Nine Dragons

Every once in awhile, I get the feeling Michael Connelly has a decent idea for a book, sketches it out, and hands it off to either his lazier alter-ego or a creative writing grad student to flesh out into a book. This is definitely one of those.

Without going into detail or ruining the experience for someone, like me, who has read pretty much everything the guy has written and will continue to do so, there are way too many examples of sloppy police work, bad assumptions, terrible dialogue.... I could go on. All the elements that normally make him such an interesting author are missing!

I'll chalk this one up as an aberration, albeit one that's becoming a little more common for him.

The one difficult thing about reading these after the Bosch streaming series already aired is that there are occasional spoilers, like minefields waiting for you. The film version killed off one of my favorite characters, Eleanor Wish, and I'd hoped she survived in the written version - Alas. Connelly kills her off here. In some ways, he'd written himself into a corner - Eleanor was never going to allow Harry to be a primary parent for Maddie but Harry as a parent is really interesting on the page. So, bump off Eleanor. The way she's killed is quite interesting, featuring Harry abroad in Hong Kong and circling the bad guys like a blood-thirsty shark. And there's a twist where Maddie ends up bearing some responsibility for her mother's show more death. Connelly strikes just the right balance, with Harry flirting with the ethical lines and breaking rules that don't often get broken.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended!!!!! show less

This fourteenth novel in Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series brings about some huge changes in the life of the titular detective, some of them quite momentous, and also sees him take his investigations outside of the usual hunting grounds in the city of Los Angeles, because part of the action in Nine Dragons happens in Hong Kong - the “Chinese Connection” being indeed the leading force in this story.

The novel starts with a somewhat bored Harry Bosch waiting for some intriguing case he can sink his proverbial teeth into, and at first fates seem to have heard his wish because what looks like the run-of-the-mill robbery/murder of a liquor store owner soon shows important connections with the triads, the powerful Chinese criminal show more syndicate. As he searches for clues to solve the case, he’s in contact with his daughter Madeline - now a teenager and living in Hong Kong with her mother - who managed to move stubbornly analog Bosch into the digital age and the joys of video communication and email. Soon after he asked her some innocent information about Chinese characters that turned out in the course of the investigation, Bosch receives first a warning about not delving too deeply into it, and then a video in which a bound and gagged Maddie has been abducted by elements of the triads and is being used as leverage against her father.

Driven in equal parts by fear and rage, Bosch flies to Hong Kong to find his daughter, this time putting all his unstoppable drive into a very personal, anguished quest which will bring unexpected allies and equally unexpected losses as his search for justice cuts far too close to home…

Throughout the book series, so far, Bosch has been depicted as an uncompromising individual who stops at nothing to obtain justice for the victims, someone who puts the needs of his chosen work before any other consideration - even personal ones. There are several passages in 9 Dragons in which he’s disdainful toward his working partner’s less-than-total dedication to the job, since Detective Ferras is a family man with young children and he requires personal time to see to their needs, which is more than understandable - but not for Bosch. Harry is a father, and a very devoted one, but not a full-time one, and he does not seem to understand the kind of commitment required by parenthood, so when Maddie is abducted it’s easy to see some form of poetic justice in the situation, one that he might have unconsciously anticipated

He would be forever connected to the world in the way only a father would. But he would also be lost because he knew the dark forces he faced would one day find her

but still not completely realized. So, when the worst case scenario suddenly materialized, we can see how totally Harry Bosch unravels and launches in search of his missing daughter with no thoughts for consequences - and some of them will be tragic indeed…

9 Dragons is a very engrossing novel carried by an unrelenting pace, with the added bonus of being set in a different background from the usual seedier corners of L.A.: the Hong Kong in this book is a living, breathing city with its own lights and shadows and it’s interesting to see how Bosch reacts to these uncharted territories whose rules he’s not familiar with and where unknown dangers come from the most unexpected places.

My favorite side of this story comes from the relationship between Bosch and his daughter: as I mentioned often, I became familiar with this character through the TV series inspired by Connelly’s books - in there Maddie is already a teenager, and the interactions between her and her father are among the highlights of the episodes, so seeing the first examples of that relationship here was a welcome addition. This novel also brings a pivotal change in Bosch’s life because at the end he finds himself in the role of a full-time father, so it will be interesting to see how this change will affect him both as a person and as a dedicated detective: where Bosch was able to dismiss previous emotional attachments if they interfered with his work, or his work ethics, now he can’t enjoy that luxury anymore. That’s why I spoke of poetic justice before: it would seem that fates finally got tired of his hubris and decided to give him a taste of the “medicine” he visited on others.

Once again Michael Connelly puts his character through life-changing experiences, which helps maintaining it fresh and compelling, and this new twist in the detective’s lifestyle promises to be one that will require him to perform some mental adjustments and some professional transitions as well: I can’t wait to see how the new responsibilities of fatherhood will affect his work ethics and how his relationship with his teenaged daughter will transform his personal and professional life. One thing is certain: this series continues to be delightfully unpredictable and completely intriguing, so my expectations for future installments remain quite high. show less

Connelly seems to be eschewing the more procedural plot lines of his earlier work for thriller-based plots that I don't believe match his temperament. In Nine Dragons, Connelly exhibits the same voice that has enthralled readers of his work for years, and he shows a Harry Bosch who has lost none of the toughness and grit that have inhabited the best of the Bosch books. But here Bosch is thrust into situations that are unbelievable and demand too much coincidence for even the most dedicated reader of Connelly's works. Still, like a bad day at golf being better than a good day at the office, Nine Dragons is worth the read, even if it leaves the reader with a little bitter aftertaste.

Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South LA neighborhood, a store Detective Harry Bosch has known for years. Bosch still carries in his pocket a matchbook he picked up there on a case years ago. Its motto - Happy is the man who finds refuge in himself - has been a guiding light through some of his darkest days. The murder of John Li, the store's owner, hits Harry hard, and he promises Li's family that he'll find the killer. The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He brings in a detective from the Asian Gang Unit for help with translation - not just of languages but also of the cultural norms and expectations that guided Mr. Li's life. He uncovers a link to a Hong Kong triad, a lethal and far-reaching crime ring show more that follows many immigrants to their new lives in the United States. And instantly his world explodes. The one good thing in Bosch's life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him, and Harry travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he's lost. In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city's Hungry Ghosts festival burns around him. Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate attempt to outmatch the triad's ferocity. show less

My suspension of disbelief is hanging on by a thin thread. The Bosch books are so much fun to read, and I love sitting on my porch with one of them. But the way that Connelly ties up the case beggars belief. Sometimes the coincidences are a bit much. Also, I wanted to punch Bosch for being a douchebag several times during this one. He was like Harry Potter in Order Of The Phoenix. And Bosch is in his 60s. Time for dude to calm down.

Next book is a Mickey Haller. I have to say that Connelly is a good writer of characters. I like Mickey Haller very much. Love his speech patterns, his thoughts and his dedication to the rule of law. He has a wicked sense of humor! And with that, he's like the anti-Bosch!

Off to read on the comfy chair. This show more is going to be my summer of books. :) show less

Another disappointing Bosch novel.

To me Connelly is running out of ideas or at least is stuck in "formula" mode when writing about Bosch. He is becoming like Lee Child in his writing with Bosch killing a lot of people or getting killed for being with him. He blusters around like a bull in a china shop and does not listen to any advice....HE KNOWS BETTER... and when he is stuck, an obscure clue will make sense to him and off he goes. The premise of this book was troubling for me.... he is intimately involved with a Hong Kong Triad with tentacles all over the world.... he kills a major member in Hong Kong while rescuing his daughter, creates mayhem in LA by accusing a member of the same Triad in LA falsely of murder but he feels safe in show more LA..... Really??? The Triad will forgive and forget??? I doubt that... in reality he would have to watch his back and his daughter for a long long time... I have a feeling that they would want revenge.... Such a naive story !!!

This is the second book in a row ("Overlook" was the last one I read) that I have been disappointed in.... nothing really new, no build of character... a fast but boring read...so predictable... even the twists at the end were just to tie up loose ends... nothing more.

I doubt I will read another Bosch book... maybe a Mickey Haller series if another comes out. I am tired of LAPD corruption or the ineptitude of the FBI... it is like Connelly has no good stories of ordinary criminals left in him for Bosch. show less