In 'The Simple Art of Murder,' legendary mystery writer Raymond Chandler wrote, "But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor -- by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world."

'The Concrete Blonde' author Michael Connelly clearly knows his Chandler, even putting Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' in the hands of one of his characters. Connelly's Hollywood Homicide Detective Harry Bosch is a Chandleresque creation, walking the mean streets of contemporary Los Angeles with the same determination his spiritual forebear, Philip Marlowe, walked the streets of the city in the 1930s.

In this, the third Bosch novel, Connelly creates a hybrid mystery and legal thriller. Both plots are, in themselves, strong enough to carry a novel. Together, they kept me turning pages into the late hours. I find that I like Detective Bosch. I like the supporting characters. As someone who grew up on the outskirts of L.A. TV and radio's broadcast radius, thinking of L.A. as the exciting Big City, I like the driving directions and place names. L.A. is where we drove to visit my beloved great aunt, who lived in the Rampart District. L.A. is where I'd go for concerts and live shows and fun. L.A. is where I wander on my airline layovers, eating at The Pantry or The Farmer's Market or a favorite little taqueria in the Jewelry District. I love L.A. Reading Connelly's novels takes me back.

[Tangent] The hard-boiled detective genre is so rich with choices that one reader probably couldn't sample every series in a lifetime. How to choose? I offer three filters. #1: The writing itself. If the author doesn't know how to create a perplexing mystery and breathe life into his or her characters, don't even bother finishing the book. Just assume there's a butler somewhere who did it somehow and get on with your life. #2: The setting. Are you particularly interested in Ireland? Adrian McKinty's Sean Duffy is the detective for you. Sicily? You'll love Andrea Camilleri's Inspector Montalbano. Boston? Dennis Lehane would like to introduce you to Kenzie & Gennaro, PIs. Washington, D.C.? Well hello, James Patterson's Metropolitan PD Consultant Alex Cross. #3: The time. Lindsay Davis's Flavia Albia solves mysteries in ancient Rome. Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple work mostly 1920s and 30s Europe. Chandler's own Phillip Marlowe works Depression-era L.A., Walter Mosely's Easy Rawlins works post-WWII L.A., and so forth. Wherever you're from, whatever you like, there's probably a fictional detective out there who's just for you. [/Tangent]

So, yeah. I'll probably wind up reading all thirty-odd Detective Bosch novels in the series. Michael Connelly is a master of the simple art of murder.

I have some quibbles with Connelly's writing but overall a solid read. Oh yes, had some quibbles with how the smart, mouthy, awesome prosecutor "gets hers" ... it didn't really jibe w/the story & seemed just placed there to be like, see what bitchy women get in the end? Not sure if that was Connelly's intention tho, so gonna let it go.