The Drop

Harry Bosch, Book 15

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Len Cariou

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two.

DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer, or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court.

Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation.

Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.

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

©2011 Michael Connelly (P)2011 Hachette Audio

An excellent addition to a reliable series

This is an engaging addition to Connelly's great series. Both plots kept my attention and it is fun to watch Bosch's daughter become a wise-beyond-her-years teen.

The voice was a too wispy

The story was good and contained a varied ending for Bosch. Unfortunately, the voice wasn't that good.

Kept me listning

Loved the story and I was captivated. Wanted to keep listening to the very end..

One of Harry's Best

Sometimes, Connelly get carried away with too much gunplay, but this one is a good deal more credible. The final scene is well done and requires some thought on the reader's part.

Compassion for Criminals

I really don’t know which one of the Harry Bosch books I like the most, they are all so very good. And they all have multiple stories within one book. In this book Harry has a lot on his plate, he is trying to date but not sure how a professional relationship will work as a personal relationship, he is dealing with trying to remember that he is a single father and he must attend to his daughter sometimes and can’t just run around the city all hours of the night like he used to. Harry is back in the office and working with Chew again, and now they have a wierd case that has been dropped in their lap. A case were the evidence points to a person who is too young to be the suspect, when the crime was committed the suspect would have been 8 years old. While starting to speak to the agents who were on the case Bosch gets a call from Kiz, and throws Harry a curve Ball. The Chief and Old Cheif Irvin is requesting Bosch to take a case of a jumper.. and the twist is that the jumper is Irvin's son. Harry and Chew think they are going in the right direction when a name Clayton Pell comes up as a good suspect for the old rape and murder of the 19 year old girl that happened 22 years ago, but when they find out that not only is Clayton not a good fit for this crime they start to really think that something is going wrong with the information from this case. Bosh and his partner Chew are following the evidence in these cases but at some point they have to stop and think is this evidence correct with what it is showing them or is there something that they are both missing in this case. Will they ever solve both cases?, who can they trust?

Another masterpiece

Another winner for Michael Connelly. The Bosch series is amazing and does not disappoint the reader

MC at his best

Where to start with this one.....this was the best Harry to date imo and maybe the best book Ive read this year. MC has proved once again why he is one of the top 2 or 3 mystery writers out there.

Now for the bad. Something seems to have happened to Len Cariou's voice. He has always done a wonderful job bringing Harry to life. I used to listen to Cariou and think he his Harry Bosch. Although, since the "Overlook" something has changed with his voice. I first noticed it in "Suicide Run". His voice sounded real strained, like he was struggling to get through each line. I chalked it up to being a half a** effort because it was a short story and ignored it. Instead of listening to "Suicide Run" I bought the book because I just couldnt listen to Cariou. Well, I download the "Drop" and sure enough, Cariou's voice is still sounding weird. I dont know what has happened but it is now a challenge to listen to him. If you dont understand what I am saying go listen to "Lost Light" or any of his previous Harry Bosch books and you will hear this difference.

Cant fault MC for Cariou so I give the book a 5 out of 5. But if you have not bought the audio version yet, I suggest you by the print version of this one.

A new era

Any additional comments?

Michael Connelly and I have been 'Audible Friends' for a few years now, and his early work was extremely well crafted. In my opinion, his approach with Bosch as a character peaked with Trunk Music and The Last Coyote, masterpieces of the genera, and has been somewhat formulaic since. With The Drop, I think he's broken new ground with a complex, multifacited plot that let's Bosch mature into a much better character with a lot more texture and substance. Len Caiou's voice, with it's age and gravel, really fit the character now. It's a pleasure to see him grow and expand the character.

Terrific book - not a terrific narration

If you could sum up The Drop in three words, what would they be?

compelling, tight, dark

How could the performance have been better?

I love Len Cariou's acting, but his narration is lacking. You can hear him pause at the end of every line on the page he's reading. It's annoying.

I fell for this one!

I listened to some other Michael Connelly novels before and I was unimpressed.....but this one was really good. The plot was interesting and credible and full of surprises. I'm into character development as well as plot and this one satisfied me on that score also. Only one complaint....the narrator was more of a distraction than an enhancement. I know he's supposed to sound like a tough guy, but it sounded like he needed to be connected to an oxygen tank! Imagine Don Corleone narrating a story and you'll get the idea.....not very convincing when doing female voices.