because he had been involved in the serial rapist murders and the two similar murders which were different.At least one murder had occurred after the serial rapist was killed and Harry was thought to have killed possibly the man who had killed the other two murders. A rubber cast of the palm of the Blonde in the concrete had several fingerprints which were used to identify her and Harry was able to determine that her background was similar to the other two women who were initially assumed to be killed by the serial rapist. This woman was not and she was not killed by the man Harry had killed either. So you have to read the second book to find out what the first book was about. The second deals with Harry’s extreme suspension and the time he spends with the police psychiatrist and then Harry’s search to find out what really happened to his mother which leads him into long continuing corruption in the District Attorney’s office and very highest ranking officers in the LA police at the time of her death and the next year and how it affected several now retired and aged men who still remember the mother’s death and that of her pimp who worked for a man who became District Attorney. You will come why Bosch searches fearlessly for the truth regardless of what happens to him or those whom he considers “evil” although he doesn’t use that word. There are many twists and turns with servers heroes and heroines who eventually pay for what they did although what happens to them may not be commensurate. As Bosch ages, he never loses his desire to find the truth and protect innocent parties from harm and possible death. Harry is flawed and human and I cheer him on by reading his books painful pages by painful page. According to my sleep recorder, I talk to him and about him my dreams, perhaps because I always read in bed until I fall asleep. Harry makes me feel better about the world. I was an attorney in LA when the great earthquake occurred and I drove home on the edge of the Rodney King riots hoping that no one would attack a Ford Falcon. I survived and was not harmed by either event.

In book three of the Harry Bosch series, author Connelly finally hits his stride with the character. The preceding two books frequently referenced the lethal shooting from fours ago of a serial killer, a career-changer that resulted in Harry being transferred out of the highly sought Robbery-Homicide Division and into the not so glamorous Hollywood Division. In The Concrete Blonde, the fatal case is being tried in a civil court by the killer’s family. Harry's refused to plead or settle, and is making do with a lawyer from the D.A.'s office against a top-notch civil rights attorney. The book proceeds along two tracks: as Harry stands trial for his actions four years earlier is at the same time hunting a sadistic killer who may or may not have been the real killer all along. It's a riveting story on both fronts. The courtroom scenes are very well done and will appeal to readers who enjoy legal thrillers. The hunt for the killer is also edge-of-your-seat reading. The police procedural aspects of the book and the group dynamics Connelly describes with the investigation team further heightens what is already a great book. Connelly creates an excellent story and keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

“The Concrete Blonde” is the third novel in a series authored by Michael Connelly with a protagonist Harry Bosch. The novel is of moderate length and is written in modern conversational English. It is mostly easily comprehended and followed and as such makes for a good candidate for an audiobook. I have read the first three of these novels in order. While I have enjoyed all of them, this is easily my favorite thus far. When I say that I “enjoy” these novels I mean that in context. These are stories about violence including homicide. The stories are also about the dark side of human nature that exists to some extent in most of us. Harry Bosch himself is a combination of saint and sinner. Within this novel under review, these issues are discussed explicitly between characters. I read a lot of different types of books, fiction and nonfiction. I was a police officer for thirty nine years and a detective for thirty one years. Of all the modern police novels that I have read, Harry Bosch is the fictional character that I most identify with. I absolutely do not conduct myself the way Bosch does. However his internal machinations and emotional responses align with mine. I completely understand what it is like to try to put my mind into the mind of an offender. It can be a very difficult exercise. It is also difficult to work in that way and then go home and try to be a normal husband and father. Michael Connelly conveys that as well as any modern mystery fiction author that I have read. In summary I really liked this novel. It seems very realistic to me. The novel does contain revolting graphic violence. There is also street language. I would not allow my youthful children to read this novel. But as a policeman I found the novel very realistic. It is dark. It will be some months before I read the next novel in this series but I absolutely intend to do so. Thank You for taking the time to read this review.

Anyone who has read my reviews knows I’m a huge fan of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch novels. I have read almost all of them, starting in the early 1990s. I read them out of order, and for whatever reason, I only recently decided to fill in the gaps and read the ones I never got to. Hence this review of Concrete Blonde, the third in the series. Like usual, I absolutely loved the book, but I also was drawn to the fact that the younger Harry is different from the older Harry. The Bosch in this book is a harder-edged cop (perhaps because as we age, we tend to mellow) who takes huge risks. But like the other books, he is lauded for his work in the end. In Concrete Blond, Bosch is in a courtroom being sued for taking a serial killer’s life. The plaintiff, the killer’s wife, wants the court and the jury to believe that her husband was not the notorious killer and that Harry took the life of an unarmed man. The wife’s lawyer is Honey Chandler, a character that has turned up in the TV series Bosch. She is a fascinatingly skillful trial lawyer. But another victim turns up, and Harry must, while fighting this accusation, find out who killed this victim and whether this victim is another victim of the man he shot, a victim of a copycat killer, or, indeed, if the man Bosch shot wasn’t really the killer as his wife alleges in her lawsuit. The whole novel starts out with a twisted premise and the twists and turns continue until the very end. It is a totally thrilling reading experience. A side note: I love the Bosch TV series. I totally buy Titus Welliver as Bosch and think he’s great in the role. But when I read the books, I never picture Welliver. I suppose I have some nebulous vision of who Bosch is, and when I read, that’s who I picture. Crazy! Second side note: Having read Concrete Blond so many years after it was written, I had forgotten what a heavy smoker Bosch was. I knew from later books he was a reformed smoker, but in this book, he is constantly reaching for a cigarette. That behavior is woven nicely into the plot, but you have to wonder if one day Connelly will come up with a plot where Bosch is dealing with emphysema or lung cancer.

Intrigue around every corner, after every chapter, and never wanted to put the book down. Highly recommend. I first learned about the character Harry Bosch through the TV series Bosch, which is excellent and I’m looking very forward to the next season coming out in 2025. Can’t come soon enough. But I started reading the book series from which Detective Harry Bosch came from and I just finished book 3 of the series with great delight. It’s very well written and Michael Connelly is an outstanding author. I’ll be purchasing book 4 in the series as soon as I’m done writing this review. Reading is more than a hobby for me as it part of what I consider therapy for helping to momentarily distract my mind from the immense physical pain I live with being permanently disabled due to a severe traumatic brain injury and the fact that this book series offers me a means to be enjoyably be distracted even for a moment as my mind delves into the world of Detective Bosch is a very welcome blessing. Thank you, Mr. Connelly, for that gift and keep them coming. I highly recommend this book series and know that others who enjoy suspenseful storytelling will appreciate them as much as I do.

Harry has improved over the first 2 novels. As noted in a previous review, I formed my impressions of Bosch from Titus Weiliver's portrayal in the "Bosch" series. (Unfortunately, he wasn't as together in "Legacy".) The Harry in Black Echo seemed more like a schlub. The Harry in Black Ice was a bit better, but still disappointing. This Harry seemed more like he was in the series. Even the firearms errors were fewer in number. (clip instead of magazine, the S&W Model 59 (with a 14-round magazine, not a15 round) was the only 9mm with that capacity in 1994, thus must be Harry's replacement sidearm. Also, it has a decocker, not a safety--pretty close). What shocked me is that 2 main characters from the "Bosch" series aren't around after this novel. Also, no even passing mention of Elizabeth (as in Black Ice). I had hoped that her marriage to Harry would be explored further in "Legacy", but, alas, no. I'll just have to read more novels. 8~)

Michael Connelly is my favorite fiction writer. I found this early Bosch by serendipity. The book is well paced with a number of twists. It also includes a Bosch love angle. In the end Bosch gets the girl and the killer. A good read.

I’m glad I found the Harry Bosch book series after reading the Lincoln Lawyer books. I enjoy the suspense and love speculating on the “who done it’s “.

Just started to 're read all the Harry Bosch series as they were so good. Love Harry and the way he works

Bosch’s past catches up with him in Book 3. Four years previously, he gunned down a serial killer known as the Dollmaker. Bosch had assumed Norman Church was reaching for a firearm - but in reality it was a toupee. Bosch was demoted. Now Dollmaker-style killings have resumed. The timing couldn’t be worse, as Bosch is on trial. Church’s widow is seeking damages. It’s a clever set-up and the novel is well-structured. Suspects are lined up, each of them credible. But the rug is pulled out from the reader in dramatic style. The denouement is a little rushed - but it’s neat and relatively satisfying. I certainly didn’t see it coming… The trial scenes necessarily slow down the action. They’re tense and convincing, but they dominate much of the novel; possibly this element is overdone. But The Concrete Blonde is a page-turner. The plot is leaner and not as cluttered or complex as the storylines of the previous two novels. For that reason, it has a claim to being the best yet in the series, or certainly the most readable. Connelly is settling into a definite groove and Bosch is fleshed out: a maverick with a sense of fair play; an insomniac haunted by his experiences in the Vietnam War; a loner who seems to have found love but fears it will slip away - largely due to the unique pressures of his job. Connelly’s insights into the internal politics of policing, and the detail about procedure, are particular strengths, while we also get a real sense of the simmering racial and class tensions of Los Angeles. Can’t wait to read more …

This has been wonderfully adapted into the first season of the Bosch Amazon series. But the original is quite different and I loved it.

Mais um ótimo livro do Harry Bosch series!

Forse uno dei libri più belli dell’autore. Mi ha letteralmente risucchiato. Indipendentemente che siate appassionati o meno de genere è un libro che va letto!