Lost Light (Harry Bosch)

by Michael Connelly

2004

Status

Available

Publication

Vision (2004), 416 pages

Description

The vision has haunted him for four years--a young woman lying crumpled in death, her hand outstretched in silent supplication. Harry Bosch was taken off the Angella Benton murder case when the production assistant's death was linked with the violent theft of two million dollars from a movie set. Both files were never closed. Now retired from the L.A.P.D., Bosch is determined to find justice for Angella. Without a badge to open doors and strike fear into the guilty, he's on his own. And even in the face of an opponent more powerful and ruthless than any he's ever encountered, Bosch is not backing down.

User reviews

LibraryThing member ecw0647

I read (or listen) to everything Michael Connelly writes, and he never disappoints. This is the ninth novel featuring Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch, who remains dedicated to uncovering the truth no matter where it might lead. Harry has retired from the LAPD, disillusioned by his countless battles with

police bureaucracy and hypocrisy, but he remains haunted by the sight of a murdered victim's hands that were arranged by the killer in almost a supplication. He decides to track down a few leads to see if he might get somewhere. The case involved the death of Angela Benton, who had worked for a bank that loaned $2 million in cash to a movie company to be used as part of a set during a movie. The cash was taken during a robbery on the set.

In a seemingly unrelated case, Harry has been called to visit a cop who had been paralyzed during a shooting in which his partner had been killed. Harry learns that an FBI agent had been killed in a seemingly separate case, but before she died she had discovered an anomaly in the list of serial numbers of the $100 bills heisted from the movie set. Harry wonders if there might possibly be a connection between the three cases and begins to investigate.

Suddenly he's confronted by stone walls and official FBI and police notice that he stay as far away from the case as possible. After he tries to borrow some files from the paralyzed cop, he's unceremoniously taken by FBI, to facilities they use to keep suspected terrorists under wraps. He learns that the elite Homeland Security Team is involved in the case and is using its dictatorial authority and secret powers to maintain control of the case.
That's when the book gets really interesting, because Harry captures on videotape the FBI manhandling the paralyzed cop. He had originally installed the equipment to check on the cop's wife, who the cop claims has been abusive to him. He uses the video to extort information from the FBI and to retrieve information about the original murders that no one would provide. It's really fun to watch them get manipulated so masterfully.

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LibraryThing member EmScape

Harry has retired, but just can't quit the mission. An acquaintance cop who was shot while he and his partner were having lunch, resulting in the death of the partner and his own paralysis, may be the key to solving the cold case of a production assistant who was murdered and later linked to the

theft of a million dollars from a movie set. Unfortunately, the FBI has also stepped in here and without a badge, Harry is about to be even more stymied by the feds than usual.
At first everything seems a little coincidental, but eventually it all adds up to another stunning climax and resolution of the case for Harry Bosch. Michael Connelly is a master at plotting.

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LibraryThing member Darcia

I found this book had too much "tell" and not enough "show". At times I felt like I was reading a police file with every little detail set out for me. There were even several full length, 2 to 3 page, "newspaper articles" included. For me, it was a lot of unnecessary detail that could have been

summed up in a paragraph.

The plot was excellent and kept me guessing. The main character, Harry Bosch, is great. But I couldn't get lost in the story. I got bored and often found myself skimming the unnecessary descriptive pages.

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LibraryThing member terrybfla

SLIGHT SPOILER: This was may favorite Harry Bosch book so far (reading them in order) based on the story alone, but Connelly was wonderfully oblique when he paid a homage to another of my favorite authors/characters in this genre. At one point in the book, Harry notices "a vintage yellow Corvette

waiting...I knew the driver.. He was a private-eye who lived on the other side of the ridge from me." Robert Crais fans know who he saw! Love it!

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LibraryThing member debavp

Another great Bosch. Connelly's definitely not keeping Bosch still these days. Great story development and another didn't see it coming ending.

LibraryThing member navyjoe98

Great ending. I do wish that Harry was still an detective. I did not like this book in the series as well as some of the others because Harry is now retired/PI.

LibraryThing member Djupstrom

Another crime/thriller...but this one has a heart. Another fun, page-turning Harry Bosch adventure.

LibraryThing member KLSimpson

Good story and a good ending. Fairly typical Bosch novel.

LibraryThing member addunn3

Good plot. Harry is retired and obsessed by an old unsolved case involving the murder of a movie staff person and the theft of $2 million dollars from the set. He is threatened by Homeland Security as well as others to drop the case, but, of course, he doesn't and rides it to a violent conclusion.

LibraryThing member reeread

Harry is driven to solve a case that seems to have come to a dead end. He untangles the links to other crimes and uncovers what many had thought to keep hidden. Working as a PI, not as a policeman has its drawbacks, some life threatening, but he continues on even when warned off. His house becomes

a major crime scene, and it is hinted that he will get rid of it and never go back. I'd become quite attached to his house. His relationship with Eleanor Wish takes an interesting turn, which could prove to be life-changing for him, but we will have to wait and see.

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LibraryThing member wiccked

This one I liked. And I'm glad I finally know where Harry got his daughter. I was thinking that it had to be in this book, and it was, but it wasn't like I expected it would be. I hope the next book goes into this a bit more.

This one was quite clever, actually. There were quite a few surprises,

which I like!

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LibraryThing member neringros

I am not the biggest whodunnit fan, but I actually enjoyed this book - it was entertaining, easy to read, pretty well written and its plot was unexpected. Some things were not so believable (like the fact that Harry Bosch got what he came for pretty much every place he went - everybody's favorite

good/bad guy) and some descriptions not quite right, but in the big scheme of things, they didn't matter so much. This was the first Michael Connely book for me and I would definitely read books by this writer again.

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LibraryThing member AsRa6

I am in the middle and its a little hard but keeps your mind racing.

LibraryThing member DinoReader

My new favorite Michael Connelly novel. I thought Connelly writing in first person was much better than his usual approach. The story went better and the skill he used to illuminate motivations without resorting to revelations of internal thinking was excellent. I was more impressed with Connelly's

writing skills than anything else of his I've read. I have not read The Poet, which I understand is also in first person, but plan to do so in the near future. For this book, it is the writing not the story. The story seemed a little obvious to me but the writing was a joy to read.

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LibraryThing member JudithDCollins

Harry Bosh series rocks! (does he every sleep)? Even though I have read his newer works, missed a few in the series so catching up. Finally the disclosure of his daughter...always wondered when this would occur!

Again, Harry is haunted by a vision of a young woman lying crumpled in death, her hand

outstretched in silent supplication. Harry was taken off the Angella Benton murder case when the production assistant's death was linked with the violent theft of two million dollars from a movie set. Both files were never closed. Now retired from the L.A.P.D., Bosch is determined to find justice for Angella. Without a badge to open doors and strike fear into the guilty, he's on his own. And even in the face of an opponent more powerful and ruthless than any he's ever encountered, Bosch is not backing down

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LibraryThing member suedutton

I have a love-hate relationship with Michael Connelly's thrillers. I love Connelly's writing, but I'm not a big fan of the character Harry Bosch. This was a Bosch book, but it was a good one.

LibraryThing member raizel

What is there about murder mysteries that they can be called "warm cozies"? Maybe that we're pretty sure that everything will be solved and resolved. No loose ends, just tidy endings. The quote (see below, I hope) that Harry's job in life is to speak for the dead reminds me of Orson Scott Card's

book, Speaker for the Dead.

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LibraryThing member claude_lambert

I read Connelly because he is a great author, he is consistent, and I am never disappointed. He also is consistently gloomy, never as much as in this book. I don't like gloomy, I stopped reading Martha Grimes because of it, and her style is better than Connelly's. Lost Light is unforgettable

because of two characters: a policeman who has been shot and is paralyzed, and his wife. Harry Bosch is here retired and longing to track down one last killer: it pitches him against his own department and against the FBI. One of his best books. But oh, so much gloom again! I was glad to finish it.

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LibraryThing member emigre

Intense thriller featuring Harry Bosch (#9 in series), retired from the LAPD, he investigates an old case that always haunted him. The first-person narrative was different but still effective. Quite a few surprises, the biggest was one featuring Bosch's personal life.

LibraryThing member Daftboy1

This is one of the early Harry Bosch novels.
Harry is investigating an old cold case were a woman was called 5 years before. He is now a private investigator.
The death of the woman who worked as a production assistant on a movie is linked to the disappearence of $2 million. Harry uncovers the link

and upsets some of his old Police chums and the FBI along the way. There are a few twists along the way. In the final chapter we find out the Harry has a daughter with his ex wife. He finally gets to meet her she is 4 years old her name is Madeline.

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LibraryThing member sberson

Another solid effort by Connelly- one of the better Bosch novels.

LibraryThing member Darrol

I liked this book. St. George against the modern day dragons of the FBI and Homeland Security abuses.

LibraryThing member delta61

Poor Bosch. Now a retired policeman, he finds what it is like to be one of us. This is a story that moves along at a fast clip with a surprise ending. Even retired, he can't put down the hammer. I liked the story line. It even had a bit of humanity at the end. Could bring a tear to your eye.

LibraryThing member skinglist

An interesting change from the typical Bosch. No longer Detective Bosch, he's working one of those cases that haunts cops. Unfortunately, the case had too many fingers and I don't believe the book tied them all up well. I was glad to see Lindell back, and of course Eleanor. Her last reveal was a

little surprising - and a little sad. I wondered when she'd show up given the age in the Lincoln Lawyer series, but I'm sad as I know how Eleanor ends.
I loved Law, and I'm sad he didn't work out to be the hero he was initially painted as.
I'm curious how Lindell will continue to be a part of the series and how Harry ultimately returns to being Det. Bosch.

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LibraryThing member waldhaus1

I think it is now more than twenty years since I began reading Michael Connelly’s books. A friend had told me about the pier saying it was one of the best he had ever read. I stopped at a Barnes and Nobles and ended up buying paper back copies of all the Harry Bosch books. I had vacation time and

I binge read them. Although I currently live in Florida I had grown up in the Los Angeles area, the San Fernando Valley. The places being described such as the Angels flight railroads were familiar to me and the author brings me into Bosch’s mind making him quite real to me.
I can’t say I have found one I haven’t enjoyed.
This book drops back to the time Bosch’s first retired, making it clear he retired not because of loss of interest but out of frustration with bureaucracy.
There are some interesting misdirections and some surprises.
I am enough of a fan that a sceptic may wish to rely on other reviewers but a fan won’t be disappointed.

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