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

Narrator ruins the experience

I generally do not leave reviews, but I felt compelled to leave one on this book in hopes that it helps someone.
The story was good, and the reader was HORRENDOUS. I struggled to finish the book because of the reader.

Harry is Back!

After a few good books in this series, The Black Box was great. The Bosch series is back on track. The narrator wasn't as good as the previous books, but still a great listen.

Harry Bosch is Finally Back

One of the best Bosch's in a while. Having had numerous story's flogging Bosch to death with high maintenance insecure women it was great to be back to a story that focused on investigation instead of story lines straight out of 'Twilight'.

The books had began to lose the 'Police' and 'Procedural' out of Police Procedural. Having finally punted the women to the curb Bosch has been freed to get on with what matters, solving crime.

There's probably better Bosch's I've read, but having the lone wolf back raises the series again. Nice one Connelly.

Ah. Come on.

I almost didn't get this title because of negative reviews about the reader. Look, if your expectations are similar to Jack Webb in Dragnet you will find McConnohie a ham! If you expect Len Cariou (my favorite Bosch), you will find the reader a little flat but not without expression and clarity. I'm glad I didn't miss this one.

Another Bosch Winner

Where does The Black Box rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top half and I have red a lot if books

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

No. It was an average story. I did not feel the drama in this book that I have in his past books.

Which scene was your favorite?

Probably the birthday scene. The author nailed the daughter perfectly

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes the interaction between Bosch and his daughter. I thought those were spot on

Any additional comments?

Bosch walked on eggshells with his boss. Not what I thought he would do

Another Great Harry Bosch Story

I look forward to each new installment of the Harry Bosch books, and I am almost never disappointed with the results. They are great mysteries with real life type characters, problems, and solutions. I don't think a series of mystery books gets better than those about Harry Bosch.

A good listen!

well written. Suspenseful and action-filled. I enjoy the seems as Michael continues to unravel the Twist and Turn surrounding the murders. the author's Cadence at times was slow, but overall very well done.

great book!

A good book for listening to on the road to and from work every day.

Excellent story, but dislike audiobook narrator.

I had one negative with the story, a question not answered at the end:
On the second to last page Connelly wrote “She would not tell Bosch why she …” did something. That bothered me. It was important.

The positive:
One of the things he does so well is: When Harry first starts a case, I’m thinking how can he possibly solve this? How will he find anything? What can he do? Then he finds one small piece of something and follows it. He gathers a couple more odd pieces of information and I’m still thinking how could he possibly ever solve this? Even later in the book, I’m still thinking that. Yes this is a mystery slowly uncovering evidence. But Connelly does it in a special way which is not predictable and keeps me wondering. That’s a neat talent. I was immersed all the way through. I didn’t want to stop reading. At the end the mystery was solved, but I wanted to see what Harry would do next. I wanted to continue reading about Harry’s life which I guess is the next book - next year. So, it was done before I was ready to be done. But I suppose that’s good.

AUDIOBOOK NARRATOR COMPLAINT:
The narrator Michael McConnohie was not good. He sounded like a TV news anchorman reading the news. He did not show wonder, curiosity or excitement. He made Harry Bosch sound like a normal, pleasant, everyday kind of guy instead of tough, jaded, homicide detective. Author: please go back to Len Cariou or Dick Hill or find someone like Will Patton who is fabulous.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 3rd person. Story length: 403 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words, but not often used. Sexual content: none. Setting: 1992 and 2012 California. Copyright: 2012. Genre: crime mystery with a little suspense.

Michael Connelly never disappoints,

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

Yes. Connelly's Bosch books are the best!!!

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes.

Which character – as performed by Michael McConnohie – was your favorite?

Harry Bosch

Any additional comments?

I had one problem with this book. About 2/3 of the way through the book, the narration speeded up quite noticeably. I could still understand what was said but I had to listen very carefully. After about 20 minutes, it slowed down to a ridiculous degree for about 1 minute and then went back to normal and stayed that way for the rest of the book. Had not had that problem before nor have I had it since.