Michael Connelly’s debut is a corker of a detective novel, proving that greatness sometimes comes at the first step.The first in a long line of instalments of the Bosch series, featuring the eponymous Harry Bosch, The Black Echo is an excellent introduction into the series. Right away, Connelly is on fire with his characters and, more importantly, his mystery. Unlike a Christie, his mysteries aren’t necessarily solvable, though this one (probably) is. Instead, the pleasure comes through Bosch figuring it out. Indeed, Bosch is an A-rate detective, one who is constantly willing to put his life and his career on the line. He must mar through the yellow tape, sometimes coming into conflict with the excellent characters around him, some who help and others who hinder his investigation.Ultimately, the best praise I can give Connelly is that his books feel real. This is of course helped by his time as a journalist in LA, but he just has a knack for it. Please, if you’re looking for some no-nonsense detective stuff- read Bosch. And start with this.

There is nowhere better for me to try to understand the mindset of Harry Bosch or indeed his creator Michael Connelly by starting again where it all began book one in the series. Harry is best described as "a detective who would do the right thing no matter what the cost. A man with a sharp worn code of conduct. A classic outsider.".... In The Black Echo we learn about Harry's activities as a tunnel rat during the Vietnam war and how the horrors of this underground hell helped shape him as a detective with the will to survive and a loner's code of justice. When the body of a fellow "rat" Billy Meadows is discovered in a drain outlet, Harry is determined to find the perpetrator responsible and bring justice to his onetime comrade in arms. In this endeavour he is joined by FBI agent Eleanor Wish, a relationship develops that becomes personal and leaves Harry wondering if her intentions are honourable or does she harbor an underlying agenda. The weakness of the story is the plot; dirty money profits from Saigon laundered as precious stones and kept secret in a bank vault in downtown LA. The only way to retrieve the hidden stash is to tunnel deep into the innards of the bank. In contrast the strength of the story is the superb charactization of the main players. Bosch, Eleanor Wish and Deputy Chief Irvin Irving who appears to be on a one man crusade against what he views as underhand tactics by a maverick lone detective. As always Michael Connnelly is razor sharp in his acute observations of the human spirit....."Sunsets did that here. Made you forget it was the smog that made their colors so brilliant, and that behind every pretty picture there could be an ugly story."....."He was a worn-out old man whose eyes had quit caring about anything but the odds on three year olds"..."I believe that shit happens. I believe that the best you can do in this job is come out even"....... Having just reread The Black Echo I have actually awarded it an extra star! Whilst the plot becomes a little laborious there are nice incidental comments that can be made. There is a theme of tunnels running through the story, a young teenager found murdered in a drainage tunnel, bank robberies where the perpetrators ingeniously use tunnels as their mode of entry, and of course Harry Bosch was a tunnel rat in Vietnam and murder victim Meadows was a tunnel rat and friend. The characters of Lewis and Clarke are portrayed as 2 buffoons from Internal Affairs, who under the strict command of Irving have been asked to shadow Bosch and somehow find or witness the detective acting outside the law. There is a particularly funny scene where Harry confronts the 2 and handcuffs them around a tree.....again this sense of comedy does not sit well in the overall theme of The Black Echo....needless to say the conclusion of this affair is swift and bloody. The Black Echo is an important read not only because it is the first book in a great series but it lays the groundwork for many great adventures to come and the cynicism of dedicated detective that can only increase....

The Black Echo is the first book in the Harry Bosch series and was originally published in 1992 by Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch has upset Internal Affairs, and they want him gone as he was not one of the ‘family’ of the LAPD. His last case had brought attention to Bosch and made him well known and a senior officer did not like that. Internal Affairs wanted to dismiss him but instead they busted him from Robbery-Homicide to the West Hollywood Division and he was on a tight leash. Bosch was on call and when his pager went off he had been called out to the Hollywood dam where a body had been found. The victim was somebody knew from the Vietnam War and when he discovers a piece of evidence the FBI come calling. The LAPD would eventually loan Bosch to the FBI for the duration of the case. IAD and the deputy Chief are all over Bosch now thinking that they have him and can get rid of him. The officers assigned to him have dealt with Bosch previously. Unfortunately, their problem was that their thinking was clouded and could not or did not want to know the truth. The truth does come out and who gets hurt in the process? Read the book! A great introduction to Bosch.

Fans of TV series like Waking the Dead and Luther that have a maverick detective as their lead will enjoy reading about Harry Bosch, who doesn't worry so much about his methods as his results when investigating a crime. This is the first book in the series. Harry Bosch is at the scene when a body is found. At first glance it appears to be the victim of a heroin overdose, but on discovering that he knew the victim years ago when they fought in Vietnam together, he looks a bit more closely and realises that it was a murder cleverly set up to look like an accidental overdose. It's a gripping crime thriller that kept me hooked until the end.

There is nowhere better for me to try to understand the mindset of Harry Bosch or indeed his creator Michael Connelly by starting again where it all began book one in the series. Harry is best described as "a detective who would do the right thing no matter what the cost. A man with a sharp worn code of conduct. A classic outsider.".... In The Black Echo we learn about Harry's activities as a tunnel rat during the Vietnam war and how the horrors of this underground hell helped shape him as a detective with the will to survive and a loner's code of justice. When the body of a fellow "rat" Billy Meadows is discovered in a drain outlet, Harry is determined to find the perpetrator responsible and bring justice to his onetime comrade in arms. In this endeavour he is joined by FBI agent Eleanor Wish, a relationship develops that becomes personal and leaves Harry wondering if her intentions are honourable or does she harbor an underlying agenda. The weakness of the story is the plot; dirty money profits from Saigon laundered as diamonds/precious stones and kept secret in a bank vault in downtown LA. The only way to retrieve the hidden stash is to tunnel deep into the innards of the bank. In contrast the strength of the story is the superb charactization of the main players. Bosch, Eleanor Wish and Deputy Chief Irvin Irving who appears to be on a one man crusade against what he views as underhand tactics by a maverick lone detective. As always Michael Connnelly is razor sharp in his acute observations of the human spirit....."Sunsets did that here. Made you forget it was the smog that made their colors so brilliant, and that behind every pretty picture there could be an ugly story."....."He was a worn-out old man whose eyes had quit caring about anything but the odds on three year olds"..."I believe that shit happens. I believe that the best you can do in this job is come out even".......