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.

All the Harry Bosch books are top notch. Start at the beginning as life changes this character (like a blacksmith hammering iron).

Harry Bosch never worked on solving a crime that he didn't want to successfully close. In Echo Park, Michael Connelly takes us into Harry's past to explore the disappearance of Marie Gesto who was on her way to work at a stable in exchange for rides. Thirteen years have passed. Harry has a suspect, but there's nothing to pin him down. In fact, Harry has been subject to a restraining order keeping him away from the suspect when the suspect's lawyer isn't present.

Suddenly, Harry gets a call that a serial killer has offered to lead the police to Gesto's body in exchange for a life sentence. In exchange for getting access to the file, Harry is invited into the interview and eventually into the body search. To help him figure out how to assess this proffer, Harry asks Rachel Walling to secretly help him. Their personal relationship resumes as well.

It's a sick-at-heart Harry, though, because the murder book on Gesto shows that Harry's former partner had missed an opportunity to get the serial killer 13 years earlier. Can he live with this guilt? How could he have missed this lead?

The story goes on from there to unveil a murder mystery of tantalizing difficulty. The red herrings are outstanding, and you'll have a hard time unraveling this one. The story is also filled with lots of action which makes the book more appealing than the typical police procedural. The story also delves deeply into Bosch's past to reveal important aspects of his character in clearer ways than in past stories.

I was captivated by Len Cariou's reading of the book. He made the emotions of the characters seem very real. I was deeply engaged in this book as I listened and couldn't wait to get to the end.

Bosch in on the edge in this book; he has been working the Maria Gesto case on his own time ever since her disappearance in 1993. She was never found - dead OR alive - so the file sits and mocks Bosch. When a man accused of two murders offers to come clean about several other open murders in order to avoid being put to death, he includes Marie Gesto in the bunch. Bosch is called in to listen to the testimony and do some work to ensure the department is not being scammed. When Bosch discovers a clue that was overlooked that might have helped him solve the Gesto case - and prevented all the murders by this same guy in the meantime - he starts to lose it.

This is a dark book in the series, yet one that gives us a lot of insight into Bosch and his world. Don't miss it!

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.

At this point I've probably read about 3/4 of the Harry Bosch books, albeit completely out of order. The series has always been somewhat borderline for me -- I really love the level of detail and authenticity Connelly brings from his years as a crime reporter for the LA Times. However, the storylines tend to be a little too over the top, and Harry Bosch has never been that interesting a protagonist to me. This twelfth entry in the series is a great example of these strengths and weaknesses.

At this point in his career, Bosch is working the Open/Unsolved Unit with his partner Kiz Ryder. One thing likes to do as part of his open-ended duties is revisit past failures, reviewing all the evidence, keeping tabs of key players, and looking for new leads (something he also did during his brief retirement). One of these cases is the 13-year-old disappearance and presumed murder of Marie Gesto (whose apartment is in the distinctive building seen in the Robert Altman film The Long Goodbye). The book rewinds in time so that we get to see Bosch and his then partner Jerry investigate her disappearance and get nowhere. Over the years, Bosch's infamous instinct has led him to suspect the son of a local oil tycoon as the killer. However, with no evidence, he has never come close to being able to make a case.

Returning to the present, a lucky traffic stop results in the capture of a serial killer who admits to killing a number of women, including Marie Gesto. The hitch is that he will only confirm this by revealing the locations of his victims' corpses if the city's prosecutor agrees to drop the death penalty. The prosecutor and an LAPD detective are soon in touch with Bosch, seeking his case notes and cooperation in trying to determine if the serial killer really knows where the bodies are. Thus Bosch gets entangled in this case, which has various political ramifications since the prosecutor is running for DA. The serial killer angle also causes Bosch to reconnect with his onetime flame, an FBI profiler who has appeared in previous books. References to previous cases and characters from the series also pop in and out, which may make readers new to Bosch feel somewhat adrift at times.

In any event, when the serial killer is introduced the book goes rather downhill for me. I'm not a fan of the serial killer subgenre, and watching Bosch and the killer play various head games with each other is boring -- we've seen/read it all before. It doesn't help that Connelly completely telegraphs a major incident in the book by suddenly shifting to an narrative mode in which every single step is detailed, tipping the reader off that Something Big Will Happen Any Minute. Fortunately, this is redeemed by the ensuing manhunt, which does a good job of showing how pursuing a paper trail can lead to a killer's lair. Unfortunately, Connelly then invokes the lame "we don't have time to call for backup" card, and allows Bosch to make a totally elementary (and implausible for him) mistake -- one most reader will spot coming.

As with most crime fiction, and the Bosch series in particular, the story is dominated by themes of moral corruption. At this point in the series, it's a well-trodden path, and it's somewhat tiresome to once again see all Bosch's instincts borne out, and arrive at the end to learn that those in high places are entirely disreputable. Once again, a decent ride-along with Bosch, but with enough flaws and thematic repetition to leave me feeling rather unenthusiastic about it.

All the entries in the Harry Bosch series have been good, but Echo Park is the best yet. The first few chapters set up the mystery, and from there on out, the action and suspense ratchet up and never stop. Even the final wrap up is a page turner. An open and shut case turns into a first rate conundrum, and Bosch has never been in a tougher position, trying to separate fact from emotion, trying to follow his own compass. His partner's been taken down, the woman in his life has trouble reconciling her roles as lover and profiler, and Bosch himself has been taken for a ride. High jingo strikes again. But for Harry, it's always a question of making choices that will allow him to live with himself, and no case has ever made that more of a challenge.
First rate crime fiction, with outstanding characterization and plotting.

OK, four stars should be 4.5 and the only slight demerit in Connelly's case is because the bar is set so high. This is another wonderful Harry Bosch book. At one point, Bosch mentions how he wants to take an idea and grind it into powder and examine it under a microscope. I thought that was a perfect description of exaclty how Connelly approaches his writing. Every step, thought, movement and moment in sure, steady hands. This takes the words 'police procedural' down to sub-atomic particles. You couldn't point to one sentence and say 'wow.' It's the accumulation of detail and how hard both Connelly (and Bosch) must work to get it right. The pleasure comes from riding along with Bosch and watching his mind work, analzying the details of the case and how he handles his own miscues, particularly with the politics of the cop world. "Echo Park" has a nifty series of layers to it and the peaks of action and plot keep rising in a natural way, one on top of the other. The only slight problem is the puppeteer behind the whole script is pretty easy to spot and for the scene in the swimming pool near the end just didn't quite ring true. Nonetheless, a model of clean, driven prose.

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 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.

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.

Harry Bosch is a bull-dog of a cop. Methodical and focused, he plots on--trying to find out who abducted and probable killed Marie Gesto in 1993. He reviews the files and re-interviews the witnesses and suspects every few years.

A man is stopped by a patrolman. Garbage bags containing body parts are found in his car. He confesses to having killed nine other victims, including Marie Gesto. But Harry is suspicious; it doesn't feel right to him, but all the pieces seem to be there. Getting help from his FBI companion and friends could mean loss of his job, if he survives.

Good detecting, lots of excitement and twists; this is my first "Harry Bosch" book but it won't be my last.

Review by Wanda C. Keesey (author of Lost In The Mist)

This is the 11th Michael Connelly book I have read and it is by far the worst. There was no character development and the plot was predictable & contrived. The Connelly formula is growing thin: Bosch is driven to solve a murder, some flimsy romantic sub-plot is thrown in, it appears that one character committed the crime but then, at the last second, some tangential character really did it. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Connelly fan, but I am now concerned that he may have "jumped the shark." He needs to reinvent his formula. Bosch is beginning to come off as a two-dimensional annoying character.

To say I liked this this book is an understatement. It is one of the best of its type I've ever read.

Other reviewers in this space tell you what it's about, so I won't repea; but in general Harry Bosch, a middle aged single, lonely, virtuous yet scarred LAPD detective battles Dpartment politics to save a girl and solve a crime ten years old wherein another girl disappeared. The crime always haunted him; and here he gets his "justice" of sorts. It's just a great read for your vacation or the airlane or a rainy afternoon by the fire. Highly recommended. Almost guaranteed.

A word of warning. Unless you know downtown Los Angeles better read this with a map or else follow the action on Mapquest. Harry speeds down lots of streets which meant nothing to me till I got a map.

Actually, the last Bosch novel I read was "Lost Light," which I thought signaled a character and series running out of steam. "Lost Light" was pretty much by-the-numbers, with some extra "family" stuff tossed in to show Harry's getting older. Whatever. Well, I was wrong about Harry's sunset years. For one thing, despite occasional novelistic misfires, one has to keep in mind that Connelly is such a pro at writing, that he just keeps chugging along. "Echo Park" is a fine example.

At 400 plus pages, you wonder if it's appropriate to call "Echo Park" a lean, stripped down Harry Bosch novel - but that's what it is. A genuine page turner. A young woman's years ago disappearance, a serial killer, corruption, familiar stuff that Connelly rearranges, yet again, in a fresh and exciting way. And with Harry as an X factor, those are usually interesting twists, like the unseen twist in the metaphorical tunnel of the Bosch series (which gets very concrete in "Echo Park").

This time around, the plot has at its center the unsolved case of a missing woman that Harry had investigated thirteen years. Now, as part of the Open-Unsolved Unit, Harry returns again and again to the case, looking for that missing piece that will put away the man he has long suspected of being the killer. But then a call comes in, another man has confessed, and things quickly veer off in directions that the reader - or Harry, can not anticipate. One dark treat in all of this is the serial killer, Raynard Waits, the "Echo Park Bagman." Connelly can develop a character with the best of them. And Waits is a particularly repulsive entry, but one that Connelly is also able to humanize. Yes, he's monster, but a pitiable one that his own history - one that intersects with Harry's own personal life story. On the downside of all of this is Connelly's uneven development of characters. For if Waits is extremely well developed, characters such as FBI agent (and love-interest) Rachel Walling, are paper-thin. Walling in particular, since she is so prominent, is little more than a tool to keep the story revving. You know: "Get this report, Do this for me, Use your influence" with a little love making, wine, and Jazz on the side. This is particularly frustrating, since it's clear that Connelly is so good at character development, but it's a trait I've seen in all of the Bosch novels - the good and the so-so (Connelly doesn't write "bad" novels). Still, this time around the good far outweighs the by-the-numbers stuff. Check it out.

I enjoy all the books in the Harry Bosch series. The plots are easy to follow and the dialogue is good. What more can one say?

This was only my second Michael Connely book. the first one was The overlook, wich was really overrated, and almost turned me off of him. But this book was good, and shows me why other people like him so much. The only thing, is the ending was kind of boring, and the climax came before. You almost end up liking Reynard Waits, and thats an awesome name when you find out the meaning and what he does. It was a good book but I expected the ending to be more shocking and exciting, and I always like to really hate the killer, and you really didn't know much of him in the book.

Michael Connelly is one of my favorite mystery writers. Echo Park only reinforces this conviction. It is an exciting and unpredicable story that you can't put down until it is over.

Connelly puts a lot into his stories. He only writes one story a year, unlike some of the more commercial writers who put something out every couple of months. The substance of his writings show it. Each story blue print is unique.

I recommend all of Connelly's books.

Echo Park is my first Michael Connelly novel. I had a tough time putting it down the first day (but not being a speed reader and having to go to work the next day I had to) but the second day I couldn't. The story was very fast paced and kept me engaged. Looking forward to reading my next one.

Michael Connelly is the best thriller writer today and this wonderful book illustrates the lengths to which the author goes to present his readers with thoughtful, complex, authentic prose. You get your money's worth with Connelly and his great character, Harry Bosch. In "Echo Park" Connelly gives us several intertwining plots that relentlessly move toward a credible, worthwhile ending. His characters are well-drawn and he gives us a little more insight into Bosch's personality. Bosch's behavior, which borders on recklessness and even immaturity, is presented better than I recall in any of the other Bosch books. For the first time, I begin to have a little sympathy for his bosses. But all in all, if Bosch has his flaws, this wonderful police procedural does not. Connelly's never been better than he is here.

I've probably read 6 of Connelly's books and all have been 4 or 5 stars. This one was no exception. It was a thoroughly enjoyable and absorbing thrill-ride full of themes such as guilt, all-consuming passion for justice, betrayal and friendship. One of the better police novels I've read in a long time.

Harry Bosch is still working in the Open-Unsolved Unit of the LAPD with his partner, Kiz Rider. In this episode, he's still haunted by an unsolved murder he investigated thirteen years ago. This case comes to light again when Raynard Waits is apprehended with bags of body parts in his van. His attorney makes a deal with the hot shot prosecutor that will give Waits life in prison instead of the needle.

The story then revolves around Waits' escape (you see that coming right away), the attempts to recapture Waits, the political and bureaucratic maneuvers by the LAPD and candidates in the upcoming election to cover the escape, and Harry puzzling through assorted scenarios to catch the killer and find out who was behind it all.

It's an OK story, but I don't know how much longer Mr. C. can write something new and interesting with Harry as the main character.

When is there gonna be a movie about my favorite fictional cop-detective-closer Harry Bosch? I once imagined Michael Keaton playing the part but currently I'm a little out of touch with who'd be a good cast.

Echo Park was typical solid reading entertainment, with a better than average ending. I have tried to read other authors who are very popular who write cop stories but they've all failed to reel me in. I find myself giving up on these authors somewhere in the second-fifty pages.

Michael Connelly is the best. I started with "The Narrows" a few years ago and now have read all but two. Looking forward to reading his latest "The Overhead" and "The Lincoln Lawyer".

This was a great book. If you're looking for a political thriller from a similar writer check out The Trigger Event.

Of all the Harry Bosch novels to date, Echo Park is the most satisfying. Like most of Connelly's work, there are at least two major plot twists. The first plot twist nags at you like a series of unanswered questions but the second one is a comes in from out of nowhere. Great writing!

I am in awe of how well Connelly fleshes out his characters with his clean, spare writing style. Several vignettes are unforgettable like the moment where Harry realizes to his horror, just how similar he and his antagonist are, or the description of the raucous LAPD celebrations featuring The Clash's cover of "I Fought the Law".

My greatest satisfaction with the Harry Bosch series is following the lives of Connelly's surviving characters throughout the books. Yes, this is noir at its blackest but as in real life, the little splashes of light from Connelly's characters make for it all worth while.

A hundred pages into the book, I started scanning for words indicative of actual story development, and not long-winded accounts of little importance. Also, showdowns in dimly lit tunnels just seem contrived to me by now. I like my novels a tad more understated. My first Connelly book is thus a disappointment, although I did feel a slight chill in the beginning. I still feel he has something to offer, so suggestions are welcome. This book just fell short.

I was a bit disappointed in the last few Bosch novels but after reading "Echo Park" Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch are back with this excellent and well told tale.

Harry Bosch has returned from retirement and is now working in the Open Unsolved Unit. The book opens with Harry working on a case that involves the murder of a young beautiful girl. Harry still remains a believable character. He has his flaws but overall he is a pretty decent fellow. In other words he's the same old Harry that I have always enjoyed reading about. Echo Park continues Harry's journey into the dark side of men and once again he gets knocked around, but his persistence keeps him faithfully at doing his job. No need to go into more detail on the story else I might spoil it for you. In summary, I give Echo Park a enthusiastic endorsement.

Another Mystery that is written in a highly effective and uncluttered fashion is The Monopoly Factor by Robert L. Saunders. This story of corporate, deceit, murder, greed shows the author's skill in plotting a legal drama that is full of meat. It's a warm, but thrilling story that you can't help but cheer on Barry Foreman and his brother Noah. Check it out you won't be disappointed. Good Reading.

I hate to say it...but I wasn't in love with this book. I've read pretty much everything else Connelly has written, but this book just seemed a little "off" based on his normal level of suspense and ability to connect the dots as to "why" things happened. It almost seemed like the author was a little burned out or hurried on this one. It's just my opinion...and you know what people say about opinions....

I just finished reading Echo Park last week and I really enjoyed it. The plot was super and the author kept the action moving while keeping me wondering what was going to happen next. Overall, I though Echo Park was thrilling mystery and Michael Connelly as always never disappointed me in this story. For you mystery fans don't miss this one. It's a fast pace of a read that will keep you turning page after page.

I feel today's thriller/mystery writers have a tough time conjuring up twists and turns. This book was no exception. After all, it's all been said. With thousands of books coming out each year it has to be a difficult task to come up with something interesting.

I thank Mr. Connelly for trying. Out of loyalty I will continue to buy his books. I have for years.

I just read the excerpt from his next volume. Like "Echo" it starts out swell.

I have read all of Connelly's books and think that he is the best fiction writer of our day. One of Connelly's strengths is his ability to use words and language. Unlike most of today's writers, Connelly knows how to construct a paragraph. Put the story aside, it is a joy to read Connelly for his writing skills alone.

That being said, I have to say that Echo Park is his best yet. It is very difficult to keep a character such as Harry Bosch fresh in each new novel. Connelly has succeeded, in part, because he continues to re-invent his character. In Echo Park, Harry is at his best. He continues to work on cold cases, and in this instance gets to re-open one of his old unsolved cases. As a retiree who has come back to work, he isn't worried about losing his job (not that he ever was) but is free to focus on the task at hand.

I think that in this book Connelly gets into Harry's head a bit more. We come to understand what makes him tick more than we have in past installments. Connelly has now completely deveoped his character. I'm looking forward to more.

This well-crafted police action thriller weaves together two sets of crimes committed a decade apart. The protagonist is a weather-beaten older detective with a questionable past. There is much violent action. The strength of the novel is the savory rendition of the Los Angeles environment. A good choice for older readers who appreciate a story's backdrop.

Do you like your crime thrillers action packed? Great Plot? Strong characters? Real sense of mystery and suspense? If so, this book is for you. This was my first adventure with Harry Bosch, and I'll definitely be back for another adventure--justr have to decide which one. Unlike many other crime thrillers out there in the bookstore this one is well worth your time and attention. So buy it, and sit back and relax with this one; you'll be glad you did.

The unsolved murder of Marie Gesto has stayed with Harry Bosch since he first investigated the case in 1993. Now working in the Open-Unsolved Unit, Bosch routinely studies the case, looking for missed clues. When Bosch learns that a serial killer has confessed to the murder of Marie Gesto, he's thrown off balance. For years, Bosch has targeted another man for the murder. As validation, Bosch is required to take the killer's confession, then accompany him and other law enforcement officials to the site where Marie's body is buried. During that foray, the killer manages to escape, killing two officers in the process. While tracking the killer, Bosch once more studies the murder book for Marie Gesto, along with other victims the serial killer claims to have murdered, and begins to suspect that this killer is the wrong guy for Marie's brutal death.

Reading this series guaranties plenty of suspense, a twisting mystery, and a plethora of good guys and bad guys. Bosch is an interesting character, a man hardened by his work whose spontaneous acts tend to get him in trouble, but who doesn't try to rein himself in and is not above bending the law to suit his needs. A good read.

The writing is flawless. The only reason I am giving it a 4-star is because I couldn't care much about the main character. Marie Gesto's murder is nothing like Lacy Peterson, or JonBenet, or Polly Klass. Cold Eyes

I don't have to tell you Harry Bosch is one of the best protagonists crime fiction has. Echo Park is another example of Connolly's tight, economical prose that never rushes, but always engrosses. A routine traffic stop catches a man with body parts from an old murder in his front seat, seemingly an open-and-shut case. But nothing's simple in a Bosch story. Soon crooked cops, crooked lawyers and crooked politicians are swirling around this case like sharks after chum. The fun comes in watching Bosch work his way through the mess. It made me think of another thriller from a writer with a journalism/non-fiction background: The Castro Gene by Todd Buchholz. Neither one disappoints.

Echo Park isn't the best book Michael Connelly ever wrote (try The Poet or Blood Work) but it isn't the worst either. And a middling Connelly is better than the best of many others. This is middling, but still quite interesting. Connelly likes to take us back and forth in time but this one only goes back to 1993 in the form of a missing persons case. By placing Hieronymus Bosch (Harry) in Open-Unsolved Unit, Connelly has given him a second chance on some of his previous unsolved cases and this is one. And, of course, it haunts Bosch and gives him a chance to second-guess himself and his former partner. There are two things I truly like about this book and, oddly, neither is the actual story. The first is the very clever use of the heavily wooded and undeveloped area at the top of Beachwood Canyon where the famed Hollywood sign sits and where there really is a stable. And there truly is a Streamline Moderne apartment complex behind the Hollywood Bowl called the High Towers and Connelly describes it perfectly and uses it beautifully. Connelly's attention to detail makes him that much more believable as a storyteller. I appreciate this book's authentic feel and only wish that I hadn't tired a bit of the storyline before the end.

Poor Harry Bosch, he can't even buy a break! Good book though, unless you don't have a pulse you should enjoy it a lot. Give it a whirl...

This book was well read. I like all the Connelly audiobooks. But this one was exeptional.

This has plenty of action and red herrings to keep you intrigued from beginning to end. Harry Bosch is his usual obsessive self, worrying over an unsolved case from years earlier as he tries to weave some moldering strands of evidence into a nice, tight net. As he sets out on what appears to be a straight line toward the villain of the piece, the road suddenly takes a turn, and then another, so that the readers' interest never flags.

Thirteen years after the disappearance of Marie Gesto the case is still haunting Harry Bosch. Then one day he gets a call that a serial killer known as The Bag Man wants to confess the murder of Marie. The murderer knows all the right details, can even lead them to the body, but Harry is still not convinced that Raynard Waits is the killer. The complicating factor is the assistant DA in charge: Rick O'Shea is running for DA and can certainly use a lot of positive media attention. Harry suspects that O'Shea has made a deal with Waits' attorney and the matter gets even more complicated when Waits escapes, leaving 2 officers dead and one wounded. Together with an old profiling friend from the FBI, Rachel Walling, Bosch tries to find the true identity of Waits and his whereabouts. Eventually he finds the guy in his foxhole, but the conspiracy is completely different from what Bosch originally envisaged.

A true page turner. I read the nearly 400 pages in less than 24 hours: before getting up, during my lunch break and any other moment I could find. However, the end of the book provides information on Harry Bosch which is not only unexpected but also not what you want to know about the (anti-)hero of the Bosch series. This left a bit of a bitter aftertaste.

Albeit the book's end is the typical fairy tale when the bad guy ends bad the book is a good thriller. As many Bosch's novels you'll never know who is the bad guy until the very end of the book. And that makes the book thrilling. There are some "mistakes" in the book but at the end of it you'll see that they weren't "mistakes" they were part of the scam.

Michael Connelly may well be the equal of James Lee Burke and that means the best of the best.

His Harry Bosch books have become a must read series for the last decade and Connelly seems to be getting better as times goes on. This time he not only has a case to solve in the book but in the second last chapter, there is a really interesting moral question about Harry posed (can't really elaborate as it would be a spoiler).

"Echo Park" by Michael Connelly, Little, Brown and company, New York, 2006.

I was borrowing a book on Michael Collins, the Irish patriot, when the Librarian called my attention to the latest novel by Michael Connelly. Their names were alike in their Irishness. So, I borrowed the book, "Echo Park", and I so enjoyed the novel that I thought it worthwhile to become the 129th Amazon reviewer.

Michael Connelly's writing is excellent, moving smoothly and quickly along, so that the novel was a joy to read. His knowledge of police procedure is evident in this novel, and it makes you wonder if he writes for television shows such as "Law And Order". But then, you attempt to figure out the plot as you read along the pages; how can the author use the Serial Killer, who has already been captured? The obvious contempt for the "pretty boy" politician points to a deal with the Serial Killer for possible positive publicity, but there has to be more than that. I expected H. Bosch's past and present girl friend, FBI agent Rachel Walling, to be put in harm's way and to be captured by the killer, but the plot twists another way. The plot twists really make this novel interesting reading and hard to put down.

I was happy that this novel was recommended to me and I am happy to be the latest reviewer to assign five stars to the book.