November GrauRecently I checked in with a couple of crime writers I used to enjoy, after borrowing some recent novels from the Sourdeval book box. The first was "Better Off Dead" by Lee Child, though it turns out this book (along with all of Child's output since 2020) is written partly by his brother Andrew Grant. I felt it was a sharp quality drop-off from those glory days of Killing Floor and Echo Burning, with all the usual Jack Reacher elements present and correct (lots of motel rooms and coffee, fight scenes, international conspiracies and so on) but no pizzazz. Two weeks after reading it I could barely tell you what happened in it, though there is an interesting network of tunnels underneath a town on the Mexican border.
The other author I reconnected with was Michael Connolly. I'm not sure I've ever really adored a Connolly book - as far as I know he's never written anything as exciting as Killing Floor - but I see him as a solid, dependable writer and his cop character Harry Bosch is likeable, while not too hip or arty to be believable as a policeman. I enjoyed "The Black Echo" and "A Darkness More Than Night" in particular. "The Wrong Side of Goodbye" is from 2016 and doesn't live up to my favourte Bosch novels, but I liked the careful, methodical descriptions of the investigative procedure as Bosch snuffles around after a missing heir to millions while also tracking down a serial rapist. Paperwork, evidence collection and inter-departmental relations has always been a big part of the Bosch books, and Connolly's ability to present this stuff in a clear, realistic way without being boring is a real achievement. I did get pretty engrossed in this book in the end. So yeah, I'll continue keeping up with Connolly but probably give the Child books a miss in future.
#CrimeFiction #LeeChild #MichaelConnolly
The other author I reconnected with was Michael Connolly. I'm not sure I've ever really adored a Connolly book - as far as I know he's never written anything as exciting as Killing Floor - but I see him as a solid, dependable writer and his cop character Harry Bosch is likeable, while not too hip or arty to be believable as a policeman. I enjoyed "The Black Echo" and "A Darkness More Than Night" in particular. "The Wrong Side of Goodbye" is from 2016 and doesn't live up to my favourte Bosch novels, but I liked the careful, methodical descriptions of the investigative procedure as Bosch snuffles around after a missing heir to millions while also tracking down a serial rapist. Paperwork, evidence collection and inter-departmental relations has always been a big part of the Bosch books, and Connolly's ability to present this stuff in a clear, realistic way without being boring is a real achievement. I did get pretty engrossed in this book in the end. So yeah, I'll continue keeping up with Connolly but probably give the Child books a miss in future.
#CrimeFiction #LeeChild #MichaelConnolly
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