Void Moon

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

In L.A., Cassie Black is another beautiful woman in a Porsche: except Cassie just did six years in prison and still has "outlaw juice" flowing in her veins. Now Cassie is returning to her old profession, taking down a money man in Vegas. But the perfect heist goes very wrong, and suddenly Cassie is on the run - with a near-psychotic Vegas "fixer" killing everyone who knew about the job.

Between Cassie and the man hunting her are a few last secrets: like who really set up the job, why Cassie had to take the chance, and how, in the end, it might all be a matter of the moon....

©2004 Michael Connelly (P)2009 Hachette

Connelly rules!

Although "Void Moon" doesn't contain Harry Bosch -- the hero of most of Connelly's other novels -- it still rocks, showing that Connelly can write anything. In this case he creates a female protagonist, and succeeds in attributing credible behavior and choices to her. I have just finished listening to "Void Moon" for the second time, and I enjoyed it even more than the first time. It employs the risky tactic of revealing the heroine's backstory and motivations a little bit at a time; but Connelly writes so well that the tactic works -- keeping us wondering and paying attention. I recommend "Void Moon" to anyone who loves good, gritty mystery stories.

Not Bosch, but good!

Although recently released on audio, this book was originally published around 2000. Much of the book takes place in Las Vegas, with a blend of real and fictional references. Having read all of Connelly's Bosch books, I found this a refreshing change. It was more current, and the characters embrace technology rather than fight against it. Good twists and turns, a classic heist story. If you liked the movie Ocean's 11 you will like this.

Must read story

If you like Michael Connelly, you will love Void Moon. He can tell a story as well as anyone in the business. Usually Connelly's main characters are males involved in law enforcement. In Void Moon, the main character is a female ex con. This is a big change and he not only pulls it off but it is one of his best and that says a lot.

Void Moon is a story within a story within a story within a story. The plot never stops unfolding and refolding since the reader discovers the background a piece at a time through almost the last page. The villain is horrible and the hero has many more faults than heroes usually have. Connelly gives the reader lots to love and lots to hate.

Another can't miss Connelly.

James Hadley Chase

A little different from the normal Connelly. But a classic. It is a crime thriller which reminded me a lot of James Hadley Chase. Prefect thrills. No disappointments! edge of the seat 70% of the time. Go ahead and choose this one.

No Void Here

One of Connelly's better novels, Void Moon is the intricate story of Cassie Black who has actually taken the fall for Max Freeling, the paranoid manager if a group of cons. Once out of prison, Cassie realizes she is bored with her job at a high-end car dealership. The book is about the cascading events of her life when she makes a poor decision about how to exit the boring into something that gets her adrenaline pumping.

The void moon is a caution from Max to Cassie when attempts to make a final score to set herself up for life. This makes for a quite interesting subplot which really sets the novel apart from other mysteries. It's not often we see astrology used as well as it is here. If you're not a fan of astrology, don't worry. The concept is subtle, but pulls all the scenes together in a big way - beginning to end.

The book contains vibrant characters and we feel sympathetic toward most of them, even Cassie's parole officer. Cassie grows throughout the book and you'll find yourself cheering her on, even when she finds herself in the worst possible situations. You notice yourself whispering to her what to do and for pete's sake what not to do.

There's plenty of suspense and intrigue to keep you reading even when you know you have to get back to work. It's an ideal book for drive time because it keeps you interested from moment to moment. You won't find yourself dropping in and out of the plot due to boring passages. They don't exist in this book.

Ganser does a nice job of reading and the voices are distinct. Overall the performance is credible.

The book is well worth your coin and your time.

Another great Connelly audiobook...

Got me hooked from the beginning. Enjoyed the twists and unexpected turns. The storyline was easy to pick up on when I got interrupted. I really didn't want to stop until I reached the end!

Was a bit of a (nice) surprise...

I had a hard time putting this one down... it was very engaging and suspenseful and I was always wondering what Cassie would do next.

At the start, I thought it was going to be one kind of story (a woman trying to rebuild her life after jail) but it ended up having a much larger scope than that. Guess I should have known that Connelly wouldn't have made the novel straight-forward.

There are a lot of plot components but they are nicely tied together (full-circle) by the end of the story. The origins and motivations of all the characters are explained.

I liked how the bad guy (well, the baddest guy) was, on one hand, a very bad guy but on the other hand, just wanted what he thought was his due. He even had a couple redeeming features (trying to help a stranger type thing).

And the big change in Cassie in the final scene of the book was believable and redeeming.

There is graphic violence and some swearing but no sex. The narration is good.

no good guys

This is an interesting book in that there are no 'good guys' in the story. Thieves steal from thieves and then other thieves chase the first thieves. In that sense, I did not find any of the characters particularly likeable.

Connolley does provide some interesting looks into some of the details of how certain crimes might be committed, but the techology he describes in detail is not up to date. For instance, the surveillance cameras one thief uses have to conntected by wires - wireless technology apparently has not made it into his knowledge base.

If you like Connelly you will probably enjoy this book, but it does standout in any way and the ending is not surprising.

Excellent ‘Perils of Pauline’ remix

Starts out slowly, but engagingly.
Once momentum builds, it is a page burner.
The narration is spot on.

another connelly winner

I really enjoyed this book. Well written as all Connelly books are. lots of twists and turns.

Great story

even though this may have a predictacble outcome it kept you guessing what would happen next, great depth of characters I really enjoyed this MC book,cannot wait to get into the next one.

You Must Give This One A Listen

Where does Void Moon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This superb one-off thriller rates in my top ten and for lovers of good quality thrillers you can never go far wrong with a Michael Connelly novel anyway. This is absolutely no exception!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Void Moon?

Just loved the baddie in this one. He's a very very scary creep and totally relentless!
Slight overtones of 'No Country For Old Men' type of creep. Brilliant Stuff!

Have you listened to any of L. J. Ganser’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not listened to anything else by this narrator but I'll definitely be on the look-out for him again. Really excellent and just right for this book.

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

Not a lot to laugh about that's for sure! It is TOTALLY addictive though so be prepared to be glued to it from start to finish.

Any additional comments?

This is a hugely enjoyable novel with no real unsullied heroes. In fact most of the characters engage in some sort of criminal activity but that all adds to the flavour of this one-off little master-piece. No Mickey or Harry in sight but so what? I was just a little surprised at the ending but really that doesn't detract from what has been a really terrific listen.

Highly recommend

Up to his usual stellar standard, if you have only listened to the Bosch or Haller books, give this one off a go, you won't be disappointed. As usual, totally believable characters, excellent plotline - you won't want to turn it off.

Connelly is Awesome!

What a great read this book was. After being a massive fan of the Bosch/Haller series this was a great read. I love his one off books he does and wish he would do more.



The story is a great thriller that drops in and out of the past to keep you guessing to what really happened. A great story of a womans determination with some creepy charactors thrown in to boot. Really enjoyed it.

I was expecting much more!

Disappointing in every respect. Was expecting much more from this well respected author. Total rubbish.

Superb!

A superbly written and captivating thrill as good as it gets. The audio version was read wonderfully well.