The Black Echo (1992)

This book, written to be contemporary when it was first published, has the feel of film noir, reading this two decades later. Connelly inveigles the reader with his atmospheric treatment of a dark and convoluted tale. The opening tableau, a prolonged and very detailed introduction to the main character, Harry Bosch, working a crime scene, is pure fish bait; once you bite, you're hooked for the rest of the story. [b:The Black Echo|32508|The Black Echo (Harry Bosch, #1)|Michael Connelly|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168391420s/32508.jpg|48262] is chock-full of plot twists and surprises, and yet the author is able to maintain the continuity and integrity of the characters and their motivations. It's almost where it's too much, but not quite. Quite a feat for a first effort. The narration was also performed pleasingly though at first I thought the lead character was a man in his fifties or sixties because of the slight rasp in the narrator's voice. Similarly, I first thought the female lead character was much older. But after a couple of hours, I got used to the voices and settled down to enjoying the tale-telling. Overall, an engaging read. Am jumping right onto the next one in the series, so it seems I am still wanting for more. ( )

I was remarkably ambivalent about "Black Echo." I neither liked it nor disliked it, but it would be harder to convince me to like it than not. Police procedurals have gotten formulaic (cf Martin Beck, John McClane, Inspector Rebus) with stock characters and plot devices. Protags tend to have a traumatic event in their past, dysfunctional domestic lives, a method of doing things outside of departmental procedure, a degree of a Luddite mentality and, a way of snagging an attractive counterpart along the way. Plot devices include some organizational preparation, the hunch and, then the stroke of luck, which brings it all together. In a year, it may be hard for me to recall the specifics of this story outside of the Viet Nam references. ( )

Not bad for a 1st novel in a series. I like detective stories and will read more of the series. ( )

I continue with my little project of reading a mystery, by an author new to me, set in every state of the Union. California, as befits one of our larger and most populous states, has a huge number of mysteries set within its borders, and I've already read a lot of them, from nearly every region of the state. But, I'd never read any of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch stories. Partly this may have been because I had the mistaken impression that they were the basis for Clint Eastwood's "Dirty Harry." (A misconception that ranks right up there with my daughter's one-time confusion of Dr. Zhivago with Dr. Doolittle.) Well, all I can say is, What took me so long? I raced through THE BLACK ECHO (1992) and couldn't keep from picking up the next in the series when I went back to the library.

Harry Bosch is almost a cliche cop and knows it. Lives alone, unhealthy lifestyle, listens to jazz -- all the signifiers are there. THE BLACK ECHO starts out well into Harry's career with the LAPD. He's had two very important cases, both dealing with serial killers. One was the basis for a TV series, with his royalties allowing him to buy a cantilevered house on a hillside overlooking Universal Studios. The other almost got him fired, after he shot and killed the presumptive perpetrator. In the end he was investigated by Internal Affairs, suspended for a month, demoted and transferred from Robbery-Homicide to the homicide desk (or "table") at the Hollywood precinct, where his partner sells real estate on the side.

On call one May weekend, Harry is called to a site near the Hollywood reservoir where a junkie has apparently died of an overdose inside a large clay pipe. Everyone else wants to clear the case quickly, checking it off as "just another dead hype," but something doesn't seem right to Harry. Then he realizes that he knows the victim -- or did know him, twenty years before, in Vietnam. For both reasons, he insists on a quick autopsy and starts investigating. When he learns that his old army buddy -- they were both "tunnel rats" in Vietnam -- had been a person of interest in a daring bank robbery the previous fall, he steps into FBI territory. Joining forces with an attractive FBI agent, he continues investigating, hampered at every turn by two Internal Affairs officers who continue to tail him (their incompetence occasionally provides some comic relief). The plot twists and turns, with Harry not knowing whom to trust, until a shocking and thrilling conclusion.

Although it's certainly a police procedural, this book has aspects of the Robert Ludlum-style thriller (just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you), and also a definite noir sensibilitiy. For some reason I associate both styles with Southern California. As far as setting goes, (one of the main reasons I started this project)Connelly certainly makes us feel the truth of Hal David's lyric, "LA is a great big freeway." There's a huge amount of driving in THE BLACK ECHO, and most of it is on freeways. The real estate boom and the Santa Ana winds anchor the book in time as well as place. Although I've visited Los Angeles, I wasn't really aware of the cantilevered houses such as Bosch lives in, so I did learn a little something new about the area.

Characterization was good, with several characters who I expect to recur (such as Bosch's supervisors) showing unexpected nuances late in the story. I look forward to the many Harry Bosch books I haven't read yet. ( )

Pretty good start to the series. ( )