What do you think?
Rate this book
Harry Bosch #16
The Black Box
In a case that spans 20 years, Harry Bosch links the bullet from a recent crime to a file from 1992, the killing of a young female photographer during the L.A. riots. Harry originally investigated the murder, but it was then handed off to the Riot Crimes Task Force and never solved.
Now Bosch's ballistics match indicates that her death was not random violence, but something more personal, and connected to a deeper intrigue.
Now Bosch's ballistics match indicates that her death was not random violence, but something more personal, and connected to a deeper intrigue.
Like an investigator combing through the wreckage after a plane crash, Bosch searches for the "black box," the one piece of evidence that will pull the case together.
403 pages, Hardcover
First published November 26, 2012
5189 people are currently reading
12742 people want to read
About the author
Michael Connelly
379 books34.1k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.
After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.
After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with over 30 more novels.
Over eighty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into forty-five foreign languages. He has won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain) .
Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael is one of the producers and writers of the TV show, “Bosch,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Michael lives with his family in Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida.
Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.
After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.
After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with over 30 more novels.
Over eighty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into forty-five foreign languages. He has won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain) .
Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael is one of the producers and writers of the TV show, “Bosch,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Michael lives with his family in Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,803 reviews
December 4, 2013
Oh, Harry.
Many people when they age take up hobbies.
It would appear that Michael Connelly has taken up the hobby of Harry Bosch Book By Numbers writing. Because it's all here, in on handy volume
1. Gritty LA Death
2. Gruff Harry pursues the Case Nobody Believes In.
3. "You are a Crime Tourist" view of the exotic world of law enforcement. Learn about on site prison interrogations, handy cop slang like "put a bow on it" and new tech like raising serial numbers off firearms.
4. Mention of Harry's great house in the Canyon.
5. Jazz 101
6. LA Restaurant name-dropping
7. Harry's Rocky Relations With Women
8. Cameos from leads in other Connelly series.
9. Title of a recommended book, album or film slid in for handy cross-promotion.
10. Out-of-the-way LA Hangouts mentioned.
11. Harry butting heads with an outsider partner. Now that blacks (Jerry Edgar) women (Kizmin Ryder) and homosexuals (Kizmin Ryder) are more accepted and common, Asian-American David Chu is the latest flavour of Exotic Cop.
12. Harry Vs. The Man.
13. Twist ending with a character from earlier suddenly becoming VERY relevant.
---
I've read every Harry Bosch title except 9 Dragons and The Drop, so I know how they work. And I obviously enjoy them enough to keep buying them. But this time more than any other it just feels...like a shadow of a good Harry Bosch read. Everything is there but it's all flat, colourless, perfunctory, void. Connelly is pushing Harry through the motions.
I
Many people when they age take up hobbies.
It would appear that Michael Connelly has taken up the hobby of Harry Bosch Book By Numbers writing. Because it's all here, in on handy volume
1. Gritty LA Death
2. Gruff Harry pursues the Case Nobody Believes In.
3. "You are a Crime Tourist" view of the exotic world of law enforcement. Learn about on site prison interrogations, handy cop slang like "put a bow on it" and new tech like raising serial numbers off firearms.
4. Mention of Harry's great house in the Canyon.
5. Jazz 101
6. LA Restaurant name-dropping
7. Harry's Rocky Relations With Women
8. Cameos from leads in other Connelly series.
9. Title of a recommended book, album or film slid in for handy cross-promotion.
10. Out-of-the-way LA Hangouts mentioned.
11. Harry butting heads with an outsider partner. Now that blacks (Jerry Edgar) women (Kizmin Ryder) and homosexuals (Kizmin Ryder) are more accepted and common, Asian-American David Chu is the latest flavour of Exotic Cop.
12. Harry Vs. The Man.
13. Twist ending with a character from earlier suddenly becoming VERY relevant.
---
I've read every Harry Bosch title except 9 Dragons and The Drop, so I know how they work. And I obviously enjoy them enough to keep buying them. But this time more than any other it just feels...like a shadow of a good Harry Bosch read. Everything is there but it's all flat, colourless, perfunctory, void. Connelly is pushing Harry through the motions.
I
August 14, 2019
During the course of the L.A. riots in 1992, Harry Bosch, then a young detective, was the first investigator on the scene of the murder of Anneke Jespersen. Jespersen, an attractive photo-journalist from Denmark, was found executed in a dark ally in the middle of the riot zone by national guardsmen who were attempting to provide crowd control. But at the height of the rioting, Harry had no opportunity to do anything more than make a cursory examination of the scene before he was ordered away to another homicide. In the wake of the riots, the Jespersen killing was assigned to a special task force and the case was never solved.
This is one of those cases that has always haunted Harry and now, twenty years later, the same gun that killed the young journalist is used in another murder. Bosch, who is now assigned to the department's Open-and-Unsolved Unit, jumps at the chance to reopen the Jespersen case and finally provide a very belated justice for the victim.
It will not be easy. The chain of evidence is almost hopelessly murky and would frustrate any detective less tenacious than Bosch. In addition to confronting an almost impossible case, Harry is also soon up against department bureaucrats who are interested only in posting statistics that make them look good, who do not share Harry's sense of the Mission of a homicide detective, and who for their own nefarious reasons, would rather this particular case not be solved.
Bosh will not be deterred. He makes an end run around his supervisors and doggedly pursues the case as he believes he should. He's desperately searching for the "Black Box," which will provide the solution to the case, but in the end, the term will become much more than a metaphor as Harry uncovers a particularly dark and disturbing series of crimes.
As he investigates the case, Harry continues to grapple with the complex challenges involved in raising a teenage daughter by himself. He also has a new woman in his life and this relationship is difficult as well, but watching him juggle all of these responsibilities is a treat, as always. All in all, this is an excellent entry in one of the best crime series in the history of the genre. Twenty-five years after first introducing Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly just continues to keep getting better and better.
This is one of those cases that has always haunted Harry and now, twenty years later, the same gun that killed the young journalist is used in another murder. Bosch, who is now assigned to the department's Open-and-Unsolved Unit, jumps at the chance to reopen the Jespersen case and finally provide a very belated justice for the victim.
It will not be easy. The chain of evidence is almost hopelessly murky and would frustrate any detective less tenacious than Bosch. In addition to confronting an almost impossible case, Harry is also soon up against department bureaucrats who are interested only in posting statistics that make them look good, who do not share Harry's sense of the Mission of a homicide detective, and who for their own nefarious reasons, would rather this particular case not be solved.
Bosh will not be deterred. He makes an end run around his supervisors and doggedly pursues the case as he believes he should. He's desperately searching for the "Black Box," which will provide the solution to the case, but in the end, the term will become much more than a metaphor as Harry uncovers a particularly dark and disturbing series of crimes.
As he investigates the case, Harry continues to grapple with the complex challenges involved in raising a teenage daughter by himself. He also has a new woman in his life and this relationship is difficult as well, but watching him juggle all of these responsibilities is a treat, as always. All in all, this is an excellent entry in one of the best crime series in the history of the genre. Twenty-five years after first introducing Harry Bosch, Michael Connelly just continues to keep getting better and better.
August 28, 2020
Book 16 and Harry is still his same outrageous self. His character makes for good reading and good policing, but I always think he is not a person you would want for a partner or a friend. There is not much caring and sharing in his personality.
However he is certainly good at solving crimes and in this book he is tackling a twenty year old cold case. Along the way he finally discovers that he treats his partner at work very badly and makes a tiny effort to do something about it. He also challenges his boss and makes an enemy of him which has repercussions on his own job. And of course he solves his case.
It all makes for excellent reading and I still have a good number of books still to read!
However he is certainly good at solving crimes and in this book he is tackling a twenty year old cold case. Along the way he finally discovers that he treats his partner at work very badly and makes a tiny effort to do something about it. He also challenges his boss and makes an enemy of him which has repercussions on his own job. And of course he solves his case.
It all makes for excellent reading and I still have a good number of books still to read!
September 22, 2017
Excellent story, but dislike the audiobook narrator.
I had one negative with the story, a question not answered at the end:
On the second to last page Connelly wrote “She would not tell Bosch why she …” did something. That bothered me. It was important.
The positive:
One of the things he does so well is: When Harry first starts a case, I’m thinking how can he possibly solve this? How will he find anything? What can he do? Then he finds one small piece of something and follows it. He gathers a couple more odd pieces of information and I’m still thinking how could he possibly ever solve this? Even later in the book, I’m still thinking that. Yes this is a mystery slowly uncovering evidence. But Connelly does it in a special way which is not predictable and keeps me wondering. That’s a neat talent. I was immersed all the way through. I didn’t want to stop reading. At the end the mystery was solved, but I wanted to see what Harry would do next. I wanted to continue reading about Harry’s life which I guess is the next book - next year. So, it was done before I was ready to be done. But I suppose that’s good.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR COMPLAINT:
The narrator Michael McConnohie was not good. He sounded like a TV news anchorman reading the news. He did not show wonder, curiosity or excitement. He made Harry Bosch sound like a normal, pleasant, everyday kind of guy instead of tough, jaded, homicide detective. Author: please go back to Len Cariou or Dick Hill or find someone like Will Patton who is fabulous.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 403 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words, but not often used. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1992 and 2012 California. Copyright: 2012. Genre: crime mystery with a little suspense.
OTHER BOOKS - FOUR SERIES (Bosch, McEvoy, McCaleb, Haller):
I recommend reading the Harry Bosch books in order, but it would be ok to try “The Last Coyote” or “Lost Light” first, just to see if you like the style. Then go back and read the rest in order. Following is my recommended reading order. I’ve included four series within this list because there is a date flow and the characters interact. All of these books could be read as stand-alones, but reading them in order provides richer character development.
3 stars. The Black Echo (Bosch #1)
3 stars. The Black Ice (Bosch #2)
4 stars. The Concrete Blonde (Bosch #3)
5 stars. The Last Coyote (Bosch #4)
5 stars. Trunk Music (Bosch #5)
4 stars. Angels Flight (Bosch #6)
4 ½ stars. Blood Work (McCaleb #1) Bosch is not in this.
3 ½ stars. A Darkness More Than Night (McCaleb #2) (Bosch #7) McCaleb is the primary investigator, but he interacts with Bosch.
3 ½ stars. City Of Bones (Bosch #8)
5 stars. Lost Light (Bosch #9)
5 stars. The Poet (McEvoy #1) Bosch is not in this. Read this any time before “The Narrows.”
4 stars. The Narrows (McEvoy #2 sequel to The Poet) (Bosch #10) Bosch is the main investigator.
4 ½ stars. The Scarecrow (McEvoy #3)
3 stars. The Closers (Bosch #11)
5 stars. Echo Park (Bosch #12)
5 stars. The Overlook (short, half-length) (Bosch #13)
4 ½ stars. The Lincoln Lawyer (Haller #1) Bosch is not in this.
4 stars. The Brass Verdict (Haller #2) (Bosch #14) Bosch has a small part in this.
4 ½ stars. Nine Dragons. (Bosch #15) Haller has a small part in this.
3 stars. The Reversal. (Haller #3) (Bosch #16) Mostly Haller. Bosch has a secondary role.
3 stars. The Fifth Witness (Haller #4)
5 stars. The Drop (Bosch #17)
5 stars. The Black Box (Bosch #18)
5 stars. The Gods of Guilt (Haller #5)
3 ½ stars. The Burning Room (Bosch #19)
4 stars. The Crossing (Bosch #20)(Haller #6)
5 stars. The Wrong Side of Goodbye (Bosch #21)
5 stars. The Late Show (Renee Ballard #1)
BOOKS NOT IN ABOVE SERIES:
4 ½ stars. Void Moon
2 stars. Chasing the Dime
SHORT STORIES:
4 ½ stars. A Fine Mist of Blood (One Bosch short story in the anthology with 20 other authors “Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance”)
3 stars. Switchblade (28 page Bosch short story included in the Gods of Guilt ebook)
I had one negative with the story, a question not answered at the end:
On the second to last page Connelly wrote “She would not tell Bosch why she …” did something. That bothered me. It was important.
The positive:
One of the things he does so well is: When Harry first starts a case, I’m thinking how can he possibly solve this? How will he find anything? What can he do? Then he finds one small piece of something and follows it. He gathers a couple more odd pieces of information and I’m still thinking how could he possibly ever solve this? Even later in the book, I’m still thinking that. Yes this is a mystery slowly uncovering evidence. But Connelly does it in a special way which is not predictable and keeps me wondering. That’s a neat talent. I was immersed all the way through. I didn’t want to stop reading. At the end the mystery was solved, but I wanted to see what Harry would do next. I wanted to continue reading about Harry’s life which I guess is the next book - next year. So, it was done before I was ready to be done. But I suppose that’s good.
AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR COMPLAINT:
The narrator Michael McConnohie was not good. He sounded like a TV news anchorman reading the news. He did not show wonder, curiosity or excitement. He made Harry Bosch sound like a normal, pleasant, everyday kind of guy instead of tough, jaded, homicide detective. Author: please go back to Len Cariou or Dick Hill or find someone like Will Patton who is fabulous.
DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 403 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words, but not often used. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1992 and 2012 California. Copyright: 2012. Genre: crime mystery with a little suspense.
OTHER BOOKS - FOUR SERIES (Bosch, McEvoy, McCaleb, Haller):
I recommend reading the Harry Bosch books in order, but it would be ok to try “The Last Coyote” or “Lost Light” first, just to see if you like the style. Then go back and read the rest in order. Following is my recommended reading order. I’ve included four series within this list because there is a date flow and the characters interact. All of these books could be read as stand-alones, but reading them in order provides richer character development.
3 stars. The Black Echo (Bosch #1)
3 stars. The Black Ice (Bosch #2)
4 stars. The Concrete Blonde (Bosch #3)
5 stars. The Last Coyote (Bosch #4)
5 stars. Trunk Music (Bosch #5)
4 stars. Angels Flight (Bosch #6)
4 ½ stars. Blood Work (McCaleb #1) Bosch is not in this.
3 ½ stars. A Darkness More Than Night (McCaleb #2) (Bosch #7) McCaleb is the primary investigator, but he interacts with Bosch.
3 ½ stars. City Of Bones (Bosch #8)
5 stars. Lost Light (Bosch #9)
5 stars. The Poet (McEvoy #1) Bosch is not in this. Read this any time before “The Narrows.”
4 stars. The Narrows (McEvoy #2 sequel to The Poet) (Bosch #10) Bosch is the main investigator.
4 ½ stars. The Scarecrow (McEvoy #3)
3 stars. The Closers (Bosch #11)
5 stars. Echo Park (Bosch #12)
5 stars. The Overlook (short, half-length) (Bosch #13)
4 ½ stars. The Lincoln Lawyer (Haller #1) Bosch is not in this.
4 stars. The Brass Verdict (Haller #2) (Bosch #14) Bosch has a small part in this.
4 ½ stars. Nine Dragons. (Bosch #15) Haller has a small part in this.
3 stars. The Reversal. (Haller #3) (Bosch #16) Mostly Haller. Bosch has a secondary role.
3 stars. The Fifth Witness (Haller #4)
5 stars. The Drop (Bosch #17)
5 stars. The Black Box (Bosch #18)
5 stars. The Gods of Guilt (Haller #5)
3 ½ stars. The Burning Room (Bosch #19)
4 stars. The Crossing (Bosch #20)(Haller #6)
5 stars. The Wrong Side of Goodbye (Bosch #21)
5 stars. The Late Show (Renee Ballard #1)
BOOKS NOT IN ABOVE SERIES:
4 ½ stars. Void Moon
2 stars. Chasing the Dime
SHORT STORIES:
4 ½ stars. A Fine Mist of Blood (One Bosch short story in the anthology with 20 other authors “Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance”)
3 stars. Switchblade (28 page Bosch short story included in the Gods of Guilt ebook)
January 30, 2023
“His eyes moved from the photo of Anneke Jespersen to some of the others. The ones he had not yet spoken for.”
DATELINE Los Angeles 1992: In the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict, Los Angeles is a lawless war zone. The city is on fire and the police are overwhelmed. Bosch found Anneke Jespersen, a journalist from Denmark, in an alley. It was clear that she had been shot at close range in a planned killing, executed in a murder that obviously had nothing to do with the race riots that were raging all around them. But overwhelmed is overwhelmed and when Bosch was re-assigned that night, the murder investigation fell off the rails and went nowhere. Then Bosch, now an investigator in the Open-Unsolved Unit was re-assigned the same murder 20 years later as a cold case. And he was determined to speak for the murder victim that he had failed to speak for twenty years earlier.
THE BLACK BOX is a first rate police procedural with nothing of the suspense thriller or psychological thriller about it at all. No twists, no turns, no red herrings, no surprise endings … just a purely linear masterful cold case plot that puts Bosch, his somewhat out-of-the-box investigative methods, his character, his perennial squabbles with police administration and city politics, his faltering hit-and-miss love life, and his struggle as an often absentee father to a teenage daughter front and center.
An easy-reading thoroughly enjoyable mystery from first page to last. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
DATELINE Los Angeles 1992: In the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict, Los Angeles is a lawless war zone. The city is on fire and the police are overwhelmed. Bosch found Anneke Jespersen, a journalist from Denmark, in an alley. It was clear that she had been shot at close range in a planned killing, executed in a murder that obviously had nothing to do with the race riots that were raging all around them. But overwhelmed is overwhelmed and when Bosch was re-assigned that night, the murder investigation fell off the rails and went nowhere. Then Bosch, now an investigator in the Open-Unsolved Unit was re-assigned the same murder 20 years later as a cold case. And he was determined to speak for the murder victim that he had failed to speak for twenty years earlier.
THE BLACK BOX is a first rate police procedural with nothing of the suspense thriller or psychological thriller about it at all. No twists, no turns, no red herrings, no surprise endings … just a purely linear masterful cold case plot that puts Bosch, his somewhat out-of-the-box investigative methods, his character, his perennial squabbles with police administration and city politics, his faltering hit-and-miss love life, and his struggle as an often absentee father to a teenage daughter front and center.
An easy-reading thoroughly enjoyable mystery from first page to last. Definitely recommended.
Paul Weiss
January 3, 2015
Thumbs up, this is my first Harry Bosch book and will definitely start reading book 1. I'm a fan of Mickey Haller series and thought I give Bosch a try, glad I did.
Started out pretty slow but got really good towards the middle to end.
Looking forward to read #19!
Started out pretty slow but got really good towards the middle to end.
Looking forward to read #19!
December 12, 2017
Michael Connelly manages to write some of the most complex police procedurals out there. Once again, this one had me flummoxed how it was all going to turn out.
I listened to this book and I enjoyed the narrator. His voice is exactly how I hear Harry’s voice in my head.
I listened to this book and I enjoyed the narrator. His voice is exactly how I hear Harry’s voice in my head.
![Profile Image for Terence M - [Quot libros, quam breve tempus!].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1712357414i%2F6658001._UY200_CR4%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
July 3, 2025
4-Stars for Harry Bosch and The Black Box
I liked this re-listen a lot - the rating is unchanged.
I have several comments to add to my original review:
* I don't remember much of the the story line from my first hearing about eight years ago, but this episode seemed to wander all over the place. This was not a big deal for me and I do acknowledge that this 'cold case' story stretched over a twenty years period from Bosch's first involvement during the "LA Riots" in May 1992, to the 'present day' in 2012, but it did 'wander'.
* A new Lieutenant has been placed in charge of the Open-Unsolved Unit, so naturally there is friction between the 'LT' and Harry. The previous LT used to hide away in her office and had little or no involvement with her detectives, leaving Harry & Co a good deal of latitude to do what they do best. The new LT, of course, is the exact opposite and this seemed a bit 'too' contrived to me.
* The new LT, possibility at the behest of the Chief of Police, instigates a Professional Standards Bureau (the re-named Internal Affairs Department) "beef" against Harry for a minor breach of the rules.
* The investigating PSB detective, Nancy Mendenhall, questions Harry, who is confident of being exonerated, but Nancy's sudden and unexplained re-appearance later in the story is confusing and her involvement remains a mystery.
June 29, 2025 @ 41%: "As usual, I don't remember my original reading of this book, but I am enjoying Harry's battles with bureaucracy and his uncovering of the mystery so far. Narration by the unknown (to me) Michael McConnohie is good."
June 30, 2025 @ 89%: "Just 11% to go! - This is a fine Bosch thriller read by yet another narrator new to me, Michael McConnohie. He does a great job, even though I do not have any other books in my collection that are read by him."
July 02, 2025 @ 99%: 4-Stars review to come. I liked this re-listen a lot, but I won't be increasing the rating from my original hearing in 2017."
Added to my Re-listen to Harry Bosch Project - June 29, 2025.
October 18, 2017:
3.5 stars + 0.5 for excellent narration, = 4.0 stars out of 5.0
Audiobook - 10:29 hours - Narrator: Michael McConnohie
"The Black Box" is another great instalment in the Harry Bosch series. It may not be the best, it certainly isn't the worst (or least best) if there is one, but it is pretty much 'classic' Harry Bosch. Now in the 'Open-Unsolved' (Cold Case) Unit, Bosch is investigating a murder, with few given clues, which requires dogged determination in the face of bureaucratic obstruction and apathy.
Often I wonder how the better writers do it. How do they dream up the basic plot? How do they create the characters? How do they go about the process of writing an entertaining novel? How do they do it successfully, book after book, in a series like Harry Bosch, Dave Robicheaux, John Rebus?
I am definitely not a writer and have never aspired to be and I remain in awe of the likes of Michael Connelly who writes books I want to read and does it well, year after year.
I liked this re-listen a lot - the rating is unchanged.
I have several comments to add to my original review:
* I don't remember much of the the story line from my first hearing about eight years ago, but this episode seemed to wander all over the place. This was not a big deal for me and I do acknowledge that this 'cold case' story stretched over a twenty years period from Bosch's first involvement during the "LA Riots" in May 1992, to the 'present day' in 2012, but it did 'wander'.
* A new Lieutenant has been placed in charge of the Open-Unsolved Unit, so naturally there is friction between the 'LT' and Harry. The previous LT used to hide away in her office and had little or no involvement with her detectives, leaving Harry & Co a good deal of latitude to do what they do best. The new LT, of course, is the exact opposite and this seemed a bit 'too' contrived to me.
* The new LT, possibility at the behest of the Chief of Police, instigates a Professional Standards Bureau (the re-named Internal Affairs Department) "beef" against Harry for a minor breach of the rules.
* The investigating PSB detective, Nancy Mendenhall, questions Harry, who is confident of being exonerated, but Nancy's sudden and unexplained re-appearance later in the story is confusing and her involvement remains a mystery.
June 29, 2025 @ 41%: "As usual, I don't remember my original reading of this book, but I am enjoying Harry's battles with bureaucracy and his uncovering of the mystery so far. Narration by the unknown (to me) Michael McConnohie is good."
June 30, 2025 @ 89%: "Just 11% to go! - This is a fine Bosch thriller read by yet another narrator new to me, Michael McConnohie. He does a great job, even though I do not have any other books in my collection that are read by him."
July 02, 2025 @ 99%: 4-Stars review to come. I liked this re-listen a lot, but I won't be increasing the rating from my original hearing in 2017."
Added to my Re-listen to Harry Bosch Project - June 29, 2025.
October 18, 2017:
3.5 stars + 0.5 for excellent narration, = 4.0 stars out of 5.0
Audiobook - 10:29 hours - Narrator: Michael McConnohie
"The Black Box" is another great instalment in the Harry Bosch series. It may not be the best, it certainly isn't the worst (or least best) if there is one, but it is pretty much 'classic' Harry Bosch. Now in the 'Open-Unsolved' (Cold Case) Unit, Bosch is investigating a murder, with few given clues, which requires dogged determination in the face of bureaucratic obstruction and apathy.
Often I wonder how the better writers do it. How do they dream up the basic plot? How do they create the characters? How do they go about the process of writing an entertaining novel? How do they do it successfully, book after book, in a series like Harry Bosch, Dave Robicheaux, John Rebus?
I am definitely not a writer and have never aspired to be and I remain in awe of the likes of Michael Connelly who writes books I want to read and does it well, year after year.
May 29, 2018
The Cold Case unit was Detective Harry Bosch’s specialty. And his memories of the riots in Los Angeles in 1992 when the acquitting of the officers in the Rodney King beating caused a terrible wave of looting and fires throughout the city were particularly strong. The murder of a young woman in an alley had never been solved, and now, twenty years later, Harry was determined to bring the killer to justice.
With Harry’s partner Detective David Chu by his side, the murder book and box of cards was only the beginning. But with technology being much further advanced than it had been twenty years prior, Harry thought they had a good shot at solving the case. But could they? Would they find the black box? Would those dark days back in 1992 reveal its secrets to Harry? Or was he putting himself in danger once again?
16th in the Harry Bosch series, The Black Box by Michael Connelly is an intense read; fast paced, the action is pretty much full on, while a little downtime with Maddy, Harry’s daughter lightens the load. Each time I read a Bosch thriller, I’m reminded of how good Connelly is – he kept me enthralled from start to finish. The Black Box is another excellent read which I highly recommend.
With Harry’s partner Detective David Chu by his side, the murder book and box of cards was only the beginning. But with technology being much further advanced than it had been twenty years prior, Harry thought they had a good shot at solving the case. But could they? Would they find the black box? Would those dark days back in 1992 reveal its secrets to Harry? Or was he putting himself in danger once again?
16th in the Harry Bosch series, The Black Box by Michael Connelly is an intense read; fast paced, the action is pretty much full on, while a little downtime with Maddy, Harry’s daughter lightens the load. Each time I read a Bosch thriller, I’m reminded of how good Connelly is – he kept me enthralled from start to finish. The Black Box is another excellent read which I highly recommend.
December 1, 2012
Oh dear. After the fiasco that was The Drop I was hoping Connelly would redeem himself with this. He didn't. There were no plot twists...none, zero, zip. Here are a few of the problems--granted none are so big as the lack of plot twists, but they are problems nonetheless:
1. There was very little about the '92 riot. So little, in fact, that you had to wonder why on earth he even bothered.
2. Bosch's daughter could easily be replaced by a dog or even (gasp!) a cat. She does everything EVERYTHING better than any otherkid human being who has ever lived. She is more sensitive. She is more talented. She is more mature. She is boring, predictable, unnecessary, and ever so annoying.
3. The book is more a screenplay than a book. Not only does Mr. Connelly use a scene that has become trite and overused in movies (bad guy shoots other bad guy in the head with no warning), he writes it as a movie scene. Here you have the main character with blood, brains, and skull fragments blown all over him and there's not a single word about how it feels. Not a one! Oh yeah, there's the visual description, but nothing about what he felt or smelled or tasted. There's not even any mention of the effect of the sound on the character. It is all visual....100% visual. And this isn't the only scene that is written with "eyes only"...there are dozens of them*.
4. Enough with the jazz...Connelly could have used a lot of the time he spent on music describing the look, feel, smell, and sounds of the riot.
In short, I hate to say it, but I may have read my last Bosch. What a sad, sad day.
*To be honest, this is a problem I have been finding with a majority of books written in the last few years. They are written as though they were movies--scenes are described visually with little or no involvement of the other senses. Try a bit of pulp from the '50s then something recent, and you will be astonished. Those pulp guys put you THERE. You don't just see what's happening, you see, feel, smell, and hear what's happening. You are well and truly in the character's head.
1. There was very little about the '92 riot. So little, in fact, that you had to wonder why on earth he even bothered.
2. Bosch's daughter could easily be replaced by a dog or even (gasp!) a cat. She does everything EVERYTHING better than any other
3. The book is more a screenplay than a book. Not only does Mr. Connelly use a scene that has become trite and overused in movies (bad guy shoots other bad guy in the head with no warning), he writes it as a movie scene. Here you have the main character with blood, brains, and skull fragments blown all over him and there's not a single word about how it feels. Not a one! Oh yeah, there's the visual description, but nothing about what he felt or smelled or tasted. There's not even any mention of the effect of the sound on the character. It is all visual....100% visual. And this isn't the only scene that is written with "eyes only"...there are dozens of them*.
4. Enough with the jazz...Connelly could have used a lot of the time he spent on music describing the look, feel, smell, and sounds of the riot.
In short, I hate to say it, but I may have read my last Bosch. What a sad, sad day.
*To be honest, this is a problem I have been finding with a majority of books written in the last few years. They are written as though they were movies--scenes are described visually with little or no involvement of the other senses. Try a bit of pulp from the '50s then something recent, and you will be astonished. Those pulp guys put you THERE. You don't just see what's happening, you see, feel, smell, and hear what's happening. You are well and truly in the character's head.
August 2, 2022
هكذا تكون روايات الجريمة حقاً...براعة ، إتقان وتشويق....
لم أستطع أن أفلتها من يدي إلا وقد أنهيتها....
جريمة مقتل صحفية شابة خلال أعمال الشغب التي أُثيرت في لوس أنجلوس عام ١٩٩٢ ، يومها لم يستطع المحقق " هاري بوش " إلا أن يلتقط ما يستطيع من أدلة من مسرح الجريمة قبل تسليمها إلى وحدة تحقيق جرائم الشغب ، ولكن القضية لم تُحل...
يتسلم القضية قسم القضايا المفتوحة بقيادة " هاري " بعد عشرين عاماً ليفتح صندوق الأدلة الأسود ويجمع المزيد من الأدلة ويربط بين الأحداث ، يتتبع خيوط التفاصيل بذكاء وعناد يثيرا الإعجاب...
يلاحق القتلة بلا هوادة سواء جفت دماء الضحايا أم لم تجف ، وهنا الكاتب يكشف عدد من الجوانب الانسانية للمحقق الذي يمكن أن يواسي أسرة الضحية ، الذي يقف أمام الثوابت المُقيتة التي قد تعرقل المضي في قضية ما ، أب يعاني الإحساس بالذنب دائماً اتجاه ابنته التي لا يقضي معها الوقت الكافي ، ورجل لا يملك أن يسمح للحب أن يهدد حياته المهنية...كم أنا مُشفقة على قلبه الذي لا يأبه له....
الرواية رائعة تشعر بتدفق كل لحظة تنذر بخطر...أو بالاقتراب من حل القضية ، تصيبك عدوى الإرتياب من " هاري " ومن ثم يتلاشى شيئاً فشيئاً أمام الحقيقة....
إنها رواية مكتوبة بإحترافية بالغة وآسرة....
لم أستطع أن أفلتها من يدي إلا وقد أنهيتها....
جريمة مقتل صحفية شابة خلال أعمال الشغب التي أُثيرت في لوس أنجلوس عام ١٩٩٢ ، يومها لم يستطع المحقق " هاري بوش " إلا أن يلتقط ما يستطيع من أدلة من مسرح الجريمة قبل تسليمها إلى وحدة تحقيق جرائم الشغب ، ولكن القضية لم تُحل...
يتسلم القضية قسم القضايا المفتوحة بقيادة " هاري " بعد عشرين عاماً ليفتح صندوق الأدلة الأسود ويجمع المزيد من الأدلة ويربط بين الأحداث ، يتتبع خيوط التفاصيل بذكاء وعناد يثيرا الإعجاب...
يلاحق القتلة بلا هوادة سواء جفت دماء الضحايا أم لم تجف ، وهنا الكاتب يكشف عدد من الجوانب الانسانية للمحقق الذي يمكن أن يواسي أسرة الضحية ، الذي يقف أمام الثوابت المُقيتة التي قد تعرقل المضي في قضية ما ، أب يعاني الإحساس بالذنب دائماً اتجاه ابنته التي لا يقضي معها الوقت الكافي ، ورجل لا يملك أن يسمح للحب أن يهدد حياته المهنية...كم أنا مُشفقة على قلبه الذي لا يأبه له....
الرواية رائعة تشعر بتدفق كل لحظة تنذر بخطر...أو بالاقتراب من حل القضية ، تصيبك عدوى الإرتياب من " هاري " ومن ثم يتلاشى شيئاً فشيئاً أمام الحقيقة....
إنها رواية مكتوبة بإحترافية بالغة وآسرة....
February 29, 2024
1992. Los Angeles. Third night of the riots. Harry Bosch was a fledgling detective, barely out of his patrolman’s uniform. He and his partner were called downtown, amidst confused and frightened beat cops, National Guardsmen, and police officers pulled out of their comfortable precincts to watch the city literally burn. The victim: a young white woman shot in the head, her body dumped in an alleyway. Based on the documents on her person, she was a free-lance journalist from Denmark. Her murder was never solved.
2012. Bosch, working in Open/Unsolved, discovers new evidence in the case of the murdered journalist. A gun is found that links her murder to several recent gang murders. Bosch traces the history of the gun to find out who owned it originally. What he discovers pits him in a political mess. But since when has politics ever stopped Bosch?
Michael Connelly’s “The Black Box” is another excellent crime thriller from the best contemporary crime writers working today, hands down.
As always, it’s virtually impossible to say anything about the novel without dropping spoilers. All I’ll say is that Connelly is a master at leading readers from a starting point that makes one think the story is about one thing but ends up somewhere completely different and unexpected.
“The Black Box” is vintage Connelly.
2012. Bosch, working in Open/Unsolved, discovers new evidence in the case of the murdered journalist. A gun is found that links her murder to several recent gang murders. Bosch traces the history of the gun to find out who owned it originally. What he discovers pits him in a political mess. But since when has politics ever stopped Bosch?
Michael Connelly’s “The Black Box” is another excellent crime thriller from the best contemporary crime writers working today, hands down.
As always, it’s virtually impossible to say anything about the novel without dropping spoilers. All I’ll say is that Connelly is a master at leading readers from a starting point that makes one think the story is about one thing but ends up somewhere completely different and unexpected.
“The Black Box” is vintage Connelly.
February 27, 2019
Number 16 in The Harry Bosch series.
Harry now working in the Cold Case Dept is given a case from twenty years ago. As soon as Harry starts to read the files he realises that this had been his case originally twenty years ago.
A young Danish woman had been shot, execution style, in the eye and her body was left in an alley. This was during the civil unrest that swept L.A. in 1992 after police officers of the LAPD were found not guilty for the murder of a young African American male. Because of the riots there were was unprecedented levels of looting, assaults and murders. The police were up to their neck in it and couldn’t cope with the mounting wave of violence. The National Guard were brought in to help quell the situation. Because of the situation Harry could not do a proper investigation.
Now twenty years later Harry is back on the trail.
Trying to build a case from twenty years ago was never going to be an easy task but with his usual dogged persistence things start to happen. The murder weapon is found and this leads to a known criminal which leads to a bigger criminal so on and so forth until Harry gets to see through the fog. As the fog clears a finger is clearly pointing at some very influential persons.
To make matters more interesting the new Cold Case Lieutenant seems to have it for Harry.
As is usual from Michael Connelly this is yet another highly entertaining, warts and all, look at police procedures.
Harry is not one to be doing things by the book you could call him a maverick but that would be an understatement. But if you want the job done then your man is Harry with his gut instincts.
I would have given this 5 stars but had to take one off because of Harry’s daughter who is just too good to be true. A 15 year old who spends most of her life by herself and never gets into trouble, I don’t think so!
A highly entertaining 4/5 star read.
Harry now working in the Cold Case Dept is given a case from twenty years ago. As soon as Harry starts to read the files he realises that this had been his case originally twenty years ago.
A young Danish woman had been shot, execution style, in the eye and her body was left in an alley. This was during the civil unrest that swept L.A. in 1992 after police officers of the LAPD were found not guilty for the murder of a young African American male. Because of the riots there were was unprecedented levels of looting, assaults and murders. The police were up to their neck in it and couldn’t cope with the mounting wave of violence. The National Guard were brought in to help quell the situation. Because of the situation Harry could not do a proper investigation.
Now twenty years later Harry is back on the trail.
Trying to build a case from twenty years ago was never going to be an easy task but with his usual dogged persistence things start to happen. The murder weapon is found and this leads to a known criminal which leads to a bigger criminal so on and so forth until Harry gets to see through the fog. As the fog clears a finger is clearly pointing at some very influential persons.
To make matters more interesting the new Cold Case Lieutenant seems to have it for Harry.
As is usual from Michael Connelly this is yet another highly entertaining, warts and all, look at police procedures.
Harry is not one to be doing things by the book you could call him a maverick but that would be an understatement. But if you want the job done then your man is Harry with his gut instincts.
I would have given this 5 stars but had to take one off because of Harry’s daughter who is just too good to be true. A 15 year old who spends most of her life by herself and never gets into trouble, I don’t think so!
A highly entertaining 4/5 star read.
June 29, 2025
Неприключените случаи са стихията на Хари Бош - той ги разчепква неуморно през годините, често няма напредък по тях, но никога не се отказва. Търси всевъзможни следи и факти, маловажни или несвързани директно с престъплението, неща на които не е обърнато достатъчно внимание навремето. И се надява да намери черната кутия - това, което ще му помогне да намери и залови виновниците.
По време на расовите бунтове в южен ЛА през 1992 година, Хари и Джери Едгар са мобилна детективска група, опитваща да се справи с наплива от трупове останали след размириците. Нямат време за истинско разследване и почти всички убийства от този период остават неразкрити.
Едно от тях - на датска журналистка на свободна практика тревожи Бош през годините и той сериозно се захваща с него, двадесет години по-късно.
Серията за Хари Бош продължава да е плътно и добре написана, препрочитам книгите от нея с голямо удоволствие!
По време на расовите бунтове в южен ЛА през 1992 година, Хари и Джери Едгар са мобилна детективска група, опитваща да се справи с наплива от трупове останали след размириците. Нямат време за истинско разследване и почти всички убийства от този период остават неразкрити.
Едно от тях - на датска журналистка на свободна практика тревожи Бош през годините и той сериозно се захваща с него, двадесет години по-късно.
Серията за Хари Бош продължава да е плътно и добре написана, препрочитам книгите от нея с голямо удоволствие!
December 27, 2014
Always love some Bosch and this book did not disappoint this fan! Bosch is back with another idiot for a boss which I sort of enjoy because Bosch always manages to stick it to "the man." The mystery in this one was pretty brilliant... A woman shot in the LA riots but something doesn't add up and of course Bosch can't let it go. The tale is weaves together in a masterful way so it's riveting edge of your seat fun. My only minor UGHs about this one is I absolutely hate Hannah the girlfriend. There's no depth there and she seems highly needy. Foreshadowing leads me to believe she won't annoy mech longer. The 2nd is Bosch's relationship with daughter Maddie. The teen angst and Bosch trying to talk to a teenage girl is brilliant and even comical but the fact of how much he leaves his daughter alone? Gives her a gun? And she's I believe only 14? Ugh Bosch you clearly don't know the emotional range of a teenage girl. I just wish there was more depth to their relationship. It seems like they are strangers sharing space in a house. I'd like to see some changes there. But despite these few nitpicks I adored the book.
October 5, 2017
Harry Bosch what can I say? Gripping! Loved this thank you Mr Connelly :)
January 16, 2013
Good but not great. L.A. Detective Harry Bosch is working on the cold case squad and takes a personal interest in the murder of a Danish journalist 20 years ago during the riots following the Rodney King case. He was called to the scene at the time but the chaos and caseload prevented the police from serious efforts on the case. Piece by piece Harry’s puzzle solving slowly begins to pay off, like when airplane crash investigators turn up the “black box” of recordings of indicators associated with the disaster. But his supervisor is jealous of Harry and tries to squelch his efforts, forcing Harry to “go off the reservation” and bend the rules, which ultimately puts him in harm’s way.
Harry’s tenacity and quiet courage shine through in the tale, but we get very little in the way of character development. His relationship with his partner, John Chu, is pretty flat, and there is little depth revealed in his relationship with his girlfriend Hannah. His relationship with his teenaged daughter has its moments, as he honors her interest in pursuing a police career while secretly wishing she won’t. Overall there is just no sense that Harry is really challenged. He seeks justice like a bulldog and does not seem to flounder or get very emotional over the impediments he has to overcome. Thus, as a reader I was not as emotionally engaged as in many of the other great works in this series.
Harry’s tenacity and quiet courage shine through in the tale, but we get very little in the way of character development. His relationship with his partner, John Chu, is pretty flat, and there is little depth revealed in his relationship with his girlfriend Hannah. His relationship with his teenaged daughter has its moments, as he honors her interest in pursuing a police career while secretly wishing she won’t. Overall there is just no sense that Harry is really challenged. He seeks justice like a bulldog and does not seem to flounder or get very emotional over the impediments he has to overcome. Thus, as a reader I was not as emotionally engaged as in many of the other great works in this series.
July 14, 2021
Excellent. The Black Box celebrates twenty years of Harry Bosch and it's a cracker !
October 28, 2017
According to Harry Bosch, the black box is the narrative that provides the parameters of an investigation...the why and how did the crime happen. Just like the black box in an airplane provides meaningful data to help figure out why the plane went down.
In this story, 20 years ago a Dutch woman photographer is found dead in the middle of the LA race riots following the Rodney King verdict. It made no sense for her to be there and when Harry and his partner were called to the scene, the LAPD, completely overwhelmed, was frantically racing from one crime scene to another. Harry was frustrated that he couldn’t devote the time he felt necessary to adequately investigate Anneke Jesperson’s death. Under pressure, he delayed as long as possible, retrieving only a bullet casing from the scene before moving on.
Fast forward 20 years and Harry has the case back as part of the anniversary of those riots, an opportunity for him to do her justice. This was a fascinating case that I really enjoyed because it started with a bullet casing to find the narrative for Anneke being in that alley. It was a windy, twisty journey and I just loved the ride. There was the usual dose of aggravating politics in keeping with real life and some interesting outcomes at the end. I inhaled this one, loving every minute of it, even with a completely different narrator (though I had kinda gotten used to Len Cariou).
In this story, 20 years ago a Dutch woman photographer is found dead in the middle of the LA race riots following the Rodney King verdict. It made no sense for her to be there and when Harry and his partner were called to the scene, the LAPD, completely overwhelmed, was frantically racing from one crime scene to another. Harry was frustrated that he couldn’t devote the time he felt necessary to adequately investigate Anneke Jesperson’s death. Under pressure, he delayed as long as possible, retrieving only a bullet casing from the scene before moving on.
Fast forward 20 years and Harry has the case back as part of the anniversary of those riots, an opportunity for him to do her justice. This was a fascinating case that I really enjoyed because it started with a bullet casing to find the narrative for Anneke being in that alley. It was a windy, twisty journey and I just loved the ride. There was the usual dose of aggravating politics in keeping with real life and some interesting outcomes at the end. I inhaled this one, loving every minute of it, even with a completely different narrator (though I had kinda gotten used to Len Cariou).
December 14, 2017
7.5/10
I think I could mainly copy and paste my review for the last few books here. This series is always a pleasure to read, it's detective work without the unrealistic thrills (the majority of the time) and is readily absorbable. It may be that you don't remember the nuances of each outing in a couple of years but each tale holds up on its own.
This one verged on the slightly unrealistic near the end with some go getting action but it still felt within the bounds of what Bosch would do to give a voice to the deceased. The mystery was decent enough without ever hitting the heights of some of the others in the series meaning that a truer reflection would be 3.5/5.
Not many left before I'm up to speed with the series which isn't great as I'll have to wait annually for the next instalment but I think I'll be finishing it sooner rather than later! Great series.
I think I could mainly copy and paste my review for the last few books here. This series is always a pleasure to read, it's detective work without the unrealistic thrills (the majority of the time) and is readily absorbable. It may be that you don't remember the nuances of each outing in a couple of years but each tale holds up on its own.
This one verged on the slightly unrealistic near the end with some go getting action but it still felt within the bounds of what Bosch would do to give a voice to the deceased. The mystery was decent enough without ever hitting the heights of some of the others in the series meaning that a truer reflection would be 3.5/5.
Not many left before I'm up to speed with the series which isn't great as I'll have to wait annually for the next instalment but I think I'll be finishing it sooner rather than later! Great series.
December 19, 2018
Another good read by Michael Connelly.
November 9, 2013
I breezed through this almost 400-page Harry Bosch cop novel. Great storyline that has Harry working on a 20-year old cold case. There is a warm-hearted sub-plot with his family life including his teenaged daughter Maddie and girlfriend Hannah. I'm not a big fan of long books, but I'm a big Michael Connelly fan, so I took the plunge. The narrative carried me right along, and I'm glad I took the time to read The Black Box.
January 9, 2024
Crazy good.
In 2012 Harry Bosch is assigned to the Open-Unsolved Unit, but back in 1992 he was working the streets during the worst riot in US history. In the middle of the chaos, a body was reported but the scene wasn't what police expected. Inside an abandoned house was the body of a white female, blonde/blue, clean and well-dressed, shot in the head. What in the world was this woman doing in a rough neighborhood during a riot? The case goes unsolved for twenty years until Harry gets another shot at clearing it.
I was hooked on this story from page one but on top of that, the plot had so many surprises. As Harry "walked the gun," cop talk for tracing the history of a weapon used in the commission of a crime, the story branched off in directions I never saw coming. And that climactic ending?! Wow, so good.
In other news, Maddie's in high school already - sheesh, time flies! Bosch isn't as much of a technopeasant now, thank God. He's aware of this phenomenon called email, for example; he just doesn't like it on his phone. Screen's too small.
This is one of the best Bosches so far - an intimidating situation for the next book in line, but them's the breaks. Let's see how The Burning Room stacks up.
In 2012 Harry Bosch is assigned to the Open-Unsolved Unit, but back in 1992 he was working the streets during the worst riot in US history. In the middle of the chaos, a body was reported but the scene wasn't what police expected. Inside an abandoned house was the body of a white female, blonde/blue, clean and well-dressed, shot in the head. What in the world was this woman doing in a rough neighborhood during a riot? The case goes unsolved for twenty years until Harry gets another shot at clearing it.
I was hooked on this story from page one but on top of that, the plot had so many surprises. As Harry "walked the gun," cop talk for tracing the history of a weapon used in the commission of a crime, the story branched off in directions I never saw coming. And that climactic ending?! Wow, so good.
In other news, Maddie's in high school already - sheesh, time flies! Bosch isn't as much of a technopeasant now, thank God. He's aware of this phenomenon called email, for example; he just doesn't like it on his phone. Screen's too small.
This is one of the best Bosches so far - an intimidating situation for the next book in line, but them's the breaks. Let's see how The Burning Room stacks up.
June 6, 2020
** Continuing my read and review of Michael Connelly’s Detective Bosch series **
Connelly’s 25th book and 16th outing with Detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch, a Vietnam war veteran and a twenty-year plus police officer serving in the Los Angeles, California police department. Harry was once a star in the Robbery/Homicide division, working out of the LA city headquarters until his bad habit of fighting the formal structure of the police department and especially those in leadership positions led him to being demoted to the Hollywood detective squad, and eventually retiring from law enforcement. Following a three-year stint as a private investigator, Bosch is back working in the LAPD, currently working in the Open-Unsolved Cases unit with partner, David Chu.
The story gets kicked off with a flashback back to the Los Angeles riots twenty years ago in 1992. When the riots broke out, Harry Bosch and his previous partner, Jerry Edgar, were serving together on a watch team, performing preliminary investigations on dead bodies found in the streets. One evening, they are called in when a blonde female journalist is found murdered near a burned-out store in a dangerous part of South Central. Her presence there makes no sense to Harry who doesn’t get to keep her case when it gets handed off to a special formed riot task force for further investigation.
Moving forward twenty years later, Harry is now working her unsolved case as part of his cold case work in the Open-unsolved cases unit. His focus and passion to fight for others who can’t help themselves leads him match a shell casing from the murder scene to several other killings. But when he starts to pick up steam on the investigation, opposition starts to arise on several fronts, both professional and personal.
Harry’s boss, Lieutenant O’Toole is not happy with how little his detective is listening to him and decides to report him to Internal Affairs, hoping to knock him down and put his retirement at risk. It seems that the even the police chief is involved, wanting to avoid a negative public fallout and wanting to remove Harry to protect his own political interests. Nancy Mendenhall, and IAD investigator is called in to investigate Harry’s actions, causing disruption just when his case is gaining momentum.
To make matters more interesting, Harry’s teenage daughter, Maddie, is seriously considering becoming a cop when she grows up. She has learned to shoot guns, and shoot them well enough to place well in local competitions, and now Harry is having to find new ways to stoke her growing legal curiosities. Balancing her interests with the needs of his case and the IAD investigation, Bosch finds himself searching for the proverbial “black box” that will provide the one piece of evidence he needs to bring the case to a close and find the killer who has been hiding for 20 years.
In typical Connelly style, the story takes place over a period of about a week. His prose is sharp, fluid, and rhythmic. His descriptions are crisp and flow with dramatic energy. There are no wasted words nor excessive descriptions that take away from the plot. He makes it so easy to just lose yourself in the story as if you were right there next to Harry, actively participating in the investigative research.
Although the mystery developed and played out well, I was especially pleased by how well Connelly is balancing Harry’s personal drive as an investigator with that of his personal relationships. He is learning how to draw closer to his daughter, who carries many of her own father’s qualities, especially a strong sense of independence and real stubbornness. It’s interesting to see Harry forced to deal with his own weaknesses. Harry is also trying to maintain a personal relationship with Hannah Stone, a guidance counselor, whom he met and started dating in the last book. Hannah’s lasted through two books in a row, which is about average for Bosch, so I am curious to see if their relationship develops further.
On a personal note, this book was published in 2012 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Bosch. Writing and publishing 16 Bosch books over a 20-year period is not an easy achievement. I am amazed by the growth and development of Harry’s character and the extremely high quality throughout each of the books. Connelly has not only sustained a high level of quality for a long period of time, I believe he has cemented his legacy as a master storyteller.
Overall, I am continually impressed with each Connelly novel that I have read. Everyone of them have delivered – excellent plotting, strong characters, creative twists, and crime drama at it’s absolute best. This one in particular is a prime example of the magic that Connelly weaves into his storytelling. In an interview for this book on his web page, Connelly explains that it has special meaning to him on multiple levels. It was his twenty-fifth novel, the subject matter was important to him, and his own personal experiences with the 1992 riots have left unforgettable impressions on him. After finishing “The Black Box” I can attest that those personal influences have helped contribute to his ability to create great crime fiction that will stand the test of time.
If you haven’t read Michael Connelly, it’s always a good time to start…
Connelly’s 25th book and 16th outing with Detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch, a Vietnam war veteran and a twenty-year plus police officer serving in the Los Angeles, California police department. Harry was once a star in the Robbery/Homicide division, working out of the LA city headquarters until his bad habit of fighting the formal structure of the police department and especially those in leadership positions led him to being demoted to the Hollywood detective squad, and eventually retiring from law enforcement. Following a three-year stint as a private investigator, Bosch is back working in the LAPD, currently working in the Open-Unsolved Cases unit with partner, David Chu.
The story gets kicked off with a flashback back to the Los Angeles riots twenty years ago in 1992. When the riots broke out, Harry Bosch and his previous partner, Jerry Edgar, were serving together on a watch team, performing preliminary investigations on dead bodies found in the streets. One evening, they are called in when a blonde female journalist is found murdered near a burned-out store in a dangerous part of South Central. Her presence there makes no sense to Harry who doesn’t get to keep her case when it gets handed off to a special formed riot task force for further investigation.
Moving forward twenty years later, Harry is now working her unsolved case as part of his cold case work in the Open-unsolved cases unit. His focus and passion to fight for others who can’t help themselves leads him match a shell casing from the murder scene to several other killings. But when he starts to pick up steam on the investigation, opposition starts to arise on several fronts, both professional and personal.
Harry’s boss, Lieutenant O’Toole is not happy with how little his detective is listening to him and decides to report him to Internal Affairs, hoping to knock him down and put his retirement at risk. It seems that the even the police chief is involved, wanting to avoid a negative public fallout and wanting to remove Harry to protect his own political interests. Nancy Mendenhall, and IAD investigator is called in to investigate Harry’s actions, causing disruption just when his case is gaining momentum.
To make matters more interesting, Harry’s teenage daughter, Maddie, is seriously considering becoming a cop when she grows up. She has learned to shoot guns, and shoot them well enough to place well in local competitions, and now Harry is having to find new ways to stoke her growing legal curiosities. Balancing her interests with the needs of his case and the IAD investigation, Bosch finds himself searching for the proverbial “black box” that will provide the one piece of evidence he needs to bring the case to a close and find the killer who has been hiding for 20 years.
In typical Connelly style, the story takes place over a period of about a week. His prose is sharp, fluid, and rhythmic. His descriptions are crisp and flow with dramatic energy. There are no wasted words nor excessive descriptions that take away from the plot. He makes it so easy to just lose yourself in the story as if you were right there next to Harry, actively participating in the investigative research.
Although the mystery developed and played out well, I was especially pleased by how well Connelly is balancing Harry’s personal drive as an investigator with that of his personal relationships. He is learning how to draw closer to his daughter, who carries many of her own father’s qualities, especially a strong sense of independence and real stubbornness. It’s interesting to see Harry forced to deal with his own weaknesses. Harry is also trying to maintain a personal relationship with Hannah Stone, a guidance counselor, whom he met and started dating in the last book. Hannah’s lasted through two books in a row, which is about average for Bosch, so I am curious to see if their relationship develops further.
On a personal note, this book was published in 2012 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Bosch. Writing and publishing 16 Bosch books over a 20-year period is not an easy achievement. I am amazed by the growth and development of Harry’s character and the extremely high quality throughout each of the books. Connelly has not only sustained a high level of quality for a long period of time, I believe he has cemented his legacy as a master storyteller.
Overall, I am continually impressed with each Connelly novel that I have read. Everyone of them have delivered – excellent plotting, strong characters, creative twists, and crime drama at it’s absolute best. This one in particular is a prime example of the magic that Connelly weaves into his storytelling. In an interview for this book on his web page, Connelly explains that it has special meaning to him on multiple levels. It was his twenty-fifth novel, the subject matter was important to him, and his own personal experiences with the 1992 riots have left unforgettable impressions on him. After finishing “The Black Box” I can attest that those personal influences have helped contribute to his ability to create great crime fiction that will stand the test of time.
If you haven’t read Michael Connelly, it’s always a good time to start…
December 27, 2012
Sometimes you just want to settle in with an old friend and get lost in his world for awhile and it is easy to do with Harry Bosch. The plotting, at least with regards to solving the mystery is clever and full of "where does he go from here and how does he get the information" points that make this series so enjoyable. I agree with some of the other reviewers that there is more of a TV script like quality to this one, and I found the principal perp's ability to pull together what was happening based on a few random clues to be a bit improbable but the book held my interest and was an enjoyable read.
March 8, 2017
I am so going to need someone to hold Bosch down one of these days and say going off to investigate solo has never worked out well for him. Bosch runs afoul of another person who is in charge of the Open/Unsolved unit he is back on who is out to get Bosch tossed. And due to Bosch ticking off the Chief of Police (seriously at this point how does Bosch have a job) he may be getting kicked after the events of this book. You don't know since that is left up in the air. I do have to say that it's getting a little old that Bosch is always the only person in the world to care about victims. If anything, I say his single minded obsession ends up getting everyone else around him killed. And for such a smart guy he keeps getting into it with people in power. He literally has no one to keep him safe anymore so I am just wondering about the long-game with this character.
It's been a year since the events in "The Drop" which gets referenced throughout this book. After the events of the case involving Irving's son that Bosch investigated, we find out that Irving did not get re-elected to the City Council. A more pro-police person won the seat. Kiz and Bosch have not spoken after he finds out she used him to set up Irving. Kiz is now a captain somewhere and the Chief is struggling to hold onto his job. The last thing puzzles me since it seemed like based on the previous books the Chief was well liked. But now he's a politician according to Bosch so that makes him a not okay guy. Bosch seems to have few friends and is still dating a woman from the last book he met named Dr. Hannah Stone.
Bosch investigates a cold case involving a victim that he and his former partner J. Edgar called Snow White. The victim was found shot to death during the LA riots and many thought she was just in the wrong time and place. However, Bosch believes a gun that was used was involved in several other gang related homicides and starts trying to track down who owned the gun first. We have Bosch exploring the world of gangs in LA and also how this all tracks back to the Iraq War (Desert Storm).
This is typical Bosch going blundering around and acting like a jerk to a ton of people. There's also a weird scene when Bosch is reprimanded for calling someone by their last name and he realizes he may have been insulting his partner David Chu for years by calling him Chu, and then proceeds to keep calling him David that was just awkward to even read about. Lord Bosch needs to do something besides listen to jazz. Maybe read a book on how to interact with others or something. His romance is pretty boring and part of me wonders why he is even with Hannah Stone. At this point he has been dating her for at least a year. He knows about her son and even gets into some trouble because of him. I am surprised he didn't cut his losses and break up with her. I guess we will see what goes down between them in the next book.
Bosch's daughter Maddie is now 15 or 16. I can't even remember. She is in this book more than previous books though so that's one positive step forward with her character. However, I am going to complain that I found most of the things that Connelly included about her to just be padding the novel. We go off with Maddie and Bosch at one point where he takes her to a simulator that the police use to train. And Maddie is apparently the best shot ever and also has better critical thinking than the average person. So yeah, we are setting her up to be a special snowflake. Sigh. I heard from a fan that he thinks that the Bosch novels are ultimately going to focus on Maddie. I don't know if I will continue with the series if they do. I ultimately find nothing about her compelling.
There's really no one else in this book besides Bosch, Maddie, some references to Chu (they barely interact), Hannah Stone, and Bosch's new boss and the Chief of Police. Bosch takes one of the guys from the unit into his confidence, but once again Bosch can't listen to anyone giving him rational advice so that character gave me no joy. He's not talking to Kiz, J. Edgar, his other two partners are dead. Bah.
I have to say I ultimately found this case boring. Bosch is focused on this case because reasons. I called BS on the whole story-line (we find out who murdered the victim and why) since it was such a mess with plot holes galore that I kind of gave up trying to make it make sense. I also laughed when it looks like Bosch is finally going to meet his maker, and then someone randomly shows up to get him out of trouble. I mean hello plot contrivance.
In the end I just found the book all over the place.
It's been a year since the events in "The Drop" which gets referenced throughout this book. After the events of the case involving Irving's son that Bosch investigated, we find out that Irving did not get re-elected to the City Council. A more pro-police person won the seat. Kiz and Bosch have not spoken after he finds out she used him to set up Irving. Kiz is now a captain somewhere and the Chief is struggling to hold onto his job. The last thing puzzles me since it seemed like based on the previous books the Chief was well liked. But now he's a politician according to Bosch so that makes him a not okay guy. Bosch seems to have few friends and is still dating a woman from the last book he met named Dr. Hannah Stone.
Bosch investigates a cold case involving a victim that he and his former partner J. Edgar called Snow White. The victim was found shot to death during the LA riots and many thought she was just in the wrong time and place. However, Bosch believes a gun that was used was involved in several other gang related homicides and starts trying to track down who owned the gun first. We have Bosch exploring the world of gangs in LA and also how this all tracks back to the Iraq War (Desert Storm).
This is typical Bosch going blundering around and acting like a jerk to a ton of people. There's also a weird scene when Bosch is reprimanded for calling someone by their last name and he realizes he may have been insulting his partner David Chu for years by calling him Chu, and then proceeds to keep calling him David that was just awkward to even read about. Lord Bosch needs to do something besides listen to jazz. Maybe read a book on how to interact with others or something. His romance is pretty boring and part of me wonders why he is even with Hannah Stone. At this point he has been dating her for at least a year. He knows about her son and even gets into some trouble because of him. I am surprised he didn't cut his losses and break up with her. I guess we will see what goes down between them in the next book.
Bosch's daughter Maddie is now 15 or 16. I can't even remember. She is in this book more than previous books though so that's one positive step forward with her character. However, I am going to complain that I found most of the things that Connelly included about her to just be padding the novel. We go off with Maddie and Bosch at one point where he takes her to a simulator that the police use to train. And Maddie is apparently the best shot ever and also has better critical thinking than the average person. So yeah, we are setting her up to be a special snowflake. Sigh. I heard from a fan that he thinks that the Bosch novels are ultimately going to focus on Maddie. I don't know if I will continue with the series if they do. I ultimately find nothing about her compelling.
There's really no one else in this book besides Bosch, Maddie, some references to Chu (they barely interact), Hannah Stone, and Bosch's new boss and the Chief of Police. Bosch takes one of the guys from the unit into his confidence, but once again Bosch can't listen to anyone giving him rational advice so that character gave me no joy. He's not talking to Kiz, J. Edgar, his other two partners are dead. Bah.
I have to say I ultimately found this case boring. Bosch is focused on this case because reasons. I called BS on the whole story-line (we find out who murdered the victim and why) since it was such a mess with plot holes galore that I kind of gave up trying to make it make sense. I also laughed when it looks like Bosch is finally going to meet his maker, and then someone randomly shows up to get him out of trouble. I mean hello plot contrivance.
In the end I just found the book all over the place.
January 4, 2019
Maybe it was accompaniment of Art Pepper’s soulful saxophone, but as he painstakingly translated and read the stories and looked at the pictures, Bosch felt that he somehow grew closer to Anneke Jespersen. Across twenty years she reached forward with her work and tugged at him, and this made his resolve stronger…
It might have been the prefect murder / conspiracy to murder, a cover-up for an earlier crime. In May 1992 Los Angeles was in lockdown from rioters and looters, following the acquittal of 4 LAPD officers of the killing of Rodney King. Bosch and Edgar, brought in from Hollywood Division to provide initial cursory investigations of murders and, shielded by the National Guard, are led to an ally where Danish photo-journalist Anneke Jespersen, is the victim of an execution-style killing. But what was she doing there? With little time to work the scene before the body is removed, Bosch recovers a spent gun cartridge.
20 years on Bosch is working in the Open-Unsolved Case Unit of Robbery-Homicide Division and re-examines the murder book from the Riot Crimes Task Force. With only a handful of reports he follows the gun: advances in ballistics matches the cartridge shell to two later gang-style killings, which takes Bosch to San Quentin where prisoners are segregated according to gang affiliations.
Aside from working the case and rubbing his partner David Chu up the wrong way, Bosch is still seeing Hannah (a psychiatrist from an earlier book) and trying to be a good father to teenage daughter Maddie, (though their diet seems high in carbs. and light in fresh fruit and vegies). Once again he is on the wrong side of police administrators, this time around Lt. O’Toole singles him out for inappropriate behaviour.
“You forgot that I close cases. Not for the data you send up to the tenth-floor PowerPoint shows. For the victims. And their families. And that’s something you’ll never understand because you’re not out there like the rest of us.”
The Black Box of the title relates to the breakthrough point of a crime; similar to the black box flight simulator used as a diagnostic tool in plane crashes: the cartridge leads to a gun with the serial number erased, ballistics recovers part of the sequence and Bosch calls in a favour of former girlfriend, FBI agent Rachel Walling, which reveals that the gun was of a batch distributed to Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard, and seized during Desert Storm…
There’s something familiar and comforting about Connelly’s style of writing; from backgrounder, though the initial follow up of leads, the breakthrough to the denouement. This time Bosch leaves LA and we get to learn something of California’s Central Valley. There are a few inconsistencies: (how can a prisoner sign a waiver form with both wrists restrained??), snatches of earlier books (Lost Light), and finally, a new use for those hideous (and expensive) wind turbines.
Verdict: Vintage Bosch
It might have been the prefect murder / conspiracy to murder, a cover-up for an earlier crime. In May 1992 Los Angeles was in lockdown from rioters and looters, following the acquittal of 4 LAPD officers of the killing of Rodney King. Bosch and Edgar, brought in from Hollywood Division to provide initial cursory investigations of murders and, shielded by the National Guard, are led to an ally where Danish photo-journalist Anneke Jespersen, is the victim of an execution-style killing. But what was she doing there? With little time to work the scene before the body is removed, Bosch recovers a spent gun cartridge.
20 years on Bosch is working in the Open-Unsolved Case Unit of Robbery-Homicide Division and re-examines the murder book from the Riot Crimes Task Force. With only a handful of reports he follows the gun: advances in ballistics matches the cartridge shell to two later gang-style killings, which takes Bosch to San Quentin where prisoners are segregated according to gang affiliations.
Aside from working the case and rubbing his partner David Chu up the wrong way, Bosch is still seeing Hannah (a psychiatrist from an earlier book) and trying to be a good father to teenage daughter Maddie, (though their diet seems high in carbs. and light in fresh fruit and vegies). Once again he is on the wrong side of police administrators, this time around Lt. O’Toole singles him out for inappropriate behaviour.
“You forgot that I close cases. Not for the data you send up to the tenth-floor PowerPoint shows. For the victims. And their families. And that’s something you’ll never understand because you’re not out there like the rest of us.”
The Black Box of the title relates to the breakthrough point of a crime; similar to the black box flight simulator used as a diagnostic tool in plane crashes: the cartridge leads to a gun with the serial number erased, ballistics recovers part of the sequence and Bosch calls in a favour of former girlfriend, FBI agent Rachel Walling, which reveals that the gun was of a batch distributed to Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard, and seized during Desert Storm…
There’s something familiar and comforting about Connelly’s style of writing; from backgrounder, though the initial follow up of leads, the breakthrough to the denouement. This time Bosch leaves LA and we get to learn something of California’s Central Valley. There are a few inconsistencies: (how can a prisoner sign a waiver form with both wrists restrained??), snatches of earlier books (Lost Light), and finally, a new use for those hideous (and expensive) wind turbines.
Verdict: Vintage Bosch
August 16, 2013
Connelly returns with another Bosch installment and he does not let the readers down. When a Danish journalist is found murdered during the 1992 L.A. Riots, Bosch and team come upon her while sweeping the area. Whisked away from the scene after a mere 15 minutes leaves a sour taste in Bosch’s mouth and he vows to come back to it. As the story flashes forward to the present, Bosch tackles this unsolved case, sure his preconceived notion will pan out. What looks like a simple gang shooting becomes much more complex as the story progresses. A murdered journalist kills the story, right? Not always! Bosch is not only fighting to solve the case, but to keep the happenings fresh in the minds of witnesses, as the years go by. And no Bosch novel would be complete without some involvement with Internal Affairs. Connelly weaves a great story from a few historical happenings that impacted America at the time, leaving no threads dangling.
Connelly has become one of the great crime authors I have read, with his attention to detail, as well as his ability to personify his main character, even after 20 years of novels. As some will know from my past reviews of the series or author, the intermingling of characters from his other series brings each book new life and forces (perhaps too strong a word, nudges) the reader to pick them all up, even if Bosch only makes a cameo therein. His characters build off one another and you never know when one will pop up and then reference this experience in a future book.
Bosch is that detective you never tire of reading about, since he has not lost his passion for the job, just the politics of those trying to control him. He always digs to the deepest point possible and pushes to better himself in a professional and personal manner. Injected with a streak of sarcasm that stings before it soothes, Bosch is your everyday guy, just trying to do the right thing, and make ends meet.
Kudos, Mr. Connelly for this wonderful piece of work. Ah, how you spin a tale!
Connelly has become one of the great crime authors I have read, with his attention to detail, as well as his ability to personify his main character, even after 20 years of novels. As some will know from my past reviews of the series or author, the intermingling of characters from his other series brings each book new life and forces (perhaps too strong a word, nudges) the reader to pick them all up, even if Bosch only makes a cameo therein. His characters build off one another and you never know when one will pop up and then reference this experience in a future book.
Bosch is that detective you never tire of reading about, since he has not lost his passion for the job, just the politics of those trying to control him. He always digs to the deepest point possible and pushes to better himself in a professional and personal manner. Injected with a streak of sarcasm that stings before it soothes, Bosch is your everyday guy, just trying to do the right thing, and make ends meet.
Kudos, Mr. Connelly for this wonderful piece of work. Ah, how you spin a tale!
November 29, 2012
Really liked this one, the latest Bosch. The ending was perhaps the most satisfying and well crafted of the Bosch books I've read.
October 23, 2019
Harry Bosch is assigned to the Open-Unsolved Unit charged with investigating cold cases. One of the cases harry is assigned is the 20-year-old murder of a young Danish photo-journalist, Anneke Jespersen. When Anneke's body was orginaslly found in an alley during the LA riots harry and his partner were the investigstors called to the scene. The city was in turmoil and there were so many murders and other crimes that the crimes committed during this time could not be investigated as thoroughly or timely as would normally happen. Harry carried this victim in his memories and was anxious to see if he could find answers if all these years later. Although there is next to nothing in the files for Harry to use he is determined to use all his skills and contacts to finally solve this case and lay Anneke to rest. Harry starts pulling at little threads in hopes that something will trigger some clues. When Harry locates the gun that he is sure was used in Anneke's murder he learns thanks to testing information that was not available 20 years before this weapon had been used in several other crimes. In the midst of his investigation, Harry finds himself having to defend himself to the Professional Standards Bureau (Internal Affairs) on a charge brought forward by his new LT. Harry is not new to going before the PSB as he tends to do things by his book and that frequently gets him in hot water. Throughout the story, the reader gets to see more of Harry's relationship with his daughter which humanizes the story and adds some lighter moments to a dark story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,803 reviews