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In this day and age, when the price of books has become almost prohibitively expensive, readers frequently wait for the reissue, in small paperback format, of novels by their favourite authors. If you, Dear Reader, are one of these patient souls, I would advise you not to wait the extra time for this further adventure in the "Harry" Hieronymus Bosch series. This book is well worth the fraction of your wages required to become its owner. Harry Bosch made his debut in Connelly's first novel The Black Echo. Subsequent books, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde, The Last Coyote, The Poet, Trunk Music, Blood Work, Angel's Flight, Void Moon, and A Darkness More Than Night continued Connelly's career as an author and have included Harry Bosch series novels as well as some stand-alone books. The multi-award winning writer (Edgar, Anthony, Macavity, Nero, Maltese Falcon , .38 Caliber and Grand Prix ) experiments with stories and themes he has encountered both in his own career as a crime reporter and pieces he has read in newspapers in addition to just plain people-inspired ideas. Certainly his books are a tribute to the truism that the best writing is about what you know. Connelly's attention to detail should be the envy of less competent writers whose research is, for want of a better word, somewhat lacking. He includes throwaway lines which reveal a great deal about the day to day workings of a busy police department such as the LAPD. City of Bones contains a great deal that is disturbing. The bones of a young boy murdered more than two decades previously are discovered and it falls to Harry and his partner Jerry Edgar to identify the victim as well as his murderer. Edgar, as the father of a young son, is particularly upset at the idea of someone considering a child 's life to be expendable. A story of systematic child abuse soon comes to light to make him even more uncomfortable and angry. In the meantime, Harry falls prey to the allure of yet another woman, this time a rookie cop. His amour is ill fated since he holds supervisory rank and such a liaison is frowned upon by the authorities. The vexed question of whether a paedophile is capable of being redeemed also arises. as does the feelings the neighbours of the criminal once his unmasking is accomplished. The dark possibilities of what may occur when a mother leaves an unstable man in charge of a young family are also explored. This book, so far as the writing, plotting, themes, characterisations and attention to detail are concerned, is a delight. The black aspects are less delightful, but then, the reader must realise they are present in human society and certainly go to make up a believable and engrossing yarn. Connelly's prose is always clear and concise, as befits that of a professional writer. I did find myself becoming a little impatient with the author when he permits Bosch to make a discovery, but does not share it with the reader until Bosch discloses it to other people. This is but a quibble in the face of what is truly a remarkable book. Presumably Michael Connelly does not wish to retire Bosch for many books to come - this reviewer hope to meet him long into the future. Editoržs Note: This is a review of the Australian edition,  released on April 5, 2002 and costing $Au29.95
Reviewed by Denise Wels, May 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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