Thursday, February 16, 2012

The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch, Hollywood homicide detective, is called out one night to investigate a body found in a large drainage tunnel.  He is surprised when he gets there to realise that he knows the man.  They served together in Vietnam, where they were 'tunnel rats'; the soldiers that went down in the tunnels to flush out the enemy soldiers.  Some vets came back and found their way as Bosch had.  Some, like Billy Meadows, the victim, never seemed to make it all the way back as a productive member of society.

Bosch discovers that Meadows is a suspect in a large bank heist that happened six months ago.  The robbers had tunnelled into the bank's vault over the Labor Day weekend and made off with the contents of the safety deposit boxes.  The FBI is investigating, and Bosch is soon attached to work with the FBI.  His partner there is Eleanor Wish, one of the few female agents on the bank robbery squad.

As the team investigates the robbery, it becomes clear that it may have been only the start of a larger plan and that another robbery may be occurring in the coming weeks as Memorial Day weekend comes up.  Additional victims are killed, and Bosch becomes even more determined to discover who is behind the plan.  Can he and Agent Wish discover what is going on in time to prevent the next robbery?

The Black Echo was Michael Connelly's first book in the Harry Bosch series, and the reader is interested to not only discover how the murder is solved, but to look back and see how the series originated.  Bosch is the outsider, a cop not loved by the police organization he works for.  He has issues relating to others but is recognized as a consummate detective, worth the hassle he tends to bring along with his investigations.  This book is recommended for mystery lovers, and especially for Michael Connelly fans.

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