The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

For LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch -- hero, maverick, nighthawk -- the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal.The dead man, Billy Meadows, was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who fought side by side with him in a nightmare underground war that brought them to the depths of hell. Now, Bosch is about to relive the horror of Nam. From a dangerous maze of blind alleys to a daring criminal heist beneath the city to the tortuous link that must be uncovered, his survival instincts will once again be tested to their limit.Joining with an enigmatic and seductive female FBI agent, pitted against enemies inside his own department, Bosch must make the agonizing choice between justice and vengeance, as he tracks down a killer whose true face will shock him.

This was a great mystery that led you right to the bad guys, then distracted you away, so when you finally discovered “who done it” you were shocked & had them as a suspect. I also really liked that Bosch was somehow both really vulnerable and a complete asshole. (Side Note: It seems like everyone was a jerk by today's standards, just looking at the smoking and littering!) Enjoyed it and just bought the 2nd in the series.

The best word to describe this book is “unpleasant”. Bosch is an unpleasant man. He lies to everyone. He doesn't answer. There's nothing special about him. The other characters are mostly unpleasant people. I don't get the appeal of this series.

BLUF: Stereotypical detective story.

In hindsight...

I'm not sure if it's funny, or sad, but little more than a month later, I am having problems remembering what I enjoyed about this book.

The Black Echo follows detective Harry Bosch, a former tunnel rat, whose partner is more interested in selling real estate than solving crimes. This doesn't bother Bosch, who is your stereotypical lone cop that doesn't play well with others or follow the rules. Bosch takes a cut and dry overdose and delves into the possibility of murder. For me, it was too far fetched that this detective would have pushed to research a death that was seemingly straightforward, but it plays into his stubborn nature and, as it turns out, the death was not as obvious as it seemed. To make it more interesting, his department has surveillance on him due to his questionable methods and, of course, his blatant disregard for authority.

I have this bad habit of researching a character that I cannot place and turning to Wikipedia or an online blog in order to figure out their role. Well, Wikipedia gave away the ending for me, which greatly took away from the story. Because of this, it was difficult for me to take the relationships as the author intended.

That said, I found this novel intriguing and easy to follow. Bosch is your typical, arrogant detective who is better than everybody else and a hell of a lot smarter. He works through the case, opening more doors than he closes, and ends up discovering the truth, even though it is a surprise to the readers.

While I wouldn't call this novel suspenseful, I was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turns of the story and enjoyed this novel very much. It's the classic detective novel I was looking for and I couldn't put the novel down until I finished it.