Connelly’s ‘The Overlook’ one of his best

  I became a fan of the Harry Bosch novels by Michael Connelly late in life. I think it was the movie “Blood Work” starring Clint Eastwood and based on one of Connelly’s other books, that caused me to buy “The Narrows” when it came out in paperback. I read that and found myself immediately hooked on the Bosch character. I’ve since gone back and purchased the other novels in the series (13 in all) and have loved each one of them.
  “The Overlook” is the newest one out in paperback, and please don’t confuse it with the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s greatest horror novel, “The Shining.” There’s no relation between the two. 
  The story begins with a murder at night on a bluff off of Mulholland Drive, overlooking (hence the title of the book) the city of Los Angeles. The victim, Stanley Kent, was shot twice in the back of the head, and LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is called out to investigate.
  Several things then happen in a relatively short period of time:
  Harry’s ex-lover, FBI agent Rachel Walling, shows up within a few minutes of him getting to the crime scene, and she makes it clear from the start that Kent’s death is now a matter of national security and that the FBI is taking over the case. It appears that the victim was a doctor with access to radioactive materials such as cesium, which is used for the treatment of cancer. Kent and his wife, Alicia, apparently had been warned by Walling and her partner that they could be the focus of Middle Eastern terrorists because of the doctor’s ability to get cesium at the local hospitals. The cesium could then be used to create a radioactive bomb. When Harry and Walling visit the Kents’ home to break the news to Alicia of her husband’s death, they discovered her naked and bound in the master bedroom. It seems that two men with Middle Eastern accents entered the home and tied her up, then called Stanley and told him to steal a supply of cesium, if he didn’t want them to kill her. The victim did as required and was then murdered on the bluff. As the FBI pursues the investigation with the belief that terrorists could be planning to set up a bomb in Los Angeles, Bosch refuses to be kept out of the loop and diverts his attention to primarily solving the murder. It’s his belief that either all count, or no one counts, and he won’t allow the death of Stanley Kent to fade into the background of the bigger picture.
  “The Overlook” originally was published as a serial in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and then as a hardcover and now as a paperback. The book is shorter than the others in the series and that certainly makes for a faster pace. I read it in just two days. I quickly got caught up in the murder investigation, Bosch’s newest partner, Ignacio “Iggy” Ferras, who seems to fight his mentor every step of the way with how he chooses to do things, the tension between Bosch and his former lover, Walling, the struggle between the LAPD and the FBI, and the question of whether or not the death of one person should be forgotten in order to stop the possible deaths of thousands.
  Connelly definitely has created one of the finest characters of police procedurals during the last half of this century. Harry Bosch is the kind of guy you want covering your back when you go through the front door of a dangerous situation. And, if you go down the hard way, Bosch will make sure that justice is delivered one way or another, no matter what the rules.
  I have to also state that the author captures the beauty and desolation of Los Angeles in ways that stay with you long after the novel is finished. On one side of the coin, it’s a place where dreams can come true, while on the other side it’s a city filled with crime and death and people who will do whatever it takes to get what they want, no matter how many individuals are hurt in the process.
  In terms of how good a novel “The Overlook” is, I would rate it in the top five of the Harry Bosch novels. I definitely enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading the series.