The Concrete Blonde: Harry Bosch Series, Book 3

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Detective Harry Bosch was sure he'd shot the serial killer responsible for a string of murders in LA...but now, a new crime makes him question his convictions.

The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his female victims. Now with a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.

But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man - an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.

So for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go - the darkness of his own heart.

With The Concrete Blonde, Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has hit a whole new level in his career, creating a breathtaking thriller that thrusts you into a blistering courtroom battle - and a desperate search for a sadistic killer.

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

©1994 Michael Connelly (P)1994 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Wow! Excellent Bosch thriller!

I've listened to several Michael Connelly audiobooks, and love the Harry Bosch series. I was excited to see several more recently become available on Audible.
The Concrete Blonde is my current favorite Bosch book, topping my previous favorite: Echo Park.
It's an outstanding mix of courtroom thriller and serial killer hunt/police procedural. It moves along quickly, even the courtroom scenes are fast paced.
Characters are very well developed, not just Bosch, but all the supporting characters, and I like the plot: Bosch is sued for unlawful killing of a serial killer suspect, while at the same time a copycat killer is out there and more bodies begin to show up.
Just when you think you have it all figured out, there will be a couple twists at the end to keep you guessing. An excellent whodunnit. I highly recommend this book, even if it is your first Harry Bosch mystery.

Excellent!

I don't know how I missed this book until now. I like the Harry Bosch series and this certainly did not dissapoint me. I loved it. Dick Hill's narration was terrific. This has everything one could want in a murder mystery.

Strains credibility

Connelly's typically solid work. Great texture, a fascinating and evolving lead character, tightly constructed plot. My only problem with this one was that I never believed the central premise, the fact that Bosch could realistically be found guilty in the court case at the center of the story. To me this part of the book seemed to be manipulated in a way which undermined its credibility. As a result, it was necessary to suspend my disbelief in order to really enjoy the book.

Dick Hill's narration, as always, was right on target. A pleasure to listen to.

Minus the court scenes it'd be 5 star

The 2nd quarter of this book is more like a courtroom procedural/drama than a police/detective novel. Lots of trial scenes which were rather dull. I like the action to occur within the novel, not be related via "testimony" in a courtroom. Fortunately, at the halfway point the story got back to its roots as a detective novel - and a very good one at that!

There was LOTS of suspense and wondering who done it and how will Bosch figure it out and will he get himself killed and how will he get on with his life and etc...

I think it was the best in the series so far (although I did skip most of the early court scenes because they were irrelevant and just plain uninteresting). The plot and pacing after the halfway point, however, fully made up for the boredom of these court scenes as it got fast 'n furious once they got a suspect to follow.

The narration was very good.

Some editing needed

Very interesting book, fascinating storyline. However, some of the court scenes need to be edited. Too long and quite boring on many different occasions.

A rollercoaster

The best Harry Bosch story yet if you asked me. The narration is good as usual, but the story this time takes on a different twist because it combines the legal thriller theme with the serial killer story but our protagonist is the defendant himself now, simultaneously investigating a serial killer he's charged with wrongfully killing.

Among my favorite Bosch stories

Suspenseful, good twists to the story line with multiple subplots. Surprise ending. Narration good, but would be better with a second reader, perhaps a female, reading the female parts.

Courtroom Drama. Best of First 3 Bosch Books.

The Concrete Blonde had much more courtroom drama than the first two installations of the Detective Bosch series, and Connelly wrote it very well. I found the mystery and intrigue unfolded in a much more satisfactory way than in the first books, although I'm still waiting for peripheral character development to rise to an equally satisfactory level. I will cautiously continue my forray into the series hoping that the quality continues to improve, since I know this is generally a well-regarded arc for those who enjoy crime novels. That said, I may give up if the next couple books in the series don't expand past lovable rogue cop tropes.

Love the story and Harry, but not the reader

If you could sum up The Concrete Blonde: Harry Bosch Series, Book 3 in three words, what would they be?

Very Good Read

What did you like best about this story?

Good Guy Harry Bosch

Which character – as performed by Dick Hill – was your favorite?

Harry

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no

Any additional comments?

The reader does this thing with either gulping or swallowing sometimes when it is not appropriate for the story. He was better in this book then in past books, but I don't like it at all.

Great story

This is a very good story and keeps the listeners interest throughout. However, it seems the narrator is speaking too close into the microphone. It was hard to get past at the beginning of the story and made all the characters voices have a muffled sound. As the story progressed either the sound got better or I just stopped paying attention to it because of how into the story I had become. I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good crime novel.