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The Overlook: A Novel (Harry Bosch) | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Connelly
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $23.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  184 reviews
Sales Rank: 684034
Format: Large Print
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0316001600
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780316001601
ASIN: 0316001600
Publication Date: May 22, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: x library with usual markings
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Product Description
In his first case since he left the LAPDs Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctors death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city. Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harrys one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Boschs job to prove all of them wrong.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 179 more reviews...
 A great addition to the "Harry Bosch" series! July 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I became a fan of the "Harry Bosch" novels by Michael Connelly late in life. I think it was the movie, Blood Work, starring Clint Eastwood and based on one of Connelly's other books, that caused me to buy The Narrows when it came out in paperback. I read that and found myself immediately hooked on the Bosch character. I've since gone back and purchased the other novels in the series (thirteen in all) and have loved each one of them. The Overlook is the newest one out in paperback and please don't confuse it with the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's greatest horror novel, The Shining. There's no relation between the two.
The story begins with a murder at night on a bluff off of Mulholland Drive, overlooking (hence the title of the book) the city of Los Angeles. The victim, Stanley Kent, was shot twice in the back of the head, and LAPD Homicide Detective Harry Bosch is called out to investigate. Several things then happen in a relatively short period of time. The first is that Harry's ex-lover, FBI agent Rachel Walling, shows up within a few minutes of him getting to the crime scene, and she makes it clear from the start that Kent's death is now a matter of national security and that the FBI is taking over the case. It appears that the victim was a doctor with access to radioactive materials such as cesium, which is used for the treatment of cancer. Kent and his wife, Alicia, had apparently been warned sometime back by Walling and her partner that they could be the focus of Middle Eastern terrorists because of the doctor's ability to get cesium at the local hospitals. The cesium could then be used to create a radioactive bomb. When Harry and Walling visit the Kent's home to break the news to Alicia of her husband's death, they discovered her naked and bound in the master bedroom. It seems that two men with Middle Eastern assents entered the home and tied her up, then called Stanley and told him to steal a supply of cesium, if he didn't want them to kill her. The victim did as required and was then murdered on the bluff. As the FBI pursues the investigation with the belief that terrorists could be planning to set up a bomb in Los Angeles, Bosch refuses to be kept out of the loop and diverts his attention to primarily solving the murder. It's his belief that either all count, or no one counts, and he won't allow the death of Stanley Kent to fade into the background of the bigger picture.
The Overlook was originally published as a serial in The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and then as a hardcover and now as a paperback. The book is shorter than the others in the series and that certainly makes for a faster pace. In fact, I read this in just two days. I quickly got caught up in the murder investigation, Bosch's newest partner, Ignacio "Iggy" Ferras, who seems to fight his mentor every step of the way with how he chooses to do things, the tension between Bosch and his former lover, Agent Wallings, the struggle between the LAPD and the FBI, and the question of whether or not the death of one person should be forgotten in order to stop the possible deaths of thousands. Connelly has definitely created one of the finest characters of police procedurals during the last half of this century. Harry Bosch is the kind of guy you want covering your back when you go through the front door of a dangerous situation. And, if you go down the hard way, Bosch will make sure that justice is delivered one way or another, no matter what the rules are. I have to also state that the author captures the beauty and desolation of Los Angeles in ways that stay with you long after the novel is finished. On one side of the coin, it's a place where dreams can come true, while on the other side it's a city filled with crime and death and people who will do whatever it takes to get what they want, no matter how many individuals are hurt in the process.
In terms of how good a novel The Overlook is, I would rate it in the top five of the "Harry Bosch" novels. I definitely enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading the series.
 Reviewed for Midwest Book Review July 1, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
LAPD detective Harry Bosh has a new job in the Homicide Special division, which handles murders with political, celebrity or media connections, or those called hobby cases, which are difficult to solve and take much time. His first call out involves a doctor killed at an overlook above Mulholland Dam. Bosch and his new partner, Ignacio Ferras, are surprised when the FBI shows up at the crime scene. The dead doctor worked with radioactive materials and the FBI thinks his murder is tied to a terrorist plot to build and activate a dirty bomb in Los Angeles. When they learn that radioactive material has been stolen from the doctor, the case shifts to investigate the terrorists who took the substance instead of who killed the doctor. But Bosch thinks there's more to this murder than what's obvious.
Harry Bosch is once more at odds with the FBI and his own police department, but this relentless detective will not back down and pursues his own investigation in his own way. Bosch is an edgy man with a rebellious streak, a detective whose skills continue to keep him in good standing with the upper echelons of the police department, although he always manages to alienate most of those around him. Although this mystery is relatively easy for the reader to solve, the plot is tight and suspenseful, and takes place within a 12-hour time span.
Connelly's Slipping? June 15, 2008
I love the Harry Bosch character. But this book does not do him justice. I just got the impression reading this that it is not as good as earlier Bosch novels. Maybe Connelly should have pensioned him off and left it that. It seems that resurrecting him might have been an error. Maybe Harry needs one really big case to finish his career off. His FBI love interest needs to go also.
Again, Michael Connelly at his best... in stretching for home base... May 17, 2008
Fifteen years ago author Michael Connelly introduced Harry Bosch in the first book of a best-selling series... 'The Black Echo'. Impresario LAPD detective Bosch is now with the Homicide Special Squad, breaking in a new partner, novice Ignacio 'Iggy' Ferras, and re-connected with FBI Agent Rachel Walling (Harry's past lover). The victim took two shots to the head... a pro job -- a medical physicist, who worked at the medical facility with material used in treating cancer. And in the wrong hands, it is a deadly weapon. The perps had used the threat of harming Kent's wife if he didn't cooperate, and give them what they want. Jesse Mitford from Canada is a stranger to LA, looking for celeb autographs to send home to mom, and he's a witness found by Bosch and partner on the property and at the scene of the crime. Bosch battles with his own conscience of detecting methods, keeping just enough from some troublesome and interfering FBI know-it-alls. Bosch is told, "...It is actually much more than [a homicide investigation]...it serves the federal government extremely well with this thing on the overlook being part of a terrorism plot.... You've got the Middle East, the price of a gallon of gasoline and a lame-duck president's approval ratings.... [here] is an opportunity for redemption. ...A chance to shirt public attention and opinion. ...A case like this, you have to broaden your political landscape." Bold and not-to-be-taken for a fool or advantage of, Bosch retorts: "Are you saying that they might try to keep this think going, maybe even exaggerate the threat?" Is it a terrorism plot? Find out when the not-so-innocents among the players are under suspicion, but you'll have to read the book to capture it all as only Connelly can deliver, with a red herring thrown in, oh, a frame-up too. 'The Overlook' is a character-driven mystery, which Connelly never falters in providing a well-groomed cast, plot, on the tip-of-your toes read, as you burn the midnight-oil through suspense and action.
Josephine Kaszuba Locke, Book Hugger, Reviewer BookLoons.com
`We are all circling the drain' May 16, 2008
12 out of 15 found this review helpful
Harry Bosch is now assigned to Homicide Special: waiting for cases that are politically sensitive, have a level of media interest, or are just too hot for the regular LAPD to handle. Harry's first case with Homicide Special, it quickly becomes apparent, combines all three of these ingredients.
An execution style murder, the theft of significant quantities of a potentially deadly radioactive chemical and the involvement of multiple agencies all place pressure on Harry's capacity to work the murder case effectively. Harry himself is dedicated to finding the murderer while those in the agencies around him are intent on exploring terrorist possibilities. Harry, of course, is not above redefining co-operation to suit the needs of his case and, by following the evidence rather than speculation solves the murder. A case, perhaps, for the straightforward application of `all other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best' (the principle known as `Occam's Razor').
I enjoyed this relatively short Harry Bosch story. While it lacks some of the detailed writing of other Bosch novels, it was a great way to spend a couple of spare hours. While I worked out aspects of the solution before the end of the novel, there were sufficient loose ends to keep my attention until the end.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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