Publication
New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2004.
Collection
Call number
Large Print Fiction C
Physical description
544 p.; 24 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years, the one that tells her the Poet has surfaced. She has never forgotten the serial killer who wove lines of poetry in his hideous crimes--and apparently he has not forgotten her. Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call, too--from the widow of an old friend. Her husband's death seems natural, but his ties to the hunt for the Poet make Bosch dig deep. Arriving at a derelict spot in the California desert where the feds are unearthing bodies, Bosch joins forces with Rachel. Now the two are at odds with the FBI...and squarely in the path of the Poet, who will lead them on a wicked ride out of the heat, through the narrows of evil, and into a darkness all his own...
Subjects
Genres
User reviews
LibraryThing member mrtall
The Narrows marks the return of the Poet, an FBI agent-turned-serial killer. Harry Bosch teams up with another fed, Rachel Walling, to track him down. Oh, and Bosch's sometimes-collaborator Terry McCaleb's involved, too, although not actively . . . .
The outstanding feature of this installment in
On the whole, though, this is good solid Connelly, and can be recommended.
The outstanding feature of this installment in
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the Bosch saga is Connelly's continuing experimentation with narrative point of view. Here he mixes Bosch's first-person account with third-person narration limited to Rachel Walling. I can't say it's a great success, as there's little Connelly has accomplished by integrated the first person sections, and since it's sometimes jarring moving from one account to the other.On the whole, though, this is good solid Connelly, and can be recommended.
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LibraryThing member wiccked
This was really good! Despite the fact that is is a Harry Bosch book, I felt that Rachel Walling was more of a main character than Harry was, but it didn't matter. I enjoyed this as much as I've enjoyed any of the other Harry books I've read so far (which is most of them).
It does make me want to go
It does make me want to go
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back and re-read The Poet though. Show Less
LibraryThing member shequiltz
Not one of my favorite Harry Bosch books. Not enough angst ... probably because no LAPD to contend with. Like seeing him interact with his newly discovered daughter. Looking forward to the next book when he's returned to the LAPD and I'm sure all its attendant problems.
LibraryThing member ct.bergeron
FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years, the one that tells her the Poet has surfaced. She has never forgotten the serial killer who wove lines of poetry in his hideous crimes. And apparently he has not forgotten her - Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call too
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- from the widow of an old friend. Her husband death seems natural but his ties to the hunt for the poet makes Bosch dig deep. Arriving a derelict spot in California desert where the feds are unearthing bodies, Bosch joins forces with Rachel. Now the 2 are at odds with the FBI... and squarely in the path of the Poet, who will lead them on a wicked ride out of the heat, through the narrows of evil, and into a darkness all his own... Show Less
LibraryThing member Darrol
A good serial killer tale, with a little less of the St. George aspect in too many of the Bosch books.
LibraryThing member IronMike
I've been looking for a decent crime/mystery writer ever since I finished reading all of John D. MacDonald's books. I've found a few decent writers, but none to match MacDonald. This is the first book I've read by Michael Connelly. I'd say Connelly's not MacDonald, but he's the closest I've come to
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MacDonald so far. I have 4 more of his books and I'm looking forward to reading them. Show Less
LibraryThing member marient
FBI agent Rachael Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years: the one that tells her the Poet has returned.
LibraryThing member debavp
You could see the ending coming on this one. Even though predictable, it had to be done to further the series. My only complaint would be that Harry's relationship with Eleanor was glossed over too much but I'm hoping that going back to his home and job will allow for Connelly work that in to
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Bosch's life. Show Less
LibraryThing member BillPilgrim
This is a detective story. One of Connelly's Harry Bosch stories that overlaps with his other books, The Poet and The Scarecrow, which are the other Connelly books that I have read. This continues the story from The Poet, which you should read first. In The Poet, the killer gets away. Bosch gets
It is a very fast paced story that sucks you in and you will not want to put the book down until the end.
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into the thread of the story this time because of the death of a former colleague and friend of his, that his wife figures out was not from natural causes, but instead was caused by his medication being switched for shark cartilage. Bosch looks into it and it concludes that the Poet offed him because he was looking into a new string of killings in Nevada. The FBI agent from The Poet and The Scarecrow, Rachel Walling, teams up with Harry to track down Backus.It is a very fast paced story that sucks you in and you will not want to put the book down until the end.
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LibraryThing member raizel
Combines the stories of two Michael Connelly characters from different series. The whodunit from a previous book is back and now I know who he is, even before reading the previous book. Also, thanks to the helpful parenthtical remark of a LibraryThing subscriber, I know whodunit for this previous
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book. For shame! Again, while the story seems to be about seeing how a detective discover clues, there really is a mystery that the reader can solve. Show Less
LibraryThing member KevinJoseph
I had not read "The Poet," but this sequel nonetheless held my interest as a stand-alone work. What impressed me most about this mystery/thriller hybrid is the fact that the protagonist, Harry Bosch, actually rolls up his sleeves and does real detective work. The tenacious Bosch, who believes there
-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"
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is no such thing as coincidences, spends many scenes poring over the mundane details of case files and following up on dead-end leads. Throughout the story, he exhibits a nobility and dedication to his craft that manage to compensate for the somewhat-uninspired plot. And the dialogue and tension between the characters, particularly in the scenes with Bosch and Rachel, are realistic and convincing. The allusions to the rather unsuccessful Eastwood film "Bloodwork", which involved many of the same characters in "The Narrows," are also quite clever. The resolution of the plot, however, left me with a slightly hollow feeling, as if Robert Backus's actions never really lived up to his billing as the most brilliant serial killer in history.-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"
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LibraryThing member Carl_Alves
This novel didn't really work for me. I just think it's like a dozen other novels that I've read. It brings nothing new to the table. Novels about serial killers have become a dime a dozen. You would think we have hundreds of serial killers based on the proliferation of them in crime novels. The
Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity
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other thing that strikes me as trite is that the serial killer is a former FBI agent. I have seen this done so many times that it makes me yawn, not to mention that it's horribly unrealistic. To my knowledge I am not familiar with any real like police officers who were also serial killers yet thriller novelists treat this as a normal occurence. The plot was trite and dull. I would advise to skip this one.Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity
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LibraryThing member Carl_Alves
This novel didn't really work for me. I just think it's like a dozen other novels that I've read. It brings nothing new to the table. Novels about serial killers have become a dime a dozen. You would think we have hundreds of serial killers based on the proliferation of them in crime novels. The
Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity
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other thing that strikes me as trite is that the serial killer is a former FBI agent. I have seen this done so many times that it makes me yawn, not to mention that it's horribly unrealistic. To my knowledge I am not familiar with any real like police officers who were also serial killers yet thriller novelists treat this as a normal occurence. The plot was trite and dull. I would advise to skip this one.Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity
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LibraryThing member gdill
Another great Connelly book. Interesting build at the beginning, slow at times in the middle, but very exciting towards the end. The Poet strikes again, but Rachel and Bosch respond accordingly. Full of mystery, suspense, and adventure. If you like the Bosch series you won't be disappointed with
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this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member wdwilson3
An otherwise excellent follow-up to "The Poet" was spoiled by the characterization of the FBI agent in charge, whose arrogant, abrasive, dim-witted personality may be Connelly trying to work out demons from his reporter past. He has Harry Bosch give a rather out of character critique of the Bureau
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as he's driving, which drives home the same point. Besides this distraction, a great page-turner. Show Less
LibraryThing member page.fault
It's hard to say exactly who the main protagonist of The Narrows actually is. The story intertwines three of the protagonists from Connelly's previous works: the inimitable, unstoppable Harry Bosch of some 10 previous books, the cold, analytical Rachel Walling of The Poet, and in the background,
I've always felt that Bosch was much more suited for PI work than police work, so it's a pleasure to see him in this role. I like Bosch, even though I find significant flaws in his character, I really appreciate that Connelly also sees the same flaws. My issue is that although Bosch himself recognizes these flaws, he never, ever learns from his mistakes. His tendency for cowboy justice repeatedly endangers others and often gets them killed, yet he never changes. However, as a PI, his tendency to bend the rules and flaunt authority seems more fitting. PI work also seems to have loosened him up; we get some incredibly entertaining moments when he thumbs his nose at authority, like drawing a smiley face in the dust on the top of his car so it can be seen by the FBI helicopter above. One of the touching complexities this story adds to Bosch's character is his struggles to be a good father to his newly found daughter. Of course, since this is a Bosch story, we get a "girl of the week," (which, although different in each book, is treated in the narration as The One. Ugh.) and I'll leave you to guess who that is. Of course, in this story, Bosch isn't the only protagonist; his first-person narration is interspersed with third-person narration from Rachel Walling's perspective. I don't like Rachel; somehow she seems cold and impersonal to me. I also don't understand her; after screwing up by sleeping with a person tangentially related to the case in her last story, her next logical step in this book is to hover for spoiler. Like Bosch, she has become cynical about authority and the trappings of authority, but her emotions are complexified by her desire to regain her previous role.
As in The Poet, we also get narrative snippets from the perspective of the killer. They say it's good not to get too close to your heroes, and I guess the same thing is true of your villains.
When I read The Poet I found the killer to be the absolute most terrifying character that Connelly created (except, perhaps, Bosch himself, but that's a another story for another time). The Poet was a person who reveled in control. He manipulated every situation he was in and controlled every action of his opponents effortlessly. The ultimate symbol of this was his use of hypnotism to force people at a much deeper level than simple physical force to do his will. He humiliated his victims and asserted his own supremacy in his every action: the rape, they hypnotism, the notes they were forced to write, everything. The Poet is a killer who kills for power, control, and a sense of status, and he's scary because he is so very good at manipulating people.
The Poet in this story...just isn't. Rather than using the manipulation and psychological control that made him so scary in his first story, he's much more of a thug. A clever thug, yes, but still a thug who asserts power via brutality, threats, and violence. To me at least, that is far less scary than a man who can suborn the body's will from his unwilling victims. We've seen him defeated before. His return simply feels anticlimactic, like a performer taking another bow after an unenthused call for an encore. I thought it was interesting he didn't go after Jack and that he felt no need for revenge upon him. Yes, I know the real reason is that Connelly felt that Jack got too close to home and didn't want to write about him anymore. But one can also make a case psychologically; in The Poet, he has Jack completely under his control and power. The humiliation, the assertion of superiority, has already been performed. The only thing that saves Jack is Rachel, and maybe that's what's so haunting about The Poet: the killer won, made his point, "got" Jack even if he didn't finish the job.
Overall, the story felt light to me; it didn't seem to touch on some of the powerful themes that some of Connelly's works such as The Concrete Blonde and Angel's Flight so eloquently struggled with, or the deep personal emotions that its narrator brought to The Poet. It also lacked the element of mystery, since the killer's identity is, for the most part, known from the outset. For all that, it is an enjoyable read. I adored the sequences of Bosch with his daughter, and this book provides some reconciliation between Bosch and the indomitable Kiz Rider, a favorite character of mine. Above all, it was fun to see Rachel and Bosch interact and lock horns.
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overshadowing all of the thoughts of the other two, is the insight and spirit of Terry McCaleb from Blood Work. Rachel Walling is called out of her FBI purgatory of the Dakotas because her ex-mentor/ex-boss and current serial killer dubbed "The Poet" is on the loose again and he's pulling the FBI's strings to force her into the case. Bosch, far away in LA, is called to investigate the suspicious death of Terry McCaleb. As he follows the clues that McCaleb left for him and as Rachel tries to piece together the hints left by her old mentor, their paths cross and they join forces to hunt down The Poet.I've always felt that Bosch was much more suited for PI work than police work, so it's a pleasure to see him in this role. I like Bosch, even though I find significant flaws in his character, I really appreciate that Connelly also sees the same flaws. My issue is that although Bosch himself recognizes these flaws, he never, ever learns from his mistakes. His tendency for cowboy justice repeatedly endangers others and often gets them killed, yet he never changes. However, as a PI, his tendency to bend the rules and flaunt authority seems more fitting. PI work also seems to have loosened him up; we get some incredibly entertaining moments when he thumbs his nose at authority, like drawing a smiley face in the dust on the top of his car so it can be seen by the FBI helicopter above. One of the touching complexities this story adds to Bosch's character is his struggles to be a good father to his newly found daughter. Of course, since this is a Bosch story, we get a "girl of the week," (which, although different in each book, is treated in the narration as The One. Ugh.) and I'll leave you to guess who that is. Of course, in this story, Bosch isn't the only protagonist; his first-person narration is interspersed with third-person narration from Rachel Walling's perspective. I don't like Rachel; somehow she seems cold and impersonal to me. I also don't understand her; after screwing up by sleeping with a person tangentially related to the case in her last story, her next logical step in this book is to hover for spoiler. Like Bosch, she has become cynical about authority and the trappings of authority, but her emotions are complexified by her desire to regain her previous role.
As in The Poet, we also get narrative snippets from the perspective of the killer. They say it's good not to get too close to your heroes, and I guess the same thing is true of your villains.
When I read The Poet I found the killer to be the absolute most terrifying character that Connelly created (except, perhaps, Bosch himself, but that's a another story for another time). The Poet was a person who reveled in control. He manipulated every situation he was in and controlled every action of his opponents effortlessly. The ultimate symbol of this was his use of hypnotism to force people at a much deeper level than simple physical force to do his will. He humiliated his victims and asserted his own supremacy in his every action: the rape, they hypnotism, the notes they were forced to write, everything. The Poet is a killer who kills for power, control, and a sense of status, and he's scary because he is so very good at manipulating people.
The Poet in this story...just isn't. Rather than using the manipulation and psychological control that made him so scary in his first story, he's much more of a thug. A clever thug, yes, but still a thug who asserts power via brutality, threats, and violence. To me at least, that is far less scary than a man who can suborn the body's will from his unwilling victims. We've seen him defeated before. His return simply feels anticlimactic, like a performer taking another bow after an unenthused call for an encore. I thought it was interesting he didn't go after Jack and that he felt no need for revenge upon him. Yes, I know the real reason is that Connelly felt that Jack got too close to home and didn't want to write about him anymore. But one can also make a case psychologically; in The Poet, he has Jack completely under his control and power. The humiliation, the assertion of superiority, has already been performed. The only thing that saves Jack is Rachel, and maybe that's what's so haunting about The Poet: the killer won, made his point, "got" Jack even if he didn't finish the job.
Overall, the story felt light to me; it didn't seem to touch on some of the powerful themes that some of Connelly's works such as The Concrete Blonde and Angel's Flight so eloquently struggled with, or the deep personal emotions that its narrator brought to The Poet. It also lacked the element of mystery, since the killer's identity is, for the most part, known from the outset. For all that, it is an enjoyable read. I adored the sequences of Bosch with his daughter, and this book provides some reconciliation between Bosch and the indomitable Kiz Rider, a favorite character of mine. Above all, it was fun to see Rachel and Bosch interact and lock horns.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Harry Bosch (his actual first name is Hieronymous, like the famous painter) is a former LA homicide detective who sometimes works as a private investigator. The widow of a retired FBI profiler, Terry McCaleb, has asked him to look into her husband's death which was seemingly a failure of his
I think some of Connelly's other works have been more suspenseful. Bosch is more laid back (although that is relative) and his relationships with others seem less intense. A few characters were developed for a while and then are dropped. I was never totally consumed with interest in this book but that doesn't mean I could have stopped reading it before the ending.
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transplanted heart. However, Terry's blood levels of the anti-rejection drugs he took faithfully up until his death are nil. The widow, and Harry, suspect someone murdered him. So Harry starts looking into the cases Terry was working on before his death (Terry kept doing profiling despite being retired). His investigation leads him into the middle of a current serial killer investigation going on in the desert between LA and Las Vegas. The serial killer is a former FBI agent nicknamed The Poet who was thought to have been killed years before. He forwarded information to the FBI to make sure they would find the bodies and involve the agent who was his supposed killer, Rachel Walling. Together, Bosch and Walling hope to finally bring The Poet to justice.I think some of Connelly's other works have been more suspenseful. Bosch is more laid back (although that is relative) and his relationships with others seem less intense. A few characters were developed for a while and then are dropped. I was never totally consumed with interest in this book but that doesn't mean I could have stopped reading it before the ending.
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LibraryThing member skinglist
this was the first book in the Bosch series where I felt somewhat lost due to reading the books in series order vs. publication order. I hadn't read the Poet and therefore didn't know Backus or Walling. I did know McCaleb though and was sad to see the way his story came to a resolution. The related
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case was an interesting read and I liked the overlap between Civilian Bosch and the FBI. And Maddie, can't not love Maddie and Eleanor even though I know the end for the latter is near. Show Less
LibraryThing member jimnicol
Getting addicted to Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch is the best mystery/crime character since Travis McGee, IMO.
LibraryThing member JudithDCollins
Loved this book!! This was one of my favorites thus far in the Harry Bosch series! I have read the newer books and now going back to read the earlier ones. FBI agent Rachel Walling is involved again as the Poet (serial killer)resurfaces. He is out to track her down once again.
At the same time
At the same time
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Former Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call, too--from the widow of an old friend. Her husband's death seems natural, but his ties to the hunt for the Poet make Bosch dig deep. Arriving at a derelict spot in the California desert where the feds are unearthing bodies, Bosch joins forces with Rachel. Now the two are at odds with the FBI...and squarely in the path of the Poet, who will lead them on a wicked ride out of the heat, through the narrows of evil, and into a darkness all his own. Show Less
LibraryThing member delta61
This story moves Bosch along in his life, pointing out that he has struggles like the rest of us. Of course, he is stubborn and ill mannered as usual. It brings together people from past stories, giving the author a chance to tie up loose ends. In the end Bosch is back to square one.
I did not like
I did not like
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the mix of first and third person. Sometimes I stumbled when it changed direction. Enjoyed the visual imagery of disasters. The first half was slow but the second half went at full speed. Show Less
LibraryThing member kenzen
It just doesn't work when you dilute Bosch with weaker characters. At least McCaleb's gone. Good riddance.
LibraryThing member Zack_Anthony
FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years, the one that tells her the Poet has surfaced. She has never forgotten the serial killer who wove lines of poetry in his hideous crimes--and apparently he has not forgotten her.
Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call,
Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call,
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too--from the widow of an old friend. Her husband's death seems natural, but his ties to the hunt for the Poet make Bosch dig deep. Arriving at a derelict spot in the California desert where the feds are unearthing bodies, Bosch joins forces with Rachel. Now the two are at odds with the FBI...and squarely in the path of the Poet, who will lead them on a wicked ride out of the heat, through the narrows of evil, and into a darkness all his own... Show Less
LibraryThing member larryking1
I have read so many books in the saga of Hieronymus Bosch, and I am thinking that this one may be the best! Foolishly, I read this before I have read The Poet, as this is a sequel; also, it is a sequel to Blood Work and A Darkness More Than Night, so I was up to speed therein. I once told the
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author that while Bosch was a great character, an even greater protagonist was the City of the Angels and that both of them held their own. But LA shares center stage here with the Mojave Desert, an area of natural beauty that fits in well inside the ravaged persona of Bosch himself. A personal oddity: (no spoilers here), but weeks ago I finished TC Boyle's Tortilla Curtain, and both books have similar endings! And speaking of endings, when the reader is done with this, pick up The Great Gatsby to compare its last paragraph with The Narrows. Well played, Mr Connelly! Show Less
LibraryThing member SimonW11
I spotteded this in a charity shop when I was halfway through The Closers and grabbed it.The Narrows I gather immediately predates that book. Harry Bloch who is still a P.I. in this book finds himself trying to track down the Poet a Serial killer who first apeared in a book of that name. He teams
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with the FBI heroine of that book to do so. The style is more varied than strict third person of The Closer. The heroines activities are in the third person while Generally Harry Bloch narrates his story directly. This is more thriller than procedural. Show Less
Awards
This Mystery is Amazing! (#7 — 2007)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2004-04-30
ISBN
9780316000734
Other editions
The narrows : a novel by Michael Connelly (Paper Book)