Selected Book
Angels Flight (Harry Bosch)
- Mass Market Paperback
- Author: Michael Connelly
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
- Release Date: January 2000
- ISBN-10: 0446607274
- ISBN-13: 9780446607278
- List Price: $7.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryMichael Connelly, whose novel The Poet won the 1997 Anthony Award for Best Mystery, is already recognized as one of the smartest and most vivid scribes of the hard-boiled police procedural. Now, with his much-anticipated sixth Harry Bosch novel, Angels Flight, Connelly offers one of the finest pieces of mystery writing to appear in 1998. Bosch is awakened in the middle of the night and, out of rotation, he is assigned to the murder investigation of the high-profile African American attorney Howard Elias. When Bosch arrives at the scene, it seems that almost the entire LAPD is present, including the IAD (the Internal Affairs Division). Elias, who made a career out of suing the police, was sadistically gunned down on the Angels Flight tram just as he was beginning a case that would have struck the core of the department; not surprisingly, L.A.'s men and women in blue become the center of the investigation. Haunted by the ghost of the L.A. riots, plagued by incessant media attention, and facing turmoil at home, Bosch suddenly finds himself questioning friends and associates while working side by side with some longtime enemies. Angels Flight is a detective's nightmare scenario and is disturbingly relevant to the racially tense last decade of the 20th century. Amidst the twists and turns of his complex narrative, Connelly affirms his rightful place among the masters of contemporary mystery fiction. --Patrick O'Kelley |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Fast paced, worth reading, good police drama
Rating: 
I've enjoyed all the Connelly books I've read, no exception here. I would like to see the characters more fleshed out, the dialogue better, the telling less, the book longer, but these are just small criticisms.
The subject matter of this book is interesting, dealing with civil unrest and the multitude of problems that the LAPD has dealt with and sometimes causes for itself.
In any case, the book reads quickly and is written fairly straight forward and tightly. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
A review of the audiobook
Rating:
This early installment in the Harry Bosch series is as good as the rest in the series meaning, at least in my mind, it is a proud member of one of the best set of detective novels currently being produced.
Connelly's books are usually deep and gritty and this one is no different. The lead character is Harry Bosch, the leader of a 3 detective team in the LAPD that is assigned an unusually sensitive case. A well-known civil rights attorney that has successfully sued LAPD over and over again for violations of federal civil rights laws has been murdered on the eve of an especially notorious case against the LAPD. Of course, everyone inside LAPD and out believe that a police officer killed him in a fit of revenge and the city is seething.
Set just a few years after the Rodney King riots and the O.J. Simpson murder trial, Los Angeles is racially tense, to say the least. This works well with one of the main themes of the entire series - Harry Bosch's name. Harry's real name is Hieronymus Bosch. If you are not familiar with Hieronymus Bosch let me explain. The real Hieronymus Bosch is a Renaissance painter that painted detailed and fanciful paintings of the torments of hell, including demons, strange creatures and their victims. Connelly often presents Harry Bosch as a man walking among the sites and smells of hell - torture, betrayal, riots and the literal burning of parts of the city in protest are the backdrop of this moody, brooding book.
Connelly deftly handles the tricky topic of racial discrimination and issues of black and white in this book. While the case is being worked race tints every aspect of the case - Black vs. White vs. Blue (LAPD) is a frequent topic that is discussed - not overtly but neatly inserted as conversations that flow quite naturally in the context of the story.
I heard this book as an audiobook and it was truly a joy to hear Dick Hill's narration. He's done several of Connelly's novels and I've never been disappointed with any that he's narrated. He is as good as it gets.
Connelly's best novel
Rating:
I have generally regarded The Concrete Blonde as the best of the Connelly catalogue, but that view has changed. Angels Flight is an exceptionally good novel. The mystery element is good but it's not what makes this a great novel. Connelly has always been good at exposing the reader to the politics of the LAPD, but never more so than in Angels Flight. There is a racially charged element to the murder in this novel that results in political maneuvering and gamesmanship that I found fascinating. The novel effectively explores issues of racism in the context of a city rocked by Rodney King and OJ Simpson.
Bosch is a character with real depth and he's given a lot to deal with in this novel. His relationship with his wife is unraveling and he doesn't understand why, a former partner is being used as a scapegoat, and his team is being used as pawns in a high stakes political game. Harry is a flawed and real human being who occasionally missteps, who questions his own judgment at times, who occasionally lets his temper get the better of him but who can also be pragmatic enough to know when he has to `go along to get along' - even when it doesn't sit well with him.
This is a well plotted novel. Admittedly, some of the plot twists are a little predictable, but this is a very entertaining police procedural elevated by Connelly's insight into the LAPD and the fully realized character of Harry Bosch. This is an intelligent, compelling page turner that is easily one of the best crime novels I have ever read.
Highly recommended.
Very readable
Rating:
First what I didn't like: uses "nodded" too much, another "cop gone bad" story which is an overused ploy and one of Connelly's favorites.
What I did like is that it was well done with good characterizations. Dialogue good, plot good although predicatble (we all knew it was a cop who did it from the very beginning).
Old story but well done.
Pretty good effort overall.
Street Justice
Rating:
There is a double killing in a tram car at Angels Flight. The list of suspects is long, but it becomes a complicated case when Harry Bosch and his team are assigned to the investigation. A coverup of past deeds leads to more coverups. People in power don't want clay feet exposed.
The case is filled with racial overtones, and is lighting a fuse that could set LA on fire. The Chief wants a quick resolution that will put a lid on things, even if it's not the right solution. Harry wants guilty parties punished, but sometimes the guilt is about things he had not expected, and sometimes the punishment takes unusual forms as the case takes on a life of its own.
Overall, an interesting case with some unexpected twists and turns.
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