The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Dick Hill

An LAPD homicide detective must choose between justice and vengeance as he teams up with the FBI in the first novel of the "thrilling" Harry Bosch series (New York Times Book Review).

For maverick LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch, the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal...because the murdered man was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who had fought side by side with him in a hellish underground war. Now Bosch is about to relive the horror of Nam. From a dangerous maze of blind alleys to a daring criminal heist beneath the city, his survival instincts will once again be tested to their limit. Pitted against enemies inside his own department and forced to make the agonizing choice between justice and vengeance, Bosch goes on the hunt for a killer whose true face will shock him.

Impressed? Ace detective Harry Bosch is also on the case in other exciting Michael Connelly crime-fiction novels.©1992 by Michael Connelly. (P)1992 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Glad I tried another Bosch book

I listened to A Darkness More Than Night a while back and I was not impressed. After I reviewed the book I said I would listen to another with a different narrator. Both the narrator (Dick Hill) and the story made this book an excellent listen. I am used to hearing Hill and his superb narration in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series. His work here too is commendable. More than just the narration, Connelly introduces Bosch as both a likable and roguish police detective whose ways seem more suited to those of a private eye. This story had the right amount of everything; romance, misdirection, tragedy, vindication, bad guys, victims, flawed characters and you name it. I will listen to another Harry Bosch novel, especially if Hill did the narration. This was purchased on an Audible sale and was the best value I received in more than three years. It would have been well worth a credit.

Good story

Harry grows on you just enough knocks to hold your interest all the way through right up to the end
too much profanity

Decent start to a series, even with the cliches

Set in Los Angeles in perhaps the early 1990s, Harry Bosch is on the case of a dead man found in a drainage pipe. In fact, he identifies the victim, having served with him in Vietnam. Internal strife in the LAPD and the involvement of the FBI make life hard for Harry.

While this book did have many cliched plot points, I still enjoyed it. In fact, I think the tried & tested cliches made it easy to slip into the book. Harry has a chip on his shoulder and not much going on outside of his job. He smokes, doesn’t eat healthy, and drinks beer. He seems to be in trouble all the time. Either his lieutenant is yelling at him or the Internal Affairs office is threatening him. Now that his old Vietnam buddy, Billy Meadows, has been found dead, his PTSD is stirred up.

This story is rather light on female characters and when we do get an interesting one, Elizabeth Wish with the FBI, she’s quickly turned into a romantic interest. Still, she has her secrets and this gave her a little depth. I hope the author can do more with her character in future books.

Despite the typical plot points for this genre, Harry stands out for a few things. His mother was a prostitute who was murdered. Harry doesn’t hate prostitutes and seems to have a protective streak in general for women. He’s got a lovely house because a movie company paid him handsomely to use his name in a movie that was loosely based on a case he was involved in. So I really liked that he’s this older cop (early 40s) whose got this interesting past and knows that he truly wants to be in law enforcement.

The mystery itself was interesting for the most part, though there were times I felt that Harry or another character did something out of character just to up the drama or move the plot forward. In general, it’s a decent start to a series and I will probably check out more books by this author.

The Narration: Dick Hill is a favorite go-to narrator for me. He did a good job here, keeping all the male characters distinct. His female characters could use more femininity. I especially liked his ability to portray Harry’s emotions.

Could not put it down

Where does The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would say among the top 20% rank. I liked it so much I bought five more Harry Bosch books after listening to this one.

What did you like best about this story?

It kept me guessing all through the book and when I finished I was quite surprised.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I was particularly moved when Eleanor was discussing her relationship with her brother and how she found out the truth of his death.

This is a good complicated story.

Would you listen to The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1 again? Why?

Probably not. But not because the story is not worth listening to again but rather because I would like to listen to the rest of the series asap.

What did you like best about this story?

The complicated layered plot line.

What does Dick Hill bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He gave Bosch a sense of nobility b

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. The story is good enough but I was not so enthralled that I could not put it aside.

Any additional comments?

The book is well worth the listen and the credit.

another great Bosch case

I thought this was a great caper even though it was written years ago and I have listened to more recently written Harry Bosch books. Its pretty funny to have Bosch using a pager and pay phones!! Great twisting plot line....good read (listen)

Need a second narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Was an interesting story, not best Bosch ever, but good. Problem was that the narrator made the female lead sound like an old lady, when she was supposed to be a hot attractive babe. This book really needed a co-narrator to play the female parts, especially the lead.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Close, but not quite the edge

Would you be willing to try another one of Dick Hill’s performances?

Only if he wasn't reading women's parts

Good plot long story

I finally got through this read. Guess my expectations were higher for this series . Just not sure I have the patience. plot line and story were interesting which is why I had to hear it all, but it was just kind of too slow!

A first-rate mystery - full of shadows.

I really like Harry Bosch and it isn't because he is a likable character. I like him, I think, because of his hard nature. He is a man who seems to live with a lot of pain and much of that comes from the time he served as a tunnel rat in Vietnam. Luckily, the plot of this novel plays off of that pain. It takes his past and uses it to draw out Harry's story and allow him to develop into a complex and interesting detective. I really liked the use of his memories to aid him in solving the current crime. I liked even more the use of his past to develop my emotions as a reader.

Dick Hill never fails. If I have ever given him less than 5 stars then I must have not been thinking well at the time. He takes the characters and brings them to life with subtlety. He is absolutely one of my top five favorite narrators.

perfect

loved every minute my favourite character. Great storyline and beautifully narrated. would highly recommend this book.