June 20, 2013

“A Darkness More than Night” by Michael Connelly – The Tables have Turned

A Darkness More than Night by Michael Connelly (Book cover)
As many of you know, Harry Bosch is without a doubt Michael Connelly’s most-prized creation, being a detective who cracked some of the world’s most intricate and complex plots, which makes it that much more interesting when in A Darkness More than Night, Harry finds himself under investigation by formerly-retired FBI agent, Terry McCaleb (who he operated with in Blood Work).

Why exactly is Harry Bosch being investigated? According to McCaleb, who is far from being a slouch at his job, Harry is the one who best fits the psychological profile of the murderer, who by the way, already slaughtered a number of victims in a very ritualistic manner.

Those of you who know a thing or two about actual police work will probably have to work a bit harder than the rest to suspend their disbelief (psychological profiles only help to catch a criminal in very rare and extreme cases, and as such aren’t taken very seriously most of the time), but I assure you that in the end, it is all worth it.

The first impression the book left on me was how Harry Bosch was forced to see what things look like from the other side of the fence… for once, he became like one of the many suspects he chased throughout the years.

As a matter of fact, it felt as if Connelly put so much attention into that part of the story that he kind of forgot to weave a long, complex and majestic web of intrigue. In other words, this is one of those cases of the chase being much more thrilling than the catch.

Nevertheless, the story and its actors remain quite interesting, especially since Connelly creates multiple plotlines and masterfully converges them together in the end.

A Darkness More than Night by Michael Connelly (Book cover)
Though you may be able to predict some of the twists to come if you are an avid murder mystery reader, you will still be able to appreciate the closure such a denouement provides.

All in all, though this may not be one of Connelly’s finest works, it remains a noteworthy experiment, one any fan of the author or murder mysteries ought to give a shot on a rainy Sunday afternoon.



Michael Connelly (Author)

Michael Connelly


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Michael Connelly is perhaps one of the most popular modern writers, starting has career when he discovered Raymond Chandler’s writings at his university.

To support himself, he worked at the local newspaper while specializing in crime, which shows in virtually all of his works touching on criminal subjects, such as The Black Box and The Lincoln Lawyer.

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