Nine Dragons

Harry Bosch, Book 14

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Len Cariou

Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is off the chain in the fastest, fiercest, and highest-stakes case of his life.

Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South L.A. neighborhood, a store Bosch has known for years. The murder of John Li, the store's owner, hits Bosch hard, and he promises Li's family that he'll find the killer. The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He brings in a detective from the Asian Gang Unit for help with translation - not just of languages but also of the cultural norms and expectations that guided Li's life. He uncovers a link to a Hong Kong triad, a lethal and far-reaching crime ring that follows many immigrants to their new lives in the U.S. And instantly his world explodes.

The one good thing in Bosch's life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him and Bosch travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he's lost. In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city's Hungry Ghosts festival burns around him, Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate bid to outmatch the triad's ferocity.

Impressed? Ace detective Harry Bosch is also on the case in other exciting Michael Connelly crime-fiction novels.

We're thrilled to announce that our premier Audible Live event on Facebook will be a chat with best-selling author Michael Connelly. On November 3 at 7pm (ET), you'll be able to ask him questions about Nine Dragons, Harry Bosch, his favorite audiobooks, and more! RSVP Today

©2009 Michael Connelly (P)2009 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Terrific....Connelly never stops doling out the suspense as action leads to counteraction....His thriller is an addictive read that, once it grabs you in those first few pages, won't let go of you....High-grade entertainment." (Boston Globe)

Harry's gettin' old

I kept thinking, Harry is getting too old for this. Classic Connelly, classic risk taking, the stakes are high = the life of his daughter. I am so interested to see where it goes from here.

Different & complex story. Implausible in parts.

Cariou is the BEST! Bosch gets to know his daughter and his life changes forever.

How can Eleanor Wish die twice?

Eleanor Wish was gunned down in a parking lot and in a hotel room also?

Nine dragons

The story was interesting and informative about aspects of Chinese culture in Hong Kong. For Bosch’s voice the narrator is spot on. For women and girls (Maddy) he not quite right, almost distracting.

My Least Favorite Bosch Audiobook

Having spent quite a bit of time in Hong Kong during the last 25 years, I had some real problems with this book. I found myself laughing as I listened to Bosch's descriptions of Hong Kong and his actions as he attempted to track down his missing daughter, and I know it was not meant to be comical.

If you have never been to Hong Kong, then the story is probably fairly good and the ending is a little surprising.

A Chinese Tale

The story is believable and the angle regarding organ harvesting is definitely topical in this day and age.

Great Book

I had a fantastic time listening to this book. This was my first Michael Connelly book and I had a lot of fun.

The narration was pretty good to.

I'll be sure to be looking for more Michael Connelly booka in the future.

Not the best

I swear that Bosch gets more stupid as he gets older. The early books were good but this was disappointing.

I did not care for this book compared to the other

I did not care for this book at all as compared to others in this series and

Bosch and his untrusting character

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would rather not recommend this particular book to anyone because it is reeking of errors especially the Hong Kong part. Also the research of the Chinese language and culture could have been much better. At one point Connely claimed that the main language in Hong Kong is mandarin, which is absolutely wrong. In Hong Kong the main Chinese dialect is Cantonese which is more like sing song (he claimed Mandarin is sing song and Cantonese is guttural).

I don't know about the storyline. It seems that the whole book was heavily edited and parts just cut out which explains a lot of things that had a beginning but no end (lose ends).

What do you think your next listen will be?

I will continue to listen to the Harry Bosch series.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator could have a better understanding on how things are pronounced in Cantonese. It always sounded like a very bad imitation.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Properly not! The Harry Bosch TV series has shown that a conversion from books to TV/Cinema would not be appropriate. It is just too much details in the books, unfortunately not in this, to pack this into a 2h blockbuster.