Book Review - "The Black Echo" (Michael Connelly) - Bosch-verse Book 1

Meaningless Rating: **1/2

Michael Connelly's debut novel, and the first in his shared crime fiction universe, in which we are introduced to the quietly tortured, resolute genius of LAPD Detective Harry Bosch. The murder of a fellow Vietnam veteran leads to the unraveling of a heist and a damn good Heat-esque set piece (three years before the movie). Flashbacks, loves, turncoats, and department bureaucrats abound: Connelly does nothing new with the cliches and stereotypes, though he does wield them confidently and expertly - and that's not nothing. Where he falters is in the human moments; Connelly is reductive of emotions. Ham-fisted dialogue renders an awkwardness in the reader - I was embarrassed for our hero. But... one can't help but feel the potential in Connelly's hero. Bosch is compelling (there's a reason the tropes with which Connelly builds his work have withstood the ravages of time). Masterful mystery-thriller plotting and pacing allows the reader to easily and quickly move past the negatives.