Publication
Vision (2002), 488 pages
Original publication date
2001
Collections
Genres
Subjects
Awards
Barry Award (Nominee — Novel — 2002)
Description
Fiction. Thriller. HTML:LAPD Detective Harry Bosch crosses paths with FBI profiler Terry McCaleb in the most dangerous investigation of their lives.Harry Bosch is up to his neck in a case that has transfixed all of celebrity-mad Los Angeles: a movie director is charged with murdering an actress during sex, and then staging her death to make it look like a suicide. Bosch is both the arresting officer and the star witness in a trial that has brought the Hollywood media pack out in full-throated frenzy. Meanwhile, Terry McCaleb is enjoying an idyllic retirement on Catalina Island when a visit from an old colleague brings his former world rushing back. It's a murder, the unreadable kind of murder he specialized in solving back in his FBI days. The investigation has stalled, and the sheriff's office is asking McCaleb to take a quick look at the murder book to see if he turns up something they've missed. McCaleb's first reading of the crime scene leads him to look for a methodical killer with a taste for rituals and revenge. As his quick look accelerates into a full-sprint investigation, the two crimes - his murdered loner and Bosch's movie director - begin to overlap strangely. With one unsettling revelation after another, they merge, becoming one impossible, terrifying case, involving almost inconceivable calculation. McCaleb believes he has unmasked the most frightening killer ever to cross his sights. But his investigation tangles with Bosch's lines, and the two men find themselves at odds in the most dangerous investigation of their lives.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member EmScape
Though listed as a Harry Bosch book, this is actually a Terry McCabe book, and I should have read Blood Work before this. Bosch is actually McCabe's suspect in his investigation of the murder of a man Harry once strongly suspected of murder himself. The evidence points to Bosch having gone rogue
I like Terry McCabe as a character, but again wish I'd read his first book first. I'll be taking care of that shortly.
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and killing someone he wasn't able to put away legally, but we all know he didn't do that. I like Terry McCabe as a character, but again wish I'd read his first book first. I'll be taking care of that shortly.
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LibraryThing member ecw0647
Connelly, still one of the best mystery writers out there, has combined two of his characters in this novel. Terry McCaleb, an ex-FBI profiler, now retired and living on Catalina Island following a heart transplant — he has to take over one hundred pills a day — has been asked by an old friend
Bosch, in the midstof a high-profile murder trial, gets wind of the investigation and is furious, because he fears that the information might be used by the defense to get the otherwise obviously guilty client off. Soon we have two investigators warily circling each other, each wondering about the other. Innocuous-seeming clues become pivotal later on. The integration of the work of Bosch, a great painter of noir if there ever was one, adds to the satisfaction in reading the book even if the reader always knows that neither McCaleb nor Bosch is a bad guy — I don’t really think that’s giving away anything.
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in the sheriff’s department to review some material about the murder of Edward Gunn, a man who had “walked” away from a murder charge several years previously. Harry Bosch, Connelly’s other character, and the one I am most familiar with, was the lead detective on the Gunn case. Bosch had questoned Gunn on the night he was murdered. The murder scene is peculiar, and McCaleb finds an interesting owl replica in the room of the deceased and the Latin phrase Cave Cave Dus Videt (“Beware, beware, God knows”) on the tape binding Gunn’s mouth. His reasoning gets a little bizarre as he connects the owl to a painting by Hieronymous Bosch (Hieronymous is Harry’s given name) and other small details make him suspect that perhaps Harry is Gunn’s killer. He fits the profile, but he knows Bosch and that he is a good cop, so he is afraid that Bosch might be the killer and be good enough to get away with it.Bosch, in the midstof a high-profile murder trial, gets wind of the investigation and is furious, because he fears that the information might be used by the defense to get the otherwise obviously guilty client off. Soon we have two investigators warily circling each other, each wondering about the other. Innocuous-seeming clues become pivotal later on. The integration of the work of Bosch, a great painter of noir if there ever was one, adds to the satisfaction in reading the book even if the reader always knows that neither McCaleb nor Bosch is a bad guy — I don’t really think that’s giving away anything.
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LibraryThing member FerneMysteryReader
This book was selected for me by my Secret Santa as part of the SantaThing 2014 created by LibraryThing!
I have previously really enjoyed novels with the character detective Harry Bosch and this novel is no exception. I was riveted! In fact, due to the storyline the reader is also introduced to Jaye
This novel has twists and turns that my anticipation would imagine are very similar to the twists and turns in true investigations. I was also enthralled with the courtroom scenes as in some legal thrillers the courtroom scenes become dull and actually provide more cloud cover than addition to the novel. Michael Connelly's courtroom scenes are dramatic, enlightening, and definitely add nuances to the storyline that are subtle and deftly written.
I also felt that in light of all of the violence across our country that this novel is also a poignant reminder of how much everyone in law enforcement sacrifices of themselves and to their families in trying to keep their families safe, protected from their ups and downs during investigations, and the daily struggle to "do it all" and "be all" to everyone in their professional and personal lives. I have always had the utmost respect for everyone in law enforcement but this book renewed my respect for their dedication "to the job" and a most sincere wish that we could all appreciate the safety and peace they bring to our daily lives. Perhaps in 2015, we could all give back to them whenever an opportunity presents itself and perhaps to create those opportunities of appreciation.
I have previously really enjoyed novels with the character detective Harry Bosch and this novel is no exception. I was riveted! In fact, due to the storyline the reader is also introduced to Jaye
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Winston, a FBI agent who asks retired FBI agent Terry McCaleb for his help. This is apparently the 2nd appearance of Terry McCaleb so I will look forward to reading the first book in his series in the future.This novel has twists and turns that my anticipation would imagine are very similar to the twists and turns in true investigations. I was also enthralled with the courtroom scenes as in some legal thrillers the courtroom scenes become dull and actually provide more cloud cover than addition to the novel. Michael Connelly's courtroom scenes are dramatic, enlightening, and definitely add nuances to the storyline that are subtle and deftly written.
I also felt that in light of all of the violence across our country that this novel is also a poignant reminder of how much everyone in law enforcement sacrifices of themselves and to their families in trying to keep their families safe, protected from their ups and downs during investigations, and the daily struggle to "do it all" and "be all" to everyone in their professional and personal lives. I have always had the utmost respect for everyone in law enforcement but this book renewed my respect for their dedication "to the job" and a most sincere wish that we could all appreciate the safety and peace they bring to our daily lives. Perhaps in 2015, we could all give back to them whenever an opportunity presents itself and perhaps to create those opportunities of appreciation.
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LibraryThing member juliabeth
mystery/police procedural. McCaleb is again pulled into an unofficial investigation; this time, Bosch turns up as a suspect. emphasis on Bosch the painter and his work. suspenseful, complex, fast-paced, page-turner. dark and gritty; look into human beauty and depravity. contemporary LA setting and
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culture important. continue getting to know serial characters better. family life, even love. beautiful. Show Less
LibraryThing member mrtall
A Darkness More Than Night is a fascinating and compelling entry in Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch/contemporary-noir series. Connelly reframes the ordinary murder mystery setup in an unusual way: Bosch is tied up in court, and instead of tracking down the bad guys, he unknowingly becomes a
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suspect himself in a killing that’s got ‘avenging angel’ written all over it. This twist sounds forced, but Connelly executes it neatly, with sometimes-protagonist Terry McCaleb brought into the story to do the legwork. Very enjoyable, and highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member edwardsgt
Another Connelly tour de force, in which the relationship between Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb is explained for those, like me, who may have read later books (eg Blood Work) first. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member Darrol
A little too contrived for my tastes. Some good stuff about observing the details.
LibraryThing member Joycepa
A Harry Bosch/Terry McCaleb police procedural.
McCaleb, in retirement from the FBI as a profiler in serial killer cases and an enthralled new father, is living on Catalina Island with his family, working a charter sports fishing business. He receives a surprise visit from LA County Sheriff’s
That’s the premise of this outstanding police procedural. Connelly has a particular style when writing about Bosch, and yet another when following McCaleb. The two voices are similar—after all, they’re in the same line of work—but yet distinct. It works quite well.
What sets this book apart in plotting is the truly superior way that Connelly shows how obsessiveness can lead to the wrong conclusion, and how a mind set can find plenty of evidence to back up a pre-determined theory.
The book is something of a sequel to Blood Work, although it can stand alone—and in fact, can stand alone from the rest of the Bosch series.
Connelly’s books are hallmarked by very taut writing, excellent plotting, some sort of unexpected twist towards the end, and very fine denouements. This one is no exception; the only quibble I have with it is the very end, which I think weakens the book overall. But that’s minor—it’s just that Connelly sets such a high standard that, if he’s not practically perfect, you notice it.
All in all, another outstanding book in the genre from Michael Connelly
McCaleb, in retirement from the FBI as a profiler in serial killer cases and an enthralled new father, is living on Catalina Island with his family, working a charter sports fishing business. He receives a surprise visit from LA County Sheriff’s
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detective Jayne Winston, with whom he has worked previously. She asks him to look over the files of what may be a serial killer and to just do a brief profile on the murderer. Despite his wife Graciela’s strong objections to being sucked back in, McCaleb takes on the investigation—which points him to Harry Bosch as the killer.That’s the premise of this outstanding police procedural. Connelly has a particular style when writing about Bosch, and yet another when following McCaleb. The two voices are similar—after all, they’re in the same line of work—but yet distinct. It works quite well.
What sets this book apart in plotting is the truly superior way that Connelly shows how obsessiveness can lead to the wrong conclusion, and how a mind set can find plenty of evidence to back up a pre-determined theory.
The book is something of a sequel to Blood Work, although it can stand alone—and in fact, can stand alone from the rest of the Bosch series.
Connelly’s books are hallmarked by very taut writing, excellent plotting, some sort of unexpected twist towards the end, and very fine denouements. This one is no exception; the only quibble I have with it is the very end, which I think weakens the book overall. But that’s minor—it’s just that Connelly sets such a high standard that, if he’s not practically perfect, you notice it.
All in all, another outstanding book in the genre from Michael Connelly
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LibraryThing member hvoran
This is the one that got me hooked...it was my first Harry Bosch book. I love Connelly's intelligent writing style. It is so interesting to me to have the juxtaposition of a gritty character like Bosch with Connelly's prose-like narrative. After this one, I went back and read the series from the
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beginning. Show Less
LibraryThing member debavp
Funny thing happened on the way to read this, I realized after a couple of pages that I needed to read Blood Work first because of the introduction of a new character that has his own series--I don't know if this was Connelly's original intent, maybe it just happened that way? If you don't have
As for this story, it was quite interesting, but very easy to determine the who dunnit early on.
A lot of Harry's personal issues still aren't addressed from Angel's Flight, but Connelly throws a lot at you by focusing as much on McCaleb as Bosch to keep you interested until the end.
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Blood Work or just don't want to get into that series, it won't hurt you to miss it. But it does give you an idea of what makes McCaleb tick. As for this story, it was quite interesting, but very easy to determine the who dunnit early on.
A lot of Harry's personal issues still aren't addressed from Angel's Flight, but Connelly throws a lot at you by focusing as much on McCaleb as Bosch to keep you interested until the end.
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LibraryThing member judithrs
A Darkness More than Night. Michael Connelly. 2001. I have been looking at and reading about Connelly’s Hieronymus Bosch character, a California policeman, thinking that Jim might enjoy them. We both thoroughly enjoyed all aspects: character, plot, place, suspense, etc. This book also features
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Terry McCaleb, a former FBI profiler is the major character in this book. McCaleb profiles a murderer and comes to the conclusion that Bosch must be the murderer. Bosch must prove his innocence. I located a list of Connelly books by the main character and we’ll start reading them in order. This is a great police procedural. Show Less
LibraryThing member rdm666
Connelly is probably in a 3-way tie [with the later Dorothy Sayers and Peter Dickinson] as my favorite mystery authors. This is perhaps the most revealing book about Bosch--good to read after several others.
LibraryThing member PIER50
Another gripping Harry Bosch thriller. Plenty of twists and turns and a double headed plot line.
LibraryThing member tabascofromgudreads
Listened to the audiobook. Had a major problem with the voice the actor chose to use for Bosch, too Popeye-sounding, but aside from that, this is another excellent mistery thriller by one of the very best authors of this genre. The best one I know, for sure.
Another minor issue I had concerns the
I guess one of the problems when reading these extremely realistic-feeling procedural books is that I forget it's fiction, and as a reader I need to remember to give them some slack!
Another minor issue I had concerns the
Show More
plot: I found it too hard to believe that McCaleb would buy so easily into Bosch as a murder suspect, when the murder was such an obvious set up. It just didn't work very well for me that he wouldn't just start hunting down on the "set up" theory and give it the predominance that it would realistically have had. The question "why on Earth would Bosch have linked the murder to his own name??" comes out only once and without the strength that it should have had. I guess one of the problems when reading these extremely realistic-feeling procedural books is that I forget it's fiction, and as a reader I need to remember to give them some slack!
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LibraryThing member MikeD
One of Connelly's better Bosch novels, and they're all good! Torture killing, high profile murder trial, and illustrates very well the emotional conflicts, and ethical issues both Bosch and McCaleb have getting justice to prevail!
LibraryThing member infjsarah
Enjoyed a lot - slightly different style to his other books and I knew the suspect couldn't have done it! And I learned a little about the historical Hieronymus Bosch. I had a vague memory of some of the paintings but hadn't realised that he was a contemporary of Da Vinci - the paintings feel
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medieval rather than Renaissance. Or that owls were considered evil at the time. Show Less
LibraryThing member hayduke
One of the weaker entries in the Harry Bosch series. This one teams Bosch up with former FBI profiler Terry McCaleb. McCaleb and Bosch previously worked together in The Poet and McCaleb was featured in the stand alone novel Blood Work. A Darkness More Than Night sets up the ridiculous premise of
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having Bosch the suspect in a brutal murder with McCaleb doing the investigating. As a reader familiar with the characters, I just wanted Connelly to get past that silly idea and get on with the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kathy89
Another good Harry Bosch book this time with Terry McCaleb, a former FBI agent who had open heart surgery. Terry is now married to Graciela and they have a baby but Terry wants and needs to work and is approached by the Bureau to look into a cold case. His research shines a light on Harry and
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together they figure out who is framing him. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sensory
I am addicted to the Harry Bosch series. It's difficult to not pick up another as soon as I finish one. There's just something about Harry...and the police procedural process is interesting too. Good plots, characters and mystery, can't ask for more.
LibraryThing member Amusedbythis
Another fun and engaging Harry Bosch mystery.
LibraryThing member page.fault
~3.5
The gang's all here: during a highly publicised case in which Harry Bosch, troubled detective of the LAPD, is a primary witness, Terry McCaleb starts uncovering some disconcerting facts and Jack McEvoy lurks around in the background, digging up dirt and stirring the mud. Long story short: Terry
The plot is entertaining, if improbable, and it was interesting seeing each character from each others' perspectives. The conflicts and interactions between the characters as they pit their wits against each other are well-written, and the moral ambiguities make it difficult to choose sides. However, this doesn't stand out to me as one of the top-notch books in the--well, actually, in any of the three--series.
Out of the three characters here, I think Bosch is my favorite. McEvoy has only a cameo role, and I somehow have real difficulty warming to the self-assured and self-righteous McCaleb. Bosch, as a character, is rich and complex, and remains a strong draw for me throughout the series. I love the fact that he constantly sees his mistakes and evaluates his own error. However, I strongly dislike the fact that his character never develops and remains static throughout. Time and time again, Bosch sees how his self-righteous ruthless independence, his cowboy justice, can do irreparable harm to others. Yet he never changes. It is difficult to even comprehend how a man apparently so aware of his failures can continue to make the same mistakes time and time again.
The other element I find problematic is the side characters. No matter which series you're in, Connelly never develops a coterie of loyal sidekicks for the character. In fact, I'm rather sure that the probability of a character betrayal increases exponentially each time the character appears. Connelly tends to never leave his characters in healthy platonic relationships; they might have one all-consuming and hopeful-looking romantic relationship on the table, but it's guaranteed to dissolve by the next book. Bosch's love interests, in particular, never seem to make it through more than a single book before they are discarded and the next one is pulled off the assembly line. It all goes to create an odd, unsettling, and isolating feeling: you can never trust the side characters, because the next book, they'll probably end up as the murderers, or possibly just the murderees. As someone who identifies mainly with side characters, I think it gives the books an unstable feeling, a lack of solidity that other long-running series develop.
Connelly spent about 12 years on the crime beat, so his description of the police world is thorough, accurate, and natural. It's one of the highlights of the books for me. At the same time, every single book I've read contains incredible corruption within the police department, yet Internal Affairs and similar are vilified. Defence attorneys are also portrayed as immoral and sleazy. This seems hypocritical to me. If the police system is truly so decadent, then there must be ways to watch the watchers. It always leaves me wondering what on earth IAD did to Connelly during his writing career.
What keeps bringing me back to these books is the underlying depth. In an interview, Connelly commented that he writes books to try to tease out answers to the questions and problems that plague his own spirit. Again and again, Connelly tackles Nietzsche'a question of how the hunter of monsters can himself become that which he fights. There are no satisfying, complete answers to these questions, merely conflicting answers to their various facets. Yet at the same time, one would hope that a character who struggles with these issues, and who seems to come to some peace or enlightenment at the end of each book, would be able to progress. Instead, in each subsequent book, we find Bosch and McCaleb and McEvoy exactly where we found them. Despite all this, I think Connelly's books, especially the early Bosch books, are well worth reading. His exploration of these topics leave me ruminating on my own beliefs, prejudices, and choices. Overall, these deeper topics lend Connelly's books a power and depth that is rare in the noir genre.
*the overview comments were ripped and partially expanded from one of my other reviews of the Bosch books.
The gang's all here: during a highly publicised case in which Harry Bosch, troubled detective of the LAPD, is a primary witness, Terry McCaleb starts uncovering some disconcerting facts and Jack McEvoy lurks around in the background, digging up dirt and stirring the mud. Long story short: Terry
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McCaleb, Harry Bosch and Jack McEvoy all compete to see who's the biggest bastard. I'm not really sure who won.The plot is entertaining, if improbable, and it was interesting seeing each character from each others' perspectives. The conflicts and interactions between the characters as they pit their wits against each other are well-written, and the moral ambiguities make it difficult to choose sides. However, this doesn't stand out to me as one of the top-notch books in the--well, actually, in any of the three--series.
Out of the three characters here, I think Bosch is my favorite. McEvoy has only a cameo role, and I somehow have real difficulty warming to the self-assured and self-righteous McCaleb. Bosch, as a character, is rich and complex, and remains a strong draw for me throughout the series. I love the fact that he constantly sees his mistakes and evaluates his own error. However, I strongly dislike the fact that his character never develops and remains static throughout. Time and time again, Bosch sees how his self-righteous ruthless independence, his cowboy justice, can do irreparable harm to others. Yet he never changes. It is difficult to even comprehend how a man apparently so aware of his failures can continue to make the same mistakes time and time again.
The other element I find problematic is the side characters. No matter which series you're in, Connelly never develops a coterie of loyal sidekicks for the character. In fact, I'm rather sure that the probability of a character betrayal increases exponentially each time the character appears. Connelly tends to never leave his characters in healthy platonic relationships; they might have one all-consuming and hopeful-looking romantic relationship on the table, but it's guaranteed to dissolve by the next book. Bosch's love interests, in particular, never seem to make it through more than a single book before they are discarded and the next one is pulled off the assembly line. It all goes to create an odd, unsettling, and isolating feeling: you can never trust the side characters, because the next book, they'll probably end up as the murderers, or possibly just the murderees. As someone who identifies mainly with side characters, I think it gives the books an unstable feeling, a lack of solidity that other long-running series develop.
Connelly spent about 12 years on the crime beat, so his description of the police world is thorough, accurate, and natural. It's one of the highlights of the books for me. At the same time, every single book I've read contains incredible corruption within the police department, yet Internal Affairs and similar are vilified. Defence attorneys are also portrayed as immoral and sleazy. This seems hypocritical to me. If the police system is truly so decadent, then there must be ways to watch the watchers. It always leaves me wondering what on earth IAD did to Connelly during his writing career.
What keeps bringing me back to these books is the underlying depth. In an interview, Connelly commented that he writes books to try to tease out answers to the questions and problems that plague his own spirit. Again and again, Connelly tackles Nietzsche'a question of how the hunter of monsters can himself become that which he fights. There are no satisfying, complete answers to these questions, merely conflicting answers to their various facets. Yet at the same time, one would hope that a character who struggles with these issues, and who seems to come to some peace or enlightenment at the end of each book, would be able to progress. Instead, in each subsequent book, we find Bosch and McCaleb and McEvoy exactly where we found them. Despite all this, I think Connelly's books, especially the early Bosch books, are well worth reading. His exploration of these topics leave me ruminating on my own beliefs, prejudices, and choices. Overall, these deeper topics lend Connelly's books a power and depth that is rare in the noir genre.
*the overview comments were ripped and partially expanded from one of my other reviews of the Bosch books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tabascofromgudreads
Listened to the audiobook. Had a major problem with the voice the actor chose to use for Bosch, too Popeye-sounding, but aside from that, this is another excellent mistery thriller by one of the very best authors of this genre. The best one I know, for sure.
Another minor issue I had concerns the
I guess one of the problems when reading these extremely realistic-feeling procedural books is that I forget it's fiction, and as a reader I need to remember to give them some slack!
Another minor issue I had concerns the
Show More
plot: I found it too hard to believe that McCaleb would buy so easily into Bosch as a murder suspect, when the murder was such an obvious set up. It just didn't work very well for me that he wouldn't just start hunting down on the "set up" theory and give it the predominance that it would realistically have had. The question "why on Earth would Bosch have linked the murder to his own name??" comes out only once and without the strength that it should have had. I guess one of the problems when reading these extremely realistic-feeling procedural books is that I forget it's fiction, and as a reader I need to remember to give them some slack!
Show Less
LibraryThing member wiccked
Even though this is a Harry Bosch story, it sort of isn't. It's really a Terry McCaleb story. And while I like him too, I prefer Harry.
This was OK. I enjoyed it, but I like Harry better as the main character in the book, not one of the supports.
This was OK. I enjoyed it, but I like Harry better as the main character in the book, not one of the supports.
LibraryThing member skinglist
I found this one somewhat confusing as I'm only reading the Harry Bosch series and as a consequence didn't know McCaleb's back story from Blood Work. Still, Connelly crafted a good tale and I was able to piece together the necessary back story to follow this title.
LibraryThing member amberwitch
Starting as two separate stories, one involving the retired FBI profiler from Blood Works in a possible serial killing, the other a high profile courtcase where Harry Bosch is leading police investigator. The two crimes merge around Bosch.
Solid police story/ court drama where the detective details
Solid police story/ court drama where the detective details
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are in focus. The follow-up of events and characters from other novels are funny details that never becomes artificial or disruptive, leaving the comprehensive Connelly reader in the know. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
ISBN
0446667900 / 9780446667906
Physical description
488 p.; 4.25 inches
Pages
488