Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Grand Central Publishing (2003), 448 pages
Description
On New Year's Day, a dog finds a bone in the Hollywood Hills--and unearths a murder committed more than twenty years earlier. It's a cold case, but for Detective Harry Bosch, it stirs up memories of his childhood as an orphan. He can't let it go. As the investigation takes Bosch deeper into the past, a beautiful rookie cop brings him alive in the present. No official warning can break them apart--or prepare Bosch for the explosions when the case takes a few hard turns. Suddenly all of L.A. is in an uproar, and Bosch, fighting to keep control, is driven to the brink of an unimaginable decision.
User reviews
LibraryThing member SLuce
Read during trip to India and Singapore. Good, quick mystery.
LibraryThing member csweder
Michael Connelly is a good author. In the sense that I began reading this book on Tuesday, and finished it on Saturday. It's a book that I wanted to keep reading. That said, I don't feel too much desire to read any more of his books. I've read only 2 now, but I can see the themes that he writes
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about. Death, and the investigation that ensues. And a relationship between the male investigator and a woman somehow involved in the case. Something MUST happen to the relationship because of the male's lack of trust, and it ends. The male is then left alone. Oh, and then the case is probably solved--but not in a way where the good guys always win. Instead, despite that the good guys win, the wins are bittersweet. I liked it for 1 book, not as much the 2nd book, but just have no desire to read it again. Show Less
LibraryThing member miyurose
This is the first of the Harry Bosch series I've read (there I go, jumping into the middle of a series again). It was great! Usually I'm pretty good at figuring out what direction a book is going in, but this one had 2 or 3 surprising twists that I really enjoyed. And it seems that it may have come
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at a turning point in the series. Now I need to find the earlier books... Show Less
LibraryThing member jenspeaks
My new favorite police character is Harry Bosch.
LibraryThing member Heptonj
This was an excellent book which had many twists and turns.
The remains of a young boy are found in a remote woodland area which sets off a harrowing investigation for Harry Bosch and everyone else involved including an innocent suspect.
To complicate matters Harry meets a 'boot' - rookie cop - who
The remains of a young boy are found in a remote woodland area which sets off a harrowing investigation for Harry Bosch and everyone else involved including an innocent suspect.
To complicate matters Harry meets a 'boot' - rookie cop - who
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he decides attracts him and he has high hopes of a lasting relationship. He brings her into the investigation and all seems to be going well until he realises there is more to the girl than meets the eye. Disastrous consequences ensue. Show Less
LibraryThing member McCoog40
Detective Heironymus (Harry) Bosch is at it again. This time falling into a murder that occured twenty-some odd years before the bones of a young boy were discovered. Bosch has to battle through a love affair of his own and a tormented past of the boy, all while playing on his orphanage upbringing
Enough twists and turns to keep the seasoned reader involved but not too many to dull the effect of the revelations. Presented every bit as well as you'd expect form Connelly.
Some elements of the story could have been tied together better and some of the character development on the minor characters (who end up playing big roles) could have been a little more in-depth but it was very entertaining and overall a very good book.
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to close the case. Enough twists and turns to keep the seasoned reader involved but not too many to dull the effect of the revelations. Presented every bit as well as you'd expect form Connelly.
Some elements of the story could have been tied together better and some of the character development on the minor characters (who end up playing big roles) could have been a little more in-depth but it was very entertaining and overall a very good book.
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LibraryThing member SamSattler
When a dog returns to its waiting owner with a human bone clutched in its jaws, Detective Harry Bosch inherits one of the coldest of cases, the 20-year-old murder of a young boy who was never reported missing. Bosch has seen everything during his long career with the LAPD but he is still capable of
It soon becomes obvious that the boy lived not just a short life, but a very painful one. There is evidence of numerous breaks in the bones recovered by the police and some of the fractures appear to have been suffered when the boy was only two years old. Bosch knows there is a killer out there who believes that he will never be caught - and that the killer is likely to be one of the boy's parents. What he does not know is the boy's name or who his parents are.
There can be no doubt that Michael Connelly is a master of the police procedural and much of "City of Bones" is textbook police procedural. The reader is intimately exposed to the time-consuming and tedious process that is a police investigation, including the dozens of false leads that have to be worked before the real ones can be followed. Detective Bosh and his partner, Jerry Edgar, are determined that, against all odds, they will bring this boy's killer to justice and, as one piece of the puzzle after another slowly begins to fall into place, they seem to be getting there. But at what cost to the boy's family and to the detectives, themselves?
"City of Bones" is a superb procedural but what saves it from the possibility of becoming tedious are side-plots involving two women well known Harry Bosch. One is the egotistical coroner he is forced to work with, a woman so determined to become a national celebrity that she has her own documentary cameraman follow her around from case to case. The other is an overage police rookie who manages to attach herself to both Bosch and the case he is working. Between these complications, the internal politics of the LAPD and the 20-year-old murder case, Bosch has plenty on his plate.
What longtime Harry Bosch fans will remember most about "City of Bones," however, is likely to be the revelation Harry makes at the very end of the story.
Reader, beware: Don't go there first.
Rated at: 3.5
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feeling a sense of outrage about the murders he investigates for the city. And what he learns about the short life of this young murder victim will hit him particularly hard. It soon becomes obvious that the boy lived not just a short life, but a very painful one. There is evidence of numerous breaks in the bones recovered by the police and some of the fractures appear to have been suffered when the boy was only two years old. Bosch knows there is a killer out there who believes that he will never be caught - and that the killer is likely to be one of the boy's parents. What he does not know is the boy's name or who his parents are.
There can be no doubt that Michael Connelly is a master of the police procedural and much of "City of Bones" is textbook police procedural. The reader is intimately exposed to the time-consuming and tedious process that is a police investigation, including the dozens of false leads that have to be worked before the real ones can be followed. Detective Bosh and his partner, Jerry Edgar, are determined that, against all odds, they will bring this boy's killer to justice and, as one piece of the puzzle after another slowly begins to fall into place, they seem to be getting there. But at what cost to the boy's family and to the detectives, themselves?
"City of Bones" is a superb procedural but what saves it from the possibility of becoming tedious are side-plots involving two women well known Harry Bosch. One is the egotistical coroner he is forced to work with, a woman so determined to become a national celebrity that she has her own documentary cameraman follow her around from case to case. The other is an overage police rookie who manages to attach herself to both Bosch and the case he is working. Between these complications, the internal politics of the LAPD and the 20-year-old murder case, Bosch has plenty on his plate.
What longtime Harry Bosch fans will remember most about "City of Bones," however, is likely to be the revelation Harry makes at the very end of the story.
Reader, beware: Don't go there first.
Rated at: 3.5
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LibraryThing member slarsoncollins
Very interesting plot. I like Bosch as a character and look forward to reading the rest of the Bosch books that led up to this one. This one really hits home with the discovery of a boy's remains and the search for his killer.
LibraryThing member Scrabblenut
I have not read all the books in the Harry Bosch series, but enjoyed this one very much and will go back and pick up the rest of the series. The bones of a 12-year-old boy are found in a shallow grave on a wooded hillside. The bones bear signs of long term abuse, as well as murder, and have been
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there 20 or more years. This was an excellent police procedural, and Harry is an introspective and empathetic character. I look forward to reading his earlier books. Show Less
LibraryThing member irisrose
Good read over the Atlantic from Paris. Fast moving. When I got home bought first of series: Black Echo.
LibraryThing member wiccked
Harry Bosch again. I know I get boring when I read book after book in a series. There isn't a whole lot to write about them, because they deal with the same characters, and similar plots. I obviously enjoy them because I keep on reading!
LibraryThing member debavp
Wow, another great Harry Bosch story. Connelly is bringing the development of Harry along nicely now and the storyline was great as well. Maybe a bit predictable in spots, but I still wasn't sure until the end and there was a great surprise twist as well as a didn't see it coming ending. Can't wait
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for the next one. Show Less
LibraryThing member addunn3
Harry Bosche is on the hunt for the killer and abuser of a child whose bones where found buried in the hills above the city. A 20 year mystery is soon uncovered in a quick read.
LibraryThing member emigre
Discovery of a child's bones from two decades ago on a LA mountaintop lead to more unearthed secrets. Harry Bosch's relationship with a rookie really stands out as he also juggles the grim task of looking for a child's killer.
LibraryThing member caroren
A good crime fiction read !
LibraryThing member infjsarah
I always enjoy Michael Connelly novels and this one was particularly good. No happy ending for anyone though.
LibraryThing member Amusedbythis
I have been "checking out" the Kindle edition of the Harry Bosch series from my local library. This novel held my interest but was not as gripping as some in the series. In this mystery, Detective Bosch solves a 20 year old murder. In the course of the investigation, he predictably has a fatal
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romance with a fellow officer. Show Less
LibraryThing member she_climber
Slowly wading into this series and it is definitely picking up steam for me. I seem to enjoy each one a little more than the last. (Edit: I accidently skipped ahead 3 books in the series, which explains some of the gaps I wondered about)
LibraryThing member ecw0647
This is another excellent entry in the Hieronymous (Harry) Bosch detective series. Connelly’s books are consistently excellent. Bosch is a return — resurrection might be a better word — to the anti-authority, hard-boiled, chain-smoking (although he has quit in the most recent novels)
cop who
affront and seeks the truth no matter where it might lead.
Harry and his partner, Jerry Edgar, are trying to find an identity to match with a child’s skeleton that had been dug up in the Hollywood hills. The child has apparently been beaten and abandoned, symbolic of what has happened to
Harry’s city. Bosch feels alone in his battle to
find the killer, hindered by an overzealous media,
and a department that doesn’t have the same zeal for the case that Harry does. Longhidden secrets emerge in numerous subplots as Bosch begins to unearth the truth. As in many
of the other novels, the perpetrator and motive for the crime emerge slowly and often surprisingly. As Harry’s captain remarks, Harry seems to be the department's “shit magnet,” with all the difficult and dirty cases falling his way.Connelly skillfully sketches in minor characters
as he takes the reader to the book’s inexorable
conclusion. Long live Harry Bosch!
cop who
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sets his own standards of excellence and tries to live up to them, often crossing swords with his superiors in the process. Unlike many modern “heroes,” he doesn't suffer from constant angst. He does take crime as a personalaffront and seeks the truth no matter where it might lead.
Harry and his partner, Jerry Edgar, are trying to find an identity to match with a child’s skeleton that had been dug up in the Hollywood hills. The child has apparently been beaten and abandoned, symbolic of what has happened to
Harry’s city. Bosch feels alone in his battle to
find the killer, hindered by an overzealous media,
and a department that doesn’t have the same zeal for the case that Harry does. Longhidden secrets emerge in numerous subplots as Bosch begins to unearth the truth. As in many
of the other novels, the perpetrator and motive for the crime emerge slowly and often surprisingly. As Harry’s captain remarks, Harry seems to be the department's “shit magnet,” with all the difficult and dirty cases falling his way.Connelly skillfully sketches in minor characters
as he takes the reader to the book’s inexorable
conclusion. Long live Harry Bosch!
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LibraryThing member moonshineandrosefire
On New Year's Day, Detective Harry Bosch receives a phone call that a dog has found a bone - a bone that the dog's owner, a doctor, is convinced is human. During the subsequent investigation, that discovery leads Harry to a shallow grave in the Hollywood Hills, evidence of a murder committed more
Harry can not let this case go. He's absolutely determined that the child will not be forgotten. Unearthing hidden stories, Harry eventually discovers the child's true identity and begins to slowly reconstruct the boy's fractured life.
At the same time, a burgeoning love affair with a female rookie cop begins to blossom for Harry - until a devastatingly botched mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before in his turbulent career. As the investigation races toward its unexpected conclusion, Harry is left on the brink of an unimaginable decision...
I thought that reading this book was quite intriguing. In my opinion, the writing was very clear and easy to follow. This actually was the first book by Michael Connelly that I've ever read, and the eighth book in this particular series.
Despite that, the mystery wasn't too difficult for me to understand. Although I will say that, at least for me, the ending was slightly anticlimactic - leaving me with a couple of unanswered questions. Overall though, City of Bones by Michael Connelly earned a definite A! and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
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than twenty years earlier. It's a cold case, but it stirs up the detective's deeply buried memories of his own childhood as an orphan in the city. Especially when the bones are identified to be those of a child - a twelve-year-old boy.Harry can not let this case go. He's absolutely determined that the child will not be forgotten. Unearthing hidden stories, Harry eventually discovers the child's true identity and begins to slowly reconstruct the boy's fractured life.
At the same time, a burgeoning love affair with a female rookie cop begins to blossom for Harry - until a devastatingly botched mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before in his turbulent career. As the investigation races toward its unexpected conclusion, Harry is left on the brink of an unimaginable decision...
I thought that reading this book was quite intriguing. In my opinion, the writing was very clear and easy to follow. This actually was the first book by Michael Connelly that I've ever read, and the eighth book in this particular series.
Despite that, the mystery wasn't too difficult for me to understand. Although I will say that, at least for me, the ending was slightly anticlimactic - leaving me with a couple of unanswered questions. Overall though, City of Bones by Michael Connelly earned a definite A! and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
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LibraryThing member Darrol
I like this style better than the elaborate plots. Just good, tenacious, police work.
LibraryThing member mrtall
Another excellent offering from Michael Connelly. Bosch catches a cold case: a boy's skeleton found on a hillside. The search for the killer takes a couple of convincing twists, and culminates in a satisfying ending. Bosch also has a new love interest.
LibraryThing member Lauren2013
City of Bones
4 Stars
It is a quiet New Years until the call comes in about the discovery of human remains in the Hollywood Hills. When the body is revealed to be that of a young boy who suffered horrific abuse in his short life, Detective Harry Bosch is determined to bring the culprit to justice.
While the Harry Bosch books are enjoyable reads, Connelly's writing tends toward the philosophical and often becomes bogged down with Harry's constant psychological musings. That said, City of Bones breaks from this mold as the mystery develops at a solid pace. Unfortunately, it does peter out somewhat toward the end and the resolution is rather anti-climactic.
The secondary storyline involving Harry's relationship with Julia is decidedly weaker as their connection feels contrived and out of place. It is evident throughout the series that this aspect of Connelly's writing is very poor, and he should stick to the investigations and leave the romance to the experts.
In sum, Harry is a very appealing character and the procedural aspects of the investigation are excellent.
4 Stars
It is a quiet New Years until the call comes in about the discovery of human remains in the Hollywood Hills. When the body is revealed to be that of a young boy who suffered horrific abuse in his short life, Detective Harry Bosch is determined to bring the culprit to justice.
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Harry also begins a personal relationship with a rookie cop, but a shocking event jeopardizes his future in the department. While the Harry Bosch books are enjoyable reads, Connelly's writing tends toward the philosophical and often becomes bogged down with Harry's constant psychological musings. That said, City of Bones breaks from this mold as the mystery develops at a solid pace. Unfortunately, it does peter out somewhat toward the end and the resolution is rather anti-climactic.
The secondary storyline involving Harry's relationship with Julia is decidedly weaker as their connection feels contrived and out of place. It is evident throughout the series that this aspect of Connelly's writing is very poor, and he should stick to the investigations and leave the romance to the experts.
In sum, Harry is a very appealing character and the procedural aspects of the investigation are excellent.
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LibraryThing member BookConcierge
Digital audio narrated by Peter J Fernandez.
Book eight in the popular Harry Bosch detective mystery series. When a man’s dog returns from exploring a wooded hillside bearing a human bone, Harry gets called to investigate. The bone is not recent, and once more of the skeleton is recovered, the
I really like this series, partly because I really like Harry Bosch. He’s a great detective, and does his best to circumvent the political minefield of a big-city police department and political interests that seem to interfere with investigating and discovering the truth.
The action is fast paced and Connelly gives the reader enough red herrings to keep anyone guessing.
Peter J Fernandez does a fine job narrating the audiobook. He moves along at a good clip, and does a pretty good job of voicing the women characters as well as the men.
Book eight in the popular Harry Bosch detective mystery series. When a man’s dog returns from exploring a wooded hillside bearing a human bone, Harry gets called to investigate. The bone is not recent, and once more of the skeleton is recovered, the
Show More
medical examiner notes signs of continued abuse, including multiple healed fractures. Who is this child? And who was the murderer?I really like this series, partly because I really like Harry Bosch. He’s a great detective, and does his best to circumvent the political minefield of a big-city police department and political interests that seem to interfere with investigating and discovering the truth.
The action is fast paced and Connelly gives the reader enough red herrings to keep anyone guessing.
Peter J Fernandez does a fine job narrating the audiobook. He moves along at a good clip, and does a pretty good job of voicing the women characters as well as the men.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kenzen
Twists and turns and some things I got right.
Subjects
Awards
Edgar Award (Nominee — Novel — 2003)
Anthony Award (Nominee — Novel — 2003)
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Shortlist — 2002)
Macavity Award (Nominee — Novel — 2003)
Barry Award (Winner — Novel — 2003)
Gumshoe Award (Nominee — Novel — 2003)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002
Physical description
448 p.; 4.13 inches
ISBN
0446611611 / 9780446611619