A Darkness More than Night: Harry Bosch Series, Book 7

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is up to his neck in a case that has transfixed all of celebrity-mad Los Angeles: a movie director is charged with murdering an actress during sex, and then staging her death to make it look like a suicide. Bosch is both the arresting officer and the star witness in a trial that has brought the Hollywood media pack out in full-throated frenzy.

Meanwhile, Terry McCaleb is enjoying an idyllic retirement on Catalina Island when a visit from an old colleague brings his former world rushing back. It's a murder, the unreadable kind of murder he specialized in solving back in his FBI days. The investigation has stalled, and the sheriff's office is asking McCaleb to take a quick look at the murder book to see if he turns up something they've missed.

McCaleb's first reading of the crime scene leads him to look for a methodical killer with a taste for rituals and revenge. As his quick look accelerates into a full-sprint investigation, the two crimes - his murdered loner and Bosch's movie director - begin to overlap strangely. With one unsettling revelation after another, they merge, becoming one impossible, terrifying case, involving almost inconceivable calculation. McCaleb believes he has unmasked the most frightening killer ever to cross his sights. But his investigation tangles with Bosch's lines, and the two men find themselves at odds in the most dangerous investigation of their lives.

Don't miss Detective Harry Bosch on the case in these Michael Connelly crime fiction novels.

©2001 by Hieronymus, Inc., All Rights Reserved (P)2001 Time Warner AudioBooks, a Division of Time Warner Trade Publishing

Critic reviews

"[This] novel is...flawless, cleverly conceived, superbly plotted, and morally complex..." (Publishers Weekly)
"Connelly allows Bosch and McCaleb to regard each other critically in ways that sharpen the reader's perception of them..." (New Yorker)

Not the best Bosch

I am a big fan of Connolly but out of all the Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer books this book was the most disappointing. I am not going to stop reading the next Bosch story. Harry is too good to let a bump get in the way of his story.

Terrific Pairing of Connelly's best Detectives.

For fans of Michael Connelly this book was a delight. Terry McCaleb back in a new book and the main suspect is Harry Bosch. Connelly did a masterful job of combining his two stars into one novel. The story is well written and full of twists and suspence. Definitely a book that deserves to be called a page turner.

Not As Good!

First off, Richard Davidson's reading comes as a shock! I was used to Dick Hill's powerfully nuanced interpretation of Harry Bosch and the Connelly ensembles of characters. Davidson's growling, one-dimensional performance is abrasive. He's just as annoying with his interpretation here of the legendary Terry McCaleb who Clint Eastwood created in his film portrayal.

Secondly, Connelly demands that we stretch our levels of disbelief to the point of tearing to make it over critical plot demands. I almost chucked things at how abruptly we were asked to accept the way Bosch's friends turned on him.

If not for the momentum this series has ignited in me, and the promise of a new reader in oncoming novels, I'd not have held on through the adequate ... but PREACHY... remainder of this novel.

I'm hoping the next in this series will repay the tenacity it took to finish... A Darkness More Than Night. Up until now, I owed Connelly for an entertaining series. Going into Peter Jay Fernandez's reading of the next... City Of Bones... We're even and I'm wondering if that will be my last visit to Harry Bosch's California...

Anchor Steam, strangulation, sinners and set-ups

A classic well-drawn West Coast cop thriller. A minor criticism is that it takes a while (from the cop perspective) for the penny to drop, straining credibility a little. This is the third Harry Bosch book I’ve listened to, and Michael Connelly certainly has a gift for creating interesting characters, using a crisp and effective writing technique. The narrator, Richard Davidson, does a great job, not only with the obligatory “tough guy” stuff, but also with the full range of characters.

Weakest Bosch book so far

I hated the narrator's Bosch voice, sounded like an old man. The story was more Terry McCaleb than Bosch I thought.

Great Michael Connelly listen

Another very enjoyable Harry Bosch book. The narrator did a good job and made the charaters real.

Mediocre

The narration of this book was by far the worst in the series so far. I almost just skipped this one to get away from Davidson's horrible reading (especially his Bosch voice). If you can manage to suffer through the narration you get a story that is subpar compared with other books in the series. The story seemed to barely be about Bosch and more about McCaleb.

Not my favorite

Wanted to see Bosch work with a team again to give more of a human edge this didn't do it

Who?

I got this book under the impression it was about Harry Bosch. Well, it is & isn't. Connelly mixed two of his character's into one book with so-so results. The story was creative for sure, but, for me, not very believable. The most believable part was the courtroom dialogue which dragged on forever. I sped up the audio to make it go faster through the endless testimony. The narrator was good for McCaleb, but he made Bosch sound like Winston Churchill.

Like the book but not the reader

The book is typical Harry...his own department is always after him. I have read all the Bosch books. Now I am listening to the whole series. I have liked all the readers but not this one. The reader makes Bosch sound like he is close to death.