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The Harry Bosch Novels: A Darkness More Than Night/ City of Bones/ Lost Light: 3
For the first time in one volume, the three novels that take Harry Bosch through his most perilous cases yet, and to the edge of the abyss.
A Darkness More than Night
It was a case some cops could live with: the torture and killing of a man who spread horrors of his own. Former FBI profiler Terry McCaleb is called in to decipher the grisly crime scene. Shockingly, the suspect he pinpoints is LAPD detective Harry Bosch. But while Bosch may have had a good reason to commit murder, he has an even better one for staying alive-and for finding a suspect of his own.
City of Bones
A dog finds a bone in the Hollywood Hills and unearths a murder committed more than twenty years earlier. It's a cold case, but Bosch can't let it go. As the investigation takes him deeper into the past, a beautiful rookie cop brings him alive in the present-until a stunningly blown mission and a brutal showdown leave Bosch on the brink of an unimaginable decision.
Lost Light
For years, the unsolved murder of Angella Benton has haunted him. Bosch was taken off the young production assistant's case when her death was linked with the violent theft of two million dollars from a movie set. Both files were never closed. Now retired from the LAPD, Bosch is determined to find justice for Angella. And even in the faces of a powerful and ruthless opponent, he will not back down, with or without a badge.
Together, these three riveting, relentlessly paced novels take us even deeper into the complex hero USA Today has called "one of the most fascinating characters in the mystery world," and show once more that Michael Connelly is "the most talented of crime writers" (The New Yorker).
A Darkness More than Night
It was a case some cops could live with: the torture and killing of a man who spread horrors of his own. Former FBI profiler Terry McCaleb is called in to decipher the grisly crime scene. Shockingly, the suspect he pinpoints is LAPD detective Harry Bosch. But while Bosch may have had a good reason to commit murder, he has an even better one for staying alive-and for finding a suspect of his own.
City of Bones
A dog finds a bone in the Hollywood Hills and unearths a murder committed more than twenty years earlier. It's a cold case, but Bosch can't let it go. As the investigation takes him deeper into the past, a beautiful rookie cop brings him alive in the present-until a stunningly blown mission and a brutal showdown leave Bosch on the brink of an unimaginable decision.
Lost Light
For years, the unsolved murder of Angella Benton has haunted him. Bosch was taken off the young production assistant's case when her death was linked with the violent theft of two million dollars from a movie set. Both files were never closed. Now retired from the LAPD, Bosch is determined to find justice for Angella. And even in the faces of a powerful and ruthless opponent, he will not back down, with or without a badge.
Together, these three riveting, relentlessly paced novels take us even deeper into the complex hero USA Today has called "one of the most fascinating characters in the mystery world," and show once more that Michael Connelly is "the most talented of crime writers" (The New Yorker).
720 pages, Hardcover
First published July 10, 2008
67 people are currently reading
657 people want to read
About the author
Michael Connelly
377 books35.3k followersLibrarian 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 over 30 more novels.
Over eighty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into forty-five foreign languages. He has 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), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain) .
Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael is one of the producers and writers of the TV show, “Bosch,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Michael lives with his family in Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida.
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 over 30 more novels.
Over eighty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into forty-five foreign languages. He has 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), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain) .
Michael was the President of the Mystery Writers of America organization in 2003 and 2004. In addition to his literary work, Michael is one of the producers and writers of the TV show, “Bosch,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Michael lives with his family in Los Angeles and Tampa, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
September 12, 2011
A Darkness More Than Night
— 5 stars
It's getting harder and harder for me to come up with something new to say in my reviews as I slowly plow through the Harry Bosch novels. Page turner; awesomely film noir; great characters; engaging plots; well written; etc, etc. I'm beginning to feel like a talking parrot.
A Darkness More Than Night is the seventh installment in the series, but it's really more of a Terry McCaleb novel than a Harry Bosch one.
Sure, Bosch is front and center throughout the book - a red thread, if you will - but it's McCaleb we get to follow around through all of the 300 odd pages. That is however in no way, shape or form, a complaint. McCaleb is a great character, well developed and likable, and it's a nice change to be able to see the character of Harry Bosch through someone else's eyes. It really is all subjective: McCaleb spends a good deal of the novel believing Bosch is a coldblooded killer, and despite knowing that he's totally wrong, I can't but help get sucked in by McCaleb's utter conviction.
While I haven't read the first book in Connelly's Terry McCaleb series, I've seen the Clint Eastwood movie; I'm not sure if this prior knowledge of McCaleb's character and his past did in any way heighten my enjoyment of A Darkness More Than Night, but I'm kind of glad I did know what I did (a tip, there, maybe?).
Anyway, A Darkness More Than Night is a definite five star novel. It's a page turner, half court case, half cold-ish case with a retired FBI profiler thrown into the mix alongside the usual MC. Pretty much all that I look for in a book, in other words.
City of Bones — 5 stars
One of the reasons I love Connelly's books is because he has a knack for setting up cases and making them seem straight forward enough, until you realize that they aren't. And then you spend the last thirty or so pages of the book second guessing yourself and wondering how on earth Bosch is going to pull this off, and once he actually does succeed (or fails, as it may be), it's such an awesome payoff that you kind of wish you could scrub the whole thing from your brain just so that you could go through it again. City of Bones is that kind of a book.
Also, Connelly's Female of theWeek Book don't come across as FotBs at all. They're so layered and have so much depth that I actually like them and sort of wish them well, though this might have something to do with the fact that Bosch manages to be utterly lovable in a strange mustachioed-tiny-ball-of-man-angst kind of way, and I want him to find happiness with someone — anyone.
I really like the fact that I can read through an entire novel without wanting to stab the token fictional female character with a spork.
Lost Light — 5 stars
I have to be honest and say that the first person POV kind of threw me off in the beginning; I wasn't sure how such an intimate POV would work for Harry Bosch, but the more I read the more it made sense. Lost Light is rather personal in the way it deals with Bosch and the path his life has taken (even more so than the Vietnam centric novels of the series), and in hindsight I really don't think a 3rd POV would have conveyed the same feeling.
Lost Light is all about cold cases (four of them, in fact: a murder, a missing person, a robbery and a diner shoot out involving two cops), and Bosch proves that even though he's left the LAPD in favor of becoming a civilian he's still a BAMF, thank you very much. Roy Lindell makes a reappearance, which is awesome and most welcome, as does a few token evil FBI lackeys (always as entertaining) and also Eleanor Wish (with a bonus surprise that I much approve of!).
It's a proper page turner, to put it lightly; in fact, books seven through nine are all slam dunks, and Connelly's definitely proving himself to be a consistently entertaining writer.
It's getting harder and harder for me to come up with something new to say in my reviews as I slowly plow through the Harry Bosch novels. Page turner; awesomely film noir; great characters; engaging plots; well written; etc, etc. I'm beginning to feel like a talking parrot.
A Darkness More Than Night is the seventh installment in the series, but it's really more of a Terry McCaleb novel than a Harry Bosch one.
Sure, Bosch is front and center throughout the book - a red thread, if you will - but it's McCaleb we get to follow around through all of the 300 odd pages. That is however in no way, shape or form, a complaint. McCaleb is a great character, well developed and likable, and it's a nice change to be able to see the character of Harry Bosch through someone else's eyes. It really is all subjective: McCaleb spends a good deal of the novel believing Bosch is a coldblooded killer, and despite knowing that he's totally wrong, I can't but help get sucked in by McCaleb's utter conviction.
While I haven't read the first book in Connelly's Terry McCaleb series, I've seen the Clint Eastwood movie; I'm not sure if this prior knowledge of McCaleb's character and his past did in any way heighten my enjoyment of A Darkness More Than Night, but I'm kind of glad I did know what I did (a tip, there, maybe?).
Anyway, A Darkness More Than Night is a definite five star novel. It's a page turner, half court case, half cold-ish case with a retired FBI profiler thrown into the mix alongside the usual MC. Pretty much all that I look for in a book, in other words.
City of Bones — 5 stars
One of the reasons I love Connelly's books is because he has a knack for setting up cases and making them seem straight forward enough, until you realize that they aren't. And then you spend the last thirty or so pages of the book second guessing yourself and wondering how on earth Bosch is going to pull this off, and once he actually does succeed (or fails, as it may be), it's such an awesome payoff that you kind of wish you could scrub the whole thing from your brain just so that you could go through it again. City of Bones is that kind of a book.
Also, Connelly's Female of the
I really like the fact that I can read through an entire novel without wanting to stab the token fictional female character with a spork.
Lost Light — 5 stars
I have to be honest and say that the first person POV kind of threw me off in the beginning; I wasn't sure how such an intimate POV would work for Harry Bosch, but the more I read the more it made sense. Lost Light is rather personal in the way it deals with Bosch and the path his life has taken (even more so than the Vietnam centric novels of the series), and in hindsight I really don't think a 3rd POV would have conveyed the same feeling.
Lost Light is all about cold cases (four of them, in fact: a murder, a missing person, a robbery and a diner shoot out involving two cops), and Bosch proves that even though he's left the LAPD in favor of becoming a civilian he's still a BAMF, thank you very much. Roy Lindell makes a reappearance, which is awesome and most welcome, as does a few token evil FBI lackeys (always as entertaining) and also Eleanor Wish (with a bonus surprise that I much approve of!).
It's a proper page turner, to put it lightly; in fact, books seven through nine are all slam dunks, and Connelly's definitely proving himself to be a consistently entertaining writer.
August 6, 2025
2025-08: A Darkness More Than Night: 4 stars.
A case alluded to by Harry (book 4) comes back to bite him in the butt, when the perpetrator, Edward Gunn, is killed in a bizarre way. Terry McCaleb, retired FBI agent, is consulted by Jaye Winston of the Sherrif's department, as she needs his profile to help her find the killer.
The more Terry digs into the case, the more horrified he becomes, because all signs point to Harry as the murderer.
He's working with the DA concurrently, as they prepare to prosecute a director for murdering a woman, and hoping to prove this is not a one-time thing.
Of course we know Harry didn't really murder Edward Gunn, and that we know Harry is capable of such a thing is part of the pleasure and the fun of watching Terry McCaleb work his way to this truth. And with a little assistance from Harry, determine what is really going on. Which is pretty dark and twisted.
2025-06: City of Bones: 4 stars.
My second reading of City of Bones, and it's one of the more heartbreaking cases, a dog finds the bones of a child in the Hollywood Hills. The child has been missing for over twenty years, and after examination, determined to have suffered regular physical abuse.
Bosch is deeply disturbed by the situation, and begins working the cold case, and begins a relationship with a rookie cop, much to the amusement of others in Hollywood Division.
The case generates numerous leads, and has lots of twists, leading Bosch and partner Jerry Edgar back and forth till the real killer is finally discovered.
It's a sad instalment for multiple reasons, and though gripping, was occasionally tough to get through, particularly the parts detailing the horrific life of the dead child.
A case alluded to by Harry (book 4) comes back to bite him in the butt, when the perpetrator, Edward Gunn, is killed in a bizarre way. Terry McCaleb, retired FBI agent, is consulted by Jaye Winston of the Sherrif's department, as she needs his profile to help her find the killer.
The more Terry digs into the case, the more horrified he becomes, because all signs point to Harry as the murderer.
He's working with the DA concurrently, as they prepare to prosecute a director for murdering a woman, and hoping to prove this is not a one-time thing.
Of course we know Harry didn't really murder Edward Gunn, and that we know Harry is capable of such a thing is part of the pleasure and the fun of watching Terry McCaleb work his way to this truth. And with a little assistance from Harry, determine what is really going on. Which is pretty dark and twisted.
2025-06: City of Bones: 4 stars.
My second reading of City of Bones, and it's one of the more heartbreaking cases, a dog finds the bones of a child in the Hollywood Hills. The child has been missing for over twenty years, and after examination, determined to have suffered regular physical abuse.
Bosch is deeply disturbed by the situation, and begins working the cold case, and begins a relationship with a rookie cop, much to the amusement of others in Hollywood Division.
The case generates numerous leads, and has lots of twists, leading Bosch and partner Jerry Edgar back and forth till the real killer is finally discovered.
It's a sad instalment for multiple reasons, and though gripping, was occasionally tough to get through, particularly the parts detailing the horrific life of the dead child.
May 24, 2015
A page-turner. Well drawn characters. Somewhat predictable but it'll keep you reading for hours.
July 8, 2016
A good story. I really enjoyed the story, the only things I didn't like was all the swearing. Way to many F-bombs. Kinda spoiled it for me.
May 16, 2024
Hard to believe such smart detectives could be so easily fooled. There were some interesting parts - like the last talk between Bosch and McCaleb, but it was too easy to figure out.
August 19, 2012
By Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch #9. Grade: B
Michael Connelly writes about crime fiction and detective mysteries and has innumerable fans across the globe, including Bill Clinton! The Lost Light takes that same theme and was slated as one of the Best Books of 2003 by the Los Angeles Times.
The Lost Light, simply put, is an example of a retired officer attempting to solve a case that got away. The case is one of those ones that hold an unexplainable special place in the officer’s heart. Harry Bosch, the retired officer in question here, has a similar one for the Angella Benton case. It might be due to weird manner of her death or the events linked with it that still raise questions in Bosch’s mind or it might simply be how Angella Benton’s body was found. It was as if she was praying because her hands stretched upwards as she lay dead on the floor. It had haunted Bosch for years. An unsolved case of a two million dollar robbery from a movie set added to the mystery of her death. As Bosch attempts to solve the case he finds out that there are people, powerful ones at that, who do not want him poking his nose in the case.
The protagonist retired from his LAPD job because he was sick of the hypocrisy he found there. However, retirement for him is not a relaxed laid back life as he still craves action and his devotion to justice leads him to take up the case of Angella, a case that law has failed to solve. It is interesting to see his journey and the complications he faces and narrated in first person, the book gives an insight into how cases are solved and how intricate details lead become major factors that determine success. It also sheds light on the personal elements that motivate the officer. What was earlier a job for him becomes a more important quest for finding his own motivations. He believes it is not only his duty but that deliver justice to the dead, who no longer have a voice, is what Bosch must do. The mission then acquires a whole new meaning.
“There is no end of things in the heart. Somebody once told me that. She said it came from a poem she believed in. She understood it to mean that if you took something to heart, really brought it inside those red velvet folds, then it would always be there for you. No matter what happened, it would be there waiting. She said this could mean a person, a place, a dream. A mission. Anything sacred. She told me that it is all connected in those secret folds. Always. It is all part of the same and will always be there, carrying the same beat as your heart. I am fifty-two years old and I believe it.”
When Bosch left his job, he took the file of the case with him. The murder of Angella, a film production assistant murdered four years earlier during $2 million robbery on a movie set, draws him to it. The department believed the robbery was used to finance a terrorist training camp post 9/11. Bosch cannot rest until he finds the killer and finds himself often in conflict with his own colleagues. When Bosch took up the case earlier, a tragedy hit the LAPD department and the case was almost forgotten after that. But Angella’s hands never let Bosch turn blind towards the case. It was as if she beckoned him to do her justice. This will not be easy as it turns out and Bosch realizes that he has a lot of obstacles to cross and people to deal with before he can even think of solving it. The difficulty of the task makes it even more inviting.
The Lost Light is the ninth book in the Harry Bosch series with an intriguing story that has all the classic elements expected in a Los Angeles mystery. It has movies, power, and money. It also has other great modern elements rivalries amongst agencies and the fight against terrorism. This is an engaging and entertaining at the same time. There are many things that Bosch tackles along the way. His former wife, a paraplegic ex-cop, Hollywood power shots to name a few and Bosch even gets involved with the FBI and as the protagonist gets caught up himself in a mesh of problems, the book begins to get more and more interesting. It is here that Connelly’s expertise in the genre becomes evident.
The novel really begins to move along once Connelly gets past writing about Bosch’s mission. Bosch is most interesting when he’s dealing with others. Particularly enjoyable are those scenes when we follow Bosch as he tries to interview suspects and find clues, and it is interesting to see Bosch’s journey from being an outsider to an insider. The interactions with characters are very dark and moody and add to the elements of the book.
The ending of the novel is a surprise, but works with Connelly trying to balance the light and the dark as the theme of the book and the last part of the book is absolutely great. The most interesting personal turn comes at the end when Bosch discovers that he has a four year old daughter which his ex-wife never told him about. Read the book if you want to know what happened with the case. It’s worth a read!
Originally reviewed at http://the-vault.co.cc
Michael Connelly writes about crime fiction and detective mysteries and has innumerable fans across the globe, including Bill Clinton! The Lost Light takes that same theme and was slated as one of the Best Books of 2003 by the Los Angeles Times.
The Lost Light, simply put, is an example of a retired officer attempting to solve a case that got away. The case is one of those ones that hold an unexplainable special place in the officer’s heart. Harry Bosch, the retired officer in question here, has a similar one for the Angella Benton case. It might be due to weird manner of her death or the events linked with it that still raise questions in Bosch’s mind or it might simply be how Angella Benton’s body was found. It was as if she was praying because her hands stretched upwards as she lay dead on the floor. It had haunted Bosch for years. An unsolved case of a two million dollar robbery from a movie set added to the mystery of her death. As Bosch attempts to solve the case he finds out that there are people, powerful ones at that, who do not want him poking his nose in the case.
The protagonist retired from his LAPD job because he was sick of the hypocrisy he found there. However, retirement for him is not a relaxed laid back life as he still craves action and his devotion to justice leads him to take up the case of Angella, a case that law has failed to solve. It is interesting to see his journey and the complications he faces and narrated in first person, the book gives an insight into how cases are solved and how intricate details lead become major factors that determine success. It also sheds light on the personal elements that motivate the officer. What was earlier a job for him becomes a more important quest for finding his own motivations. He believes it is not only his duty but that deliver justice to the dead, who no longer have a voice, is what Bosch must do. The mission then acquires a whole new meaning.
“There is no end of things in the heart. Somebody once told me that. She said it came from a poem she believed in. She understood it to mean that if you took something to heart, really brought it inside those red velvet folds, then it would always be there for you. No matter what happened, it would be there waiting. She said this could mean a person, a place, a dream. A mission. Anything sacred. She told me that it is all connected in those secret folds. Always. It is all part of the same and will always be there, carrying the same beat as your heart. I am fifty-two years old and I believe it.”
When Bosch left his job, he took the file of the case with him. The murder of Angella, a film production assistant murdered four years earlier during $2 million robbery on a movie set, draws him to it. The department believed the robbery was used to finance a terrorist training camp post 9/11. Bosch cannot rest until he finds the killer and finds himself often in conflict with his own colleagues. When Bosch took up the case earlier, a tragedy hit the LAPD department and the case was almost forgotten after that. But Angella’s hands never let Bosch turn blind towards the case. It was as if she beckoned him to do her justice. This will not be easy as it turns out and Bosch realizes that he has a lot of obstacles to cross and people to deal with before he can even think of solving it. The difficulty of the task makes it even more inviting.
The Lost Light is the ninth book in the Harry Bosch series with an intriguing story that has all the classic elements expected in a Los Angeles mystery. It has movies, power, and money. It also has other great modern elements rivalries amongst agencies and the fight against terrorism. This is an engaging and entertaining at the same time. There are many things that Bosch tackles along the way. His former wife, a paraplegic ex-cop, Hollywood power shots to name a few and Bosch even gets involved with the FBI and as the protagonist gets caught up himself in a mesh of problems, the book begins to get more and more interesting. It is here that Connelly’s expertise in the genre becomes evident.
The novel really begins to move along once Connelly gets past writing about Bosch’s mission. Bosch is most interesting when he’s dealing with others. Particularly enjoyable are those scenes when we follow Bosch as he tries to interview suspects and find clues, and it is interesting to see Bosch’s journey from being an outsider to an insider. The interactions with characters are very dark and moody and add to the elements of the book.
The ending of the novel is a surprise, but works with Connelly trying to balance the light and the dark as the theme of the book and the last part of the book is absolutely great. The most interesting personal turn comes at the end when Bosch discovers that he has a four year old daughter which his ex-wife never told him about. Read the book if you want to know what happened with the case. It’s worth a read!
Originally reviewed at http://the-vault.co.cc
November 4, 2025
A Darkness More Than Light
A new character was added and brought a new story with them. A complex plot but good.
A new character was added and brought a new story with them. A complex plot but good.
December 27, 2010
I'm a fan so I have absolutely no objectivity- love this stuff- already had ready Lost Light but re-read it in this anthology and didn't mind doing it.
November 11, 2019
I love all of Michael Connelly’s books and could spend whole days reading them. But I didn’t like the book Darkness more than the night because it was too much centered on a new guy called terry McCaleb and his problems. Okay storyline.
I really enjoyed the City of Bones - it moved at a steady pace with Bosch back to form and the main character. He had a new love interest but bit strange how she died. I loved the pace of this book and I couldn’t stop reading it to find out who killed the victim.
I really enjoyed the City of Bones - it moved at a steady pace with Bosch back to form and the main character. He had a new love interest but bit strange how she died. I loved the pace of this book and I couldn’t stop reading it to find out who killed the victim.
August 1, 2020
Connelly's Peak Never Ends
Three more astonishing, moving, complicated tales of the continuing Harry Bosch series. I just can't get enough of this series.... and these three have all the elements that grab a reader. The Bosch novels are not simple police procedurals - they are that, but also universal tales of love and loss and gain. Tales of lives lost, hearts broken ... and healed, of fate and redemption and this man's quest to make the world better in any way he can.
Three more astonishing, moving, complicated tales of the continuing Harry Bosch series. I just can't get enough of this series.... and these three have all the elements that grab a reader. The Bosch novels are not simple police procedurals - they are that, but also universal tales of love and loss and gain. Tales of lives lost, hearts broken ... and healed, of fate and redemption and this man's quest to make the world better in any way he can.
May 20, 2024
Decent book for what it’s supposed to be. I need to stop reading Mike for a bit though I just know all his twists and tempo. I have a few books my father gave me that I should read and a few I picked up I should read as well but I have some more free time between school so I should be reading more anyways. Talkin ink.
December 2, 2025
Really enjoying my re-reads of the Bosch novels and reading them one after the other really highlights the connections between them and helps keep track of all the characters who come in and out of the stories. (And shows how the author drops in the titles of novels still to come into the narratives).
Great stories, great characters.
Great stories, great characters.
June 8, 2019
3 for the price of one. Love harry Bosch. A Darkness More Than Night was my least favorite of the 3. Not saying I didn't like it but City of Bones and Lost Light kept me up at night. They were page turners. I could read Michael Connelly everyday of my life.
July 22, 2021
Another gripping tale in the series featuring detective Harry Bosch- this time partially set on an island off Los Angeles.
January 14, 2022
Another superb Bosch novel. I always enjoy this series!!
February 10, 2023
You cannot find the darkness until you let yourself to engulf by the darkness ...
June 2, 2025
What an amazingly crafted story. I literally spent the entire day reading the story, guessing along the way! Page turner is an understatement
December 24, 2022
Book #1: A Darkness More Than Night. Another procedural featuring Bosch and a host of other characters, murders, vengeance, dark criminal hearts. I found this a bit less gripping to read as I think the book could have been shorter, maybe by around 50 pages or so. In parts the story moved along too slowly and I found myself drifting out of focus. Perhaps it was the convoluted twists and turns which set up some irritation and caused me to lose interest. I almost stopped reading at at couple of points, but skimmed through a few chapters until I found the action hotting up, at around page 200. What happened in the last 60 pages filled in the gaps I probably missed. 3 stars.
Book #2: City of Bones. This book's story formed the basis of the first of the Bosch TV series - which I found so cruel, crass and unnecessarily violent. I don't know what they did for the TV thing but it was certainly an 'enhanced' version of this story. Did they combine two different Bosch novels (one of which I might have missed as I'm not reading them all)? Or did they think the story as it stood wasn't 'enough' for TV audiences. The novel was certainly only the story of one boy's murder and burial in woodland - not the many body-count of the TV program - and the perpetrator had a lesser role in the book than on TV (there was no mention of his mother, his real home and the other serial murders he committed in the TV version). I was glad. I almost stopped reading when I recognised the beginning of the storyline. I had no desire to read a written version of the TV descent into 'hell'. As before, I skipped a few chapters as there was so much unneeded background and 'padding'. It was an OK book as it stood, in my opinion. 3.5 stars.
Book #3: Lost Light. Well, THIS was a much better book, by far the best of the three in this compendium. No unnecessary or gratuitous padding, i.e. extraneous detail - just a page-turning, exciting and twity-turny story with lots of unexpected avenues to be explored, involving the Harry Bosch I expected to see much more of in the previous two books (but didn't because he was buried in the waffling extra detail and characters), who had a new role. A full hundred pages shorter made this book more readable and exciting despite its unseen-until-the-end full story denouement involving all characters. By then it all fell together in a violent but not gratuitous culmination. All elements of the seemingly unconnected plots made sense and brought the whole book to its great conclusion. What I didn't expect was the final twist to the story - Harry's own personal story. That was a very satisfying plus feature. 4.5 stars.
Book #2: City of Bones. This book's story formed the basis of the first of the Bosch TV series - which I found so cruel, crass and unnecessarily violent. I don't know what they did for the TV thing but it was certainly an 'enhanced' version of this story. Did they combine two different Bosch novels (one of which I might have missed as I'm not reading them all)? Or did they think the story as it stood wasn't 'enough' for TV audiences. The novel was certainly only the story of one boy's murder and burial in woodland - not the many body-count of the TV program - and the perpetrator had a lesser role in the book than on TV (there was no mention of his mother, his real home and the other serial murders he committed in the TV version). I was glad. I almost stopped reading when I recognised the beginning of the storyline. I had no desire to read a written version of the TV descent into 'hell'. As before, I skipped a few chapters as there was so much unneeded background and 'padding'. It was an OK book as it stood, in my opinion. 3.5 stars.
Book #3: Lost Light. Well, THIS was a much better book, by far the best of the three in this compendium. No unnecessary or gratuitous padding, i.e. extraneous detail - just a page-turning, exciting and twity-turny story with lots of unexpected avenues to be explored, involving the Harry Bosch I expected to see much more of in the previous two books (but didn't because he was buried in the waffling extra detail and characters), who had a new role. A full hundred pages shorter made this book more readable and exciting despite its unseen-until-the-end full story denouement involving all characters. By then it all fell together in a violent but not gratuitous culmination. All elements of the seemingly unconnected plots made sense and brought the whole book to its great conclusion. What I didn't expect was the final twist to the story - Harry's own personal story. That was a very satisfying plus feature. 4.5 stars.
January 26, 2018
I finished the first story, "A Darkness More Than Night," today and found it to be a very satisfying police procedural novel. The characters were well drawn and Connelly's detailed description put me right into the story, moment by moment. I was a little thrown by the focus on the Terry McCaleb character instead of Harry Bosch. However, as I got into the depths of the mystery, I saw the wisdom of it. I will not explain why because that would be a major spoiler. This is definitely a worthy addition to L.A. based mysteries that read like film noir. In spite of all the detail, I found it easy to follow the line of investigation and how the facts added up when the big reveals came (there's more than one!). I look forward to reading the other stories in this collection.
"City of Bones" turns its focus on Harry and features a great play on the origin of Harry's name (a famous painter) that figures in the solution of the mystery as well. Connelly's writing continues to impress me with his direct style and excellent flow.
"Lost Light" is told in first person, making a solid three different POV techniques Connelly has employed. I was distracted by being in Harry's head at first because it didn't fit what I expected Harry to be like under the skin and in his mind But soon, it was working for me quite well. The story picks up on a personal project Harry takes on in his early retirement from LAPD Homicide. It's an intricate crime requiring the reader to play close attention and keep several details in mind, especially toward the end.
These stories make Connelly one of my top choices for procedural mystery equaled, perhaps, only by Henning Mankell's Wallander series--he's that good and Harry is that interesting as the lead character! You won't regret trying one of these novels on for size, take them in order whether in this volume or as separate books.
"City of Bones" turns its focus on Harry and features a great play on the origin of Harry's name (a famous painter) that figures in the solution of the mystery as well. Connelly's writing continues to impress me with his direct style and excellent flow.
"Lost Light" is told in first person, making a solid three different POV techniques Connelly has employed. I was distracted by being in Harry's head at first because it didn't fit what I expected Harry to be like under the skin and in his mind But soon, it was working for me quite well. The story picks up on a personal project Harry takes on in his early retirement from LAPD Homicide. It's an intricate crime requiring the reader to play close attention and keep several details in mind, especially toward the end.
These stories make Connelly one of my top choices for procedural mystery equaled, perhaps, only by Henning Mankell's Wallander series--he's that good and Harry is that interesting as the lead character! You won't regret trying one of these novels on for size, take them in order whether in this volume or as separate books.
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December 29, 2011A Darkness More Than Light: Lead investigator on a murder case that saw the arrest of the son of a wealthy and powerful man, Harry Bosch now finds himself in the midst of a high stakes trial where his every method is questioned. Meanwhile, criminal profiler Terry McCaleb is called to a murder scene where the killer has left a message that seems to implicate Bosch. The pair...moreA Darkness More Than Light: Lead investigator on a murder case that saw the arrest of the son of a wealthy and powerful man, Harry Bosch now finds himself in the midst of a high stakes trial where his every method is questioned. Meanwhile, criminal profiler Terry McCaleb is called to a murder scene where the killer has left a message that seems to implicate Bosch. The pair, first at odds, must now work together to clear Harry's name...
City of Bones: When the bones of a young boy are found scattered in the Hollywood Hills, Harry Bosch is drawn into a case that recalls the darkest memories from his own haunted past. Then a love affair begins to blossom for Bosch — until a disastrous mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before, as he faces an unimaginable decision...
Lost Light: Harry Bosch has finally quite the LAPD, but one unsolved case still haunts him: that of a young woman murdered four years earlier in a $2 million robbery. But when he decides to re-investigate, he falls foul of both his old colleagues and the FBI. And then someone from Bosch's past turns his world upside down...(less)
City of Bones: When the bones of a young boy are found scattered in the Hollywood Hills, Harry Bosch is drawn into a case that recalls the darkest memories from his own haunted past. Then a love affair begins to blossom for Bosch — until a disastrous mission leaves him in more trouble than ever before, as he faces an unimaginable decision...
Lost Light: Harry Bosch has finally quite the LAPD, but one unsolved case still haunts him: that of a young woman murdered four years earlier in a $2 million robbery. But when he decides to re-investigate, he falls foul of both his old colleagues and the FBI. And then someone from Bosch's past turns his world upside down...(less)
June 23, 2016
I recently read Michael Connelly’s entire catalog, chronologically from Bosch to Haller to the various “Harry Bosch Universe” satellites (whatever the hell that means). On a whole Connelly’s body of work is excellent. His plots are well thought out, his dialogue fits, and his characters are believable – although the best character of them all is the City of Los Angeles and its quirky nuances, restaurants, neighborhoods, and geographic coolness. Connelly nails the cop noir, the legal thriller, and every genre in between. You would of thought I’d have gotten bored, but it actually sucked when I ran out of books.
January 7, 2024
Michael Connelly's "The Harry Bosch Novels, Volume 3" compiles three enthralling stories— "A Darkness More Than Night," "City of Bones," and "Lost Light." With seamless storytelling, Connelly navigates complex mysteries, showcasing Bosch's relentless pursuit of justice. The novels blend suspense, authentic police procedures, and moral dilemmas, creating a compelling reading experience. Connelly's sharp prose and nuanced characters make this trilogy a must-read for both seasoned fans and newcomers to the gripping world of Harry Bosch.
November 11, 2012
This was three great stories in a row--A Darkness More Than Light introduces Terry McCaleb who was a good balance for Harry who seems to be going off the rails! City of Bones sees Harry having to make a huge decision about his future--really, he is leaving the force!! Lost Light reveals a sad man, but I still love him!
July 31, 2012
so...i knew harry bosch was named after an artist but not until this book did i know i knew the artist...the garden of earthly delights is the piece i knew from my art class in college. anyway, not it really matters but it is fun to have layers of knowledge in a mystery!
April 20, 2013
The darkness more than night...
This tale started off too slowly for me. Not much action, but building the story line.
But Harry is Harry and it is always enjoyable to follow his escapades on getting in and out of trouble.
This tale started off too slowly for me. Not much action, but building the story line.
But Harry is Harry and it is always enjoyable to follow his escapades on getting in and out of trouble.
September 14, 2014
McCaleb & Bosch, interesting mystery with character development, esp. for fans of either or both. Gruesome murder scene well described. Audiobook narrated by Michael Beck but recorded too low hear comfortably without extra speakers. Recommended.
April 22, 2015
Watched the Amazon series based on these books first, and then decided to go back and read the books.
I don't do that very often, and frankly I prefer to read the books first then see the movie/show.
These are very well written and engaging. I will continue the series.
I don't do that very often, and frankly I prefer to read the books first then see the movie/show.
These are very well written and engaging. I will continue the series.
September 16, 2016
Great to have a collection of stories from a master writer who knows how to take readers into mystery and suspense. If you need a good read that will be a page turner you only have to look for a book by Michael Connelly.
February 2, 2009
same old harry bosch.
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February 9, 2010City of Bones (Harry Bosch) by Michael Connelly (2006)
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