I won't say a whole lot about this one. It is average, not as good as several others in the series (the black echo) not as bad as a few others (the overlook).

It's readable, not terribly original, somewhat predictable.

Connelly is dazzling in his style.

First, he expresses himself in a very good English, lively, cultural, social. The reader is soon permeated the atmosphere of the American cities of Hollywood, Los Angeles, and the state of California.

Next, the psychological profiles are far from simplistic caricatures which are often shown in films for example.

Finally, the plot gripps you firmly the guts. Harry Bosch, a former veteran of the Vietnam War where he fought as a "tunnel rat" is very endearing. Tenacious cop, non-careerist and yet so proud of its mission, it weird for its spirit of freedom from the constraints of a system that nourishes.

I found that Harry Bosch is very American. He is endearing. Parallel with the character Clint Eastwood. "Echo Park" = one of the best thrillers of Connelly.

Be careful : you are in geat danger of insomnia.

This book was a gift to my son. Instead of English, he was sent a Spanish version. That didn't do him any good.

The story is interesting, though I am not sure if it's truly original. A murder convict takes the blame of an unsolved crime...but is it what it seems to be. The characters are well-developed and can be easily imagined as real-life people. I also liked the plot and the pace of the story, with Echo Park at the center stage. I would love to see this story turned into a TV show or a movie. However, I have couple of issues grappling with the reason behind Mario Gesto's murder, the main murder case. Was she killed just because she looked like someone else? Also, why would such a random killing happen with the killer having no past history of killing? He intimidated kids at one point and had a volatile relationship with his girlfriend, but is it enough to kill someone? I don't think there was enough justification provided for murdering Mario Gesto. Secondly, the revelation of the Raynard Waits' true name came by fluke or chance. I would have liked a more detailed assessment of the key events that happened in the novel and not about the build-up.
Apart of that, I would still recommend this novel to any crime novel lover for creating a wonderful atmosphere and believable characters.

I've read all of the Harry Bosch series except "The Overlook." With each one I begin, I say to myself, "Michael's not going to fool me this time. I'm going to read very closely and figure out the killer/conspiracy/corrupt influence/traitor/mastermind before the end." I started "Echo Park" this way. Almost to the end, I said, "I see it coming." I was so smug.

Then came the ending.

Dang!

The worst thing about finishing a Connelly book is that it means you're that much closer to having read all his books! I only have one more left as of this date, and not having a Connelly book to read is a prospect I don't look forward to. I imagine I'll have the same feeling I experienced when I finished the Ellis Peters Brother Cadfael series- the feeling similar to leaving the theater after viewing a good movie that you really don't want to come to an end.

At least we'll probably have more MC books! But it won't be easy waitng for a new one to come out! He is so good! I find it almost impossible to put one of his books down once started.

I love Bosch's jazz references.He has good musical taste!

The first half of this one harkens back to the best of the series The Concrete Blonde as Connelley gives us a novel twist on the string of cold cases Harry's been working lately. We then degenerate into Parker Center conspiracies with dirty cops -- as usual. And when is Harry going to realize that whenever he ignores a box of evidence or sends a call to voicemail its invariably something significant to the case? (And don't all Bosch's romances have a DOA vibe from jump street?)

Detective Harry Bosch from LAPD is back trying to unravel a 13-year-old mystery which has haunted him since it happened, in connection with the disappearance of a young lady, Marie Gesto. Someone has recently been arrested and is allegedly going to indicate her whereabouts. In a whirl of politically connected events and fast-paced actions, Bosch tries to extricate the truth and is helped in this process by his close friend Rachel from the FBI. They will discover some uncomfortable truths and their lives, especially Bosch's, are consequently at stake.

This is yet another case where an Amazon "half mark" would be handy (3 1/2 stars), but as it is not possible, the mark goes back to 3 stars. I have read other books by the same author ("The Lincoln Lawyer", "Void Moon", "Lost Light" which I would generally rate with 4 stars), but I do not think this book deserved it in full. Although it was quite fast-paced and intriguing, I also found the plot to be a trifle too far-fetched, especially towards the end.

Another Harry Bosch novel with a driving pace and a slam-bang finish. Harry is a maverick obsessed with The Job; there will never be a personal relationship he will put above an investigation. He is a true tragic hero.

Connelly's Harry Bosch has a bouillabaisse on his plate; a serial killer on the loose, his FBI girl friend who is mad at him, an ambitious prosecutor running for office, smarmy defense counsel, and corruption striking close to home. Harry handles all with his usual reckless hamhandness. He would not be lovable Harry, otherwise. This police procedural mystery, a predecessor book to "The Overlook," couples all this excitement with Harry's recent penchant for stumbling over old records and closed files and solving old crimes.

Michael Connelly's 2006 mystery ECHO PARK perpetuates many of the genre's themes and yet still manages to intrigue and keep readers in suspense. You know a mystery novel will throw some curve balls at you, and you know oftentimes, the culprit is the last person you'd expect. In spite of all this, ECHO PARK still imparts interesting suspense. Michael Connelly writes a series of mystery novels on Police Detective Harry Bosch, and this is my first Connelly novel. It isn't bad, and very readable. Not a page-turner by any means, slow and steady best describes the pacing of this novel. The prose is average and the settings of Los Angeles and Echo Park fairly tame, relying on the names of real streets, neighborhoods and establishments to build the scenery, sights and smells. The suspense keeps you interested but it isn't on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of suspense. Like most mystery novels, I found the ending protracted and anticlimactic. There's a lot of politics in the novel as the book takes place during the election season. Two spots up for election directly affect our protagonist Harry: the position of District Attorney and a city council seat. Much of the politics was good as it posed and postured intriguing scenarios, making the read far from cut-and-dry. I liked that the villain here isn't all bad but definitely demented. Our villain Reynard Waits accurately characterizes Harry Bosch as an "eye-for-an-eye guy." Our protagonist Harry exhibits a cold, ruthless streak and I liked that as well.

This is a mystery novel where the killer is revealed right away: 20 pages into the novel, in fact. There's more to the story obviously as politics within the police department and the upcoming election come into play. Lawyers and rich people always spin and skew public opinion, further confounding and frustrating Harry's efforts. The action is light while Harry slowly but steadily works through the clues and leads.

In the first few Harry Bosch books (The Black Ice (Harry Bosch), etc.) I really thought that Connelly was writing something really remarkable. I was in love with the dark and edgy tone. The novels had that edgy hard-boiled something that I really like in detective fiction. Unfortunately, while he never really jumped the shark, his later work did not really live up to the level of his earlier efforts.

While Echo Park is not a return to the rawness of the first few books, it is a serious improvement over the last few. Harry Bosch is back in form, and doing what he does best-- exploring that thin line between what turned him into a cop while others became killers. The ending is a little bit... "stretched" is the best word. I also encourage Connelly to turn down the political paranoia a notch. Too much conspiracy and Bosch risks turning into Kay Scarpetta. Surely something that nobody wants to see.

I bought it for an airplane ride, and hardly looked up to see the time passing. Recommended, at least for the sheer entertainment value.

Echo Park includes all the positives from Connelly's Harry Bosch series. You have an unsolved murder case that comes to light 13 years later when a killer is caught and confesses to the old crime. Bosch isn't so sure and continues to investigate. The trail leads through betrayal some twists and dead ends and offers suspense and fast paced action. Bosch also reconnects with a previous flame from the FBI, as they work together on this case.

Another excellent thriller.

Michael Connelly is a truly great writer. Frankly, Echo Park proves that. This isn't Connelly's best book: The Poet, Blood Work, and The Concrete Blonde are all better. Several of his other books are as good as this one. Even so, this book gets five stars, because among mysteries this year it's still a great book.

Twelve years ago, Marie Gesto disappeared, and Harry Bosch and his then partner were assigned to look for her. They came up empty, wound up moving on to other cases, then were reassigned. Fast forward to the current day, where the police inadvertently capture a serial killer that no one even knew existed. Under interrogation, the suspect suddenly comes up with an interesting confession: he killed Marie Gesto, and he will take the police to the body. When he does, however, he works things so that he escapes. Things are complicated by the revelation that Bosch and his partner in the original investigation may have briefly talked to the now-discovered serial killer, and might, if things had gone differently, stopped the guy before he killed a dozen people in the intervening years.

Connelly is a wonderful writer, and he does this plot pretty well, making the characters and the action interesting. I enjoyed this book a great deal, and would recommend it.