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The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch) by Michael…
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The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch) (original 1994; edition 2007)

by Michael Connelly

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4,1871152,811 (3.92)1 / 138
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Detective Harry Bosch was sure he'd shot the serial killer responsible for a string of murders in LA . . . but now, a new crime makes him question his convictions.
The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his female victims. Now with a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.
But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong manâ?? an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.
So for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to goâ?? the darkness of his own heart.
With The Concrete Blonde, Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has hit a whole new level in his career, creating a breathtaking thriller that thrusts you into a blistering courtroom battleâ?? and a desperate search for a sadisti
… (more)
Member:wscott2
Title:The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch)
Authors:Michael Connelly
Info:Grand Central Publishing (2007), Mass Market Paperback, 512 pages
Collections:Your library
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The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly (1994)

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» See also 138 mentions

English (107)  Spanish (2)  Dutch (2)  Swedish (1)  Italian (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (114)
Showing 1-5 of 107 (next | show all)
»“I didn’t know, Sylvia,” he said. “I hoped.”«

I didn’t know either but had hoped for a good Bosch novel and got even more than I expected.

In Michael Connelly’s “The Concrete Blonde” we’re revisiting Harry’s “white whale” case, which is, of course, “The Dollmaker”’s. Harry shot that guy in self-defence four years ago but it left an ugly stain on his already rather grey vest. Harry was de facto demoted and at the time of the “Concrete Blonde” he’s being sued over that shooting when another body is found that has all the marks of a Dollmaker victim


What ensues from this point on is part courtroom drama but, to a much larger extent, a very suspenseful, exciting and smart police procedural which managed to fool me at every turn. As always, Harry investigates this at high stakes and takes great risk and, thus, we sometimes cross over into the realm of thrillers which is a very welcome aspect here.

As implied by the opening quote (which is the final sentence of the novel), we get to know Bosch a lot better yet: His budding relationship with Sylvia from the last novel goes to full bloom here - and keeps evolving. It’s unusual to read this much personal information in a non-”cosy” police procedural but it’s just one more way in which this novel works brilliantly: By not only showing Harry’s professional rough cop side but also his convictions and ethical values, he becomes much more of a believable, sensitive person.

»The anchor christened the killer the Dollmaker. After that, the killer was called that by everybody, even the cops.
But Bosch always hated that name. It said something about the victims as well as the killer. It depersonalized them, made it easier for the Dollmaker stories that were broadcast to be entertaining instead of horrifying.«

Harry even knows his Nietzsche and sees and recognises the danger he’s in of becoming as bad - or worse - than the people he’s hunting.

»‘Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And when you look into the abyss, the abyss also looks into you
.’«

That Harry is aware of this danger, though, as well as his “moral compass” prevent him from becoming a monster.

»Bosch drove over to Central Division and found an open parking space at the front curb. For a while, he sat in his car looking at two trustees from the lockup washing the painted enamel mural that stretched along the front wall of the bunkerlike station. It was a depiction of a nirvana where black and white and brown children played together and smiled at friendly police officers. It was a depiction of a place where the children still had hope. In angry black spray paint along the bottom of the mural someone had written, “This is a damnable lie!”
Bosch wondered whether someone from the neighborhood or a cop had done it.«

Everyone keeps growing in this one - even Irving, now promoted, comes around and grows a personality beyond just gnashing his teeth to cow his detectives. He even starts respecting Bosch both as a cop and a human being. Shockingly, Irving even has a sense of humour


»“Somebody put a cigarette butt in my pot,” he said. “That yours, Harry?”«

Some fresh blood, Hans “Hans Off” Rollenberger, is also around and Honey “Money” Chandler makes an appearance as one of Bosch’s adversary’s (albeit cut short by an event I wasn’t prepared for after seeing the TV show
).

Ultimately, I very much enjoyed this novel and will undoubtedly read on in this series.

Five out of five stars.

»Bosch drove over to Central Division and found an open parking space at the front curb. For a while, he sat in his car looking at two trustees from the lockup washing the painted enamel mural that stretched along the front wall of the bunkerlike station. It was a depiction of a nirvana where black and white and brown children played together and smiled at friendly police officers. It was a depiction of a place where the children still had hope. In angry black spray paint along the bottom of the mural someone had written, “This is a damnable lie!”
Bosch wondered whether someone from the neighborhood or a cop had done it.«

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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam ( )
  philantrop | Oct 14, 2023 |
Bosch kills a supposed serial killer. 4 years later another victim is found in the same manner. Did he kill the wrong man? Is there a copycat?

( )
  MarigoldJackiFitz | Jul 6, 2023 |
Much much better than the previous book in the series.
This involves a wrongful death lawsuit against Bosch for killing aa serial killer and similar murders appearing during the trial just like those committed by the now dead serial killer. This was an excellent book. ( )
  zmagic69 | Mar 31, 2023 |
Again, although a majority of the characters in this book were in the Prime series, it is by no means the same. The storyline is complex and engrossing.

This storyline was amazing. Just when I thought I knew who the killer was all of a sudden, there's another person it could be. Totally engrossing.

In this third installment of the Harry Bosch series, Michael Connelly finally introduces Honey (Money) Chandler into his cast of characters. She is the legal representative of the widow of the man Harry killed before the first book started. That serial killer was known by the moniker The Dollmaker.

We get more background on Harry's growing up who is father is his mother. Harry Bosch is fleshed out as a main character. We see that a relationship he had just started at the end of book two - The Black Ice - is now a full blown relationship. As with other books, the sex is either alluded to, implied or off the page.

I cannot say enough about this storyline. I kept guessing and kept guessing and about the time I thought I had it figured out I was completely wrong. The conclusion was definitely unexpected, and for those of us who watched the series before reading the books it was both heartbreaking and astonishing.

RECOMMEND?
I do recommend reading the Bosch books if you loved the Prime series and even if you didn't. The intricacies and different threads have to be followed to unravel the mystery that is expertly tangled and then followed.


Disclaimer
I received via the OverDrive/Libby app from the Harris County Library system. It was read as a Libby epub.

This review appeared on my website. ( )
  Deena-Rae | Mar 28, 2023 |
Great read - Bosch is a character you feel like you know and care about - Connelly does it seemingly with little effort. This story has a few twists and turns which make it interesting as well, even with the courtroom scenes, which I typically do not care for. ( )
  rjdycus | Dec 19, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 107 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (5 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Connelly, Michaelprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Esch, JeanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hill, DickReadersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Montanari, GianniTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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The house in Silverlake was dark, its windows as empty as a dead man's eyes.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML:Detective Harry Bosch was sure he'd shot the serial killer responsible for a string of murders in LA . . . but now, a new crime makes him question his convictions.
The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his female victims. Now with a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.
But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong manâ?? an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.
So for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to goâ?? the darkness of his own heart.
With The Concrete Blonde, Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has hit a whole new level in his career, creating a breathtaking thriller that thrusts you into a blistering courtroom battleâ?? and a desperate search for a sadisti

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The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his victims. Now with a single faultless shot, Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.

But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man - an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.

So, for a second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go - the darkness of his own heart.
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Hachette Book Group

3 editions of this book were published by Hachette Book Group.

Editions: 044661758X, 0316153834, 0316120413

 

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