By Michael Connelly
In "Lost Light", Connelly wrote:
"I'm a believer in the single-bullet theory. You can fall in love and make love many times but there is only one bullet with your name etched on the side. And if you are lucky enough to be shot with that bullet then the wound never heals.
"Roy Lindell might have had Martha Gessler's name on a bullet. What I do know is that Eleanor Wish had been my bullet. She had pierced me through and through. There were other women before and other women since but the wound she left would not heal right. I was still bleeding and I knew I would always bleed for her. That was just the way it had to be. There is no end of things in the heart."
Now in "9 Dragons", that wound becomes a gaping hole because the love of Harry's life is killed mid-book, after he finds her in Hong Kong with a lover.
*************
Our old friend, Harry Bosch, is now working in the Robbery-Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. He and his young partner are sent to investigate a "rob job" at a liquor store that resulted in the shooting death of the proprietor, John Li. After speaking to Li’s family and viewing surveillance discs, Bosch comes up with two theories. Either a teenage shoplifter who was banished from the liquor store committed the crime, or a member of the Chinese Triad (thugs who extort money and engage in other illegal activities) killed Li for refusing to pay protection money.
For a variety of reasons, Bosch leans towards the second explanation. When he realizes that his ignorance of Chinese language and culture might impede his investigation, Harry enlists the aid of Detective David Chu to interview witnesses and provide him with relevant background information.
This case becomes personal when his daughter, Maddie, is abducted in Hong Kong. Bosch suspects that the kidnapping may be retaliation for the arrest of a Triad member who is suspected of killing Li. Harry flies to Hong Kong, where he tries to track down a villain about whom he knows next to nothing. He has no name or physical description, just a photograph of a room from a video sent to him via cell phone. Without police backup, Harry attempts to nab the bad guy. At one point, his ex-wife, Eleanor, chastises him, "Harry, enough with the one man army! Don’t run off like that again." Her words of wisdom, unfortunately, fall on deaf ears, as she ends up dead because of his impulsiveness.
This is a dispiriting novel that is filled with mistaken assumptions, betrayal, and needless tragedy. Bosch is in way over his head; his impulsiveness and poor judgment prove very costly.
Nine Dragons is a plot-driven book with plenty of action, cool forensics, and a number of twists and turns, some predictable, others not. However, since it lacks well-nuanced characters and themes, this somewhat disjointed and overly complicated novel does not rise to the level of Connelly’s best work IMHO.
Harry learns the hard way that that behaving like a desperado may work in old westerns, but in real life, it is prudent to have backup and a sensible plan before rushing into dangerous situations. In spite of his good intentions, Bosch’s usually unerring instincts fail him with disastrous results. He must settle for picking up the pieces after selfishness, greed, and recklessness damage innocent lives.
Nope. I am not going to give away the ending, except to say it probably won't be what you might expect from the vintage Connelly.
(Gave it to the Rolling Hills Library, Ken. You can check it out there for the ending.)
Smile.... nanc
"I'm a believer in the single-bullet theory. You can fall in love and make love many times but there is only one bullet with your name etched on the side. And if you are lucky enough to be shot with that bullet then the wound never heals.
"Roy Lindell might have had Martha Gessler's name on a bullet. What I do know is that Eleanor Wish had been my bullet. She had pierced me through and through. There were other women before and other women since but the wound she left would not heal right. I was still bleeding and I knew I would always bleed for her. That was just the way it had to be. There is no end of things in the heart."
Now in "9 Dragons", that wound becomes a gaping hole because the love of Harry's life is killed mid-book, after he finds her in Hong Kong with a lover.
*************
Our old friend, Harry Bosch, is now working in the Robbery-Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. He and his young partner are sent to investigate a "rob job" at a liquor store that resulted in the shooting death of the proprietor, John Li. After speaking to Li’s family and viewing surveillance discs, Bosch comes up with two theories. Either a teenage shoplifter who was banished from the liquor store committed the crime, or a member of the Chinese Triad (thugs who extort money and engage in other illegal activities) killed Li for refusing to pay protection money.
For a variety of reasons, Bosch leans towards the second explanation. When he realizes that his ignorance of Chinese language and culture might impede his investigation, Harry enlists the aid of Detective David Chu to interview witnesses and provide him with relevant background information.
This case becomes personal when his daughter, Maddie, is abducted in Hong Kong. Bosch suspects that the kidnapping may be retaliation for the arrest of a Triad member who is suspected of killing Li. Harry flies to Hong Kong, where he tries to track down a villain about whom he knows next to nothing. He has no name or physical description, just a photograph of a room from a video sent to him via cell phone. Without police backup, Harry attempts to nab the bad guy. At one point, his ex-wife, Eleanor, chastises him, "Harry, enough with the one man army! Don’t run off like that again." Her words of wisdom, unfortunately, fall on deaf ears, as she ends up dead because of his impulsiveness.
This is a dispiriting novel that is filled with mistaken assumptions, betrayal, and needless tragedy. Bosch is in way over his head; his impulsiveness and poor judgment prove very costly.
Nine Dragons is a plot-driven book with plenty of action, cool forensics, and a number of twists and turns, some predictable, others not. However, since it lacks well-nuanced characters and themes, this somewhat disjointed and overly complicated novel does not rise to the level of Connelly’s best work IMHO.
Harry learns the hard way that that behaving like a desperado may work in old westerns, but in real life, it is prudent to have backup and a sensible plan before rushing into dangerous situations. In spite of his good intentions, Bosch’s usually unerring instincts fail him with disastrous results. He must settle for picking up the pieces after selfishness, greed, and recklessness damage innocent lives.
Nope. I am not going to give away the ending, except to say it probably won't be what you might expect from the vintage Connelly.
(Gave it to the Rolling Hills Library, Ken. You can check it out there for the ending.)
Smile.... nanc
Reviewed by Nan Sevic
No comments:
Post a Comment