I’ve long been a fan of Michael Connelly’s books. I decided to read or re-read The Black Echo by Michael Connelly because it was the first of the Harry Bosch series which I have enjoyed over the years. It has been so long since I may have read it that I wasn’t sure if I read it or not, but after a few pages I knew that I had. I did not remember it well enough that I knew what was coming so I was surprised by most of the twists in the plot but at least parts of the story were familiar. I totally enjoyed this mystery and as a bonus Harry worked with Eleanor Wish who will feature in other books of the Harry Bosch series.

I do not wish to say too much about the plot or specifics about characters as I don’t want to spoil the surprises for that rare reader who has not yet discovered this series. But, in short, both Harry and Eleanor are very interesting characters and the story is well-told with a number of surprising twists. For me, it was a re-read and a very enjoyable experience. For someone new to the series, it may be a bit different but I can’t imagine not enjoying it. I think this would be a great introduction to the characters as well as a great story. If I was thinking about trying a Harry Bosch book because so many people love the series, I would probably start at the beginning with The Black Echo .

I would guess that the new reader would be fine jumping into the series with any book that sounds interesting to him or her. Michael Connelly does work enough background of the characters into each book that I’ve read that the new reader should be able to enjoy the stories. But it is interesting to start at the beginning and watch a character develop and age. In The Black Echo Harry is close to 40 but in the later books he is at an age when lots of us are retired.

Michael Connelly has written quite a few books and I have enjoyed all of those I’ve read. If you are interested in learning more about this author you might want to check out Michael Connelly’s Amazon page.

On an unrelated note, I just wanted to add that I started reading this book on my Kindle. I had borrowed it from the county library and I’m not quite sure how borrowing ebooks works. But when it was ready (and there was a waiting list), it was sent to my Kindle by Wi-Fi and through my Amazon account. I did enjoy reading the book on the Kindle and my only gripe was that the loan period was one week which included Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Since I hadn’t finished by the end of the week and the book on my Kindle disappeared, I borrowed the actual book from the library to finish the story.