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

Judge Keys

The voice for Judge Keys reminds me of Judge Joe Brown. I’m getting hooked to the series. Next up The Last Coyote!!

Good Book, number 3 in the series

started: 07/22/2022, finished: 07/30/2022

I personally feel it was a good book, book 3 in the Harry Bosch series. I'm growing to like Dick hill as the narrator.

Love the series.

As always, an enjoyable read. This one rambles a bit and the end was predictable (not on the nose but you could see it coming)
Excited for the next!

Had my rapt attention! So well written!

Good story! Really 3 stories that merged together. Always a good read! Surprised that Honey was killed. I figured she would be his nemesis for life!

Mandatory title

Still not possible to rate a book without comment. A pity. Oh now there is a limit in the number of words. That should be OK now.

Good to the last drop!

This book kept a great pace all the way through as Bosch faces dual but interrelated challenges. He is being sued by the widow of a serial killer he shot and killed, while at the same time it appears that he might have killed the wrong guy when another body emerges. Bosch needs to balance each to avoid each from interfering in the other. There are lots of twists and fakes. I could sometimes tell when a fake was being set up but didn’t see the ending. The pacing was fantastic and Dick Hill is a great navigator. My only complaint was the excess descriptions of Bosch’s smoking habit, which seemed a bit dated.

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.