Connelly has produced another gem. It seems effortless. Here's a thoroughly engrossing Harry Bosch story that takes place over a 12 hour period. As usual we see a Harry pursued by the drive to pursue, following his hunches, seeing farther than his colleagues, making mistakes, not always toeing the line, and finally slamming into the truth. It's a formula that continues to produce exciting and interesting stories about people and the consequences of their choices.

A cynic would wonder why Harry's supervisors and colleagues don't wake up and give him free reign, since his hunches always seem to be right. But Connelly understands how professional jealousies work, and he has also shown Harry committing some horrific blunders in past novels. But the reading is so well-paced and absorbing, such matters arise only on later reflection and do not detract from the pleasure of following Harry sniff out the trail of the bad guys. ( )

Harry Bosch est de retour en coyote solitaire, à la recherche de la vérité et de la justice malgré toutes les pressions politiques. Connelly joue la carte terrorisme, ce qui ne met pas ce policier au palmarès de l'originalité. Les amateurs retrouveront les collègues de Bosch, y compris l'agente spéciale Rachel Walling, et déambuleront dans Los Angeles - voilà qui donne l'impression de revêtir une bonne vieille pantoufle : confortable mais rien de fracassant. Bonne lecture de plage. ( )

The Overlook is a crime novel by none other than Michael Connelly. This is another Harry Bosch novel where the protagonist’s doubtful past and questionable reputation bring the story to another level. Detective Bosch from the LAPD’s Homicide Special squad is called in to investigate the murder of a doctor who handled a radioactive substance called cesium. The cesium is missing which causes a terrorist threat to spread across the city.

Connelly continues to depict the realistic tension between the LAPD and the FBI as the matter at hand switches from being a local homicide to being a threat to national security. On top of that, he must settle his differences with FBI agent Rachel Walling who was previously featured in Echo Park. Bosch’s undying cynicism and habit to steer away from protocol keeps the pace of the book going and hooks readers from start to finish. The twists and turns of the investigation lead to a climactic but satisfying end with room for the next Bosch novel. The Overlook may appear to be shorter than most of Connelly’s other works, but he does not disappoint. The book makes for a relatively quick and easy read with all the evidence unconventionally glued back together by the end, despite the final body count.

I enjoyed reading this book because I felt I was in the middle -- or in the way -- of the investigation while the characters seemed real with their own personality and edge from previous books. A newer character grabbed my attention at times in the book and I sincerely hope he will appear again in Bosch's next thrilling investigation.

If you are planning on reading The Overlook, the paperback version has bonus content. =) At least the copy I have does … You’ll know if it has a special “stamp” on the cover. ( )

I picked this book up at the airport. It was a good, quick and satisfying crime fiction. Highly recommended for a quick in-between book! ( )

In his first case since he left the LAPDs Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctors death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city. Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harry's one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Boschs job to prove all of them wrong. ( )

03/2009 ( )

I didn't think this was one of Connelly's best mysteries. The story, at first, seemed very predictable, just another post-9/11 terrorist plot with radioactive materials stolen. It took me a while to get into it because of that, but I'll give the author props for the surprise ending. It was a nice twist on an otherwise uninspired mystery. ( )

Very quick read on a plan -- excellent with a great twisted ending - highly recommend. ( )

pas le meilleur Connelly ... ça se laisse lire toutefois, même si beaucoup de choses sont tissées de fil blanc. ( )

Another good Harry Bosch case. Murder and a little terrorism and the theft of nuclear material thrown in to the mix. FBI agent Rachel Walling returns and a new partner all make Harry's case more complicated.
The character of Harry Bosch continues to grow....! ( )

***

A typical Michael Connelly mystery. A fast read, and perfect for long flights or days on the beach when it's raining outside. ( )

A Bosch light. Very nice to see Harry Bosch back in top form. The story is short but very tight and and flow of the story is great. ( )

LAPD detective Harry Bosh has a new job in the Homicide Special division, which handles murders with political, celebrity or media connections, or those called hobby cases, which are difficult to solve and take much time. His first call out involves a doctor killed at an overlook above Mulholland Dam. Bosch and his new partner, Ignacio Ferras, are surprised when the FBI shows up at the crime scene. The dead doctor worked with radioactive materials and the FBI thinks his murder is tied to a terrorist plot to build and activate a dirty bomb in Los Angeles. When they learn that radioactive material has been stolen from the doctor, the case shifts to investigate the terrorists who took the substance instead of who killed the doctor. But Bosch thinks there’s more to this murder than what’s obvious.

Harry Bosch is once more at odds with the FBI and his own police department, but this relentless detective will not back down and pursues his own investigation in his own way. Bosch is an edgy man with a rebellious streak, a detective whose skills continue to keep him in good standing with the upper echelons of the police department, although he always manages to alienate most of those around him. Although this mystery is relatively easy for the reader to solve, the plot is tight and suspenseful, and takes place within a 12-hour time span. ( )

In this story Harry has been transferred to Homicide Special, following the incidents described in Echo Park and is assigned an apparent execution style killing with strong terrorist overtones, which excites the interest of the FBI and old flame Rachel Walling. Despite the close attention of the FBI Harry decides to concentrate on the murder itself, dragging his new partner into his usual confrontations with senior authority and the FBI.

An original take on the contemporary terrorism plot which keeps you guessing. As always strong characterisation and excellent dialogue. ( )

If I needed it, the ease and speed with which I read THE OVERLOOK is really confirmation that crime fiction, police procedural bordering on thriller is absolutely my genre of preference.

Harry Bosch has recently moved from LAPD's Open Unsolved Unit to the prestigious Homicide Special squad. He has a new partner, a youngster Ignacio Ferras, who regards him as a bit of a dinosaur, and this is their first case. A body has been found at the overlook above the Mulholland Dam, and it's rather obviously a murder. The victim is a medical physicist who supplies a radio active substance called cesium for use in medical procedures that use radioactive therapy.

Alarm bells go off for Harry when FBI agent Rachel Walling turns up at the scene of the crime. Rachel is attached to one of the FBI's Homeland Security operations called the Tactical Intelligence Unit. The body is easily identified and once the fact that a large quantity of cesium is found to be missing, the case becomes a tussle between the LAPD and the FBI. The FBI are saying this is a possible terrorist killing.

For Harry, the involvement of Rachel is fraught with all sorts of hurdles, given a previous relationship. The FBI involvement spell danger for Harry in a number of other ways, including some he can't forsee. His new partner Iggy Farras causes other problems for Harry, not the least because Harry likes to be the alpha dog, works on hunches, rarely discusses anything, and doesn't do partnerships at all well.

THE OVERLOOK was originally serialised in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and Connelly says this gave him a chance to re-visit the book prior to publication as a book, although he did not make substantial changes.

I haven't read all of the Harry Bosch series, 13 books since BLACK ECHO in 1992, but I have enjoyed all that I have read. This one was no exception. ( )

An interesting story with a terrorist twist with a twist. Bosch is Bosch, but again it is St. George against the Homeland Security dragon. I prefer the local stories. ( )

http://girlsjustreading.blogspot.com/... ( )

http://books.kenficara.com/2008/01/tw... ( )

This entry in the Harry Bosch series comprises and expands a serialized version of the story Connelly published in the New York Times Magazine. It contains some vintage Connelly/Bosch sequences, but it's marred by several longish sections that are barely-disguised political screeds. This problem is exacerbated by Connelly's insistence on yet again posing the FBI/Homeland Security agencies as Bosch's nemeses, this time in a murder case that's closely related to terrorism. Connelly really should give this theme a rest. It's becoming both unseemly and uninteresting. ( )

This is a spare story with the normal twists and turns I've come to expect in a "Bosch" book. ( )

Cleverly written and gripping though it is, once The Overlook has been stripped of frills, the actual plot is good for little more than a short story.

Not that fans of Homicide Detective Harry Bosch will complain, as – with the polite charm of a bull in a china shop – he barges his way into what appears to have been a murder by terrorists bent on creating a ‘dirty bomb’

Reunited with special agent Rachel Walling, Harry loses no time in antagonizing the FBI, the Office of Homeland Security, and his new partner – but, typically, he also loses no time in solving the crime. ( )

Not as good as his others. ( )

A physicist has been executed on Mulholland Drive, his wife terrorized by masked men who apparently wanted the physicist to provide them with cesium. Is a dirty bomb in the works? Bosch tries to solve a murder but the FBI and local Homeland Security officials are investigating it as a terrorist plot. Bosch's motivation for clinging to the case like a bulldog with a bone is insufficiently developed given the apparently threat to public safety, but the twists and political wrangling are more satisfying. Originally serialized in the New York Times Magazine, the book version fills out some of the scenes with more detail. Still, it's a short book (nothing wrong with that) covering an investigation that clocks in at only 12 hours. ( )

Harry Bosch is once again serving the Los Angeles population as a police officer. Armed with a new partner, Harry is investigating a homicide that took place in the hills overlooking the city. The victim is a medical physicist working for a company that supplies radioactive materials to hospitals for cancer treatments. Harry has been on the crime scene only a short time when an FBI agent arrives - his former lover, Rachel Walling. It's an immediate involvement for the agency due to the nature of the victim's job. And the case becomes a national security issue when it's discovered that an iron pig containing cesium has been stolen from the victim's trunk. As the investigation continues, Bosch races to keep one step ahead of the FBI in order to solve his case and recover the missing cesium. While this title is not the best representation of Bosch, it carries the reader along to the end and any fan of Harry will be waiting for the next novel. ( )