As if I didn't have enough series to follow, I started another one a few weeks ago. A co-worker recommended the new Amazon produced show Bosch and said it was based on a book series. I can't bring myself to watch a movie or television show that's been based on a book without reading the books first. So that led me to my local library and luckily the first 15 (yes fifteen!) books were available immediately! I checked them out three at a time and am now up to Echo Park, book 12 in the series. I found out later that I only needed to read as far as City of Bones, the 9th book, to not lose anything by watching the series. But I was hooked and am now reading now only all of the Harry Bosch books, but I've been hooked into reading a couple of books by Michael Connelly that don't have Harry as the main character, but he's there. I had to read The Poet before I could read The Narrows.
I'm not actually going to review all of the books, that would take too long! But I am going to recommend them to anyone who likes a good mystery and a good detective novel. In Detective Hieronymus (rhymes with anonymous) Bosch you have a character who is flawed but likable. His mother named him after a 15th century painter who was famous for his portrayal of earthly sins and his visions of hell. This sometimes parallels Det. Bosch and his own struggles. He was orphaned at an early age, spent time in Vietnam as a tunnel rat and seems to be constantly at odds with those in charge. But he has an undeniable need and desire to do good, to make everyone count. Every case matters, every victim counts no matter who they are or where they came from. It didn't matter if they were the homeless man on the sidewalk or a Beverly Hills millionaire. To Detective Harry Bosch, they all count, they all matter and he will do everything in his power to bring justice.
Even after reading 11 books in the series, I keep going back for more and am more than willing to branch out and get involved in other series by Connelly just to keep up with Harry Bosch. And now that Bosch has been picked up for another season on Amazon, I'll have even more to look forward to once I get the rest of the series finished!
I will list the Harry Bosch books in order, but I'm also going to include some of the "offshoots" because I did find that I was a little lost when I first started The Narrows because they were talking about people and events that started in another book called the Poet that starred some of the supporting characters from the Bosch books. I'll put those books in italics and it's also the order that I'm reading the books.
Happy Reading!!
The Black Echo (1992)
The Black Ice (1993)
The Concrete Blonde (1994)
The Last Coyote (1995)
The Poet (1996) Does not feature Harry Bosch but is the prequel to The Narrows
Trunk Music (1997)
Angels Flight (1999)
A Darkness More Than Night (2001)
City of Bones (2002)
Lost Light (2003)
The Narrows (2004)
The Lincoln Lawyer (2005) Part of the Mickey Haller series
The Closers (2005)
Echo Park (2006)
The Overlook (2007)
The Brass Verdict (2008) Part of the Mickey Haller Series
9 Dragons (2009)
The Reversal (2010) Part of the Mickey Haller Series
The Drop (2011)
The Fifth Witness (2011) Part of the Mickey Haller Series
The Black Box (2012)
The Gods of Guilt (2013) Part of the Mickey Haller Series
The Burning Room (2014)
The Crossing (2015) will be released in November 2015
