The Overlook (Harry Bosch) [Mass Market Paperback]

Michael Connelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

In his first case since he left the LAPD's Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctor's death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city.
Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harry's one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Bosch's job to prove all of them wrong.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Bestseller Connelly's dazzling 13th Harry Bosch novel (after 2006's Echo Park) reunites Bosch with his former flame, FBI agent Rachel Walling. Bosch must break in a new partner, rookie Iggy Ferras, when they're called to look into the execution of physicist Stanley Kent on a Mulholland Drive overlook. When a special FBI unit, headed by Walling, arrives and tries to usurp his case, claiming it's a matter of national security, Bosch refuses to back down. Walling's focus on the potential theft of radioactive material from the hospital where Kent was lending his expertise to cancer treatment and her unwillingness to share information only make Bosch more determined to solve the case. This is a quick read, almost half the length of Connelly's previous novels, but he spares no punches when it comes to complexity and suspense. The scramble to investigate threats to national security, justified or otherwise, is a timely subject and one on which Connelly puts a brilliant new spin. (May 22)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Michael Connelly originally published The Overlook as a serialized novella in the New York Times Magazine; the 16 sections contained 3,000 words each. Although expanded to novel form, The Overlook weighs in as a good, if slim (and perhaps, as a few critics claim, slight), addition to the Harry Bosch series. For the most part, the novel succeeds in maintaining Connelly's trademark fast-paced action, plot twists, suspense, and spare, humorous writing-all over the course of 12 hours. Some reviewers cited tired characters, dull romance, a bizarre time frame, and plotting missteps, but for followers of Harry Bosch, The Overlook is a worthy addition.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Vision; Mass Paperback Edition edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446401307
• ISBN-13: 978-0446401302
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (232 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Literature & Fiction > General > Literary
  • #39 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery > General

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

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DON'T OVERLOOK THIS CONNELLY OFFERING, March 28, 2008

By 

Red Rock Bookworm (St. George Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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

The Overlook is classic Michael Connelly. Featuring Detective Harry Bosch, late of the LAPD's Homicide Special Squad, and his new partner Ignacio (Call me Iggy) Ferras it offers a mystery that contains all the excellent police procedural murder investigation elements that bears Connelly's signature coupled with an in depth look at the nasty little war that goes on between local and Federal government agencies when they are involved in the same case.

It seems that the murder victim in this case is tied to the disappearance of radioactive material suitable for making a dirty bomb, so of course the FBI and Department of Homeland Security come into the picture and proceed to play a nasty little game of hide and seek with a couple of witnesses thereby reeking havoc on Harry's investigation and thwarting him at every turn.

Harry, of course, is not to be deterred in this cat and mouse game and author Connelly succeeds in providing his readers with yet another story that is intricately plotted, filled with clever clues and misdirection and offers a read that is satisfying down to the very last page. 3 1/2 stars for this one

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Harry Interlude, August 15, 2007

By 

Brett Benner (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Overlook (Harry Bosch) (Hardcover)

This felt like exactly what it was: An expanded serial. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it just felt like it should be the first part of a larger set of stories regarding Bosch. Actually by the time I had finished the book, which takes place over twelve hours, I felt more like I was reading an episode of the television show '24' complete with the terrorist angle to seal the deal. For Bosch fans this is fine to pass a couple of hours until the next big case comes along, but like having a sundae and only getting a scoop of ice cream, it left me wanting more. On a side note, and one that's completely fun, Harry leaves his phone number for another character in the book,and you can actually call it and hear his message machine.

57 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take a Deep Breath and Dive In, May 22, 2007

By 

J. Brian Watkins (Laie, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Overlook (Harry Bosch) (Hardcover)

This book is satisfying on every level and deeply so; besides that, I haven't had as fun a read in a very long time. It is an outstanding work by an author who makes good prose and the creation of better characters seem effortless. In essence, a guy gets shot and Detective Bosch goes after the murderer--he goes after nothing else. Set aside about three hours and take the phone off the hook. And please, don't ruin the book for anyone else by giving away the ending.

Readers of Mr. Connelly are familiar with Connelly's protagonist Harry Bosch to a degree that by now we know the good detective, we know what he is about, we know what drives him and we have learned to trust his instincts. Indeed, Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is among the most well-developed characters in literature of any genre. His creator has placed Bosch into so many different situations that I was curious as to whether he could continue to keep the character compelling--he can and does. Convincingly so.

The Overlook is driven by plot; it takes place inside a day. Detective Bosch is now at the height of his powers and is no longer given to doubts--he is about the truth, he knows how important it is and what is best about Connelly's writing, the truth is not ambiguous but absolute. It is illuminating to witness Bosch as a mentor with a new partner, a young and gifted detective who has yet to appreciate the clarity of Bosch's vision. In fact, I suspect that new readers will identify quite well with some of Detective Ferras' concerns. But the true depth of this work is in its portrayal of the fact that Bosch's grasp of essential truths is so strong that he cannot be intimidated or distracted by even the most serious of potential threats and consequences. Bosch acts instinctively and as shown in The Overlook, Bosch is at his best when he trusts himself.

Justice is served in a Connelly novel. Justice in general and justice to the reader who shelled out twenty bucks for a chance to journey with Detective Bosch. This was my favorite Bosch yet.

Highest Recommendation