Nine Dragons [Paperback]

I've been a fan of Michael Connelly's police procedurals and his hero Harry Bosch for a long, long time, but I found myself deeply disappointed with Nine Dragons. The book starts on familiar ground with a killing in South LA. When the investigation reveals Triad involvement, and Bosch gets a message that his daughter is kidnapped, we are asked to accept our hero transforming from a careful, experienced investigator into a rampant madman, and the plot becomes a breakneck, episodic quest, as if Connelly was trying to outdo Dan Brown at his worst. Travelling half-way around the world, Bosch, tripping over clues and bodies, is able to track down the kidnappers in a way and a time-frame that defies belief. Having created a body count that approaches double figures whilst achieving his objective in under twenty four hours, we are asked to believe that an experienced police officer would choose to leave Hong Kong clandestinely, destroying evidence without any regard to the investigation that must inevitably follow. And to believe that all this mayhem has happened so fast that he is allowed to board (and leave) his return plane without question.

When the HK police arrive a few days later in LA demanding answers, Connelly tries to convince his readers that a few lawyerly words from Micky Haller and the threat of a negative newspaper article will be enough to send them packing. Sorry, I really do not buy that. Nor do I buy a character that can be motivated on the one hand to commit such deeds to save a thirteen year old daughter, then forget that he has to pick her up from a psychological examination less than a week later. I'm equally unconvinced by a hero who is old enough to recollect his Vietnam service, yet is able to work non-stop for 36 hours (or more), then take a 15 hr flight from LA to HK without sleeping, conduct 18 hours(or whatever) of mayhem in HK and only notice that he's hungry and possibly might look a little dishevelled when he gets to HK airport for his return flight.

I'm still trying to figure out how the hitherto slick, taut, Connelly machine allowed a sloppy, unbelievable story and a main character with such massively inconsistent behaviour to appear in print. I can only conclude that Connelly is desperate to create a script for an action movie.

I'm a big fan of this author, especially so where it concerns Harry Bosch. Connelly usually has his hero suffering in some way in each novel and this one is no exception - thankfully, he usually manages to live to fight another day.

This is definitely not the best in the series. Other reviewers have detailed the small yet significant shortfalls in the storytelling.

For me, however, I wouldn't have missed this untypical read for the world. It would be churlish to put a spoiler in so I'm happy to recommend you read this book - right to the end. If you have a daughter of your own, perchance and you like Harry Bosch, you'll suffer greatly in parts whilst enjoying the the rest of the ride. Where to next?

I've been counting down the days until the appearance of this latest instalment in the Harry Bosch series from one of the biggest guns in the genre, Michael Connelly. I was halfway through `City of Lies' by R J Ellory when Connelly came-a-calling and he's one of the few writers for whom I'd have no question in laying down another author's work to finish later. Such was the case here; few crime writers are as dependable as Michael Connelly at providing a top-class read; he very rarely disappoints.

In `Nine Dragons', LAPD detective Harry Bosch and his partner Ignacio Ferras cover for another unit by investigating the shooting of an elderly Chinese store owner in a predominantly black neighbourhood. Bosch however reads the clues and susses out that there's a triad angle (sorry!) to the killing. Once again Ferras is a mostly ineffectual presence and Bosch acquires a new de facto partner for the case - David Chu from the force's Asian Gang Unit.

After arresting a triad extortionist there appear to be leaks in the investigation and Bosch is advised by unknown persons to back off from the case. Then he's knocked sideways when a video is sent to his cell phone; his daughter Madeline has been abducted in Hong Kong where she lives with her mother, and Bosch's ex-wife, Eleanor Wish. The biggest section of the book involves Bosch flying to Hong Kong (specifically Kowloon) to get her back. Here he steps into a strange world of bizarre customs where a sinister omnipotent force (the triads) holds sway.

This section has obvious parallels with the recent thriller movie `Taken' starring Liam Neeson. I don't wish to underline and belabour the similarities, but those who've seen the movie will take my point.

There are less internal politics in 'Nine Dragons': Bosch both gets on well (or at least as well as Harry ever gets on with ANYONE!) and respects his immediate boss Lieutenant Gandle, and the feeling is mutual. He's finally appreciated - long gone are the days where Bosch was a loose cannon within LAPD, railing against the superiors whom he held in utter contempt.

Harry Bosch is a magnetic presence within the pages of a novel; he has very view quirks, other than his obsessive love of jazz and while he has a past-life killing tunnel rats in Vietnam, Connelly never overplays this. Although he's psychologically damaged, he's a straight-shooting, dependable, no-nonsense character who always likes to keep an investigation moving, while his acute mind often keeps him a step ahead of everyone else. He does get things wrong at times - he is human after all - but he usually comes good in the end. He doesn't do humour, and there's not much place for sentimentality in his life. Here he is accused of racism at one point, but he quickly slaps this down and admonishes his accuser.

`Nine Dragons', delivers a good double whammy twist ending and there's also a nice appearance by an old friend that all adds to the enjoyment. However, it follows hot on the heels of his last novel `The Scarecrow' and occasionally shows some signs of hasty writing; there are a few passages where there are repetitions of common words in close proximity when there are perfectly adequate synonyms available. The plot is also a little underdeveloped in places.

Connelly's prose is as always spare and functional; above all else he's a master story-teller, rather than a writing stylist. Yet he is capable of being poetic at times, and the juxtaposition of these passages next to the pragmatic prose makes them hit home harder.

'Nine Dragons' is a very good read, but for me it doesn't resonate with the same power as, say `The Last Coyote' or `Lost Light' or ........... (insert your own favourite Bosch novel here). I've knocked my rating down a star, because Connelly has set the bar so high, but I imagine `Nine Dragons' will satisfy most fans of the writer, and do a lot more than that for others.