The Last Coyote (1995)

I give the first 3/4 of the book 5 stars but I felt the last 1/4 and the ending were fairly weak hence the 4 stars. It was still a great read though. ( )

Well thought out plot, kept you guessing til the end. ( )

Once again, Michael Connelly delivers. This one, he takes right down to the end with twist upon twist. The thread takes the lead character, Harry Bosch, all to the way back to his pre-teen years, and provides more insight into his motivations. Bosch reminds me of Dashiell Hammett and Dirty Harry at various times during the book, and his outbursts are sometimes surprising. Listened to audiobook for the last few chapters on a long boring 22-hour flight, and the book was certainly the highlight of the trip. This is a book, perhaps, best consumed in one long read/listen. ( )

One of my favorites of the Harry Bosch series so far. NOT about a serial killer, a lot of introspection, and a great picture of Los Angeles after the earthquake. Surprises keep coming right up until the end. Highly recommended. (I've read or listened to several of the series out of order so I'm going back and reading the ones I've missed. This is the fourth in the series.) ( )

Really it's a 3.5, though not quite high enough to warrant 4 stars. This book has some great twists and turns, which is something I've discovered Michael Connelly does very well in his books. You think you've got it all figured out, then there is a twist to the story and it turns down a path you never expected, the sign of a good crime novel writer.

This book explores some of Bosch's past in that the case involves the death of his mother, but also explores some of who Bosch is as a person. It's a book that devotes a lot of time to developing the character and person that is Harry Bosch. Some of it I felt was quite philosophical at times, but it helps build the reader's understanding of this character and gives him more depth. It's slow going at times, I found not quite the normal page-turner, till it gets to the end, when there is lots of action and the story really comes to life. To be honest there are things about his personality that I don't particularly care for, but he is a truly flawed hero and I still like him very much. I hate those books about characters that never seem to do anything wrong or have no character flaws - they're just too perfect and too unreal, that is not who Harry Bosch is, and I like him because of it. ( )