This is the third title by Michael Connelly (The Scarecrow, The Brass Verdict)
released within the last year. The previous titles are good reads, but something special happens when Connelly writes in the voice of his main character, Heironymous “Harry” Bosch. In Nine Dragons, the Los Angeles detective is thrust into the cold-blooded murder of a Chinese man who owns a liquor store in one of the city’s tougher neighborhoods. When Harry arrives at the scene, it sparks a memory of a short meeting he had with the shop owner many years prior. Harry promises the son of the decedent
to catch the person who perpetrated the crime.
The first fifteen or so chapters move at a brisk but typical police procedural pace – that is to say, this is exactly what you expect when you pick up a Conelly novel. There are the usual Bosch musings and his hunches as to suspects that turn out to be false. The story turns once Bosch brings in a suspect. He gets a phone call telling him to back off, but in typical Bosch fashion he shrugs it off. Things ratchet up several notches when he recieves a video of his daughter, Maddy, kidnapped in Hong Kong. From here on, it’s a tension-filled thrill ride as Bosch tries to save his daughter in time to get back before a suspect is released back in L.A.
The unabridged audiobook recording of Nine Dragons is eleven hours long, perfect for a long drive or a rainy afternoon. As usual, the audio quality is impeccable. Listening to Len Cariou narrate a Bosch book is like listening to an old friend tell a story. The husky tone of his voice so perfectly suits the Bosch character I can’t imagine one without the other. This is a very satisfying and action-packed story. If you are a fan of Connelly, you will most assuredly will enjoy Nine Dragons.