The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
by Michael Connelly
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Book Reviews of The Overlook (Harry Bosch)
Book Review: Bosch By Numbers
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Overlook" is Michael Connelly's eighteenth novel, his thirteenth to feature Harry Bosch and was first published in 2007. Orphaned at twelve when his mother was murdered, Bosch's teenage years were spent in and out of orphanages. He enlisted in the army and served in Viet-Nam, before returning home and joining the police force. Once a member of the LAPD's elite RHD (Robbery-Homicide Division), he was demoted to the Hollywood Division after an Internal Affairs investigation. After more than ten years in Hollywood, he was notified of a 'promotion' back to RHD - however, he chose to quit the force instead. He left the LAPD with an armful of Hollywood 's open-unsolved cases, tool out a private investigator's licence and continued to 'speak for the dead'. However, a couple of persuasive phone calls from a former partner from his Hollywood days saw him return to the LAPD - working out of the Open Unsolved Unit, at the Parker Centre, rather than at Hollywood . Any cases that would have a high media prolife or would appear to be a time consuming, long running case get passed over to Homicide Special by the local police departments. "The Overlook" opens with Harry picking up a case from the Hollywood Department - Harry's old stomping ground.
Stanley Kent's body found was found close to Mulholland Dam, overlooking a house that once belonged to Madonna. He seems to have been the victim of an assassination - forced into a kneeling position, he was shot twice in the back of the head. However, Harry has barely arrived at the scene before the FBI also turn up - in the form of Rachel Walling. (Bosch isn't too upset - he's worked with her a couple of times before, and has also enjoyed her company on a more intimate setting). While Bosch has only been able to gather the most basic information about the victim, Walling knows a great deal more about him. Kent worked as a medical physicist, and had access to nearly every hospital in LA County - and all the radioactive material used in the treatment of cancer. Naturally, now that he's turned up executed, the automatic assumption is terrorism...
By Michael Connelly's standards, "The Overlook" was hugely disappointing. It first appeared in serial form in the New York Times, which may account for something - but it almost seemed that Connelly was trying to write the book equivalent of a Greatest Hits' package. The whole terrorism thing was ticked off with "Lost Light", while the "Echo Park" case was talked about far too often. Kent's body was found at Mulholland Dam - where Bosch's first case in "The Black Echo" began - while the opening is a sanitised version of a classic Bosch pose. (In the early books, Bosch suffered from insomnia and would have spent much of the night smoking, drinking and listening to jazz. Nowadays, he's quit smoking and there's no mention of any beer). There was an entirely pointless meeting with Jerry Edgar - one of Bosch's ex-partners at Hollywood - and several phone calls to Kiz Ryder, his other ex-partner. Even the 'swimming pool incident' - when Bosch heard of his mother's death - is wheeled out again for no real reason. Rachel Walling's appearance really stank of laziness : she and Bosch only met for the first time "The Narrows", but they have now teamed up so often Connelly should just have her transferred to LAPD. (The LAPD could do with her - even though that Bosch has no trouble in either reading or bluffing her, and that her interrogation technique is clearly on the wrong side of average. Bosch's actual partner - Ignacio "Iggy" Ferras - appears to be little more than an errand boy). Given the suspicions of terrorism, I'd have thought Bosch should have been kicked off the case the second Walling arrived. However, it's possible there wasn't time for the paperwork to come through - given that the whole thing was solved in only twelve hours. One of the book's genuinely 'new' characters - Captain Don Hadley - really made me shudder. I can only hope this guy was just a very bad caricature and that there aren't really cops like him in senior positions. Overall, hugely disappointing for a Bosch book - I can only hope the next instalment isn't serialised and that Connelly puts more effort into it.
Book Review: A great addition to the "Harry Bosch" series!
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: Good, short introduction to Harry Bosch
Summary: 3 Stars
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)
Book Review: Let's hope Bosch isn't beginning to "circle the drain" himself
Summary: 3 Stars
This is the 13th novel featuring Harry Bosch in little more than a decade, and while the LAPD homicide expert has evolved somewhat (he actually owns a digital camera now), he really hasn't changed in the essentials, even if he is getting older and grayer. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. Harry's mission -- to speak for the dead, because "everybody counts or nobody counts" -- is timeless, but his inability to handle authority well limits his prospects in the department and also seems to guarantee a succession of partners (the last two of whom have been shot while on the job). Now he's in the new "Special" unit of the Robbery-Homicide Division, handling cases that are too sensitive, or newsworthy, or simply too likely to become a "hobby" to be relegated to the homicide teams in the city's seventeen precincts. As his first roll-out since his transfer -- which he's been waiting for almost anxiously -- he's called to an execution-like murder scene at a scenic overlook on Mulholland Drive, which quickly ties back to the theft of a large quantity of medical-grade cesium from a hospital where the victim worked. It appears to be a terrorist crime and Harry's sometime lover, FBI agent Rachel Walling, becomes involved. Only one witness turns up, whom Harry tries to keep under wraps as insurance against losing control of the case to the feds (who really don't care about the homicide). And then the LAPD's own Homeland Security department goes off on a tear, which Connelly uses as an example of the present tendency of our government at all levels to cry "Terrorism" to cover up Constitutional and other legal infractions. The whole narrative covers twelve hours (and, true to form, Harry's newest partner takes a bullet) and the geography, as Bosch notes, is very restricted -- but where the whole thing ends up is, nevertheless, a long, long way from where it all began. This isn't a bad story but it's ultimately rather lightweight compared to some of Detective Bosch's earlier outings. There's not much subtlety, either in the characterizations (especially of the feds) nor in the motivations. And I'm beginning to tire of Agent Walling's personal psychological instability. Much of this may be a result of the author having originally written the story as a serial in the NEW YORK TIMES SUNDAY MAGAZINE. It certainly *feels* like a serial, or an overextended short story. And what in the world was the final fate of Capt. Hadley and his killing of a bystander whose politics he didn't approve of? After his little Vietnam warning-story, I can't see Bosch agreeing to cover for him. Perhaps Connelly is becoming too concerned with marketing his work and less concerned with writing it.Book Review: A less tormented Harry Bosch?
Summary: 4 Stars
This book does have the feel of being written for a non-Harry Bosch audience. There is very little of the iternalized reflective stream of consciousness that makes a Harry Bosch book unique. Originally done as a serialized quick read thriller for a mass market audience who presumably don't know Harry it is an odd vehicle in which to introduce a new partner for Harry s well as to haul Rachael Walling back as a cardboard cutout character who moves the plot along by explaining the Feds to this new audience.
That said, if you are not a Harry Bosch die hard fan, you will probably not notice the absense of Harry's deep rooted conflicts. Just enjoy this as a thriller for the current times. What I find interesting as one who has followed the Bosch canon for years is the question of "Why Now?" Harry Bosch is a tormented character that we have spent years getting to know; we love his cases and his existential pain. We know that "Everyone counts, or no one counts"; words that guide Harry's ever changing career.
I hope I am wrong when I sense that in this book, Connolly is testing the waters for a less LAPD centered story arc in favor of a broader Rachael Walling / Feds focus. I hope not, because in spite of some reviewers have said, this does work as a thriller, just not one cast in the mold of the Harry we know. It is this lack of the subtle, the unexpected, the very unique flavor of this character that we find disappointing. Connolley apparently knows this, because he has extensively rewritten the serialized version and added a chapter to make this piece more of a fit with the ongoing Bosch saga. I bought a copy, and I didn't regret it...it isn't a home run, but I got my Harry fix for the winter. I happen to have just finished Echo Park when I picked up The Overlook.
For anyone who hasn't met Harry before, check out Echo Park as a prequel and get a better sense of why Harry Bosch stands right along side George Smiley ("Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"),Matt Scudder ("When the Sacred Gin Mill Closes"), and my beloved Travis McGee ("The Lonely Silver Rain"). Harry Bosch knows that the truth does not always set you free; it sometimes imprisons you in a very lonely place. I sense that Harry has a destiny, and the author is preparing us for it.