Echo Park (Harry Bosch) (Hardcover)

by Michael Connelly (Author)
Key Phrases: pawn slip, bullshit deal, murder book, Raynard Waits, Marie Gesto, Echo Park (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Connelly's compelling 12th Harry Bosch novel (after 2005's The Closers) offers some new wrinkles on a familiar theme—the aging detective haunted by the one who got away. In Bosch's case, the elusive quarry is the man who abducted a 22-year-old equestrian, Marie Gesto, in 1993. Having returned to active duty as a member of the LAPD Open-Unsolved Unit, Bosch repeatedly pulls the file to see if he can discover something new and give some small solace to the victim's parents. When a chance police stop of a suspicious vehicle nets serial killer Raynard Waits, who's carrying body parts in his van, Bosch assesses the murderer's claim that he was responsible for killing Gesto, too. The weary and cynical detective soon suspects that Waits is trying to barter information for a reduced sentence of life imprisonment. Political motivations connected with the upcoming DA election also cloud the investigation. Smooth prose and plausible characters—even the secondary figures—elevate this several notches above the standard cop vs. serial-killer thriller. Author tour. (Oct.)
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From The Washington Post
In his 11 Harry Bosch novels, Michael Connelly has bucked two pervasive trends in modern crime fiction. Too many writers have fallen into the trap of writing quirky detectives who detour into cutesy or hard-boiled stories that devolve into violent, ironic self-parody. But Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch of the Los Angeles Police Department is serious and straightforward, and Connelly's latest, the knowing, taut and suspenseful Echo Park, proves that Harry's creator is as well. Since making his first appearance in 1992's The Black Echo as a 42-year-old, Bosch has aged in real time.

Now, nearing 60, Bosch is back with the LAPD, working in the Open-Unsolved Unit, going over cold cases with his most recent partner, Kiz Rider. Most of the cops on the unit, including Rider, are from a different generation. Harry may have backup, but emotionally and mentally he's alone.

A serendipitous traffic stop in L.A.'s Echo Park neighborhood nabs Reynard Waits, a man with body parts in his front seat. Soon Waits has confessed to a string of slayings involving prostitutes and runaways, as well as to two earlier murders: one of a pawnshop owner during the 1992 riots, the other of a young equestrian named Marie Gesto, whose car and clothing turned up in a garage but whose body was never found.

Bosch had worked the Gesto case and had in years since reopened the files on occasion, but had come up empty. He had even pegged a likely culprit -- the son of a wealthy and powerful industrialist -- so Waits's confession and knowledge of the body's location throw him for a loop. But Bosch is shaken more deeply when the case files are reexamined and it seems that Waits had called the police shortly after the murder, pretending to be a tipster; he could have been implicated within a week of Gesto's disappearance.

"Bosch considered himself a true detective, one who took it all inside and cared," writes Connelly. "Everybody counts or nobody counts. . . . It made him good at the job but it also made him vulnerable. The mistakes could get to him and this one was the worst of all mistakes." He could have prevented nine murders, and that knowledge leaves Bosch ready to crack.

Connelly, a former crime reporter, knows both the squad-room and the newsroom, and once again he assembles a formidable group of adversaries for Bosch: the LAPD brass, the L.A. Times city desk and a powerful, well-connected lawyer who sees the Gesto case as the key to the district attorney's office. Connelly is still a master of the economical scene. His action never devolves into cheap suspense or sentimentality but moves along at an unforced clip. Several people from Bosch's past -- most notably his friend and former lover, FBI profiler Rachel Walling -- also make appearances in Echo Park, and their relationships with the aging detective are well sketched.

What puts Connelly in the top rank of modern procedural writers -- and, perhaps, into the ranks of the better modern L.A. writers of any genre -- is his willingness to accept that there aren't always easy answers in Bosch's life, or sometimes any answers at all. (Indeed, the future of more than one major character in the series is left in question at Echo Park's end.) That sense of uncertainty and dread, combined with Bosch's going from middle age to the precipice of old age, informs every page of this novel.

Connelly is one of the few crime writers who could conceivably kill off his hero and make it an organic, even inevitable, literary development. And like his namesake, the original Hieronymus Bosch, Det. Harry Bosch is groping his way through a violent and often surreal netherworld, with no guarantee that he'll be coming out the other side. Echo Park is simple, straightforward writing that plumbs beneath the deceptive surface of a deceptively surfacey city, and Connelly's chronicles of Bosch -- like the detective himself -- are aging like a fine Scotch.

Reviewed by Kevin Allman
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 405 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (October 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316734950
• ISBN-13: 978-0739475706
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (197 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #159,128 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 12 in The Harry Bosch Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Four and one half stars..., October 17, 2006

By	Cynthia K. Robertson (beverly, new jersey USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch mystery, Echo Park, is just about as good as it gets. I am amazed at the consistent high quality of Connelly's writing.

In 1993, Connelly was assigned the case of Marie Gesto, a young lady who disappeared on her way to a riding stable. Her body was never found, no suspect was ever identified, and the unsolved case continues to haunt Bosch (an LAPD detective now working in their Open-Unsolved Unit). In 2006, Raynard Waits is driving a van in Echo Park at 2:00 AM when he is stopped by the LAPD. Trash bags are discovered in his van that contain the body parts of two women. In an effort to avoid the death penalty, Waits wants to make a deal and confess to the murders of nine other individuals--including Marie Gesto. But Bosch isn't convinced that Waits murdered Gesto and things go terribly awry.

Politics play a big role in Echo Park. Richard "Ricochet" O'Shea is a prosecutor running for district attorney. He's trying to use the Waits' case as a publicity stunt. When things go bad, he tries to blame the LAPD. The now retired assistant police commissioner and Bosch nemesis, Irvin Irving, is running for city council. He blames Bosch for his forced retirement and takes potshots at him in the press. Anytime politicians get involved, there seem to be bribes, cover-ups, blaming, and sacrifices that will benefit themselves.

In Echo Park, FBI agent Rachel Walling (of The Poet and The Narrows) returns. Although not part of the official investigation, Walling still offers her expertise as a former psychological profiler. She also helps to keep Bosch on an even keel and provides a romantic twist.

My only criticism of Echo Park is that the political angle plays such a prominent part in this book, but then fizzles at the end. We never learn if O'Shea and Irving are elected to higher office, or not. Otherwise, I would have given Echo Park five stars.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lines We Will Cross, October 13, 2006

By	J. Brian Watkins (San Dimas, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Here's a book about feeding the dog, meaning that though each of us have competing desires and self-imposed limitations, we choose which part of our character to "feed", we draw the lines that we will refuse to cross. Mr. Connelly's finest creation, Detective Bosch, is one of those rare members of our society who are tasked with forming and testing assumptions regarding the limits of individuals. As we learn in short order in any mystery, you just never know what someone may be capable of--but Bosch does. Society has vested in Bosch the power to judge--not to convict or sentence, but to judge, a rather fine distinction. For this reason Connelly can set Bosch free; indeed, Bosch does much better work when he is unencumbered by rules, relationships and regulations. In Echo Park, we learn yet again that Bosch's judgment is not to be trifled with. More significantly, Bosch has become a much stronger character, more confident in his judgment and actions.

Connelly writes a multi-dimensional mystery. There are always several things going on at once; indeed, some threads continue from book to book. In short, Connelly makes excellent use of the rich history upon which he can draw from the former volumes in the series. And, I noted that our author must have plenty of free time to scope out the local restaurants; he's grown weary of Phillipe's.

Connelly remains at the top of his form and this work shows no hints of the slacking off that so often (and regrettably) takes place when the shelf holding an author's published works starts to creak under the weight. In this book we see how the power of choice makes all the difference--to say more risks spoiling a great read, but suffice it to say that we have the power to overcome any difficulty if we choose to do so. Or, we can choose to give in to our weaknesses and ruin everything. Connelly seems to me to be fascinated by our ability to act within a certain sphere--regardless of our perceived power, our actions always have so much more to say and so much more impact than we can imagine.

This author's gift is to take simple but powerful themes and invest them with new life and meaning by way of particularly adept characterizations; his books are literally a character study. For example, by way of a minor cameo appearance we are again reassured that the Chief of Police is honorable and that the LAPD is under sound direction: Bosch is trying to sneak into an ER with the Chief's entourage, an annoying gate keeper tries to block Bosch by pointing out that he does not belong, however, the Chief shuts down the gatekeeper and renders support to his officers, including Bosch, in a very simple but satisfying exchange. Though but a cameo, you feel as if you know the Chief's character. That our author can do so much with so little highlights the complexity of his creation in the character of Bosch, of whom Mr. Connelly has had numerous volumes to develop.

Very highly recommended.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ten Stars!!! (borrowed 5 from another book), January 28, 2007

By	Andre Heeger (Germany) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

True, I'm a fan. Michael is one of the best crime writers around (THE BEST - if you ask me, but you know what they say, don't always compare)
Also he is much more than that. This is literature of the highest quality. Although I love all of Michael's books, this one stands out since it goes so deep. Not because it deals with a killer on the run, dirty politics, an unsolved murder case, the beloved hero-cop Harry Bosch.
When Michael writes down his images, you are there with him, in the dirt, amidst the danger, but also - and most important, you get to share his humanity, Kiz' one second of shock/doubt to pull the trigger, which almost has her killed - Bosch's getting whacked by his superior officer, anything. I will even go as far as this: by showing us such intimate close-ups of his characters Michael reaches out to us, makes us think twice before we spit out our usual know-it-all judgements. That's what makes him special. And of course his style, edgy, journalistic.
When Bosch is walking down the street, making love to his maybe girlfriend, trying to bring justice back onto the city streets and into politics, Michael is not painting a picture, he's changing our lives. TERRIFIC!!!