The Black Ice: Harry Bosch Series, Book 2

As a former police officer, I enjoy Connelly's police novels and have read 5 so far, and want to buy more. Like all his other novels, The Black Ice is a thrilling page-turner, making you wish you could read faster. He builds a background and personality for his characters to make them feel real and believable. When Amazon ended the Bosch series, I had to have more and decided I needed to buy the novels that inspired the creation of the Amazon series. I was not disappointed! And, who knew he also wrote The Lincoln Lawyer? Connelly paints a vivid and real picture of LA and Hollywood, places I know very well, being a native of LA County. He does it so well it is like watching a movie in your mind. He names all the famous restaurants in LA, dives, and streets, and he knows the police codes, slang, and equipment used. You would think he was once a police officer, even though he wasn't. The story is fascinating, journeying from LA to Calexico/Mexicali with real vividness along the way. I kept saying to myself, "I know that place!" I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a former LEO.

So this was my first introduction into the Harry Bosch series and overall, the second book in the series. While guilty of a couple cliche's and contrived plot points, the writing itself was strong enough to overcome these shortcomings and in the end, the story ends up being a pretty enjoyable detective procedural/mystery. Harry himself is a fairly enjoyable character who at times was refreshingly different for a cop, but also falls victim to some of the cliche's of the genre with his chain smoking, lone wolf ways. Of course, this sense of Harry vs. the world type of story-telling allows you to empathize and relate to what Harry goes through quite nicely, but has the slightly adverse effect of making pretty much every other character not very well fleshed out and somewhat one-dimensional. Even Harry's primary love interest who's a central character in the story itself is little more than a pretty, albeit, grieving face who - of course (and IMO, far too quickly) - seeks comfort in Harry's arms. That being said, the mystery and how it unfolds was very satisfactory and kept you guessing very nicely until the very end, and after it was all said and done, there are a few mysteries that you don't ever quite get the answers too. The action was sporadic, but very well done when it existed. I particularly enjoyed the description of the bull-fight and the action down in Mexico. At times the writing was very strong and really drew me into the story and at other times was merely serviceable, but it never lapsed into poor or shoddy writing. Overall, I ended up enjoying the story and pacing well enough to definitely continue in the Harry Bosch series once I get the urge to read another crime novel again.

Good read. Connelly is a great writer Enjoy all his books so far .will read as many more as possible

Fast moving, with captivating twists and turns. The characterization was the fast- drying glue that held the action together and sustained the complexity of the story. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Thank you, Michael.

I am working my way back through the Bosch/Haller books. Connelly is definitely one of my favorite writers of fiction and I have come to love Los Angeles (though I've never been there.) His characters have depth, his plots are wonderfully structured, but.... he doesn't know diddly squat about guns. He destroys his credibility with me every time I come across some of his really clueless statements about guns. As examples, and working just from memory, in this book alone he discusses Bosch, a lefty, risking credibility by checking in a "right-handed revolver." There's no right or left hand with revolvers. The cylinders all swing out to the left and there's no such thing as a "safety" on a revolver. He seems to have gotten all his gun know-how from urban cops who tend to know no more about the technical aspects of firearms than they do about the cars they drive...knowledge that stopped half-way through high school. Would it cost that much to have a firearms-knowledgeable subject matter expert check things out for him? Such excellent writing otherwise, but the author insists on making himself look like a bozo when it comes to guns. And by the way, the Border Patrol doesn't man the checkpoints at the international borders. That's the job of Customs and Immigration. The Border Patrol patrols the border. Of course, they all belong to homeland security now.

I read this many years ago and after watching the TV series "Bosch" I decided to read all the books again. I had forgotten how good these early books were. I thought the TV series was very good, but the books are even better, especially these early novels. If you liked the show you are in for a treat when you read this.

Good condition! Good book!

OK

Never fails to disappoint. Connelly's books are pure adventure. Lots of action. Great story. Sirens...car and females. Death. Guns and Harry.

The Harry Bosch series is superb. Please read

Bel libro, suggestivo nelle ambientazioni e con un buon intreccio. C'è azione, ma anche pensiero e un interessante spazio dato all'introspezione del personaggio Bosch. Connelly mantiene le aspettative per gli appassionati del genere. Questa versione originale inglese è perfetta per il lettore italiano che vuol fare esercizio. Non troppo difficile ma nemmeno banale, con delle belle locuzioni in american slang.