By Michael Connelly City of Bones [Audio Cassette]

Great read as always. My 7th one in my first year of retirement. Peace, love, kindness to whoever reads this.

My husband and I recently watched the Amazon series Bosch based on Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch books. I thought it was excellent and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys that sort of thing. The story told in City of Bones was one of the ones that was dramatized for the television series, but there were differences between what appeared on screen and Connelly's written version. I think I like the book better, although the dramatization was interesting also.The story begins on New Year's Day when a dog returns to his owner, while they are walking in the Hollywood Hills, carrying a bone he has dug up. His owner is a retired doctor and he recognizes the bone as the humerus of a child. He contacts the police and Harry Bosch, working the holiday, takes the call.Harry goes to the area and begins the search for other bones. He finds them pretty easily. They are scattered over an area up in the hills. It looks like they have been there for a long time.Soon the Medical Examiner and anthropologists are on the scene and, in time, it is determined that the bones have been in place since the late '70s or early '80s. Through dogged investigation, Bosch and his partner Jerry Edgar are able to confirm that the bones belong to a child who disappeared in May of 1980. The medical examination of the bones confirms further that the child - a 12-year-old boy - was beaten to death.Not only was the victim beaten to death but throughout his short life, he had been systematically and cruelly abused. Bosch is deeply affected by this discovery, at least in part because of his own troubled childhood, and he vows to find the perpetrator of this crime and bring him to justice.As we follow the twists and turns of the investigation, the body count begins to mount. A completely innocent man, who lives in the neighborhood where the child's bones were found, commits suicide because, in the course, of the investigation, an old secret of his is unearthed and it is leaked to a reporter who makes the assumption that he is the guilty person. The resulting notoriety of the media mania is more than the man can take.On the trail of a potential witness, the police operation attempting to bring the man in for questioning goes horribly awry and a rookie police officer, seeking her own version of glory and heroism, is shot. Harry witnesses what happened, putting him in a difficult position because he knows that the man they were attempting to capture was not resisting and had nothing to do with the shooting. This is made even more difficult by his personal relationship with that police officer and the fact that she dies from her wound. (This was one of the differences between the book and the TV show.)Through all of this, the mystery just seems to get murkier and it appears that Bosch and his team are not making any headway; however, persistence pays off and finally the solution to the mystery comes together, but before the final piece of the puzzle can be put in place, another person is killed.So, three dead bodies join the bones of the dead child, but, in the end, the stubbornness of Harry Bosch wins the day. Solving murders is a sacred mission for him. It is his religion, and he always holds fast to that. It makes him a very good detective. It also makes him one difficult bugger to work with, even when he isn't deliberately trying to step on people's toes.The ending of this novel was a bit of a surprise (no spoilers) and it will be interesting to see where the series goes after this. There are twelve more (so far) books in the series, so we know that Harry will be around to entertain us for a while. And that's a good thing.

When a stray bone is discovered partially buried in the woods by a adventurous Labrador and his retired doctor of an owner, it is not long before the bone is confirmed to be human, and by definition the site is declared to be a crime scene. Suspense oozes from the page of every Michael Connelly book ever written, and CITY OF BONES is no different.The depth to the character of Harry Bosch is demonstrated once again as we get to know the complexity of his former relationship with one of the town's coroners. A potential new love is in the air for our man Harry, however, when he meets a new cop with a career goal of joining the Homicide Investigation team in LA. All Harry can say to that is, 'Good luck'. So do we.The first part of this book has been a let down. I am a veteran of the Spenser series of novels by the late Robert B Parker as well a huge fan of the private detectives of Lawrence Block. the hing is, they are free and easy to do just as they need without getting bogged down with regulations, and police protocols and everything involved wi being a homicide detective in a big city police force. My point is that the Harry Bosch novels reflect the true lives of the police detective and this fact reduces the fun or entertainment factor of reading them. CITY OF BONES is like this. It gets bogged down in technical police work and reporting and it is not in the least bit entertaining. Several pages of a recent chapter were devoted to a love scene between Bosch and his latest girlfriend, however, but that is not why I spend good money on a Michael Connelly novel. But rumours abound about the strength and climax of the second half of CITY OF BONES and so I persist.And my persistence paid off. Emotional tie-ins abound aplenty and shocks are in store for the reader as plot twist follows plot twist follows plot twist. The satisfying crunch of justice being served on behalf of a young boy whose life was lost amongst terrible cruelty and pain parallels with the sound of pages of the book turning. And as you race toward the unforgettable climax you find that each page turn comes faster than the last.The ending is quite stunning and involved one final and major twist of the plot. The final pages will leave the reader in a state of shock, as well as one of disappointment (even anger?) with Mr Connelly but I assume that feeling will pass when you begin to read the next book in this much loved series.Michael Connelly has written a modern day mystery of the highest order. I prefer my detectives to have a little more freedom from regulations and lines of report but Harry Bosch is one cool dude. I give the story telling itself full marks but take one star away for the technicalities contained herein.BFN Greggorio!

Not many authors take chances like this. Stuff doesn't work out, there's no end where all the pieces fit. Sigh.

LOVED this book. Great crafted plotline with wonderfully drawn characters. The keen-minded detective work has a quality of real-life to it which makes the reader think along with the detective, using the information and clues presented as prat of routine police procedures...making one feel what real-life detective work is like, with the reader, not just along for the ride, but thinking along with the detective as he gathers more and more information and puts the facts together to come to insightful conclusions leading to solutions to complex crimes. One feel as if one knows the people in the book with their habits and their ways of thinking based upon facts and information gathered through relentless and thorough investigation and sifting fact from fiction. Harry Bosch has his flaws, but he is more than just drawn as a Good Man: one feels that the author is a Good Man, a Good Person, as well.One feels more than empathy or sympathy for the characters: one feels a connection and a "reality" as the book builds what is meticulously gathered with real thought and grit and hard work to, not only solve a mystery or two, but to get to "know" Harry and his environment as part fo one's own life experience. THAT is what I call "Excellent Writing" and great craftsmanship..to create real characters with whom the reader feels a kind of kinship and understanding. Harry is not perfect, but he does his best, always, and is therefore made into a real human "friend" for whom the reader roots.

Another day another Bosch story.The plot is simple, engaging and full of twists and turns. I enjoyed it so much.

A citizen had phoned in that his dog has returned from a run in the bush with a bone. A human bone. Harry was to attend the scene and keep it quiet from the press. The dog’s owner, retired medical doctor Paul Guyot, identifies the bone as the humerus of a pre-teen boy. It shows a break which had healed prior to death.A new patrol officer, Julia Brasher, is responsible for securing the site until a full forensic search and recovery of evidence can be completed. Soon her meeting with Harry Bosch turns into a date, sex and romance — Harry’s normal behaviour in these stories. Sadly, this romance is not to last.The impact of this bone being from a child, caused the immediate implementation of a major investigation for additional remains and a solution to whether this was a murder or misadventure in heavy bushland area. Harry was charged with overall supervision of all parties. Within two days it became clear that further searching was not going to be effective for greater return. Most of the material collected was found in a relatively small area. 60% of a whole skeleton had been found with a decayed backpack, some clothing remnants and other minor items.Dr William Golliher, renowned forensic anthropologist, laid out the remains in the manner which reflected life. He soon established his knowledge and feelings by stating "I’ve consulted on a lot of cases but this one blows me away. I was taking notes and looked down at these and found them smeared by tears. I was crying man! Growth indices put this boy at approximately10 years of age, however due to severe prolonged physical abuse I put his at twelve or thirteen. I feel from our examination that this boy was in the ground for 20 to 25 years. He spent pretty much most of his life either healing or being hurt." He goes on to list an extreme litany of harm to the boy. No reader cannot help but be affected by the extensive list of injury and cruelty. The ribs alone showed nearly two dozen fractures in various stages of healing. Even Bosch had to leave the room to 'go wash his face.’ "I’m going to get this guy," Harry says. (Please try and read through this section; it is not ‘black’ but may upset some. RE).In the search-site neighbourhood all residents had been contacted to ask whether they could add any information about the bones find. As it was over 20 years previously, many had moved or passed away and new people arrived, however one resident came up on LAPD’s records as having had a charge of molestation of a nine-year old boy. This information caused Harry and partner Jerry Edgar to revisit Mr Nicholas Trent who became very defensive but finally agreed to cooperate. Unfortunately, this visit was seen by a TV station reporter who tried to get Harry or Jerry to respond to her questions which they "no commented." That night her news item was aired and she stated Trent’s previous misdemeanour. This results in disastrous outcomes, leading to Trent’s suicide.In statements issued by the LAPD Media Relations, the public were asked to phone in with any information they might have, even though the crime was so old. One response came from Sheila Delacroix claiming her younger brother, Arthur Delacroix, had disappeared as a 12 year-old in 1980 in Los Angeles. Harry contacts her to meet early the next day. Sheila’s mother had walked out on her father and the children when Arthur was only two as she was a frequently battered wife. She moved from the LA area, married well the second time, is now a wealthy widow. The father, an alcoholic which caused his anger and harm to his wife, is located in a run-down trailer park where Harry & Jerry visited, and resulted in a full confession! This was too trite and received dubiously.Dr Golliher confirmed the X-ray records from the hospital Arthur was taken to due to skateboard injury matched damage to the skull found at the skeleton site. Harry and Jerry quickly followed up with visits to Arthur’s sister and mother. It seemed Sheila was sexually abused as a child after her mother left and took this out on Arthur. She was the one who inflicted all the injuries. However, she was not the killer. You need to read the rest of the book to learn who it was.Another great story from this author. He maintains interest and suspense to the end. You should add it to your growing stack of Harry Bosch tales.Rod Eamens.

As a fan of Conelly's Harry Bosh series I can honestly say that I have read all of them now. But City of Bones is definitely one of the darkest tales in the series. The story of the case starts off well. As with all of Michael Connely's books it is easy to read.This book is full of twists and turns and interesting characters. Throughout the story everyone and anyone is a suspect and It isn't till near the end that you eventually know who was the killer!.But I personally felt the case wasn't deep enough. The story of a single murder and the fact that eventually nobody cares and goes back to their old routines makes it a pretty shallow case for Bosh.Bosh's relationship with the "Boot" and her story are interesting but quite frankly she's definitely not the most interesting "close" relationship Bosh has had. Personally I found the scene (without giving too much away) where their relationship gets cut short very odd and poorly explained. In the end its never fully explained what happened there!.Thankfully Bosch's partner Edgar gets more of a part in City of Bones which is definitely a change from the usual lone-detective atmosphere of the Bosh series. I can't help feeling the series could've been a better read if Bosch had been more keen to get to know his partner rather than the way he seems to avoid him most of the time.Honestly I don't mind Bosch being the Centre of the series. But I can't help feeling he's been going it alone too long.Anyway my overall feeling is that City of Bones is a very enjoyable easy to read book well worth checking out. It's not quite got the depth of the average Clancy or Grisham story but it just flows so well that you're having to drag yourself away from the book.... or you'll never get anything done!.

A story with a load of different themes that combined make for an engaging story; one that is every bit as good as Connelly’s preceding Bosch novels. It features strong emotional aspects (Bosch is forced to recall some painful childhood memories), lots of investigative and procedural detail, and of course all those twisty surprises that add that razor’s edge to a fully engaging plot line. Oh, on top of everything else, Harry is somewhat distracted by a new love interest. We’ll have to wait to see where that leads in future.

My first reading encounter with Michael Connelly was just after I heard the tail end of an interview with him on radio, a bit before The Lincoln Lawyer was published. I wasn't sure if he wrote for a male or female audience but I thought, what the heck, he sounded like my kind of author and I bought that book. I'm female and I loved it and I'm sure either gender will enjoy reading this author. I checked out the list of his previous titles and realised I'd missed a lot of Connelly so I started reading them from the beginning. I soon grew to love all his leading characters, none more so than Harry Bosch.Harry has a past which often seems to come back to haunt his present. He has a conscience that makes him always keen to get the bad guy/s, in his words, "to make a difference". He is also a loner but one who never gives up hope of finding someone to permanently share his life.In City of Bones much of that comes into play as he searches for the killer who dumped a young boy's body decades before his skeletal remains were found. There are several people who could have done the deed and even when I was convinced I knew who it was there would be a twist that threw that solution out, for a while at least.Once again Connelly made me want to keep turning the pages to find out what was coming next and even when the killer was identified the story wasn't over until the last page.Long may Michael Connelly keep me on tenterhooks.