Void Moon (Hardcover)

by Michael Connelly (Author) "The house on Lookout Mountain Road was set far in from the street and nestled against the steep canyon embankment to the rear..." (more)
Key Phrases: housekeeping station, baccarat salon, video trail, Las Vegas, Cassie Black, Vincent Grimaldi (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
There seems to be an unspoken rule among mystery writers that once the author has created a successful character, the obligation to fans demands regular installments in the hero's life history, whatever the author's literary aspirations. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was famously unsuccessful at killing off Sherlock Holmes and resurrected his detective in response to public outcry. Michael Connelly's police procedural series featuring Harry Bosch has garnered numerous top mystery awards, including the coveted Edgar. But, strangely, it is his deviations from Bosch, including The Poet and Blood Work, that have drawn the biggest readerships--and have won awards of their own to boot (The Poet was honored with the 1997 Anthony Award). Now, once again, Connelly follows up the success of a Bosch book, Angels Flight, with a non-series tale that pushes Connelly's already impressive body of work into new territory.

Void Moon traces the path of Cassie Black, a gifted thief who struggles with the temptation of "outlaw juice" (the burning desire to live the fast life of crime and payoffs) even while she regularly attends her probation meetings. It's not that hawking Porsches to newly flush young Hollywood males isn't satisfying, but... well, it isn't. After years away, she returns to her old striking grounds in Las Vegas for one last big mark hoping to pave her way into a new life. But Cassie discovers that her old Las Vegas is a new town with a new skyline and new (and more deadly) bad guys; it is also a place haunted by the ghost of her lover-partner Max. When her take proves to be 10 times larger than she imagined, her road to freedom runs afoul of the Mob while a morally questionable--and openly vicious--PI sniffs her trail.

With its attractive central character, meticulous plot, and glitzy packaging, Void Moon seems perfectly poised for the New York Times bestsellers list. That is not to say, however, that Connelly has "dumbed down" his usual presentation. The novel displays Connelly's stunning ability to breathe reality into his fiction with the subtle details that can only come from careful research and his years of experience reporting on crime for the L.A. Times. What other author has so lovingly described the aftermath of crime? The jail sentence, recidivism, the numbing visits to the parole officer where "she held the plastic cup she would have to squat over and fill while an office trainee, dubbed the wizard because of the nature of her monitoring duty, watched to make sure it was her own urine going into the container." While we Connelly fans are always eager to read the next Bosch, once again we're not disappointed with Connelly's "vacation." --Patrick O'Kelley

From Library Journal
Even though Harry Bosch is nowhere to be found, Connelly has written his best book to date. In the past, Connelly's leads have been in law enforcement. His new protagonist, Cassie Black, is an ex-con who needs to make one more score in order to fulfill the dream that sustained her in prison. The first part of the novel follows a Mission Impossible-style crime. Something happens during this caper that propels the rest of the book as Cassie is relentlessly pursued by Jack Karch, a ruthless investigator for a casino who leaves no witnesses alive. Cassie has a secret that she will protect at all costs, and while this secret is obvious, other aspects of this fast-paced thriller are surprising indeed. In astrology, a void moon is considered bad luck, but Connelly's Void Moon is better than a four-leaf clover. Highly recommended.
-AJeff Ayers, Seattle P.L.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (December 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316154067
• ISBN-13: 978-0316154062
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (174 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #371,573 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of his best, January 23, 2000

By A Customer

This is a great old-fashioned crime novel in the spirit of Elmore Leonard or James Ellroy. I'm surprised by the number of negative reviews of this book, and my guess is that they're the result of readers being anesthetized by run-of-the-mill, mass-produced oatmeal by the likes of Patricia Cornwell and Robert B. Parker. This book crackles like a live-wire and the timid or mediocre reader need not apply.

Usually attempts to vary from an established character (read: meal ticket) fail or at best replicate that character. Not Connelly. No, none of his characters are completely sympathtic, but that's what lends this book it's complexity. It delves into the shades of gray instead of the clearer-cut black-and-white of his Harry Bosch novels.

Connelly's background as a journalist is also on display here as he takes the reader inside the world of Las Vegas thieves, con-artists, and hustlers with versimilitude unparalleled by anything I've read recently. This is clearly a writer who knows his stuff.

The plot moves at a breakneck pace, but is as intricately woven as a Persian rug. His characters leap off the page, and his dialogue is top-notch. This is easily one of Connelly's best works.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

Although nothing will ever be as good as The Poet (probably the best thriller I have ever read) this one is right up there with Connelly's best.

My brother works in a bookstore, so he got me an advance copy and I have to tell you, this one really keeps you reading. I finished it in about two days. Although you will figure out some of the details before they are revealed, the book has a lot of great twists and turns. I particularly like the way that the events of the past are slowly revealed to the reader through flashbacks that occur throughout the entire book.

I heartily recommend this book to any Connelly fan, but just to warn you it is not a Harry Bosch story, although it is set in LA.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Void Moon, December 1, 1999

By	Wojo /Cisco "Dennis W." (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This author is amazing. I have been reading crime/mystery books for the last 35 years and not since Ross MacDonald has an author consistently written one good book after another. This guy just keeps on getting better each time out. Void Moon kept my attention from page one to the very last. It's one of those books you can't put down and when you do finish you have a hard time finding another book worthy to read. This author could offer a guarantee with each book and none would be returned. Treat yourself to the best author in North America, buy this book and buy his other's you won't be disappointed.