Review: A Darkness More Than Night

Terry McCaleb of "Blood Work" returns, along with Connelly's well known protagonist Harry Bosch. McCaleb, a former FBI profiler, is approached by a detective from the Los Angeles sheriff's department, requesting help in determining what kind of person might have committed a gruesome murder. The victim's arms and legs had been tied behind his back in such a way that an attempt to relieve the pressure of the ligature added to pressure on a garrot around his neck, so that in the end he strangled himself. McCaleb learns that the dead man was a chronic drunk, and that Bosch had visited him in jail each time he was picked up for a stay in the drunk tank.

Bosch is involved with a highly publicized Los Angeles trial, testifying as lead investigator. In his task to build a profile of the person who murdered the strangled man, McCaleb visits Bosch at the courthouse, and learns the reasons for Bosch's interest in the dead man. The reasons relate to an incident in an earlier book featuring Bosch - "The Last Coyote." In fact, there are many references to earlier books by Connelly - a character from "Void Moon" has an extremely brief walk on, the reporter from "The Poet" is covering the trial, and other small details appear as well. These add a satisfying sense of reality to the book - the reader can sense that the Bosch books take place in a real city and involve real people who don't appear only once in one book and then fade away forever.

McCaleb is also interested in the record of the murder scene where the strangled man died, and he follows several intriguing details revealed on the video tape made after the murder. He is more and more uneasy as he realizes that the scene has been staged to resemble a painting by Hieronymous Bosch - the Renaissance painter Harry's mother chose to provide a name for her son. At first convinced that Bosch was the murderer, McCaleb persists in the small details, and we soon realize that a master manipulator is at work to ruin Harry's life and career and use McCaleb as an instrument.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.

Book Review: A Darkness More Than Night

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.