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The Closers Reviews
"In Connelly/Bosch's world, character, context and procedure are what count, and once again the author proves a master at all. Most striking of
all, in developments that give this novel astonishing moral force, the pair explore the "ripples" of the long ago crime, how it has destroyed the young girl's family—leaving the mother trapped in the past
and plunging the father into a nightmare of homelessness and drink—and how it drives Rider, and especially Bosch, into deeper understanding of their own purposes in life. Connelly comes as close as anyone to being
today's Dostoyevsky of crime literature, and this is one of his finest works to date, a likely candidate not only for book award nominations but for major bestsellerdom."
— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Even cynicism has a way of going stale, as so many hard-boiled authors have discovered. But what can you do to refresh the screen when your hero, like Connelly's Harry Bosch, looks at the world through
"seen-it-all-twice eyes"? You can take a chance, and that's exactly what Connelly does here, transforming his world-weary hero into a rookie cop and forcing him (and us) to live one day at a time without
the comfort of our own cynicism. ...Connelly sets up a great premise here—the cop determined to reinvent himself in the face of a thoroughly recalcitrant world—and he makes the most of it. Hard-boiled fans don't
like traditional commitment much (it makes us itchy), but Bosch turns us into believers. Give Connelly credit for having the courage to tinker with one of the richest characters in the genre."
— Booklist (Starred Review)
"After having Bosch narrate in Lost Light and The Narrows, Connelly switches back to the third person here, and his compelling style makes even the most mundane details fascinating. Fans
and newcomers alike will love seeing Bosch back in uniform, stirring up trouble. For all crime fiction collections."
— Library Journal (Starred Review)
"Connelly is one of the most
consistently excellent authors in current-day crime fiction: his characters, particularly the world-weary Bosch, are complex and appealing; his stories fast-paced, edgy and believable. It helps (but is by no means
de rigeur) to have read the earlier Bosch books in order to appreciate Connelly's ever-increasing skills as a writer, and Bosch's evolution as a human being."
— BookPage
"Connelly artfully reclaims
the procedural genre. The technical drill in this narrative is as detailed as it gets, and when Bosch applies himself to his first case...he is, in effect, taking the reader on an inside tour of the machinery
running the new and streamlined L.A.P.D. ... ...Bosch can't bring back the victims, but in his new job he can honor his resolve ''to carry on the mission'' and make good on his promise ''always to speak for the
dead.''"
— Marilyn Stasio, New York Times
""The Closers" is all that a reader expects from a well-imagined and -executed crime novel. There are the requisite elements: a victim;
suspects; and the unexpected twists that make finding the solution satisfying. Connelly has risen well above the genre pulp, by telling stories that matter, filling them with rich characters and bringing the locales
alive for the reader. All this is accomplished with a skill that lifts the prose from the page and turns it into something palpable. What he has done quite nicely in past novels he does even better this time.
"The Closers" is the story of a murder, but it is also a story of the grief and loss of innocence that are the collateral damage of crime. Though Bosch always has been a noble character, his conflicted
strength of spirit shines more clearly than ever this time. He is embarking on a continued saga that one hopes will continue a long time."
— Robin Vidimos, The Denver Post
"The return
of Harry Bosch is good for his beloved City of the Angels and great for readers."
— Gary Wisby, Chicago Sun-Times
"The Closers" is a powerful book... The forensics are fascinating, but
it's the blood splatter from the LAPD's darkest years that really stain the page."
— Sherryl Connelly, New York Daily News
"Connelly's series shows no signs of fraying because the author continues
to reinvent his work by exploring new aspects of Harry. The author makes this complicated cop a believable hero with flaws, self-doubt and, above all, an unshakable moral compass that guides him. ...The Closers moves at such a breakneck speed that it's easy to miss the subtlety with which Connelly constructs the story. The Closers is as hard-boiled a novel as they come, but the story also explodes in a quiet way. Connelly doesn't use gratuitous violence to drive a story -- he relies on first-class storytelling."
— Oline H. Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel
"Mr. Connelly's previous Bosch novel, "The Narrows," was a career high point. "The Closers," an engrossing and exciting tale, does nothing to
lower the standards of the series. Throughout, Mr. Connelly takes as his subject not just Harry Bosch and his circle of friends (and enemies) but Los Angeles itself: "A city as great as any other. And just as
mean.""
— Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal
"It's terrific, rich not just in suspense (at which Connelly has no superiors) but in the warp and woof of police work, of police bureaucracy, of
Los Angeles itself. Every character is convincing..."
— Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post
"Fans of Connelly will recognize the deliberate progression of Police Procedural 101, in which he excels;
also the thick acronym soup of cop-speak. They will welcome back Bosch on full alert and with tricks aplenty, most of them legal."
— Eugen Weber, Los Angeles Times
"With crackling dialogue and masterful plot work, Connelly weaves a tale of corruption and betrayal that reaches deep into the abyss called Los Angeles."
— Geoff Jennings, Rainy Day Books, Fairway, KS
(A BookSense Pick For May 2005)
"...in a Michael Connelly novel, things are never as simple as they seem. ...excellent, twisty police procedural..."
— Amazon.co.uk Editorial Review
"Connelly's
in top form once again with this tight-as-a-noose tale of retired homicide detective Harry Bosch, who returns to the LAPD to investigate a 20-year-old unsolved murder."
— LIFE Magazine
"THE CLOSERS
finds both Bosch and Connelly on the top of their game."
— CrimeSpree Magazine
Best Books of 2005, Top 10 Editors' Picks: Mystery & Thrillers
— Amazon.com
— Washington Post "Critics Choices" For 2005, Top 5 Books
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