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

Where is the Len Cariou, this narrator blows!!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I'm a huge Connelly fan, I have read or listened to everything. I'm half way through the book and the story is solid, but not the best (The Drop, 9 Dragons, The Reversal, The Poet - being the best). I have never written a review before completing the story but I'm fed up with this narrator, he is so bad. I was so looking forward to 11/26 - the release of this book, and was so disappointed 15 minutes in after hearing this voice droning on.

I'm at a loss as to why a series of this caliber and success would choose this narrator. I hope there was a very good reason for parting ways with Len Cariou, he was the best Bosch narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

A great way of tying together 20 years of Bosch stories.

Would you be willing to try another one of Michael McConnohie’s performances?

No, this was a really bad performance.

Could you see The Black Box being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Bosch would be a great character for a TV series.

Any additional comments?

Only die hard Connelly/Bosch fans should buy this. If this were my first Connelly listen I would never buy anything else (due to the narrator).

It feels like the end of an era.

My audiobook addiction began in 2005 with "The Closers" by Michael Connelly. I was blown away. The story and the narration were so good, I knew right then I was hooked. In the following years, I listened to virtually every Michael Connelly book, and I enjoyed all of them - until The Black Box. This story felt shallow and uninspired. Harry Bosch has become a shadow of his formal self. The story was chock full of cliches and simplistic writing, and the character development was almost non-existent. The narration was terrible and made me feel like the narrator was speaking in satire. I think this will be the last Michael Connelly book I read. It's the end of an era.

Disappointing

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I am not sure any one but die-hard Harry Bosch fans could get through it.

If you’ve listened to books by Michael Connelly before, how does this one compare?

Not one of his better tries. It felt like Mr. Connelly was just going through the motions to get another book out there. I wanted to shout, "Show, not Tell" please review creative writing 101. So disappointing.

How could the performance have been better?

Very monotone, and almost like it is a news report.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Connelly starts connecting the wide spread pieces of the puzzle together into an interesting shape. It just wasn't done in his good style. The narrator made a so-so book even more below average.

Contrary to the tagline, Harry Bosch is not back!

As the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Sadly, I preordered this book from the main page, and the book listings don't show the narrators there. As such, I was unable to see who was reading this book. Heck, I didn't even bother to read the reviews because there has never been such a thing as a bad Harry Bosch novel. It never even occurred to me that the publishing house for a Harry Bosch novel would commit such an incredible blunder as to change the narrator, after 18 books, to someone not only unfamiliar, but inept! When I started listening, I was shocked to not only NOT hear Dick Hill or Len Cariou, but to hear this droning voice that almost put me to sleep.

Mcconnohie literally reads the book... doesn't perform it, but reads it. There were no attempts to assign a unique quality of voice to a particular character, no inflections for different emotions during the story... I imagine that most parents reading a story book to their child would do a better job than this narrator has done. It is so poorly read that I cannot even tell if the book is any good.

I will admit that after reading some of the other reviews that I didn't make it as far as they did! I gave up after only 30 minutes! Who makes the decisions on these narrators? Doesn't Michael Connelly have a say in how the book should be read? Why, on earth, would the powers that be take such a popular series as the Harry Bosch novels, whose followers practically count the days until the next book is released, and then disappoint these fans with such a worthless read (or listen?) This was a huge letdown. Shame on Brilliance Audio and even shame on Michael Connelly if he has any say in the choice of his narrators.

Can you tell that I am NOT recommending this book??! Let's hope they get it right the next time... too bad we will have to wait for probably a year to find out.

Reader ruins the book!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Black Box to be better than the print version?

No because: The poor performance of the reader really detracts from the whole exprience.

What did you like best about this story?

I'm reviewing after only listening for 2hrs, so I can't say what I like best. But I felt I had to comment on how boring the reader is.

What didn’t you like about Michael McConnohie’s performance?

He sounds almost mechanical.

Any additional comments?

I might finish listening but right now I'm really tempted to invest in the ebook as well and enjoy "Harry Bosch" that way because at this juncture I'm too distracted by the change in readers. Harry had a voice and it's not Mr Connohie!

Okay, but not my favorite Bosch.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Maybe. Die-hard Connelly/Bosch fans will enjoy this, but it was lacking a bit in suspense and excitement. Maybe it was the narrator - he was fine, but he really just read the book out loud without a lot of emphasis on characters and individual voices.

In previous Bosch novels, tension builds as Bosch gradually pulls together the evidence and the truth starts to take shape. Here, the mystery wasn't very complex, and each of Harry's steps in the case seemed more like tedious obstacles on the way to a foregone conclusion.

There was a little character development between Bosch and his daughter Maddie, but nothing earth-shaking. An even smaller arc with Hannah, Bosch's ladyfriend from The Drop. Some very minor departmental politics that barely even register when compared to Bosch's old nemesis, Irvin Irving. In all, this was good, but didn't quite live up to my excitement for a new Bosch novel.

Would you be willing to try another book from Michael Connelly? Why or why not?

Absolutely! Everything else of his I've read/listened to, I've really enjoyed.

What didn’t you like about Michael McConnohie’s performance?

It would be hard to find a more perfect voice for Bosch than Len Cariou, who read several earlier entries in this series. The narrator was okay, but didn't knock my socks off.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe. I have a feeling if they ever tried to make these books into movies I'd hate them. Still, I liked "The Lincoln Lawyer," based on another Connelly novel, so who knows?

Disappointment on Multiple Levels

I'm amazed- and not in a good way. The story was mediocre and plodding. Harry Bosch has taken a wimpy turn. Other characters were shallow and in some cases unlikable (Maddy- the whiny daughter). The story plodded (redundant, I know, but the best adjective that applies) until the last couple of hours when some action started. Even then we're supposed to believe Bosch would stoop to forcing a made-under-duress confession that was so blatantly inadmissible that I wondered at the stupidity of the idea. In previous books, Connelly has shown us Harry's flaws but he was, at least, believable.. I didn't LIKE Harry much throughout this book. I kept waiting to get that previous admiration back but it didn't happen.

The narration? The narration was just plain droning. McConnohie read it in a bored (and boring) monotone. I always suspect there's always some background drama (change of publisher, narrator wants a raise, etc.) when a series changes narrators. To their credit, Hill, Cariou and Giles each 'performed' their respective narrations- McConnohie simply read this book aloud. It didn't work.

I pre-ordered The Black Box because after 17 great Harry Bosch books, I was positive # 18 would continue the tradition of excellence. I started reading it five minutes after it was released. Had they been available,I would have been shocked to see the current reviews- but after reading it I have to concur.

Will I read # 19? Oh yes, absolutely. I'll give Bosch a chance to redeem himself in my eyes. In fact, over this long, gray, WA state winter, I'll go back to book one and read them all again. I want to like Harry again.

Where Is Lou?

Although I will listen to this book I have no sudden rush to get to it. Knowing that the narrator is new to this series really puts a damper on it. When are these guys realize that the narrator is such a big part of the books.

Too Much Background Not Enough NOW

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I am three hours into this and am finding it pretty boring...so far it is a lot of background and the narrator is not interesting...I miss the usual narrators A LOT...

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The least interesting - the narrator

Would you be willing to try another one of Michael McConnohie’s performances?

I have listened to every one and I am really disappointed in this one so far

Any additional comments?

sorry to be so negarive - I love Harry Bosch

I have no idea if the book is any good.

What did you like best about The Black Box? What did you like least?

The promise of another Michael Connelly book.
The fear that the great books of the past will not have another successor to remind us of this author's great skills.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Weaving in the international aspect and historical events but then the author seemed to have phoned the story in, it was not developed and the outcome seemed obvious. Even Harry seemed one dimensional.
But I am not sure the narrator did not cause this reaction.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narration reminded me of narrators of the old film strips shown in schools and guaranteed to put children to sleep. It was bad. The gentleman has a voice but no calling to deliver a mystery and especially the weathered tough but soft Harry Bosch.

Was The Black Box worth the listening time?

Only if you love Harry Bosch and Michael Connelly but it will worry you that we won't have a new Connelly in the future with the greatness of past books. I hope it was mostly the narrator.