This is the one that introduces us to Hieronymous (Harry) Bosch, detective with the LAPD. Connelly lays the foundations of Harry’s character in this novel while telling a great crime story too. He sets up plenty of plot lines for future novels and brings us one of the best detective series in crime fiction, to date. As with all these series it helps a little if you start form the beginning but each book gives enough information to enjoy on its own. If you haven’t tried Connelly yet then do give him a go, as he is a great story teller.

Synopsis

LAPD detective Harry Bosch is a loner and a nighthawk. One Sunday he gets a call out on his pager. A body has been found in a drainage tunnel off Mulholland Drive, Hollywood.

At first sight, it looks like a routine drugs overdose case, but the one new puncture wound amidst the scars of old tracks leaves Bosch unconvinced.

To make matters worse, Harry Bosch recognises the victim. Billy Meadows was a fellow 'tunnel rat' in Vietnam, running against the VC and the fear they all used to call the Black Echo.

Bosch believes he let down Billy Meadows once before, so now he is determined to bring the killer to justice.

About the Author

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, ending up 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. The rest is crime writing history.   He lives in Tampa, Florida, with his wife and daughter.   Author photo © Wendy Werri More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation