The Black Box

Harry Bosch, Book 16

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Michael McConnohie

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

In a case that spans 20 years, Harry Bosch links the bullet from a recent crime to a file from 1992, the killing of a young female photographer during the L.A. riots. Harry originally investigated the murder, but it was then handed off to the Riot Crimes Task Force and never solved.

Now Bosch's ballistics match indicates that her death was not random violence, but something more personal, and connected to a deeper intrigue. Like an investigator combing through the wreckage after a plane crash, Bosch searches for the "black box", the one piece of evidence that will pull the case together.

Riveting and relentlessly paced, The Black Box leads Harry Bosch, "one of the greats of crime fiction" (New York Daily News), into one of his most fraught and perilous cases.

©2012 Michael Connelly (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Bosch’s determination

Bosch’s character is like a dog with a bone! Determined to not give up on solving the crime!

Michael Connelly Delivers more Bosch

I'm a huge Connelly fan...as in I see a new book and I buy it. I don't read the synopsis or the reviews -- I just get the book and start listening.

And the story has an interesting premise: a murder during the LA riots, dark secrets and a plot that just keeps chugging along.

By detective novel standards, this is outstanding and is completely listenable.

By Connelly standards...well...Harry does some things that will make you go "Huh?"

A solid offering...but I found some areas where the believability was stretched to the breaking point. The villains are one dimensional and this was one of the few times where I'd figured it all out before I was told what happened.

Is it worth a credit? ABSOLUTELY.

Is it a road trip worthy offering? YUP.

Will it keep you sitting in the driveway when you get home? Probably.

It's just not Connelly at his finest...or Harry for that matter.

David

Another great one

The character Harry Bosch is well written and real enough to be a friend you’ve grown to love.

It's a novel, not a history book

I have read or listened to every novel by Michael Connelly. I feel like I know Harry Bosch. This book and the last one were not up to his usual good story telling. This book felt like the story was a bit forced. I still enjoyed it but the reader did it no favors. He seems more suited to reading nonfiction. Just droning on in the same tone of voice, like he is reading a list of facts from a really boring high school history text. It has been a long standing problem with finding a good reader for Connelly's books. Why can't they get somebody with some enthusiasm - get Dick Hill back please!

Plot

The murderer in this book is a bit obvious at the beginning. I kept waiting for Bosch to find the member of the group involved in the murder.

poor reader

The reader was flat with zero emotion. He built almost no excitement for what was happening.

Bad narrator.

I enjoyed the story but I hated the narrator. He was so mechanical. Looking forward to reading future Harry Bosch stories with Titus Welliver narrating.

Stop Trashing The Narrator

Any additional comments?

Not Connelly's best but still a pretty good listen. It starts slow but gets rolling pretty well if you stick with it. I read a lot of negative comments about the narrator. I think he did a fine job. Pretty similar to Len Cariou (who I like very much) truth be told. The story is a police procedural and the narrator has a no-nonsense style that fits the story quite well. I am making a point of saying this because although I have read every single one of Connelly's other books, I almost skipped this one due to the horrific comments about the narrator. Glad I didn't.

Still a good Harry Bosch book

What made the experience of listening to The Black Box the most enjoyable?

I just love Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch character and am glad a new one arrived. Yes, the story starts 20 years in the past and dwells a lot on the past but Harry is part of a unit that tries to solve old, cold cases so, IMHO, the past must be visited and recounted to us so that we know the back story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Harry Bosch is a rather sad figure of a human being, having been permanently affected by his war experiences. He has such a hard time with personal relationships but he still is righteous and strong with solid moral standards and upstanding ethical code. The reader likes him and, at times, feels sorry for him.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Seriously??? I could have read this book better than he did! The best narrator for Harry Bosch has to be someone who understands the characters and has an acting background that has given that person a background of voices. Len Cariou is PERFECT for reading Harry Bosch books. His gravelly voice for Bosch is perfect. His accents for other characters and female tones are perfect. Why, for heaven's sake, would he not be hired each and every time to read the Harry Bosch series??? Unless he declined, the publisher is crazy for having changed narrators. If Cariou wanted more money to read the book then he should have gotten what he asked. He is the best! If Cariou declined, then the publisher needed to find a similar voice and skill to Cariou. This guy was the wrong choice and that is an understatement!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I always want to listen to Harry Bosch books in one sitting. It never works out that way but it is a favorite listen of mine for sure!

Any additional comments?

Hopefully the publisher will either hire Cariou for the next Harry Bosch book or, if Cariou is not interested, find a similar character to Cariou whose performance makes the character of Harry Bosch. If we wanted a bedtime story read to us, we would not be buying Harry Bosch books for a good listen. Next time change the narrator!!!

Great Bosch; not so great narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you like Harry Bosch, you'll like this book. It's a well laid out police procedural. There is also some time spent with police politics which I think belongs there and also more information about his daughter. If you aren't into Bosch it's a waste, but if you've been following the series, it certainly belongs.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I actually thought the narrator was ok... not great, but acceptable... until the last portion of the book.

This is sort of an inside baseball comment, but I live in the area in which the climax of the book takes place. The narrator mispronounces most of the locations in the area. It's clear that Connelly visited but the narrator didn't do his homework, and it was continuously jarring. For someone who doesn't live in this area, I suppose this would be unnoticed, but it was a constant irritation for me.