Lost Light

Instead, while he does not have the authority of the badge any more, he realizes as time passes that the mission remains. In particular, a case from a four year old unsolved murder begins to work its way into his mind. Angella Benton, an employee of Eidon Productions, was found dead in the vestibule of her apartment building. Bosch was assigned the case and was working it days later on a movie set when the set was robbed of two million dollars during a brazen daylight robbery shootout. Bosch would wound one robber, none of whom were ever caught, and the money was never found. After the robbery and the resulting high profile glare of the media, the Benton case was pulled from Bosch and folded into the robbery investigation and given to two detectives from Robbery Homicide. Days later, while eating lunch, one of the detectives was killed and the other permanently paralyzed in a robbery at a neighborhood bar.

That was a death knell for the case as cops are a superstitious lot and there are always new cases that demand immediate attention. But Bosch without a badge is just as aggressive as he was when he carried the shield. He may be retired, but he still goes at it the only way he knows how and soon seems to have antagonized his former bosses as well as other parties. Before long, old friends are annoyed, a federal terrorism task force is involved and unhappy, as well as numerous other shadowy figures. Once again, violence comes home in more ways than one, but no matter what, Bosch won't stop.

As in the other novels of this enjoyable series, Connelly looks deep into the dark abyss that lurks within everyone where life is cheap and greed in the moment wins out over human decency. At the same time, by using an unexpected plot twist, one of several at the end, Harry is redeemed and temporarily at least, finds the peace and solace he has sought for in novel after novel.

While this book reads like it might be the final one in the Harry Bosch series, which has had one heck of a run, I hope not. If it is, Michael Connelly has fittingly ended the series by exploring and further developing his signature character. He has done so in new and unexpected ways while adding plenty of action, an intriguing core mystery as well as additional secondary storylines, and a fine plot. This is a top notch read and proof of why he is simply one of the best crime writers in the business today.


Harry Bosch Through The Eyes of a First Time Reader   May 1, 2003
Tucker Andersen (Wall Street)
24 out of 24 found this review helpful

While I have been aware of Michael Connelly's impressive reputation as an author and the many readers who are fans of detective Harry Bosch, this is my introduction to this series. My five star rating indicates that I enjoyed the book tremendously and felt that it was exactly what the book jacket led me to expect and what the author was trying to accomplish. This is neither a great work of fiction nor is it even the best crime story that I have ever read, but it is well plotted, fast paced and very enjoyable with enough surprising details before the case is solved to keep the reader's interest.

Recently retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is still haunted by the four year old unsolved murder of twenty-four year old Angella Benton, an assistant to a famous movie producer. He is also bothered by the apparently coincidental robbery and murder that occurred on the movie set as he was investigating Angie's murder a few days later. The two million dollars taken in the heist was never recovered. Furthermore, the cops in the Robbery-Homicide Division who took over the case became the victims in a subsequent apparently unrelated robbery that left one dead and the other completely paralyzed and extremely bitter.

This is a classic detective story, and while it has many of the ingredients of a police procedural one of the important elements is that Harry is no longer on the force and has to rely on favors from his friends rather than having the power of his badge to get to the truth. The reader knows what happened and suspects that the question of why will in some way relate all the apparently random elements to the heist, then waits for Bosch to uncover who was involved and how they escaped apprehehension.

The thing that I appreciated about the story was the author's ability to add enough complexity so that even when the clues were sufficient to lead the reader in the general direction of the solution, you still wanted to learn how all the various threads were interrelated. The other surprising fact was that my concern about reading a novel whose main character had appeared in so many previous books was totally misplaced. The references to Harry's previous cases and relationships were self explanatory, and the use of the first person technique with Harry as the narrator of the story allowed a first time reader to easily develop a familiarity with him, since his motivations are an integral part of the story. In fact, as is often the case in long running detective series, this book is as much or perhaps more about Harry and his life in a post-LAPD world than it is about the case.

This is a very fast read, and should be enjoyed by long time Connelly fans as well as first time readers such as myself. The details and relationships of the characters are as important to keeping your interest as is the major story line; if you succeed in solving all the unexplained elements of the various crimes before Harry, then you should undoubtedly become a mystery novelist yourself. I also found the last scene both unanticipated and very upbeat. LOST LIGHT was so entertaining that I definitely plan to read some of the earlier books in the series.


Better than I expected, and I expected a lot   April 22, 2003
Jim Rolf (Cheyenne, WY United States)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

I read the first two chapters of this book before it was published, and was sure I'd hate it for two reasons - it's written in first person, and Bosch's anti-authority figure would suffer without the LAPD supervisors to give him battles to fight. Then, I read the entire book. Connelly came through for me again. Bosch still has windmills to flail against and the story was so exciting that I forgot it was narrated by the man himself. An excellent read - not as much to my liking as CONCRETE BLONDE or ANGELS FLIGHT, but far superior to BLOOD WORK and CATCHING THE DIME.

My greatest complaint about Connelly is that he has ruined my enjoyment of other authors - they just don't measure up. I can no longer find excitement in the writings of Patterson or Burke or any of those authors I used to read before I got hooked on Bosch.

And, here comes Bosch again - fighting bureaucracy in search of the truth, rekindling old flames and renewing old relationships, and just flat tearing up anything that stands in the way of justice. If ever a character jumped out of the pages and lived, it has to be Harry Bosch.

Thanks, Mr. Connelly, for renewing my faith in you. I can't for the life of me figure out how you can keep up the pace, but I'm mighty glad you do. I can hardly wait for the next installment!


a satisfying mystery!   May 18, 2003
Rebecca Brown (Clallam Bay, WA United States)
28 out of 33 found this review helpful

Harry Bosch is back & better than ever! Learning how to enjoy his retirement, Harry ponders on past cases, especially those he couldn't close. One such case involved a random slaying of a young woman in the vestibule of her apartment building, her lovely hands haunt Harry's dreams. Another case, in which he was forced to fire his weapon, was the audacious heist from a movie set of two million legitimate dollars in a delivery truck which a Los Angeles bank had catered.

Michael Connelly continues to write in his trademark taut, authentic & riveting style. LOST LIGHT is a fine tale of deceit & greed, friends plagued by guilt, homespun philosophy, false reports & rogue agents. This time, he also offers redemption, a rare & rewarding commodity.


Tight, Tense, and Compelling.....   June 2, 2003
Roz Levine
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

It was her hands he would never forget... The unexpected call from Lawton Cross brought it all back to him. Standing at the crime scene, detective Harry Bosch remembered how Angela Benton's hands seemed to be reaching toward him, begging him to solve her murder. He worked the case for only four days before the company she had worked for, Eidolon Productions, was involved in a major robbery. Eidolon was in the process of shooting an action flick about a mob heist and had contracted with BankLA to borrow two million dollars in real bills to use as a prop. The hold-up occurred as the armored truck arrived on the set to deliver the money. Two million, gone without a trace. The case was immediately reassigned to Cross and his partner Jack Dorsey over at the elite, Robbery-Homicide squad since as a production assistant on the movie set, Angela had intimate knowledge of all aspects of the money delivery. Cross and Dorsey worked the robbery/murder until they were unlucky enough to be gunned down while eating lunch during a barroom robbery. Dorsey never knew what hit him and died at the scene. Cross wasn't as fortunate. He was left a quadriplegic, living a life filled with indignities, pain, and misery. But now four years later, he's beginning to remember things about their unfinished investigation, and he wants Harry to start over and rework the case. And Harry's intrigued. Now retired for eight months, after twenty-eight years on the force, he's bored and lonely, looking for direction and happy for the opportunity to reopen a cold case that has always haunted him. And he soon finds that their are forces much larger and more dangerous than the brooding, uncorruptable Harry Bosch at work here who want this mystery to stay buried and unsolved forever..... Michael Connelly's intricate plot is tight, tense, and compelling as his seemingly unrelated storylines twist, turn, and finally come together in an explosive, knock you off your feet climax and clever, unexpected ending. His prose is eloquent and entertaining, and filled with vivid, evocative language, crisp, gritty dialogue, and riveting scenes. But it's Mr Connelly's brilliant characterizations, that as always, make this book a stunner. These are complex, fascinating, real people captured on the page, and he is able to breathe life and magic into even the most minor player. For those new to Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch, start at the beginning with The Black Echo, to get the real flavor of this series, and read them all. For those who are already fans, Lost Light doesn't disappoint and belongs at the very top of every mystery/thriller lovers's "must read" pile.