The Black Echo (Signed) [Import] [Hardcover]

Michael CONNELLY (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown; 1st British edition (1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747205108
• ISBN-13: 978-0747205104
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (193 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,991,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing ' a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.

After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.

After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles , was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with 18 more novels. His books have been translated into 31 languages and have won the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Shamus, Dilys, Nero, Barry, Audie, Ridley, Maltese Falcon (Japan), .38 Caliber (France), Grand Prix (France), and Premio Bancarella (Italy) awards.

Michael lives with his family in Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

218 of 223 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gripping Yarn, December 6, 1999

By 

Mark Wylie (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Black Echo (Harry Bosch) (Mass Market Paperback)

This was Michael Connelly's first novel (of 6 to date) featuring LAPD detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch. Matters begin innocuously enough when Bosch discovers that a dead body found in a drainage pipe is a one-time Vietnam comrade of his named William Meadows. It appears to be a simple drug overdose, but Bosch suspects foul play, and when he determines he is right, he is plunged into an investigation that develops into far more than a single murder case.

The "iceberg" plot where a complex scheme is only gradually exposed is a crime fiction standard. Connelly is, even in his first novel, a master at this type of plot-line. His characters are three-dimensional and interesting, especially Bosch and his uneasy ally, FBI agent Eleanor Wish. Best of all, Connelly knows his territory--a former Los Angeles Times reporter, he knows LA and the LAPD (I suspect he still has sources in the department). The Black Echo is a superb novel.

91 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME POLICE PROCEDURAL, CONNELLY IS THE NEW MASTER, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Black Echo (Harry Bosch) (Mass Market Paperback)

The first book I read by Mr. Connelly was his departure from the Bosch series, "The Poet" and I knew I had to read the rest. I have read every single other Bosch novel and finally went back to the beginning and read this. I should have started with this one, its just as good if not better than the series and Bosch is a fully-fleshed out character who you can always cheer for. This book is also interesting because of its attention to detail and the police procedure as well as the first meeting of Harry and Agent Eleanor Wish, his mysterious future love. Connelly has become my favorite author and his books are a pleasure to read. Just make sure you start with this one and work your way down, it does make a difference!

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enter Harry Bosch, July 18, 2004

By 

Archmaker (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Black Echo (Harry Bosch) (Mass Market Paperback)

An absolutely terrific first novel in the superb Hironymous Bosch series, introduces us to Michael Connelly's enigmatic and troubled LA detective. Harry Bosch lives for his job, and the cost to his personal life and relationships is troubling.

When we meet Harry, he has already been, in essence, demoted by being kicked off of the elite Robbery/Homicide squad and stuck in Homicide in the Hollywood division. But Harry is a pure detective, and will work every case with the same single-minded tenacity that gets results while alienating him from his fellows and irritating his bosses.

A throw-away death of a junkie found in a drainage pipe would have gone unnoticed if anyone but Harry Bosch had caught the call. But Bosch, while having a lousy personal life IS a superb detective, and he sees what many would miss. Not only that, but the victim is someone from Harry's past which further prompts him to look deeper. Harry's investigation causes him to cross paths with the FBI and his conflicts become even more personal when he becomes romantically involved with a female FBI agent.

The story unfolds with many surprises and the meticulous detail that we will come to expect from Connelly in the series. First rate all the way. A great beginning.