The World According to Michael Connelly
I like the fact that Michael Connelly named his literarily famous LAPD detective after the painter Hieronymus Bosch. Wikipedia states that the 15th-century Bosch is seen today as “a hugely individualistic painter with deep insight into humanity’s desires and deepest fears.” It only takes reading a few of Connolly’s Bosch novels to see that his Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch is that sort of man as well.
Harry Bosch is a decent man and a loyal, diligent cop. Nevertheless, he is human and often makes mistakes or pisses off the wrong person and gets into trouble – usually within the police force, like with Internal Affairs, but also in his more personal relationships. On the page Harry is a difficult person, but nevertheless I like and respect him very much.
I haven’t read them all, always skipping around in my choices of “airplane books,” but I wasn’t disappointed when I downloaded and listened to his most recent Dark Sacred Night. It co-features female detective Renée Ballard who, like Harry, is often in trouble but proves that if you’re perceived to be on the wrong side of the law, she is a cop you don’t want to mess with.
Listening or reading, if you like police procedurals told with just the right touch in attention to detail, a big hunk of compassion and a powerful conclusion, you’ll like Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch. (Connelly was a “newspaperman,” for many years, which I believe is the best training possible for one who would write crime fiction.) For sure you’re going to admire and respect Harry for the loving care he gives his daughter Maddie. Heck, you’re probably going to like his alt-character half-brother Mickey Haller, too.
I said listening or reading, but “Bosch” is also an Amazon Original video series. Harry is portrayed by Titus Welliver, who also happens to be one of the two narrators (with Christine Lakin) of the Audible version of Dark Sacred Night. I think it would have been an even stronger duet if Lakin and Welliver had voiced their characters in the alternating chapters, instead of swapping the narrator’s role. But if you’re interested in seeing how Harry comes alive on your home screen, by all means stream on over to Amazon. The stories aren’t play-by-play with the books, but Welliver is powerfully convincing. At this writing, the fifth – yes, fifth – season is just beginning.
