Staring into the Abyss (A Darkness More Than Night - Michael Connelly)

Member Name: Slim Lee

Product:	A Darkness More Than Night - Michael Connelly
Date:	16/06/01 (215 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's a Harry Bosch novel, Reprised role for an old character from "Blood Work" - FBI profiler Terry McCaleb

Disadvantages: Harry ain't in it that much, Thinner plot than usual

I’m stupid.

There I’ve admitted it now, not that some of you hadn’t figured this fact out all by yourselves anyway. Just thought I’d clear up any misunderstanding.

Why stupid? Well, most normal (sane?) people tend to do things in an order, whilst some of us seem to go through life rather haphazardly, particularly when it comes to reading. I’m certainly in the latter grouping, and this is borne out by the book I’ve just finished reading. No prizes for guessing which one.

Taken in order, “A Darkness More Than Light” is Michael Connelly’s most recent Harry Bosch novel. It is his 10th book to date. It also has a nice twist, in that he uses two of his most popular characters in this book, Harry Bosch (maverick LAPD detective) and Terry McCaleb (retired FBI profiler – previously in “Blood Work”). Both are interesting and dynamic characters, so the prospect of them ‘teaming’ up so to speak was quite an enticing prospect for Connelly fans. He got the title for this book from a Raymond Chandler novel, describing how the "streets were alive with a darkness that was more than night".

One of the big plus points (for a dumb unorganised cretin like myself) is that Connelly’s novels can easily be read out of sequence. It won’t normally create too much of an information gap or spoil any of the other books. You’ll still find them an enjoying read which strong and vibrant characters.

After reading this latest one, at least one quandary is now solved. Which of his books is next to read, as now “The Black Echo” is the only one remaining …


• The Author


Woah … not so fast …. You mean you’ve never heard of Michael Connelly??? Well, for those of you who've been living in a cave for the last few years, I'll give a quick background on Michael Connelly. If you&#
8217;ve read any of my other Michael Connelly opinions then skip this section ….

Before turning his pen to crime novels he was a police reporter for the Los Angeles Times, which goes some way to explaining his obsession with basing all of his crime novels in and around LA. He has to date won the Edgar award, the Nero Wolfe prize and the Anthony award for his published work in the USA, along with international awards the Maltese Falcon (Japan), .38 Caliber (France) and Grand Prix (France).

Although a recognised author in the US, he is only just starting to break through into the UK market. In most good bookstores you should now find his name displayed prominently amongst those of Ian Rankin, John Grisham and Patricia Cornwell. If they haven’t got a good selection of his novels then it’s either a poor bookshop or they’ve sold out!

The majority of his novels have previously centred on Hieronymous ‘Harry’ Bosch (as this one does), a maverick LAPD detective, with the odd novel such as "The Poet" and "Blood Work" featuring other sleuths, but they are really of a fairly similar vein and revolve around a different (always male) detective chasing serial killers. The one exception to this rule to fate is “Void Moon”, which focuses on a female thief.


• Plot (Briefly - No major spoilers I promise!)


Terry McCaleb, ex-FBI profiler, is now retired and living on Catalina Island of the LA coastline. After the excursions of his work and the heart transplant operation he is now taking life easy, with a new wife and daughter. Life is sweet for Terry, even considering the 34 pills he gulps down with orange juice each and every day to keep himself alive. Stress is gone from his life now …

Until one day when an old friend from the LAPD comes to visit asking for his help one more time on a murder profile. Terry tries to resist, but deep down he kne
w one day he wouldn’t be able to keep away from it. Once he delves into the murder book and immerses himself into the case he knows he has been reluctantly hooked back in.

The death was certainly staged and bizarre. This was no spur of the moment attack. It was planned, meticulously, and with a tangible hatred for the victim. It was plain to see this was personal. The LAPD have hit a dead end, but McCaleb sees more in the crime scene. What is it with the owl? What is the meaning of it? Something tells McCaleb it is key to discovering the identity of the killer.

Then, as he begins to draw up the killer’s profile, the one name that keeps cropping up is a shocking one. Someone with whom McCaleb had worked with in the past. Someone with whom he had solved a high profile case, and in the process came to indirectly find a name for his daughter. It couldn’t be him? Could it?

Has Harry ‘Hieronymous’ Bosch finally stepped over the line and embraced the darkness he fights against? Has he looked once too often into the abyss and been sucked into it’s dark heart …. ?


• Verdict


As I said in my last opinion on a Connelly novel, the more I read his books the more I grow to like the character of Harry Bosch. This time around I can’t help but feel that he is writing for the converted, and that new readers will not get enough background here to understand his character. The whole book hinges on this interaction and the background knowledge of Harry Bosch. Having read all but one of his books I understand the character pretty well, but I have to wonder what a new reader would make of this. Why should they care about his fate so much?

The book focuses a lot more on Terry McCaleb, his new life and the journey back into the investigative world of LA. Normally Connelly’s books are seen through the eyes of Bosch so this made a good change. McCaleb’s character is
far more fleshed out early on in the book, so new readers should feel comfortable with him. The most interesting aspect of the book is McCaleb’s analysis of Bosch, his motives, background, character and patterns. It does fill in a lot of gaps quickly, in a way that would have been very difficult for Connelly to do otherwise. The contrast of Bosch’s instinctual approach to McCaleb’s intellectual/puzzle solving one is clear to see.

Bosch is involved in a separate court case during the investigation, which is supposed to be of similar size and stature to the OJ Simpson case (Hollywood movie director is on trail for murder). I found some of the more interesting parts of the book were in the court sections, and the ongoing investigations Bosch carries out, even whilst the trial is underway.

This time around the main LAPD characters are not those associated with Bosch, but more the older contacts of Terry McCaleb. Jaye Winston is the supporting character, being McCalebs’ old friend from the LAPD, and the initial contact and official link through the case. A strong enough character, but not all that believable in the end. Connelly has constructed far better LAPD characters over the years than hers.

Seasoned Connelly readers will also recognise the reprise of other roles, such as the reporter/writer Jack McEvoy (from the Poet case). But in the end the book focuses heavily, as was to be expected, on the two main protagonists, Bosch and McCaleb. It would’ve been good to see some other new characters introduced, but with two this developed it makes it easy to get into the book from the off.

I have to say that “A Darkness More Than Night” is not one of my favourite Connelly novels so far, but it does builds further on the strength of his characters. The plot (for once) isn’t as solid and intricate as it usually is, with the emphasis being firmly placed on the two lead characters this time aroun
d.

This is good one for those of us who have read many of his books and grown accustomed to the characters, but for those readers who are new to Connelly then this book will lose some of it’s impact. It’s an interesting departure for Connelly, but sadly not one of his best works to date. A good enjoyable read, but a slight let down when compared to his previous efforts.

Saying that though I’d still recommend it, but if you’ve not read any of his work yet then don’t start with this one. Go back into the archives and dig out a copy of “The Black Ice” or “The Poet” first.


Paperback version
Publisher: Orion Paperbacks
ISBN: 0752844040
Available: Out on September 6th 2001
RRP: £6.99 (£5.59 on pre-order from amazon this morning)

Hardcover version
Publisher: Orion Trade
ISBN: 0752821393
Available: Out now
RRP: £16.99 (£10.19 from amazon this morning)

Audiocassette verision
Publisher: Orion Trade (Audio)
ISBN: 0752838350
Available: Out now
RRP: £12.99 (£11.69 from amazon this morning)

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• Other books by the same Author


If you do enjoy this book, then I strongly recommend that you try some of these others novels by the same author. Hey, just go read them all okay:


- The Poet
- Blood Work (featuring Terry McCaleb instead of Harry Bosch)
- The Concrete Blonde
- The Black Ice
- Angels Flight (leave until last as it gives away a lot of character backgrounds)


I would particularly recommend his previous novels "The Poet" and "Blood Work" if you enjoy the Thomas Harris novels featuring Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter. They are quite similar in the type of subject and the sense of the chase you experience. Where I think they beat Harris hands down is in the style and strength of the characterisations. Very believable and you W
ILL find yourself getting engrossed in these books believe me! Michael Connelly is not as widely known as Thomas Harris (due mostly to the Silence of the Lambs film) but from his work to date he stands out as a far more consistent writer. It can only be a matter of time before someone snaps up one of his works for film adaptation.


• Press quotes


Here are a few quotes from the press on his work:


“Impressive …. Convincing ambience, a mass of procedural detail, authentic dialogue, a speeding plot and a flawed hero” - The Times

“Most impressive …. Rich in detail, strong on character, with a fascinating plot that functions on several emotional levels … Connelly has, with great skill, given us a detective who inhabits a world filled only with torment, fear and danger” – People Magazine

“The strongest crime series being written in America now” - Spectator


• Author’s Website


Also worth checking out is his website at www.MichaelConnelly.com, which will give you further background into this excellent author and his published work to date. Definitely one worth checking out, and try your hand at the competitions too, they’re pretty hard but the prizes on offer are worth a stab at it (signed first editions normally).

Other features of the site include a small biography of the author, press information, news on the latest or forthcomings novels, information on book signings via email (when is he coming to the UK?!?!) and a message board (which strangely seems to be quite civilised). All in all it’s a cracking little site for fans of his work.

BONUS: on the website there is a bonus story specially written by Connelly to supplement “A Darkness More Than Night” and it’s only available to those on the private mailing list. It’s a fairly weighty piece on the first case
“Cielo Azul” (the name McCaleb eventually gives to his daughter) worked on by Bosch and McCaleb, and makes for interesting reading. It’ll be sent to you when you join up via email.

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Right, I’m off now to get started on “The Black Echo” ………

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