38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is this the end of the road for Harry Bosch?, 1 Nov 2011
As ever Michael Connelly pulls out a tremendous page turner of a story. The novel rattles along and as ever there are a couple of twists and turns. But what struck me most about this latest story is the way in which a sense of melancholia underpins the narrative. This is not a spoiler alert. The ending is rather downbeat but this is consistent with the way in which Harry Bosch reflects on his role as a detective and a father. This is a man trying to come to terms with his own mortality (finding time to be a better father) and the extent to which he can still reconcile his own values, his personal integrity, with the values of the LAPD. As I closed the book it struck me that this could very well be the final HB novel - and there's even a hint that the baton may be passed onto the next generation in the very near future. Maybe I'm wrong but ultimately there's only so much mileage in any character. I hope I'm wrong but if not so be it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Up to Connelly's high standards, 23 Nov 2011
Connelly's 24th full-length fictional novel in 19 years and just like the first one (
The Black Echo) in 1992, it's all about LAPD Detective Harry Bosch. The title of this novel has at least two meanings: first of all, Bosch is part of a Deferred Retirement Option Plan giving him a specified amount of time before retirement will be compulsory, and secondly, one of the two cases he investigates here is the death of the son of his nemesis Councilman Irvin Irving, who may have jumped from a hotel balcony but may have been dropped by someone else. Bosch is appointed by Irving to find out whether his son's death was murder or suicide. While this is going on, Bosch is already involved in an Open Unsolved case dating back more then twenty years, namely the murder of a young woman, and although new DNA technology has enabled the OU team to find a suspect, that person was only eight years old at the time. Bosch needs to figure out how the DNA of such a young boy could be found on a murder victim, and fast.
I've read every novel Connelly has published and this one is absolutely up to par with the good ones. I'm not sure it was a good idea to combine two investigations into one story, but both are interesting and the cold case turns out to be one that is headline news across the nation. As always the tale entwines numerous relationships in Bosch's life, both private and professional. Key amongst these are his tenuous partnership with Detective Chu, his long-standing friendship with Kiz Rider, and a new romantic sub-strand with Dr Hannah Stone. In addition to these there is his growing relationship with his 15-year-old daughter Maddie, who now lives with him, and his conflicts with Irv Irving which have been going on for several years.
Bosch is on every single page and although he's getting on a bit (his age is never mentioned) he's still a magnetic character with plenty more to offer in terms of future reader entertainment. Just how much of a future is very much central to the plot; the cold case develops into one that involves a serial killer of the lowest and most repellent kind, and the pursuit of this suspect is, even at this late stage, career-changing for Harry Bosch. The 'high jingo' politics of the other murder/suicide case make Bosch consider retirement sooner rather than later, but when he sees the faces of the victims of the other case, it brings back to him with vivid clarity why he became a cop in the first place. Connelly writes "In all of his years as a cop, Bosch had seen nothing so gut-wrenching and horrible" but far from putting him off - as it would for many of his peers - it drives him on, reminds him why he does what he does.
There have been one or two more intense inspections of the Bosch spirit and persona in years past, but this one isn't far short of those high standards. Anyone keen on this series will surely have bought this novel already and they will not be disappointed; anyone new to Connelly might not be blown away but it's a good idea to go through his back-catalogue and find out what all the fuss is about, why this man is labelled 'a crime-writing genius', 'a master story-teller' and 'the greatest living American crime writer'. Those are high claims to live up to and THE DROP won't fully justify such praise - instead, you need to read everything he's ever published. Then you'll get it, you'll understand, and you'll probably agree.
I enjoyed this novel very much and give it 4.5 stars. The only reason for cutting off half a star is because I felt the coverage of Bosch's relationship with Dr Hannah Stone was too rushed and 'squashed' in a sense; it could have been fleshed out quite a bit more but it ended up feeling slightly unconvincing because so much happened in a short time. Connelly's never been particularly keen on writing about romance or sex and sometimes gives the impression that he adds such sub-plots to serve a publishers' or readers' demand, while he himself seems to lack the confidence to commit himself to these directions in anywhere near the same way as he does for the actual police work and politics. It's a small criticism however, and I for one would be happy for Bosch to carry on.
There's a hint near the end that there could be a sequel to this novel but with defence attorney Mickey Haller as main man. Just a possibility...we shall have to wait and see. For the moment, it's hard to tell what lies ahead for Harry Bosch - I doubt that THE DROP will be the last Bosch tale but it's highly likely that there won't be many more. Treasure the few to come.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Regulars will enjoy the latest Bosch novel, 31 Oct 2011
Detective Bosch is back and investigates two crimes in Connelly's latest novel : the first involves a cold case sexual crime and the second the recent apparent suicide of an influential politician's son.
This is a great novel with strong investigative elements and just the right amount of often unsavoury politics at many levels.
One of the beauties of this Connelly novel is the absence of nonsense - there are no Batmobiles and Bosch is not Superman. The story is well-written and well-constructed, with plausible scenarios throughout as Bosch identifies clue after clue in each case. Connelly does exceptionally well in keeping us interested and guessing.
I really do like Bosch as a character but, at some point, he is going to have to spend a little more time with his daughter and in developing relationships!
I am not sure the ending is how I would have liked it, but that's about the only "blemish" I could find, and blemish is probably too strong a word. Happily too, no Kindle typo or formatting problems here.
In short, another great Connelly/Bosch novel. 9/10
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