Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly

Okay, so I’m going to admit right up front that Michael Connelly is hands down my favourite crime genre author (and I read a lot of crime novels!). So I might be a bit biased here… but in my opinion, he has delivered yet another Harry Bosch winner in this novel. It’s on the top 10 bestseller list at the moment, so it seems I’m not the only one who thinks that.

Connelly was a real-life police reporter for the Los Angeles Times before becoming a full-time author. His books are all based in this city, though this one takes Harry to Hong Kong on a mission to rescue his teenage daughter, who, it appears, has been kidnapped by a Chinese triad, following Harry’s investigation into the murder of a Chinese shopkeeper in LA.

This is Connelly’s 14th book starring seasoned detective Harry Bosch in the lead role. His characterisation is very “real” and Bosch’s character has developed over the series into that of a complex, flawed and solitary man who works best on his own. He is haunted by the demons of a traumatic past, does not suffer fools gladly and above all, gets the job done no matter who he has to tread on to do it. Needless to say, he ruffles a lot of feathers along the way!

I also like the way Connelly tangentially involves characters from his other “non-Bosch” novels in his stories, bringing a deeper dimension to the relationships that they form. As usual, there is no way to predict the outcome until the last chapters, where all the questions are finally answered, and the twist lies waiting to make you laugh, cry or just slowly wonder… he’s not always right.

Although each of his books is stand-alone and can be appreciated fully in its own right, if you’re a Michael Connelly “virgin”, I’d suggest starting at the beginning of this series with “The Black Echo”. It’s still in print and usually available at Big W and the other major book stores. You can usually pick up copies at second hand book stores too.

I find his books un-put-downable and never take more than a couple of days to read them from cover to cover. So if you buy this book for your significant other for Christmas, expect not to get much conversation from him/her for a while once he/she starts reading it! I picked up my copy from Big W for about $19, which is not bad for a stocking-filler.

Happy holiday season and happy reading everyone!