The Best of Michael Connelly

Four feet. That's the span of Michael Connelly novels I've read.

So far.

Michael Connelly has published 39 crime novels. The novels are all set within the same fictional universe and characters make recurring appearances and cross paths with each other over time, so reading the series in order is a rewarding experience. Yet each story stands alone and a new reader could jump in at any point in the collection without difficulty.

Before becoming a novelist Connelly was a crime reporter, first working for newspapers in Florida and then later for the LA Times. His journalistic style shines through in his fiction. He's clear and concise. Acronyms and jargon are usually explained within a page of being introduced. And he has a good grasp of the different players involved, from police to politicians, lawyers to journalists.

Almost all of his works are centered in Los Angeles and include references to real locations around the city. They touch on historical events and each story takes place in roughly the same year that the book was written. The books progress through changes in the city and changes in the world at large over the past several decades.

Here are some of my favorites. Click the button below if you want to reveal key plot details.

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Best Bosch Books

• Angels Flight - This book deals with a brutal murder of a civil rights attorney on Angels Flight, a cable railway in Los Angeles. There's fear that the crime will spark new race riots in the city. The ending is one of the most haunting of Connelly's books.
• The Black Echo - This was the novel that started it all. Harry investigates a murder that is connected to an elaborate diamond heist. He meets his future wife, Eleanor Wish. And we get Bosch's backstory as a soldier who had to go down into the Vietcong tunnels:

  "We called it the black echo. It was like going to hell. You're down there and you could smell your own fear. It was like you were dead when you were down there."

• Two Kinds of Truth - This book is high action. Harry goes undercover, there's a stiletto hidden in a cane, a guy jumps from a plane. Also, Mickey Haller appears at the end to pull off a high stakes courtroom bluff.

Best Non-Bosch Books

• Best Haller: The Lincoln Lawyer - My introduction to Michael Connelly was The Lincoln Lawyer, a fun, fast read about defense attorney Mickey Haller. I still like the original the best. Haller gets softer in later books and is less of a rogue. Though the ending of The Fifth Witness is one that really stuck with me.
• Best Ballard: Dark Sacred Night - The books where Renée Ballard is still on the "late show" are the most interesting, where she struggles to cobble together time to work on cases while also juggling her night shift duties. In Dark Sacred Night she first meets Bosch and they learn to work together.
• Best Non-Bosch/Haller/Ballard: Void Moon - I know. Most fans would probably pick The Poet. But I really enjoyed Void Moon. This was the first book where all the main characters were scoundrels. Private investigator and amateur magician Jack Karch is a bitter and menacing villain. When the curtain comes down on him in the grand finale it's over the top but so good.

Best Villains

• The Scarecrow - For most of this book it felt like the villains had the upper hand. They were spying on the good guys, hacking passwords, murdering a journalist, and kidnapping an FBI agent. It's only hubris that keeps the Scarecrow around long enough to be caught.
• Echo Park - One of the most riveting scenes in all the Bosch books is when murderer Raynard Waits pretends to lead investigators to a victim's body, but instead kills two officers and wounds Bosch's partner, Kizmin Rider, as he makes his escape.
• The Poet - This is the first Connelly novel partially told from the perspective of a criminal which adds to the creepiness of the story and also makes for a good source of misdirection.

"Good books read fast. You read crime novels?"
"Why would I want to read made-up stuff when I've seen the real stuff and can't stand it?"
Buddy started the car. He had to turn the ignition twice before it kicked over.
"It's a much different world. Everything is ordered, good and bad clearly defined, the bad guy always gets what he deserves, the hero shines, no loose ends. It's a refreshing antidote to the real world."
"Sounds boring."
"No, it's reassuring. Where to now?"