Flying with Angels (Angel's Flight - Michael Connelly)

Member Name: freediveheaven

Product:	Angel's Flight - Michael Connelly
Date:	02/07/05 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good read

Disadvantages: none

Howard Elias has forged himself a hugely successful career representing clients in their civil actions against the police. There are not many policeman who have not had the daunting experience of facing Elias across a courtroom, when he sues Elias adopts the policy of naming everyone, from the cop on the beat, his superior officers, the chief of police and the city itself, he will even sue the people who trained the offending officer. For Elias every win is a success no matter it the compensation award is only a dollar because once he wins he gets to bill the city.

Not only is Elias good at his job he also knows what cards to play, especially in a post Rodney King Los Angeles where he has a long list of black clients eager to employ the services of a top black lawyer, a great orator and skilled player of the media. So when, Elias is found brutally murdered inside a railway car that travels up to Angels Flight in Los Angeles all eyes are on the police, not just to see if they can solve the case but also to see exactly which one of their number pulled the trigger.

Most of the police are excluded from investigating the murder due to their previous encounters with Elias so the case falls in the lap of Harry Bosch and the two other members of his team. It soon becomes apparent to Bosch that there are other reasons for his team getting the case, not least because of the fact that his two colleagues are both black and will look good at the press conferences that will be called in an attempt to diffuse any potential rioting by the black community in Los Angeles. For Bosch this also means investigating his former partner one of the four detectives currently being sued by Elias on behalf of Harris.

I must admit I really enjoyed this book and would have no hesitation in recommending it to others. Connelly has put together a tight well thought out thriller with an impressive range of characters. The storyline crackles with tension throughout and there are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep the pages turning.

In Bosch you have a detective who while not completely out of his depth does have a huge amount to cope with and often feels like he is swimming against the current in the dark. In a high pressure case he has to contend with a failing marriage, the suspicion of his colleagues, leaks to the press and a chief of police intent on putting the right spin on the investigation to appease the public. Bosch is put under pressure to get a quick result but more importantly one that will keep the rioters off the street.

Connelly cleverly weaves into his story the recent history of the LAPD with the botched investigation of OJ Simpson and the videoed beating of Rodney King to help set the scene and draws upon characters that bear more than a passing resemblance to Johnny Cochran and the Rev Al Sharperton.

If I have a slight criticism it is that some of the characters are rather predictable and follow the standard formula of crime writers for example the cop with a failed marriage, the hard drinking partner etc etc and there are only passing references towards the reasons behind Bosch wife’s unhappiness with the state of their marriage.

There is little violence, sex or bad language in the book however it does cover the subject of pedophilia and rape.

In summary though this is well worth a read and will certainly help pass a few hours on the beach or by the pool over he summer holidays.


Published by Orion the rrp is £5.99 however I picked this up in a two for £5 deal a few weeks ago at Tesco.

The ISBN is 0752826948.

Summary: Strong narrative, a real pager turner.