I read the Harry Bosch novels a few years ago and for some reason just drifted away from them. But I remember reading a bunch of them and really enjoying the writing and the mystery and complexity of the characters.

I was excited when I saw the series was coming to Amazon and thought I read a few of the old novels to refresh and then the start the series. Well I never got around to rereading the novels and a few days ago my husband was having trouble sleeping and turned episode one of this show on in the middle of the night.

He was hooked immediately which surprised me. He doesn't LOVE many shows. He was telling me all about this new show he found when I realized what he was talking about. I started watching it at episode 3 and we binge watched season one in two days!

Titus Welliver is cast perfectly as Harry Bosch. To me, he IS Bosch. l think the writing and acting is superb. The show is essentially a standard detective story but has some twists and turns.

It seems made for binge watching. When I watched it it didn't feel like ten episodes, it felt like one continuous movie. I just started season 2. I hope I get some sleep tonight and am not up binging on this all night.

To be fair, I'm not sure how this series is so highly rated.

I attempted to watch this series three times. On the third attempt, I watched the entire first season. It drags significantly, none of the characters (especially the main character) are remotely likable (with exception to Bosch's daughter) and it's the same-in-same-old plot for detective shows. It's like they somehow managed to turn this into a police procedural case-by-episode show, despite it being about the same two cases the entire time. It's also extremely predictable.

I've watched a significant amount of crime thrillers -- The Killing, Janet King, Broadchurch, Happy Valley, Luther, Wire in the Blood, The Bridge (original series) among many others -- and this ranks up there with none of them (maybe in par with the second and third seasons of The Killing, as those weren't that great either).

If I had to sum this up, it's basically a slow-burn thriller (if there is such a thing) with an attempt and fail at a who-dun-it with a character who was intended to be an anti-hero but just comes across as a mundane, stereotypical detective. I will not be watching the next seasons but there will definitely be those that enjoy this series.

When I saw the pilot way back when, I loved it and was so thrilled Amazon greenlit the series. Now, all I can say is, "Amazon, when is the second season coming?" This season is well done, and Titus Welliver is amazing as Harry Bosch. I had to take off one star because of multiple WTF moments where you as the viewer can't believe the stupidity of the actions of supposedly seasoned cops or of the plot line. The political machinations are also a bit far-fetched. SPOILER ALERT - don't go further if you don't want to read about key aspects of the season. The series points out several times about how the press and 24/7 coverage can impede an investigation or even convict (in public opinion) innocent people surrounding a crime. And yet, it supposes that if a camera man goes along on a screwed up police outing, the DA can just confiscate the memory card and that would stop it from getting out. Hello. The camera man would never give up the only copy that easily, except that he knows there's a cloud backup...which he then gives up just as easily to the deputy police commissioner?!? He would've made a copy for himself. That's a big flaw. Not to mention that EVERYONE would be asking, where's the footage? You couldn't keep the fact that there was a camera there secret, and then the news story would be, "DA steals memory card in an attempt to cover up his giant screw up." And then there is the fact that Waits killed a man after his escape, then he killed a store clerk, killed a male prostitute and a female prostitute, but it was only after he kidnapped a new mother that the Chief of Police puts all available cops on the case to track him down? That's crazy too. Once they had the lead about the boy's home, they would have had a slew of cops combing the files and they would have found the killer's file in a day instead of the long, drawn-out process that it took with only a few people looking. And same thing with the car the killer was driving. They can't see the license plate, but they could easily look up all the gold minivan's owned by little old ladies (his mother) and narrowed it down that way. And my biggest WTF is the fact that Harry Bosch's psych profile was leaked to a reporter and there was no investigation or complaint filed? First, there are only a few people who would have access to that file to leak it, so it wouldn't be hard to find who did it. It's not like any cop in the area can get his confidential psych records, so the fact that Pounds or whatever his chief's name is, wasn't immediately fired is just stupid. Second, Harry Bosch could sue the department this way and that for not protecting his confidential information. All this hub-bub is made of his rookie girlfriend filing a bogus harassment case against him to save her job, but Harry, who has been violated by a senior officer through this leak, can't do the same? It's absolutely ridiculous.

But, having pointed out all that (and I'm sure there are more), I still loved the series. The actors are all top notch and the setting, the mood, everything pulls you in and keeps you engaged. I can't wait to dissect the next one =).

I came to Bosch by word of mouth and online buzz; I haven't read any of the 21 books in Michael Connelly's series - yet! - so was able to view the show on it's own merits.

Starring the improbably named Titus Welliver, Bosch is a police procedural, but doesn't feel like the typical American cop show, it has a slower, more measured pace, introducing the characters and their world in a very organic way. Character driven, the show doesn't need a shoot-out or an explosion to advance the story; this is LA Noir by way of Euro Noir, and feels like something that could have come from the UK or Scandinavia.

Bosch is a veteran, with 20yrs or so on the Force, and Welliver plays him with a sense of world-weariness, plus a less than tactful rejection of "office politics." Something of a loner, he has more than his fair share of demons due to events from his childhood, and is driven to pursue justice for the victims of the crimes he investigates to the point of recklessness and insubordination.

To add to his worries he has a somewhat tense relationship with his ex-wife, plus a teenage daughter who insists, much to his dismay, on calling him "Harry;" when she arrives in LA to visit, his idea of "bonding" is to take her on a ride-along, and a practice session at a gun range! LOL! After bingeing my way through both seasons in only 4 sittings, just like Peter Falk in [[ASIN:B008RJ6TTC Columbo]], I'm finding it difficult to imagine anyone else but Welliver playing the character, and as it turns out, Welliver was Michael Connelly's first choice for the part!

Each season tells one complete story, although there are a number of sub-plots that start in Season 1 and are not fully resolved until Season 2, so it's obviously best to watch the show in order. Without giving much away, Season 1 involves the hunt for a serial killer who takes a very personal interest in Bosch, and Season 2 involves the murder of a businesssman who may have ties to Eastern European organized crime.

In-between Season 1 binges I went looking for "the book" the series was based on, and found that each season was based on elements from 3 different novels. Season 1 was based in part on City of Bones, Echo Park, and The Concrete Blonde, Season 2 is based on elements from Trunk Music, The Drop, and The Last Coyote. This is a pretty savvy move by the author and the production team, as those who have read the Bosch novels won't have read "these" particular stories.

The supporting cast is uniformly very good, especially Amy Aquino as Harry's immediate superior, "Lt. Grace Billets," as is Lance Reddick as "Deputy Chief Irving," who probably has the most extreme journey over the course of the two seasons of any character in the show. And a special mention goes to Jeri Ryan as "Veronica Allen;" she grabs the part of Season 2's whacked businessmans widow by the throat and doesn't let go!

The production values are all top notch, everything looks and feels authentic, as is the visually striking title sequence, set to an edit of [[ASIN:B00J24ZL6I "Can't Let Go" by Caught a Ghost]], which echoes Harry's love of classic Jazz, within a modern Downtempo electronica arrangement.

And as of the time of writing this review, Bosch Seasons 3 and 4 have been confirmed... I can't wait!

I started watching Bosch over the weekend and finished it tonight I thought it kept your interest and had a slew of good characters. Titus Welliver is an outstanding actor and pulls this off without a hitch. It has a great story line. I started season 2 and can't wait to get into it.

My only issue was that some of the scenes were shot way too dark and the color and contrast was off. I got tired of trying to correct it and realized it was them. I actually saw the same looking at a few other Amazon shows, I found them to be a wee bit too dark also.

The 4 star isn't for the show. Bosch is 5 star in my book. It's due to the darkness issue and that needs to be corrected...hear that Amazon ???

I love the books, and am trying to love the show, but through the first 3 episodes it is a bit of a disappointment. The casting, is a stretch, but usually is as compared to what one imagines while reading a book. I found the pacing v-e-r-y slow. One of my favorite things about the Bosch character is how he relentlessly continues to study and dig into the case, all of the little details lead from one point to another as the case is eventually solved. I guess in a TV show you can't show Harry, reading and re-reading the murder books but a little more of that hard work effort and a little bit less glitz and arrogance as demonstrated in the show would have been appreciated. I suppose a cocky attitude, fancy suits, an opulent, modern chrome and glass bachelor pad are what sells but . . .also, I wondered why they decided to make Harry an Afgan war vet as compared to Vietnam?, but I guess the decision was made to make everything current. I'll keep watching, try to not compare it so much with the books and hope I can enjoy it more as it goes on.

I am a retired police officer, detective, and sergeant. After retiring from the street, I became the manager of our Forensics Unit. Bosch is the most realistic of all the police shows I have watched in the past few years. I cringe at the amateurish things that the actors do on NCIS, and various other police shows on broadcast TV. The producers of Bosch seem to be concerned enough to listen to some real cops when they tape their show. My wife and I started watching season two, and then figured out how to get the machine to find season one, so we left season two and started at the beginning. The detectives seem to be the only ones on TV who know to stand by the door frame, instead of directly in front of the door when knocking. I cringe when I see a cop on broadcast TV yell from a distance, 'We want to talk to you". Real cops walk up to within arms reach before saying anything. They don't want to chase people all other unless necessary. The plots are good, the bad guys are evil, and Bosch is always getting in trouble with his boss. Good typical cop show plots.

Upside: pursues a longer story arc than network crime procedurals' typical formulaic "omigod we have to save the city from a terrorist in one 45 minute episode" nonsense
Downside: just as one-dimensional in both the characters and the story. Titus Welliver is a solid actor, but he, like all the rest of them are typecast from the same role they play in everything. His partner "Jerry" is basically the cop version of his breakout role, Marlo Stansfield of The Wire. Like Stansfield/Jerry, the police chief in Bosch is the exact same acting role for Lance Reddick that he played as police commissioner in The Wire.
Speaking of cop shows, The Wire is really the only one that has ever been unique or had anything salient to say on a more macro level about society. i guess Bosch is somewhat entertaining if you just want to numb out for an hour, but there's nothing new here.