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The Concrete Blonde
Written by Michael Connelly
Narrated by Dick Hill
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The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his victims. Now, with a single faultless shot, Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.
But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man-an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.
So, for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go-the darkness of his own heart.
Book Actions
Start ListeningBook Information
The Concrete Blonde
Written by Michael Connelly
Narrated by Dick Hill
Description
The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his victims. Now, with a single faultless shot, Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.
But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man-an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.
So, for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go-the darkness of his own heart.
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Reviews
This is the third book in the series and at first I struggled to get into the book. However once I did it was a very enjoyable read and I loved the way the trial sequences linked up with the investigation of a Serial Killer. The trial sections were the favourite parts for me and I enjoyed the relationship between Harry Bosch and his adversary in court Honey 'Money' Chandler. I think by the end of the book I had worked out who the killer was but I did enjoy the journey to the final resolution. Michael Connelly is an excellent write however I still think I have a slight preference for the Lincoln Lawyer/Mickey Haller Series but it is increasingly a close call. One slight irritation, I could do without all the smoking in the book, it doesn't add to the book. If you enjoy crime books I would recommend this series.
Rating: 5This was a good book. Loved the story even though I figured some of it out before the end.
Rating: 4[Cross-posted to Knite Writes]I thought this was a great followup to The Black Ice. Connelly spent a lot more time in this novel exploring Harry’s feelings about the situations that have defined the past few years of his life, and I liked the change of pace. Much of this novel was spent in a court room setting, where Harry’s actions as a cop (and as a person) were deconstructed in a way that allowed the reader to gain a greater understanding of his motivations. His backstory, which has been briefly mentioned in prior installments, was brought closer to the surface this time around, and it added a great deal to Harry’s overall characterization.On top of that, the plot was wonderfully twisted. There were some classic red herrings, a lot of hardboiled detective work, and several tense life-or-death scenes that kept the pace going strong in a book that could have easily fallen into a slow, plodding track, given all that “courtroom” stuff I mentioned. Connelly kept the suspense on high throughout, giving you just enough information to make you want to keep reading at all times but never dumping too many revelations at once.The wealth of characters in the Harry Bosch world weren’t forgotten either. Connelly developed many, many characters in this book — from Harry’s friend and former partner Edgar to the frequently loathed Irving — and it kept the supporting cast rich, interesting, and relatable.Overall, I really enjoyed this installment (if that wasn’t apparent) and look forward to continuing the series in the near future.
Rating: 4Harry is trting to reconcile his personal life and his job while solving a case that may prove his actions in a past case were incorrect. Like all Harry Bosch ooks, this is a bit dark, but engrossing and well written. I enjoyed it.
Rating: 4Harry Bosch is on trial. The wife of a man he shot and killed in the line of duty 4 years ago has brought a civil suit against the LAPD. Although the shoot was deemed good (the man, Norman Church, was reaching for something under a pillow after being told to freeze, Harry was still disciplined for not following procedure by going in alone. The evidence found at the scene certainly implicated the man as being the serial killer, nicknamed the dollmaker, that the police had been after. But just as the trial starts a note, written in the same style as those left for the original victims, has been found pointing to where another body can be located. When the body is dug up all evidence points to another dollmaker victim and initial investigations show the murder being committed 2 years after Church was killed. Do they have a copycat killer on the loose or did Harry shoot the wrong man? What implications will this have on Harry's trial?This is the third book in the series and using the backdrop of the trial while investigating the new murder allowed the padding out of what is a fairly basic story. It also provided the opportunity for some of Harry's back story and insight into his character to come to light. The new case throws in a few suspects along with a couple of red herrings to keep the reader guessing. The pacing of the story is good and doesn't get bogged down in the courtroom scenes as these segments are kept fairly short and it's not long before we're returned to the investigation which seems to proceed quickly. One thing that did bother me a little about the investigation though was why the composite sketch from the survivor of the dollmaker wasn't used to narrow down the suspect list of the follower. Did Mora, Locke and Bremmer all look the same? That didn't really affect my enjoyment of the story though and overall it ended up being a pretty decent thriller. I will at some point continue with the series.
Rating: 4Wow. This is a roller coaster. Bosch is a civil defendant in a suit against the Police Department for a shooting he did four years before, an event which ended the serial killings by the man dubbed 'The Dollmaker'. The family of the man Bosch killed is suing for monetary damages, pain and suffering, etc., and they have a shark of a lawyer on their side.Bosch is sure the shoot was 'good', but then things begin to crop up - bodies, hand-delivered notes. There are leaks - of course. When I stopped reading at 1:30AM, I was sure I knew how the book would end. The next morning, when I finished it, I discovered how wrong I was. Connelly does a pretty good red herring trail in this one. All in all, very satisfying.
Rating: 5a page turner
Rating: 4Harry Bosch is investigated as to whether his shooting of a serial killer was righteous while pursuing a copy-cat killer. Solid and enjoyable police procedural.
Rating: 4After successfully putting down a serial killer (The Dollmaker) with one bullet, Dectective Heironymous (Harry) Bosch must now hunt down a copy cat serial killer (The Follower) while defending himself against a civil lawsuit initiated by the first serial killer's widow.In this roller coaster crime thriller the black heart does not beat alone.
Rating: 5Originally I was planning to read the Harry Bosch series in order, but my excursion into audiobooks spoiled that plan. Also, my local library didn't have this particular book until recently and life was too busy for interloan. However, just last month they acquired a large print version -- whoopee! I had to do some mental readjusting to get back to where Bosch was in his life just after the events in Black Ice. Some characters who show up in later books seemed to have quite different personalities in this one. But I'm glad I read it.
As the book opens, Harry Bosch is attending a trial -- the widow of The Dollmaker, a notorious serial killer whom Bosch shot and killed a few years before, is suing the LAPD for wrongful death. Part of her case is that she doesn't believe her husband was the killer, even though evidence found in his secret apartment pointed to him. The widow also has a better lawyer than Harry does. When Harry's boss calls to have him view a newly-discovered body that was buried in concrete, complications arise because the "new" corpse has all the indications of being The Dollmaker's handiwork, but is also too recent to be so. Harry and others in the department must figure out whether he indeed shot the wrong man or whether there are really two "Dollmakers," one still at large. As usual, Bosch breaks a lot of rules, makes some false starts, and eventually gets his man, in a way. In addition, we learn a lot more about Bosch's early life and follow the ups and downs of his relationship with Sylvia Moore, the widow of the police officer whose apparent suicide began Black Ice.
I'm getting pretty darn tired of serial killers in these stories, but the writing is so good I can't resist reading them even when that's the topic. I suppose serial killers are so popular in police procedurals because they are one of the few realistic instances where the police are initially baffled but have some chance of figuring out whodunnit (unlike random gang violence, for example.) So, I'll be reading the rest of the Harry Bosch series, but I really prefer the Mickey Haller books by the same author.
Rating: 4As the book opens, Harry Bosch is attending a trial -- the widow of The Dollmaker, a notorious serial killer whom Bosch shot and killed a few years before, is suing the LAPD for wrongful death. Part of her case is that she doesn't believe her husband was the killer, even though evidence found in his secret apartment pointed to him. The widow also has a better lawyer than Harry does. When Harry's boss calls to have him view a newly-discovered body that was buried in concrete, complications arise because the "new" corpse has all the indications of being The Dollmaker's handiwork, but is also too recent to be so. Harry and others in the department must figure out whether he indeed shot the wrong man or whether there are really two "Dollmakers," one still at large. As usual, Bosch breaks a lot of rules, makes some false starts, and eventually gets his man, in a way. In addition, we learn a lot more about Bosch's early life and follow the ups and downs of his relationship with Sylvia Moore, the widow of the police officer whose apparent suicide began Black Ice.
I'm getting pretty darn tired of serial killers in these stories, but the writing is so good I can't resist reading them even when that's the topic. I suppose serial killers are so popular in police procedurals because they are one of the few realistic instances where the police are initially baffled but have some chance of figuring out whodunnit (unlike random gang violence, for example.) So, I'll be reading the rest of the Harry Bosch series, but I really prefer the Mickey Haller books by the same author.
It is hard to appreciate a story about any vicious serial killer of women after you have read about one hundred books in the same vein. It was my first Bosch and well written but a court case where the idea of justice has more to do with misdirection, fostering false impressions in the minds of the jury and money is tiresome to read about.
Rating: 3This review is for the abridged audio cassette version.
There are quite a few reviews lauding the main character, Harry Bosch, and in my opinion he's a keeper (though his lady-friend seems a bit whiny).
This particular abridged version of the book is entertaining and satisfying, overall. The book has been abridged down to approximately 3 hours. I don't know if it's the publisher (Nova Audiobooks) or just the act of such heavy abridgement, but there are jumps and gaps that leave the listener (me) wondering, "How did he come to that conclusion?"
I think those jumps and gaps are to be expected, and the full-length version will (I assume) fill in the holes. This version is just fine, though.
Rating: 4There are quite a few reviews lauding the main character, Harry Bosch, and in my opinion he's a keeper (though his lady-friend seems a bit whiny).
This particular abridged version of the book is entertaining and satisfying, overall. The book has been abridged down to approximately 3 hours. I don't know if it's the publisher (Nova Audiobooks) or just the act of such heavy abridgement, but there are jumps and gaps that leave the listener (me) wondering, "How did he come to that conclusion?"
I think those jumps and gaps are to be expected, and the full-length version will (I assume) fill in the holes. This version is just fine, though.
i liked many things about this. the trial, the 2 perps, the copycat. but the trail leading to the psychologist was so obvious that i was dubious. why couldn't harry see it? then the actual perp was such a let down. great reader. this is not the cover i had but i hated the judge so much. what a creep! i know 2 guys who became judges and you know what ? they were creeps.
Rating: 4You know what you're getting with Michael Connelly, and this book doesn't fail to deliver. I'm reading his books, as it happens, from his latest to his earliest, so it's interesting to fill in the back stories.
Rating: 3Fast-pace and a good read. Not too predictable, except for the fact that we know Bosch always gets his "man."
Rating: 4Engrossing thriller with equal parts court room drama and whodunit police investigations, there were some convincing red herrings before the real killer was revealed, definitely a good read.
Rating: 5The third in the Harry Bosch series. Got off to a slow start with all the courtroom time, but eventually picked up and was good to the finish.
Rating: 3I have read a string of Michael Connolly's books this summer, and pick this one to review, even though I think it is not his best. In my opinion Connolly is a great writer. This is certainly not just "airport fiction". He writes very well on most aspects of the human condition - and gives you a pageturning thriller on top of that. I have become a great fan of both Harry Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer, less so perhaps of Jack McEvoy. The Concrete blonde has some weaknesses. The psychiatrist is just too much to believe in my opinion (or maybe they make them like that in California), and the solution to the mysteri seems just a little contrived. Still on the whole a good read.
Rating: 4I have surprisingly little to say about this book. I generally like the Harry Bosch novels and it wasn't that this one was poorly written. I was just somehow more "meh" about it than I usually am. Maybe the problem was that I felt more conflicted about the trial that's part of the plot here than I think you're supposed to, so I found Harry less sympathetic than I sometimes have in the past.
Rating: 3The 2nd quarter of this book is more like a courtroom procedural/drama than a police/detective novel. Lots of trial scenes which were rather dull. I like the action to occur within the novel, not be related via "testimony" in a courtroom. Fortunately at the halfway point the story got back to its roots as a detective novel - and a very good one at that!There was LOTS of suspense and wondering who done it and how will Bosch figure it out and how will he get on with his life and etc... I think it was the best in the series so far (although I did skip most of the early court scenes because they were irrelevant and just plain uninteresting). The plot and pacing after the halfway point , however, fully made up for the boredom of these court scenes.
Rating: 4I am a Harry Bosch fan. Just when I had the real murderer figured out, it turns out to be someone I never suspected.
Rating: 4This is the third of Mr Connelly's novels to feature LA Police Detective Harry Bosch. In this novel, Harry is on trial in a civil case for the fatal shooting of an alleged serial killer known as the Doll Maker. Just as the trial begins, a new murder victim is discovered and there appear to be links to the murders committed by the Doll Maker. Harry's time is split between his court hearing and solving this new murder mystery. Well written and very addictive. Highly recommended!
Rating: 5I tried reading this book once before, and ended up putting it down for whatever reason. I picked it up again, and started reading it, and thought at first it was slow going. THEN, I got into it and really enjoyed the book. Couldn't wait to get to the end.
Rating: 4Despite losing its energy during the trial scenes in the second quarter, this thriller found its way again and delivered a worthy element of the Harry Bosch canon.
Rating: 4Like other reviewers, I enjoyed author Michael Connelly's writing in this third installment in the Harry Bosch series, and was engaged with the story more than I was with his first two Bosch installments. But like others, I also found the protagonist difficult to like and the themes in this book disturbing. A more favorable spin would be to say that the book is provocative--since it wrestles with the moral ambiguities involved in the pursuit of justice. Because of the moral ambiguities, I find reading about Connelly's Harry Bosch less purely entertaining than reading about Lee Child's Jack Reacher. In Jack Reacher's universe there is little moral ambiguity. Reacher always witnesses the bad guys being decidedly bad before he mixes it up with them. Bosch sometimes mixes it up with people solely on the basis of his speculations. No matter that his speculations are justified retroactively, it pulls me out of an escapist trance to follow a hero with so many self doubts.Bosch is a loner and outsider who is nevertheless working inside the system. Despite being a cop, Bosch frequently subverts the rules and regulations, and undermines the legal process which he is supposed to represent. His character promotes the view that the rules and mechanics of the legal process provide not so much the foundations of justice as impediments to it. That view didn't stop me from reading the book, but it made it difficult for me to enjoy it.
Rating: 3This was my first introduction to the writings of Michael Connelly - I had picked it up in a DC metro station to have something with me to read during my morning commutes while I interned one summer for the DOJ. I was not disappointed! This book was fast paced and full of twists - huge I did not see that coming twists. I found that aside from my commute reading I couldn't put it down! Mr. Connelly has a wonderful style that keeps readers on the edge of their seats as he allows you to attempt to play sleuth along side his leading man Detective Harry Bosch. I went on to read the bulk of his series that summer. My other personal favorite of his is The Poet. I would love to say more, but I feel with Connelly the less said about a particular storyline the better, but if it is a thriller you seek, this would be an excellent choice!
Rating: 5Justice is a concrete blonde - that's what Honey Chandler the prosecuting attorney tells Harry Bosch as they stand outside the courtroom smoking a cigarette. Why? She doesn't speak and she is blind.LAPD detective Harry Bosch is being prosecuted by the widow of a man he shot 4 years earlier. Harry burst into a flat and shot dead a man whom he thought was the serial killer the Dollmaker. Now Harry is in court being protrayed as the worst of the worst, a rogue cop, who believes he is judge, jury and executioner.The day the trial starts a new body is found, embedded in a concrete floor, as the result of a tip off received by the LAPD. It has all the trade marks of being the work of the Dollmaker, but how can that be if the Dollmaker was killed by Harry 4 years before?Much of THE CONCRETE BLONDE deals with the trial, with Harry's doubt about whether the man he killed really was the Dollmaker, and if he was, who killed the blonde in the concrete.This is a tightly plotted book, excellently read. I was impressed by the variations in voice that the narrator Dick Hill was able to produce. I also enjoyed the structure of the story and the other elements that were included such as Harry's relationship with Sylvia.
Rating: 5Harry Bosch is on trial in a wrongful death civil action brought by the family of Henry Church who Harry Bosch killed 4 years ago. Harry and all of the other cops in the LAPD believe Henry Church was the Dollmaker, a serial killer that killed 11 prostitutes and then painted their faces garishly like dolls.The family is claiming that Harry killed the wrong man; that he was being a "cowboy" and took the law into his own hands when he killed Henry Church. Their Lawyer, Honey "Money" Chandler is both feared and admired by Harry and their exchanges outside of the court room are excellent. Money is able to prove that Henry Church could not have killed the 11th prostitute and to make it even worse, just as the trial is beginning another Dollmaker note appears identifying where another victim is buried ..... and she was clearly murdered after Harry killed Henry Church. The Concrete Blonde has many different elements that Michael Connelly uses expertly; the courtroom drama, the murder mystery, and the police procedural drama that weave back and forth in harmony. Each of the elements support each other and make the other elements even stronger. But what makes this book better than the other early Harry Bosch books is Sylvia. This is the first girlfriend that Harry really has and he likes her and wants it to work out. He's afraid to attach to her and when later on in the book she needs space, he reassures himself that he is better off without her, that in fact she made him weak. But what she also does it make Harry even more human for us the readers. He feels uncertainity and joy and peace with her. He feels sadness and lonliness without her. In the other early books, he feels a lot of anger and rage, it is his fuel.But with the court case, the uncertainty involved with questioning himself about whether he killed the wrong man or not, Harry is a much more complete and complex character. He still sees being a homocide cop as his calling but that single minded focus is gone. The uncertainity is what replaces it, and underneath the uncertainty, is hope. Hope that Sylvia helps him move cautiously towards. Hope that Harry will be able to find some peace from the demons that damaged him and cause him to damage those that are around him.
Rating: 4This is the third of the series, not as great as the first two...but this one takes you back to the case Bosch was involved in that made him famous so you get a LOT of background info that I'm sure will be helpful as the series goes along.
Rating: 4A very good read. Interesting premises. I would have rated it higher if not for the dry romance (or the lack of it) passages between Bosch and Sylvia.A serial killer (or is he?) was killed by a cop (Bosch). The cop is now being sued for lack of discretion by the wife of the supposed serial killer. The twist now is - the killings start again.. Bosch has to figure out whats going on, while his job is in line through the trial.
Rating: 4