The Narrows (Harry Bosch)
by Michael Connelly
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael ConnellyEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-03-01
ISBN: 0446611646
Number of pages: 456
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of The Narrows (Harry Bosch)
Book Review: "I know one thing for sure. And that is that the truth does not set you free."
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Narrows," one of Michael Connelly's best Harry Bosch mystery thrillers yet, takes its title from an extremely dangerous area in the Los Angeles River, that narrows to a hazardous ravine which fills with deep rushing water during heavy rains. Kids are warned to "stay out of the narrows." The term also symbolizes life's dark recesses, and those sometimes found in one's mind. My review's title is a direct quote from Harry Bosch. By the end of the novel, you will understand what he means...if you don't already.
Hieronymus Bosch, named after the painter, recently learned he has a 5 year-old daughter by ex-wife, former FBI agent Eleanor Wish, a professional poker player in Las Vegas. Their little girl, Maddie, has given Harry a new lease on life, so to speak. He simply adores her. She drew a picture for him, of him, and when he asks her what it's about, she tells him it is her Daddy, as a policeman, (pronounced "pleaseman"). In the drawing he is facing a mean man, Mr. Demon. Bosch asks her who Mr. Demon is, and she responds, "He's a wrestler. Mommy says you wrestle with demons and he's the boss of them." So true, so true.
As fans know, Harry Bosch retired from the LAPD and is working as a PI. He receives a call from the widow of an old friend, Terry McCaleb, a former FBI profiler. Terry had retired too after a heart transplant. He moved to Catalina Island wanting to get away from the violence of city life and to spend more time with his wife and kids. Health-wise he had been doing extremely well for over five years - he even ran a charter fishing boat, on which he recently dropped dead from heart failure - right before this story opens, as a matter of fact. Graciela McCaleb does not believe that Terry died a natural death. She thinks he was murdered and asks Harry to please look into the situation. Apparently, Terry was not able to let go of his life-long career as a detective - at least not completely. He still had boxes of files on his boat of unsolved serial murders, from around the country, which he was working on, causing serious problems in his marriage. Among the files, Harry finds several photographs, notes and a clipped article from the LA Times attempting to link various men who had gone missing, mysteriously, from Las Vegas casinos over the last 3 years. He also discovers a notepad with clues showing that McCaleb was working solo, on different angles of this case, including a reference to "Zzyzx."
Another separate, but ultimately connected storyline, informs the reader that Bob Backus, former head of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Section turned serial killer, featured in Connelly's book "The Poet," is still alive and now back in business, diabolically dealing out death while outwitting former colleagues. FBI Agent Rachael Walling, a Backus protege, was outwitted bigtime. Everyone thought she shot and killed him in the prior novel. Not so. For various reasons connected to the case, the FBI punished agent Walling, and sent her out to run a local office in the wilds of North Dakota. After a few years of solitary confinement, she was promoted to a South Dakota regional office, where she at least has some people to talk to. Her career, however, is basically shot - that is, until Backus rises from the proverbial grave asking for his old trainee. He mails a hand-held global-positioning system to FBI Headquarters with a message on it, "Hello, Rachel," and a single waypoint in its memory. The waypoint is at the end of Zzyzx Road, in the middle of the Nevada desert. Because Agent Walling knows Backus so well, she is allowed to work the case, on a limited basis.
This is definitely one of the most riveting, complex novels I have read in quite a while. Although there are a many references to past books and former characters here, one does not have to be familiar with them to easily understand either their context or the narrative. I had never read the other books and had no problems following this one. I did order both books, however, so there may be a method in Mr. Connolly's mentioning them, besides enriching this plot! Is this an outstanding suspense thriller - heck yes! However, it is also a compelling read for those who know and care about Harry Bosch, and for those who are just becoming acquainted with him also. He is clearly at another crossroads in life. A former partner has asked him to rejoin the LAPD and he is seriously considering it, even though it will mean less time with his daughter.
I highly recommend "The Narrows"...and wager that if your read this, and have not yet read Connelly's "The Poet," you will probably purchase it as I did!
JANA
Summary of The Narrows (Harry Bosch)
FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years, the one that tells her the Poet has surfaced. She has never forgotten the serial killer who wove lines of poetry in his hideous crimes--and apparently he has not forgotten her.Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call, too--from the widow of an old friend. Her husband's death seems natural, but his ties to the hunt for the Poet make Bosch dig deep. Arriving at a derelict spot in the California desert where the feds are unearthing bodies, Bosch joins forces with Rachel. Now the two are at odds with the FBI...and squarely in the path of the Poet, who will lead them on a wicked ride out of the heat, through the narrows of evil, and into a darkness all his own...
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