The Last Coyote

I don't like Los Angeles much but when Michael Connelly writes about it through the eyes of Harry Bosch, I can't stop turning the pages.In this, the fourth, Harry Bosch novel, readers are let into the heart and soul of a man who you don't think you could like (drinks too much, an in your face smoker and generally dark sort of guy) and you end up wanting to name your next cat after him. Actually, Harry probably would prefer a dog but the independent, ornery nature of a cat seems more true.Harry's on suspension and finds himself digging into the unsolved murder of his prostitute mother. By the time he's done we've learned plenty about Los Angeles in the early 60's, politics and the angst of a policeman without a badge. My husband, a former cop, simply shakes his head at Connelly's ability to express the experience of a renegade cop.We listen to these as books on tape and 13 hours go by in flash. Connelly's books are terrifically paced and this one has one heck of an ending.

It's time in Bosch's life to blow the leaves off his mother's grave, loosen the dirt around it and dig deep for the answers not only to his mother's murder, but to many of his problems resulting from his insecure childhood. This is helped by the fact that he is suspended for pushing a superior through a plate glass window and sent to a police shrink. While he is on forced leave, he decides to resolve these problems, of course, against all company policy. But his view is "Everybody counts or nobody counts." As he unravels the mystery, it seems to him that the murder of his mother didn't count because she was just a woman of the streets. Both this theme and the theme of a reappearing coyote (lost, hungry and bewildered) occur again and again in this gripping, forceful novel. The coyote and Bosch are drawn together - like to like - and it seems to Bosch that both he and the coyote are a vanishing breed. I defy you to put Connelly's book down for more than a few hours, if at all. He is a master of twists, surprises and impeccable logic that carry you to the end in a whirlwind of pleasure and excitement.This one has a finish that is amazing and shocking.It's content will stay with you a lone time, perhaps forever,as you contemplate this world and those who live in it everyday. I maintain the best way to read Bosch is from the beginning with THE BLACK ICE - and follow in sequence. Michael Connelly has now won three awards for his novels. Everytime I think I have found my favorite another comes along to show me there cannnot be one favorite - only Michael Connelly himself, as a talented and intriguing artist. Angels Flight is the next in the series. His non-Bosch novels, The Poet and Blood Work are other extremely fine examples of his genius.