THE OVERLOOK by Michael Connelly
If you are not reading Michael Connelly then you are "overlooking" one of the best crime writers around. Connelly is the master of the suspense story and every book he writes provides hours of true reading enjoyment. His latest book THE OVERLOOK is Connelly at his best.
In THE OVERLOOK Connelly gives us another Harry Bosch story, Harry is a detective working for the Los Angeles Police Department. He is summoned to the scene of a crime. A man has been murdered on an overlook high in the Los Angeles hills. He has been shot execution style in the back of his head.
The man is identified as Dr. Stanley Kent, and his murder kicks off a round of panic in government circles because Kent had access to certain radioactive materials, which could be used by terrorists to harm large segments of the population. Harry is investigating the murder aspect of the crime while his former lover Rachel Walling and her FBI counterparts are looking into the "terrorist" aspect.
The two paths of this crime keep crossing and the FBI always imposes its power to keep its needs first. Still Harry is determined that if he can solve the murder he can help solve the other aspects of the case. And that is what eventually happens.
This book is as tightly written as any story could be. There is not any extraneous material or superfluous characters in the story and each word, sentence and paragraph move the plot along. Of course Harry Bosch is always a fascinating person to observe and watching him solve the crime in this story is like watching a master craftsman perfect his craft.
A new Michael Connelly book is quite an event in the literary world and spells happiness for his thousands of devoted fans. In THE OVERLOOK he is in top form and makes their day with his clever story line and intriguing characters.
The only complaint one can make about THE OVERLOOK is that it is just too brief. Its one thing to have a story that is tight and concise but a big, vast sprawling novel would also have been appreciated. Maybe next time.
THE OVERLOOK is published by Little, Brown and Company. It contains 225 pages and sells for $21.99.