261 of 283 people found the following review helpful:
The Best Harry Bosch Tale Since Echo Park!
After disappointing Harry Bosch tales (The Overlook, The Brass Dragon) Connelly has brought back the Harry that hooked me in the earlier tales. Harry is still back in homicide (no closer duty for him) and during a slow night he is asked to investigate a shooting in a "rougher" section of LA. Harry and his partner (Ferras) grudgingly take the assignment and learn that a...
64 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
Not Up To Standards
In his latest thriller featuring LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, author Michael Connelly branches out into international waters. The plot involves Bosch investigating a murder of the Asian owner of a liquor store in South-Central LA. For translating purposes, Bosch calls in an Asian Detective, Chu, to help with the case. What unfolds appears to be a Asian Triad gang related...
After disappointing Harry Bosch tales (The Overlook, The Brass Dragon) Connelly has brought back the Harry that hooked me in the earlier tales. Harry is still back in homicide (no closer duty for him) and during a slow night he is asked to investigate a shooting in a "rougher" section of LA. Harry and his partner (Ferras) grudgingly take the assignment and learn that a convenience store owner was murdered in his store. The case draws Harry's interest because he remembers the store and that the owner was once kind to him several years earlier. He assures the owner's son that he will catch the culprit.
As Harry starts to realize that this might not have been a routine robbery but a possible execution by a Triad hitman. Harry starts to zero in on a suspect and then receives a threatening call to tell him to back off. Harry shrugs it off and continues but then his investigation stalls when he receives a video showing that his daughter (Maddy) being kidnapped in Hong Kong. He rushes off to save her realizing that if he is not back by the end of the weekend a possible suspect in the shooting will be set free.
It is a tense plane ride to Hong Kong and Harry feels powerless because there is nothing he can do in the air. When he gets to Hong Kong he is aided by his ex-wife (Eleanor Wish) and her boyfriend. Harry has limited clues but through very good forensic science he was able to possibly know where to look for Maddy. It becomes a race to find Maddy because any delay could mean that she might already be dead.
The tension of the chase is so tense you can cut it with a knife and the "determined " Harry definitely shows through. There is one sequence at a boat where the action is pulse pounding and the tension rife.
The book also has a short but excellent appearance by Mickey Haller (the Lincoln Lawyer and Harry's half brother) and there are references to Jack McEvoy (Connelly's other main character). As long as Mr. Connelly can deliver Harry Bosch tales of this caliber, Harry will continue to be one of the most intriguing law enforcement figures in fiction today!
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In his latest thriller featuring LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, author Michael Connelly branches out into international waters. The plot involves Bosch investigating a murder of the Asian owner of a liquor store in South-Central LA. For translating purposes, Bosch calls in an Asian Detective, Chu, to help with the case. What unfolds appears to be a Asian Triad gang related extortion/murder. Meanwhile, Bosch's teenaged daughter is living in Hong Kong with her mother, who works for a swanky Hong Kong casino. After arresting a suspect, Bosch is warned to back off the case or eles "there will be consequences". Well, he soon receives a video on his phone showing his daughter being held hostage in Hong Kong. Is there a leak in the department? Is Chu playing both sides of the fence? Bosch drops everything to rush to Hong Kong to try to find his daughter. Similarities with the movie "Taken" are obvious. This is where the story starts to become somewhat far-fetched. The way he is able to find his daughter is somewhat ridiculous and things are written with a by-the-numbers predictibility. I'm not going to get into details but the ending is rather lame and unsatisfying and I look forward to a better effort from Connelly next time.
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I've long been a Connelly fan, especially of the Harry Bosch series. But I have to tell you, Connelly's surpassed himself with this one. As I've thought about it, I think this may well be the best Bosch book ever.
I won't rehash the whole story line here, as you can see that in the two other member reviews already up, and on the product page. Instead, I'd like to focus on why I've made such a grandiose statement.
The Bosch series is long-running and deservedly very successful. Of course, it's had its ups and downs; all series do. But Bosch is an iconic character from the Clint Eastwood mold of Dirty Harry and the Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns: the loner who battles through any obstacles to see right prevail and justice triumph, even if he has to break the rules. Eastwood's made a career of this, as has Connelly. That's a good thing. I like that kind of entertainment, as do a whole lot of other people, obviously.
However, in this book Connelly breaks new ground for the character, exploring an emotional vulnerability - his love for his daughter, and how it animates him - that we haven't seen before. It's the driving force of the story, and to continue the Eastwood analogy, it's the same variance on a "trademark" character we saw Eastwood explore in some of his amazing later works like "Unforgiven", "Million Dollar Baby", and "Gran Torino".
Connelly also takes Bosch into an exotic and fascinating new locale: Hong Kong. This is really a treat, and he does it very well. I'd have liked to have seen even more of his take on the area, as I know it well, having been there many times, but take it from me: what you do see is a really accurate portrayal of one of the world's truly unique locales.
The story moves forward in a very driving yet well-disciplined fashion; very exciting; intellectually stimulating, and well- and throroughly-plotted.
Six stars! But I guess I'll have to settle for five.
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Nine Dragons starts with the murder of a Chinese shopkeeper in LA. Evidence connected to the murder makes LAPD Detective Harry Bosch suspect that triads were involved. Triads are vicious, Chinese gangs whose tentacles are everywhere, so Bosch turns to LAPD's Asian Gangs Unit for background information on triad activity in LA, and an ethnic-Chinese detective from the AGU is assigned to help out with the case. There is some immediate friction between the Chinese detective and Bosch, so when mysterious events threaten to derail the murder investigation, it's easy for Bosch to suspect that the apparent leak in the LAPD probably comes from the AGU itself.
But all that is put on the backburner when someone from Bosch's own family is kidnapped in Hong Kong, apparently by the same triad implicated in the shopkeeper's murder. The kidnappers' message is clear: BACK OFF! And that's when things really get interesting.
Connelly takes numerous threads and weaves them together to create a terrific story. The main thread, of course, is Bosch's desperate search for his kidnapped family-member; but interwoven with that is the murder investigation that preceded the kidnapping, with Connelly doing a fine job detailing the methodical, step-by-step investigative process, including some interesting developments in forensic science. And Bosch's attempt to discover the source of the leak that threatens to sabotage his murder investigation is interwoven with the personal friction developing between Bosch, his partner, and the Chinese detective from the AGU. Connelly weaves the various threads together to form an apparently satisfactory solution to all those puzzles, but an unexpected plot twist shows how misleading superficial appearances can be. The final clues change everything and lead Bosch to a conclusion that is simply stunning.
Nine Dragons is a terrific story, told by a real master.
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I was totally disappointed by this book. I am amazed that it has a solid 4 star rating. If you had changed Harry Bosch's name, I would never have associated it with this *normally* fabulous series. The writing and plot seemed so pedestrian. I always used to describe the Bosch series as a top of the line suspense/thrillers- books with a real edge to both the writing and characters, but this book was like a airport paperback. I also found the plot unbelievable, especially once Bosch went to and returned from China. I don;t want to add spoilers, but I found his behavior totally unrealistic once he returned home. I also found the link to the Lincoln Lawyer to be so thin- give us some meat if you're going to include that great character, not some thin cameo. Instead of trying to churn out a book or two a year, Connelly needs to concentrate on quality, not quantity.
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I had to wait 3 months to get this book at my library and after reading this latest effort am glad I did not pay good money to acquire. I have enjoyed so many of his books that it was very disappointing. Me thinks it's time for good old Harry B to hand in the badge, retire to his home high up Cahuenga Pass in the Hollywood Hills, crack a cold one, sit out on the deck, watch the facinating smog induced LA sunset, put on good old Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ramsey Lewis or whatever?? Poorly written, thin plot, ridiculous plot changes, virtually no real intrigue and so predictable I had to ask myself, "What happened to Michael Connelly?" Must be the end of the line and he is just a little burned out. Reminds me of other prolific writers that after a while you wonder if a computer is writing the copy. I will be very careful before I take a bite of this apple again and like some other readers am amazed at some of the 4 star reviews. Did we read the same book??
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Mr. Connelly definitely needed to do some additional research for this book. Chopsticks sticking out in a bowl of rice? That is a big taboo in Chinese culture. As for the Chinese that was in the book, he has words and just gave it the pronunciation of other words with the same meanings. And I can't believe how he took the word "he" and made a big joke out of it, when the name is pronounced "huh" and not "he", additionally River is pronounced "hor" in cantonese, which is what is used in Hong Kong. Mr. Connelly, next time you write about a different culture, make sure you do some additional research and maybe let someone who has some knowledge of the culture read what you write before you get it published.
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The writing was way below par, wooden dialogue, plot strained. The international aspects seemed like a cheap way to fill pages. And Bosch makes so many stupid mistakes that it is hard to take his character seriously in this role.
It read to me like a book that was written primarily to fulfill a contract.
I really don't understand how some reviewers can call this one of Connelly's best. I had to struggle to keep reading through to the end.
I would recommend fans save their money and wait for Connelly to write a proper book.
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This is the first disappointing Connelly novel I've read. I do hope he's not running out of steam, because I'm a huge fan. He is a master of the genre. I especially enjoy his characters because they are complicated, and thrillers usually have black-and-white, 2 dimensional characters. That is part of what is missing here. There are good guys and bad guys in "9 Dragons." It was an absorbing read, and I finished it quickly, so he maintains the compelling, fast-paced writing of the other books. But he did something that is a particular pet peeve of mine: he wrote himself into a corner and needed some far-fetched twists to get out. Not only were the twists contrived, but I really did not like a couple of them. Harry is also uncharacteristically soul-searching here, but probably because the events are of a far more personal nature than ever.
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I love Michael Connelly's Bosch novels. I think he's the best police procedural writer out there. His Harry Bosch is truly a modern reincarnation of Raymond Chandler's trench coat PI. But alas, "Nine Dragons" doesn't make it. It starts out promising with Harry in his natural environment - LA's sunny seediness. But his desire or need to shift the background to Hong Kong takes the story out of Harry's natural world and places him into a fantasy adventure. The entire middle of the book seems to be an excursion by Connelly into a world that he finds fascinating and mysterious. Unfortunately, I can't share that sense of excitement. Harry's excursion to Hong Kong seems manufactured and false. Harry Bosch may be a loner in sunscreen instead of trench coat, but he's not a knuckle walking feed'em the butt of your gun character which is what he becomes for way too many pages.
Harry Bosch is a product of Los Angeles - it's glamor, glitter, and faux glitz. Harry Bosch works best as the odd man out in a world where everyone recreates themselves day to day, minute to minute. But Harry is a constant - hard, but fair; a human under the badge. Unfortunately by putting him in an environment and situation where all he can do is react, he diminishes his potency and interest.
It's understandable how a writer can become weary of his creation. Heck, Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes but was forced to bring him back because of public demand. I hope Michael Connelly brings back the Harry Bosch of earlier novels and the shiny, seedy world of LA that is his home.
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