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The Drop (Harry Bosch #17)

by Michael Connelly (Goodreads Author)

4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 · rating details · 13,626 ratings · 1,375 reviews

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two. DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab...more

Hardcover, 388 pages

Published November 28th 2011 by Little, Brown and Company (first published January 1st 2011)

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Apr 11, 2012 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

A sobering story to be hearing as i drove up and down the 250 mile round trip to Plymouth in the run up to Easter. All blood, guts, suicide, embezzlement and dark conspiracies and police cover-ups not to mention serial rapists and child abusers. Not the most conducive of listens to get me into the mood for celebrations and resurrection but it was a story which kept the interest.

Harry Bosch is a detective in the Open-Unsolved Unit which searches out the open-ended murders and rapes and attempts...more A sobering story to be hearing as i drove up and down the 250 mile round trip to Plymouth in the run up to Easter. All blood, guts, suicide, embezzlement and dark conspiracies and police cover-ups not to mention serial rapists and child abusers. Not the most conducive of listens to get me into the mood for celebrations and resurrection but it was a story which kept the interest.

Harry Bosch is a detective in the Open-Unsolved Unit which searches out the open-ended murders and rapes and attempts to bring to justice the perpetrators who are, as of yet, thinking they are free as birds. A seemingly straightforward case where the DNA of a convicted rapist is found in the stored evidence of a 22 year old unsolved crime becomes bizarrely anything but when it is pointed out that the aforesaid rapist was only 8 at the time of the attack. Added to this complication a second case loaded on to Bosch of the seeming suicide of the son one of his greatest critics and the scene is set for twists, turns, revelations and horrendous discoveries which involve the detective in having to question a good deal of his comfortable preconceived ideas and opinions.

The story trundles along at a good enough pace although, as seems so often in this type of book, the rather hamfisted attempts at back stories of precocious teenage daughters or awkward new partnerships bedding in, just slow and weigh it all down and simply serves to muddy water gloomy enough as it is. Rather unconvincing nods in the direction of romance slows it all still further and the awkward dialogue smacks more of Connelly's inhibitions then his characters.

Having said all that it was an entertaining read for traffic jams and long journeys and was left open-ended enough to make me imagine that the characters had lives of their own which continuted on beyond the pages of the novel; always a good pointer. The main story-line was vile and shocking but then it was supposed to be. Its denoument was believable and managed to resolve itself whilst still managing to communicate the inevitability of the horrendous damage perpetrated on victims continuing on unhealed. The striking aspect though was the way in which the victims were identified; those with whom you would have instant sympathy and those from whom we might be first tempted to withhold sympathy but in this storyline the domino affect of cruel abuse is clearly painted. (less)

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Jan 08, 2012 June Ahern rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is how much I enjoy Michael Connelly's "Harry Bosch" series - I bought a hardcopy and gifted to myself as a Christmas present. I couldn't wait to hop into bed with Harry. I savored each page and even reread a few the next night to set the flavor of the evening's reading. Connelly is at his finest - once again - even though he does break some writing rules by telling rather than showing - so like who cares? It works. Harry is back from retirement working cold cases, not the active murder cas...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime

Detective Harry Bosch is contemplating retirement - again. The Deferred Retirement Option Plan (The DROP) gives him another 39 months. He enjoys his work with LA's Open-Unsolved unit, working on cases that went cold up to 50 years ago. Currently he's trying to solve the 1989 murder of a young woman. But perhaps, he thinks, he's losing his edge. Besides, there's Maddie, his teenaged daughter, to think of, and wouldn't it be great to be able to spend more time with her? So Harry, who's a dedicated...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Jane Stewart rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-mystery, 5-star-other

Not much action or adrenaline, but excellent police procedural investigating. I smiled a lot.

One of the reasons I gave this 5 stars might be because I have read all the other Bosch books, and I miss him. I was so happy to have another book to read, but also it was very good. One thing I love about Bosch is his intense mission in life – catching murderers. It was satisfying. I enjoyed his thinking, comments, decisions, and actions.

After the last two Bosch books, Nine Dragons and The Reversal, I w...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Steve rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, back on 10-31-2011 I put this book on hold and today I finished it, 2-23-2012.
Loved it.!!!!
Of course it is a aging Harry.
He still jumps in where angels fear to tread ( or something like that)
Another poignant ending.

It just came out October 2011, I just put a hold at the library and I am #469 with one book.
Let's see.....given 3 weeks per hold 3 weeks X 469 =1407
divided by 52 weeks in year = 27 years until I get to read this from the library.
Hmmmm, that'll make me 92 years old.
I just read the...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Daniel Audet rated it 5 of 5 stars

The newest in the popular (with me too) Harry Bosch series has Harry working two cases, one old, one new, and only our hero can bridge the gap between old school and new when it comes to good old fashioned gum shoe field work that gets results. Connelly, clearly at the top of his game with this great read bangs out another twisty, turny, high end thriller with a decided personal side that he weaves in with his articulate mastery.
Readers, spoiled rotten by this level of skill, will enjoy this bo...more The newest in the popular (with me too) Harry Bosch series has Harry working two cases, one old, one new, and only our hero can bridge the gap between old school and new when it comes to good old fashioned gum shoe field work that gets results. Connelly, clearly at the top of his game with this great read bangs out another twisty, turny, high end thriller with a decided personal side that he weaves in with his articulate mastery.
Readers, spoiled rotten by this level of skill, will enjoy this book.

Harry refuses to accept some of the trappings of the techno age but not being stupid realizes he must concede sometimes and allow it to help him, or at least enhance his effort to get at the truth and catch bad guys. Raising a daughter in her teens keeps Harry feeling his mortality as he proudly watches her grow but knows he needs to keep a close eye on her because he's made a lot of enemies.
The backdrop is LA and as the story opens a politician's son does a header off the balcony of a Hollywood Hills landmark, a classy but notorious hotel - the Chateau Marmont. It seems some in power are angling for agenda based results and no one seems to care what really happened or that the truth comes out, including the victims father. Harry is determined to out the truth anyway and let the chips fall, even if it means his job.
His other case is drawn from the open-unsolved files of the LAPD and given to Harry and his obnoxious new partner Chu. The murder of a young girl many years earlier has Harry on the trail of a pedophile who, decades later, is still at large.
As a writer I read books from MC and other top authors and I marvel at the high level of work in the writerly categories: description, narration, dialogue, plotting, sub plots, etc. and I can say that I learn a lot from their work. It's a tough translation because you have to know what you're looking at, as a writer, and know that one's "voice" and imagination is what makes the difference between each author.
It is both awesome and inspirational and also might make you want to quit and go hang yourself. I don't recommend that of course. I say stick it out and keep banging the keyboard like Connelly says he did. Connelly is as you may know one of the first members of the exclusive ebook "million seller club" on Amazon.
I recommend this book highly.(less)

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May 21, 2012 Anne (Booklady) Molinarolo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: anne-booklady-105-books-in-2012, good-fiction, thriller-mystery, spring-2012, permanent-library, thriller-suspense, coffee-n-books-105-in-2012

4.5 Stars

SUMMARY

It’s “Christmas” day in the Open-Unsolved Unit. Harry and Chu get a 22 year old rape/murder case that got a hit in the DNA Database. The contributor is a convicted sex offender, Clayton Pell. The match to the blood smear on the victim’s neck seems like manna to the detectives: case closed. But Pell was only eight years old at the time of Lily’s murder. Did the original OU detectives cross contaminate their submission from another cold case? Or did the State lab make a tremendous...more 4.5 Stars

SUMMARY

It’s “Christmas” day in the Open-Unsolved Unit. Harry and Chu get a 22 year old rape/murder case that got a hit in the DNA Database. The contributor is a convicted sex offender, Clayton Pell. The match to the blood smear on the victim’s neck seems like manna to the detectives: case closed. But Pell was only eight years old at the time of Lily’s murder. Did the original OU detectives cross contaminate their submission from another cold case? Or did the State lab make a tremendous error? Before Bosch and Chu get settled into their case, Harry gets news that his DROP has been extended for only 30 months, not the full 5 years that he requested.

Eager to solve the case, Bosch and Chu begin the case only to be interrupted by a call from Kiz Rider, Harry’s old partner. Bosch and Chu are summoned upstairs forthwith to lead the investigation into the circumstances of George Irving’s death. Irving is the son of Councilman Irwin Irving, Harry’s old nemesis. High jingo. Before agreeing to lead the death investigation, Bosch asks Irving why he chose him. Irving tells him that knows Harry’s investigative code: everybody counts or nobody counts. Harry is shocked; only Kiz knows that. And he tells the Councilman that he will go where the evidence leads him. If George jumped, accidentally fell, or was dropped from the hotel balcony, he will not cover the reason for inside/outside political pressure by Irving on him and the LAPD. Irving agrees. The two detectives are ordered to put the cold case on ice and concentrate on George Irving. Harry Bosch can’t do that. He’ll work both cases. Everybody counts.

MY THOUGHTS

1.) Connelly’s subtle references to the book’s title intrigued me while reading. The LAPD’s Deferred Retirement Option Program only giving Harry 39 months to solve cases gives urgency to the story and Harry’s game with Maddie is interesting. Could she be the next Bosch series? Or will Harry become Mickey Haller’s investigator? Interesting. George Irving’s death plunge: is it accidental death, suicide, or a murder in which the killer rendered Irving unconscious and dropped the man over the hotel balcony? A highly political death case is “dropped” on Bosch. What is the desired outcome?

2.) Connelly finally explains what makes Harry Bosch tick. Bosch’s philosophy brings him into enormous emotional conflict as he works both cases. His relationships with a new love interest, Chu, and Kiz come into question.

3.) Connelly never lets up on the pace of The Drop. His characterization of Harry Bosch is deeper in this novel than the others in the series. If this is the beginning of the end of this series, Connelly really satisfies the reader’s need to say farewell to this beloved character. I can’t wait for THE BLACK BOX coming out in November 2012 to see where the Harry Bosch Series is going.

4.) The relationship resolution between Chu and Rider and Bosch both surprised and pleased me. Connelly is a master at creating complicated characters and plots. He does not disappoint in THE DROP.
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Apr 06, 2012 Pamela rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've read--or rather listened to--all of Michael Connelly's books. Yep...all the Bosch, all the Haller, all the stand alones, everything except the short stories. With a few--very few--exceptions, they've been pretty much amazing.

This is the first I've read, and the first and only Bosch I've been disappointed with. It just didn't have the wow-factor of the others. The plot was far too linear for a Bosch, the characters too predictable, the humor too forced. In short, if this were the first Bosch...more

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Feb 16, 2012 V.R. Barkowski rated it 2 of 5 stars

THE DROP is Michael Connelly's latest Harry Bosch effort.
Fact #1: As a rule, Connelly writes superb character driven procedurals.
Fact #2: I dislike procedurals and read his novels solely for their living, breathing characters.
Fact #3: Over the last few books, Harry Bosch has shifted from a strong, moral iconoclast to a petty, judgmental curmudgeon, and he doesn't wear it well. None of the characters in THE DROP have depth. This includes surly Harry (the seasoned detective), obsequious David C...more

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Aug 27, 2012 PatK rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

This is my first book by an author I have long wanted to read...and probably my last. It gets three stars because it qualifies as an impeccably-written, well-plotted, superbly edited and entertaining page turner.

I can certainly understand why Michael Connelly is so popular...the man knows how to spin a yarn! The writing is clean, concise, fast-paced with no extraneous fat fleshing out the characters or the setting. He simultaneously unwinds two murder cases with great thoroughness and detail, ef...more This is my first book by an author I have long wanted to read...and probably my last. It gets three stars because it qualifies as an impeccably-written, well-plotted, superbly edited and entertaining page turner.

I can certainly understand why Michael Connelly is so popular...the man knows how to spin a yarn! The writing is clean, concise, fast-paced with no extraneous fat fleshing out the characters or the setting. He simultaneously unwinds two murder cases with great thoroughness and detail, efficiently pulling the reader along.

Up front I admit police procedural genre is not my preferred mystery (I get my fill of it on TV!)...this novel story-wise was undeniably as engaging as any episode of "Law and Order". And to continue the comparison, it read with the objectivity of a case file and less like a breathing human being moving through the process of detection.

The reasons I will probably not read more Connelly, however, are two-fold. The characters are two-dimensional, predictable, drawn to type. Some of them are mere place-holders to round out our protagonist's day (i.e. daughter, boss-sequestered behind blinds, and love/sex interest--who HORROR! may have emotional baggage). Other than a generalized undercurrent of gruff cynicism, and off-putting disregard for his partner to color the protagonist, there is little to enjoin our sympathies for Detective Bosch.

More significantly for me, Connelly has missed the opportunity with his characters by introducing philosophical and sociological issues (delayed justice, nurture vs. nature, self-corrupting political power) without provoking much if any discussion, argument, or internal contemplation that would have helped define and enrich them.

This blunt, short-hand writing style, may have garnered praise in the film noir of detective fiction, and followers of Hemingway, but it still leaves this reader detached and emotionally unsatisfied. It reduces a novel to its most elemental characteristics without elevating it to literature.

At the risk of sounding sexist, I have come to think of this type as the 'macho style.' It describes a very male-oriented world, here i.e., a work environment full of tough, gut-sucked-in, bad-business-is-our-business-minded policemen, androgenous female officers, all engaging in contemptuous working arrangements and occasional pissing contests. They move outside into a work-a-day world that seems as simplistically drawn as the colors chosen by the cab company playing a pivotal role in the main story: Black and White.

Scenes with daughter and female sex interest are treated as brief encounters with little detail, less dialog and no spill-over into this cop's daily grind and life ethic: putting away the bad guys. And in the end, with predictable cynicism the good guy gets the shaft, as always, from the powers that be--upstairs.

I can see commercial success written all over "The Drop" for those wanting their mystery served in 'black and white'...with just enough shades of gray thrown in to justify spending the time.

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Apr 13, 2012 Lori Henrich rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Harry Bosch, a member of the Open Unsolved division, has just been handed a case. It is unusual because the DNA hit that came back on this particular case goes back to someone who would have been eight-years-old at the time. And if that isn't enough he is being asked to work an active case. The son of Councilman Irving was found dead, an apparent suicide. Bosch is asked to take the case to determine whether it was really suicide or murder.

Running both cases could prove to be a challenge for Bosc...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Ellen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Harry-Middle aged & beyond, January 15, 2013
By Ellen Rappaport (Florida)
This review is from: The Drop (A Harry Bosch Novel) (Mass Market Paperback)
The Drop involves Harry in two different and distinct cases. They appear to be intertwined only because Harry is working on both of them simultainiously.

Life happens to Harry as it happens to all of us. He has to deal with an untrustworthy partner, a daughter who he doesn't want to lose touch with and at the same time old age approaches. The L...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Col rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, c

Synopsis/blurb......
When evidence links a brutal murder in 1989 to a convicted rapist named Clayton Pell, the case should be water-tight. Pell's DNA was found on the victim - but he was only eight years old at the time.
This not the only mystery Harry Bosch has to solve. A man jumped - or was pushed - from a window. The victim's father is Councilman Irving, who's been intent on destroying Harry's career for years. Now Irving wants Harry to head up the investigation.
Harry uncovers traces of two...more Synopsis/blurb......
When evidence links a brutal murder in 1989 to a convicted rapist named Clayton Pell, the case should be water-tight. Pell's DNA was found on the victim - but he was only eight years old at the time.
This not the only mystery Harry Bosch has to solve. A man jumped - or was pushed - from a window. The victim's father is Councilman Irving, who's been intent on destroying Harry's career for years. Now Irving wants Harry to head up the investigation.
Harry uncovers traces of two of the city's deepest secrets: a killer operating for as many as three decades without being detected, and a conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department ...
Throughout my 20 plus years as a crime fiction reader, I’ve encountered many a detective that I have admired. I’ve followed the progress of their investigations, marvelling at their skills and intuition; the ability to dissect the various strands of evidence and point themselves in the next logical direction; their empathy for the victims and their families; their tenacity in pursuing their case; their courage and bravery in facing physical danger and their character and backbone much needed to withstand the interference and pressures from those higher up the food chain, often running in tandem with a hostile media and angry public. Of all the detectives I’ve read about, Connelly’s creation Harry Bosch is definitely my favourite. (If anyone decided to murder my skinny ass.....ok it’s not skinny....he’s the guy I want seconded to the Bedfordshire police to head up the investigation.)
In The Drop, Harry runs two enquiries. He has an open unsolved case over twenty years old where the DNA evidence points to a suspect, who already has convictions for sex offences but who was a young boy when the crime was committed.
His second case is an investigation that sees him cross paths with his nemesis, Councilman Irving. Irving’s son has fallen from a seventh storey window at a hotel and he wants Bosch to establish the truth of the matter; suicide, accident or murder.
Connelly skilfully weaves together the investigation into the two crimes, which Bosch runs concurrently, despite being pressured by the brass upstairs and Irving to prioritise the Councilman’s son’s death. Bosch resists Irving’s attempts to control his enquiry and delves deeper into the background of George Irving’s business dealings and marriage, uncovering possible corruption in City Hall and Irvin Irving’s alleged involvement in feathering his son’s nest.
Harry’s cold case sees him gain a romantic attachment with a sex therapist who is counselling his major suspect, whilst harbouring her own secrets regarding her fractured family. Bosch also contends with a working partner, Chu who he doesn’t fully trust and as a consequence finds Chu’s resentment at his treatment deflecting his focus from the investigations. His teenage daughter also occupies a lot of his thoughts, as he continues to construct and nurture a relationship with her after the death of her mother several years ago. All the while, the clock runs down on his tenure with the police department and he considers life on the outside.
Having struggled to enjoy Connelly’s last few books with the exception of The Fifth Witness, I was delighted to read this offering. Back on form and attains the heights of some of his earlier work.
5 from 5......and an early contender for April’s book of the month.
I picked up my copy late last year whilst casing some charity shop book stocks.

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Mar 31, 2013 El rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 21st-centurylit, sunday-reading-plan

I try to always keep a Michael Connelly book on my shelf for times when I'm sick or extra grumpy-pants, just so there's always something to fall back on.

These aren't great novels, and I don't even particularly like the featured detective, Harry Bosch (other than his name, short for Heironymous Bosch), but they always seem to be just what the doctor ordered at certain times.

I see according to GR that the Harry Bosch novels are numbered, but for once I haven't stressed too much about reading them...more I try to always keep a Michael Connelly book on my shelf for times when I'm sick or extra grumpy-pants, just so there's always something to fall back on.

These aren't great novels, and I don't even particularly like the featured detective, Harry Bosch (other than his name, short for Heironymous Bosch), but they always seem to be just what the doctor ordered at certain times.

I see according to GR that the Harry Bosch novels are numbered, but for once I haven't stressed too much about reading them in "order". I picked up one book one summer while visiting my grandparents in Wisconsin and it was such a quick and enjoyable read that I found myself searching out other Connelly novels for plane trips or sicknesses.

This one (#17 according to GR) is a bit more gruesome than some of the others I've read. Or maybe it's just that I've gone a while without reading any and now I'm all old and sensitive. (Um.) I actually wrinkled my nose a couple times while reading this - mostly subject matter stuff, some of it was pretty icky.

But then I start getting all philosophical about it (a sure sign I'm still not feeling well), like look how this detective cares and maybe there truly are detectives out there who want to make the system really work, and maybe the system isn't all bad, and maybe all those stories in the news of the bad guys getting away aren't entirely accurate. Or maybe it's just that Harry Bosch is the "ideal", which is a bit unfortunate in its own right because he's a bit cold and unwieldy to be an ideal anything. But it seems even that's changing, and maybe if I was reading these in their numbered order I would see that progression - in this particular story there's more of a relationship between Bosch and his 13-year-old daughter that was actually sort of touching. I can see that going somewhere, though it didn't really make too much headway in this particular story.

Still, for what I needed right now, this fit the bill. I always appreciate a quick read to be able to wolf down in one day without feeling like I've just been tricked out of my time.(less)

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Mar 20, 2013 Eric_W rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: police-procedural

I liked this classic Connelly as I have enjoyed most of the Hieronymous Bosch detective series. But...read on for a few caveats.

The title is a play on multiple plot themes: the suicide of the son of Bosch's earlier nemesis who now sits on the city Council and has become a thorn in the side of the police department; Bosch's ability to continue work as a detective past the normal retirement sequence (called the "drop); and the budding relationship Harry's starts with a Hannah, a psychologist worki...more I liked this classic Connelly as I have enjoyed most of the Hieronymous Bosch detective series. But...read on for a few caveats.

The title is a play on multiple plot themes: the suicide of the son of Bosch's earlier nemesis who now sits on the city Council and has become a thorn in the side of the police department; Bosch's ability to continue work as a detective past the normal retirement sequence (called the "drop); and the budding relationship Harry's starts with a Hannah, a psychologist working in a half-way house for sexual predators. This relationship, BTW, seems woefully unnecessary to the rest of the story(ies) and appears to be there for the sole purpose of some Connelly "preaching" -- I use the word advisedly -- with regard to how society treats sexual predators and the roots of evil and Harry seems to do a flip-flop-flip on the issue depending on whether he wants to have Hannah in bed or not.

Connelly likes to show off his knowledge of LAPD police procedure and buildings, which is OK, it brings some verisimilitude to the book, but at times feels like overkill.

There's also a tension between getting the bad guys and doing things by the rules. This is always something the bugs the hell out of me. Many police detective stories rely on the heroes breaking the rules in order to get the bad guys as if they couldn't without doing so. It's the we're-righteous-so-it's-OK syndrome. [spoiler coming] After the suicide/murder investigation has been resolved and Harry and his partner, David, have returned to his original cold case, they finally track down the father of the guy they think is the perp in an old rape case. Bosch cleverly realizes the guy is not the father but the son. Then Bosch proceeds to coerce a confession out of the guy and does an illegal search of the next door apartment where the guy says all his trophies are stored. This, while they are preparing a search warrant (he jumped the warrant) to look for evidence they already know is there and would be totally tainted if the coerced confession were revealed. This is followed by a sanctimonious lecture on how important it is to follow the rules in order top make sure the guy doesn't get off on a Fourth Amendment violation. The fact is, Bosch has just committed a plethora of legal errors quite willingly and totally unnecessarily. Once they had the information about the son's impersonation of the father they had more than enough information to get a proper warrant (they can submit requests wirelessly and it would have taken but a few minutes) and search the adjoining condo where all the incriminating evidence was stored, thus eliminating the risk of a tainted prosecution.

Now, if that's the way the LAPD really operates, it's abhorrent and breeds a sense of distrust and dismissal of the very rules the police are enjoined to enforce.
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Mar 07, 2013 Brandon Collinsworth rated it 2 of 5 stars

This was a hard review I really, really wanted to give it 3 stars. It is a well thought out story and as always with Michael Connelly the pacing is excellent, but I just did not enjoy the book and mostly it was Harry that I didn't enjoy. Where to start with Harry, it drives me crazy to see him constantly keep his partner out of the loop and act like he is the only real detective working the case but then turn around and get truly righteous indignation when his partner crosses a line he set. Then...more

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Feb 28, 2013 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: completed

Harry Bosch is a great character. In some ways, he reminds me of Paladin from the old Have Gun Will Travel in that he has a code of honor and expects others to live by the same code.

This time around, Harry is trying to stave off forced retirement and stay on the job. As he works in the Open-Unsolved unit (think cold case) he receives a case with a new DNA hit from an old blood sample. Adding to the puzzle is the fact that the match to the DNA would have been only eight years old when the crime w...more Harry Bosch is a great character. In some ways, he reminds me of Paladin from the old Have Gun Will Travel in that he has a code of honor and expects others to live by the same code.

This time around, Harry is trying to stave off forced retirement and stay on the job. As he works in the Open-Unsolved unit (think cold case) he receives a case with a new DNA hit from an old blood sample. Adding to the puzzle is the fact that the match to the DNA would have been only eight years old when the crime was committed. Before he can investigate further, he is called on another case-- an apparent suicide of a city councilman's grown son. The councilman and Harry have a history, and not a good one, but the councilman believes that Harry will be honest and do his best to solve the case.

Harry bounces back and forth between the two cases, working hard to solve them both. All the while, he is feeling pressure from the brass and the city councilman to ignore the other case, but he keeps plodding away.

Harry does things the old fashioned way. He still uses a murder book, a three ring binder with copies of reports, and information related to a murder. His partner, is a bit more tech savvy and always willing to do the paperwork. However, along the way, Harry bosses his partner to a degree that begin to make me not like Harry as much. While his intention is to protect his partner from the political issues surrounding the investigation of the councilman's son's death-- at times he is nothing short of rude, which brings real conflict into their relationship.

Finally, Harry takes some steps to obtain a confession that really irked me. I know Connelly wants his hero to be human and have some flaws, but I don't like it when our hero stretches the law, which he does in this book.

Connelly then takes us DEEP into the world of the police officer who is confronted with the ugliest crimes against humanity. He wants the readers to see how a rape\murder investigation can take turns so ugly that even the strongest policeman is overwhelmed. He shows us the sad work that cops have to do as they wade through materials of depravity, sorting evidence and building airtight cases. This is what Connelly does best-- shows us the human side of cops.. and that's one of the reasons I like Harry, though not so much his actions this time around.

This time around there is no mixing of characters from Connelly's other books, and I'm grateful he stuck with Harry on this one.

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Feb 15, 2013 Mitch White rated it 4 of 5 stars

I just finished this book two days ago and really love it. Not quite a 5 star because it got a bit slow or weak in a couple of spots and had one story line that just stopped. But very much a strong 4+. I have always loved Michael Connelly's Bosch books and this one is no exception. I love his new character traits now that he is a father. That was a really interesting dimension to add for us longtime readers. The change has added some nice new dimension to Bosch.

The story this time was very much...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Frances Plino rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

I have to start by putting in a disclaimer – I have read every one of Michael Connelly’s books and love his style of writing, so I might not be as unbiased as I should be when writing this review. No surprise then that I loved The Drop!

Harry Bosch, now back after a brief retirement, is working on open and unsolved cases. His current workload consists of an old sex crime, with some very suspect DNA results, and the current (apparent) suicide of the son of one of Harry’s old enemies, a local polit...more

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Dec 03, 2012 James Thane rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-fiction, michael-connelly

This is another excellent entry in Michael Connelly's series featuring LAPD homicide detective, Harry Bosch.

Bosch, who had earlier retired from the department is now back under the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP). He has a little more than three years left before he will be forced to retire for good and he is anxious to accomplish as much as he possibly can in the time he has remaining.

Harry is now working in the Open/Unsolved Unit, investigating cold cases, and as the book opens, he and...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Harry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: detective-mystery

Time saver tip: if you've read my review of any Harry Bosch book, you've read 'em all. Since I don't reveal plots and reserve my comments to the overall book/author, characterization, style, etc...I just don't feel the need to repeat myself as in most cases series books if any good at all do remain consistent. The star ratings might change, but not my opinion of the series as a whole.

Michael Connelly is a well know and very popular author in the mystery/detective and police procedural genres. E...more

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Nov 22, 2012 Tony rated it 5 of 5 stars

Michael Connelly- The Drop 4.75 Stars

Detective Harry Bosch has just been given his DROP date, 3 years until he must retire from the force. He has two investigations going on at once, one is a cold case from 1989 and one is a live case involving the city Councilman, Irvin Irving. The cold case involves blood found one a body of a woman raped and murdered in 1989, but the blood is that of an eight-year-old, which means that he must get to the bottom of things. The live case is a possible suicide/m...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Judy Collins rated it 3 of 5 stars

Have read all the Michael Haller series and making my way through the Harry Bosch series. (You fall in love with this character) and keeps you wanting for more! Looking forward to the next one....did not end the way I expected, so hopefully will be continued.

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two.

DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Judith rated it 4 of 5 stars

Harry Bosch is back. He retired, then came back, and in this episode he is given extra time to continue before he has to retire for good.

This is a new, improved, Harry. He has learned from life. Although he is easier to work with, and makes time for his teen-age daughter, he is still driven to solve crimes. And sometimes to run roughshod over those who try to prevent him from doing that job.

Harry is called to the scene of an apparent suicide. The son of a former Police Chief (and now City Counc...more Harry Bosch is back. He retired, then came back, and in this episode he is given extra time to continue before he has to retire for good.

This is a new, improved, Harry. He has learned from life. Although he is easier to work with, and makes time for his teen-age daughter, he is still driven to solve crimes. And sometimes to run roughshod over those who try to prevent him from doing that job.

Harry is called to the scene of an apparent suicide. The son of a former Police Chief (and now City Councilmember) Irvin Irving appears to have jumped from the top floor of a hotel. Why is Bosch called in for this case, when he is currently in the "Open-Unsolved" unit? Because Irving personally requested him. This is more of a mystery to Bosch because Irving had practically made it his life's work to destroy Bosch. Many years of acrimony loom between them. Irving says he wanted Bosch because he wanted no stone unturned, wanted to be certain that the truth will be determined, and he was told that Bosch is the best man for the job.

It does appear to be suicide but Bosch does a painstaking investigation. In addition to this case, though, he has just landed a case from 1989 where DNA evidence has created a "hit" - a match with a person in the system. Trouble is, the person whose blood is on the strangled victim is an eight-year-old boy. Now a registered sex offender. No way could a boy have done this murder, so Bosch has to figure out how his blood got there.

Working two cases simultaneously, Bosch can't satisfy everyone, of course. He wants justice for the strangling victim more than a closed case for the councilmember. Complicating matters, he is working with a new partner and he is not entirely happy with him. He doesn't share his thoughts or plans, and often leaves his partner wondering where he even is. The situation does not improve when Bosch discovers something improper about his partner's conduct.

I have long liked Bosch. Over the years that I have been reading Connelly's vision of this detective, I have come to feel like I know what he looks like, how he thinks, how he might act. I don't always like what he does and often am wanting him to take a little more care with personal relationships. It seems that he has been doing just that, and when things go off he stops to think about his part and sometimes even fixes the situation. A kinder, gentler Bosch. I like that, but at the same time I miss some of the more gut-wrenching times from past novels. There is a darkness to Bosch that, it seems, is starting to see the light, yet I am not sure I am ready for this version. (less)

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Oct 04, 2012 Lukasz Pruski rated it 3 of 5 stars

"The Drop", the sixteenth and the most recent novel in the Harry Bosch series, is a very good read. Mercifully, Mr. Connelly understands the limitations of his writing and for most of the book, except for the last part, does not spend too much time on the tribulations of the detective's personal life. He focuses instead on what he does really well - writing a crisp, flowing, and convincing police procedural.

After the disastrous "Reversal", with its paper-thin characterizations, Harry Bosch is a...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Dana rated it 4 of 5 stars

Harry Bosch is working in the Open-Unsolved (cold case) unit. He and his new partner Chu get a case from 1989 of rape and murder. The DNA matches a convicted rapist. However, there is a big wrinkle. This means the rapist committed the crime when he was eight years old. How could this be?

At the same time they are requested to resolve a suicide/murder of a man falling from the balcony of a hotel. They have been asked for by the man's father, Councillor Irving. Yes, Irving as in Bosch's archenemy.

B...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Michael Clifton rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a GREAT book! The Drop was fast-moving, and punctuated with plot twists that kept me eager to turn to the next page. Connelly has a gift of depicting characters that make his books such great reads...not the least of which is Harry Bosch, the consummate gumshoe detective.

In The Drop, Bosch has not one, but two cases dropped (no pun intended) in his lap. One involves a cold case murder from 1989, while the other is a politically explosive case involving the suicide of a city councilman's...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Rick Urban rated it 5 of 5 stars

If there is a sure thing in the detective novel genre, it is Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch books, and this is one of his best. Sometimes I get into a reading funk, where, even though I have about 50 books on my shelves that I haven't gotten to yet, I just can't get interested in any of them. It happened to me again this week, and I decided that I would go to the library and pick up Connelly's latest book, which I had planned to read for awhile now. And like the very best comfort food, The...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Lizzie Hayes rated it 5 of 5 stars

‘The Drop’ by Michael Connelly
Published by Orion 27th October 2011. SBN: 978-1-4091-3428-2

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch has been put on DROP – Deferred Retirement Option Plan, and is currently assigned to the Open-Unsolved Unit. The thousands of unsolved cases are slowly being evaluated in the light of forensic developments such as DNA. A cold hit was when DNA from an old case was matched to the DNA in the nation’s databases and the case was re-opened. With his long experience Harry gets the cases...more ‘The Drop’ by Michael Connelly
Published by Orion 27th October 2011. SBN: 978-1-4091-3428-2

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch has been put on DROP – Deferred Retirement Option Plan, and is currently assigned to the Open-Unsolved Unit. The thousands of unsolved cases are slowly being evaluated in the light of forensic developments such as DNA. A cold hit was when DNA from an old case was matched to the DNA in the nation’s databases and the case was re-opened. With his long experience Harry gets the cases that require careful handling, and when a cold case from 1989 gets a DNA hit for the rape and murder of young woman which points to a convicted rapist who was only eight at the time of the killing, the case is immediately assigned to Harry.

Within hours of being assigned his new case Harry gets an urgent call to investigate the death of Councilman Irvin Irving’s son George. It appears that the Councilman who has considerable clout with the police department has requested that Harry take-over the investigation. As Irvin Irving and Harry have clashed on many occasions over the last twenty-five years, with Irving seemingly bent of destroying Harry’s career, he is surprised and suspicious of the request, but is unable to get out of it. Although told to put his cold case on the back burner and to concentrate on the death of George Irving, Harry continues to pursue both cases along with his new partner David Chu.

As with previous books I was fascinated by the detail of the chase as Harry follows the trail of these two cases that twist and turn like live snakes. While the cold case leads Harry in pursuit of justice for a brutally murdered young girl, the current case immerses him in politics, corruption and conspiracy.

While juggling with two cases, with the Police Chief and Councilman Irving constantly on his back, Harry is also a single parent caring for his fifteen-year-old daughter, and trying to have a personal life – a tall order.

A compelling entry in this excellent series, I couldn’t put this book down and read into the early hours to finish it. One of the best books I have read this year, put it in your ‘must read’ list.
------
Lizzie Hayes
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Aug 19, 2012 VaultOfBooks rated it 2 of 5 stars

By: Michael Connelly. #17 in Harry Bosch Series. Grade: B
Michael Connelly, a former journalist, is a master at mixing the realistic details of police work and legal procedures with excellent character detailing of his investigative protagonists. Back in 2009 I read The Closure which was his eleventh book in the Harry Bosch series, and became his diehard fan. Now, in 2012 I got my hands on The Drop, his seventeenth book in the same series, and couldn’t wait to get started.
Harry Bosch has been giv...more By: Michael Connelly. #17 in Harry Bosch Series. Grade: B
Michael Connelly, a former journalist, is a master at mixing the realistic details of police work and legal procedures with excellent character detailing of his investigative protagonists. Back in 2009 I read The Closure which was his eleventh book in the Harry Bosch series, and became his diehard fan. Now, in 2012 I got my hands on The Drop, his seventeenth book in the same series, and couldn’t wait to get started.
Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two.
DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab’s DNA cases currently in court.
Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving’s son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch’s longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation.
Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.
In typical Connelly way, without giving much of the plot, the story proceeds with Detective Bosch being assigned seemingly two unrelated cases at once. The first case leads them to Clayton Pell, a sex-offender, whose DNA evidence was found on the victim’s body. But as they investigate further, they find that when the crime took place, Pell was just eight years old. Before Bosch can go further, he is assigned another case, that of Councilman Irving’s son, who was found dead on a hotel’s sidewalk. When Councilman orders LAPD to call Bosch for the investigation, Harry is immediately anxious because their personal rapport is not all that great.
The title The Drop has two meanings: the first can refer to the suicide of Councilman’s son and the other to Deferred Retirement Option Plan, that is 39 months for Harry.
In The Drop, Connelly continues his legendary writing style of letting readers know about the case first, then about an obvious suspect who seems perfect for the job. Later during the investigation, other characters join and make the case more and more complicated. This plot line works well, except for the fact that The Drop suffers from an acute lack of depth in its characters. Except for Harry Bosch, I found most characters being stuffed in the story. Bosch’s daughter, fifteen year old Maddie, somewhere added a bit of interest, but only in her hopes of joining LAPD as a detective and inheriting the legacy of Bosch. I read somewhere that the author has decided to end the Harry Bosch series soon and probably that’s the reason why he showed this softer side of Bosch. He presented him as a sincere father of a teenage girl and showed his inclination towards a middle aged woman, Dr. Stone. We see that Bosch has clearly grown older and ornery.
Connelly’s language lost its edge this time; it engaged me but failed to evoke the cerebral investigation feel. There are twists and surprises but almost all are predictable. For me, the reading experience was more of reading two short stories somehow enmeshed solely for the purpose of making a four hundred forty eight page novel. With two such strong cases, Connelly could have written two distinct standalone novels. Dialogues are not strong and felt extremely flat. He maintained the pace of story by introducing different angles of investigation and characters, but there are no events to support his attempt. In chapter #31, I almost believed that there is nothing more to read because there are multiple shadow endings. We see how the suspense was built throughout the book and at the climax successfully evoked the grave serious message of battling with the darker side of the world.
To sum up, Connelly is undoubtedly skilled but The Drop failed to meet my expectations. The only point of recommendation would be that despite being the seventeenth book in a series, one can read it without wondering about any inexplicable flashback.

Originally reviewed at http://the-vault.co.cc (less)

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About Michael Connelly

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teache...more Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.
After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.
After three years on the crime beat in L.A., Connelly began writing his first novel to feature LAPD Detective Hieronymus Bosch. The novel, The Black Echo, based in part on a true crime that had occurred in Los Angeles, was published in 1992 and won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by the Mystery Writers of America. Connelly has followed that up with 18 more novels.
Connelly's books have been translated in 35 languages and have won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), and Premio Bancarella Award (Italy).
Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael was one of the creators, writers, and consulting producers of Level 9, a TV show about a task force fighting cyber crime, that ran on UPN in the Fall of 2000.
Michael lives with his family in Florida.

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The Drop (Harry Bosch #17)

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