The Black Echo (Harry Bosch #1) by Michael Connelly

From Goodreads:

For maverick LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch, the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal…because the murdered man was a fellow Vietnam “tunnel rat” who had fought side by side with him in a hellish underground war. Now Bosch is about to relive the horror of Nam. From a dangerous maze of blind alleys to a daring criminal heist beneath the city, his survival instincts will once again be tested to their limit. Pitted against enemies inside his own department and forced to make the agonizing choice between justice and vengeance, Bosch goes on the hunt for a killer whose true face will shock him.

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yet another series of books that I’ve decided to read a second time. I’ve recently finished watching the TV series and it has given me the appetite to go back and enjoy the original character and stories. The TV show is very good but the books are fantastic. However, there’s now an added dimension to the books, the character I had imagined in my head has now been replaced by the onscreen actor. Thankfully it fits.

Harry Bosch is a great character. His drive to do the right thing makes for great reading. He’s not afraid to do what needs done and that includes putting himself in the firing line. The stories are pretty grim, there’s a definite dark side and not much happy stuff. However, it’s gritty and realistic rather than depressing.

With the books now being quite old (this one was published in 1992) I really enjoy the much less technological setting and the need for so much grind in the investigation process. There’s no Google, no GPS/mobile phone tracking and forensics is much more basic. Catching the killer involves traditional police work and it’s a great read.

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