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    The Concrete Blonde
    The Concrete Blonde
    The Concrete Blonde
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Concrete Blonde

    Written by Michael Connelly

    Narrated by Dick Hill

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Detective Harry Bosch was sure he'd shot the serial killer responsible for a string of murders in LA . . . but now, a new crime makes him question his convictions.

    The Dollmaker was the name of the serial killer who had stalked Los Angeles ruthlessly, leaving grisly calling cards on the faces of his female victims. Now with a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thinks he has ended the city's nightmare.

    But the dead man's widow is suing Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man-- an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature.

    So for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go-- the darkness of his own heart.

    With The Concrete Blonde, Edgar Award-winning author Michael Connelly has hit a whole new level in his career, creating a breathtaking thriller that thrusts you into a blistering courtroom battle-- and a desperate search for a sadistic killer.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateMay 25, 2005
    ISBN9781596009240
    The Concrete Blonde
    Author

    Michael Connelly

    Michael Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. His books have been translated into 36 languages and have won many awards. He lives with his family in Florida.

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    Reviews for The Concrete Blonde

    4/5

    1,701 ratings78 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Bosch is faced with horrendous murders and civil court case accusing him of unlawful shooting/killing.
      This time Bosch is forced to do a major soul search and digs deep in his past to survive.
      What's his life going to be like? Will he ever find rest from the past?
      Love?

      Different from the amazing TV series with Titus Welliver and Mimi Rogers (among others!) this book takes another turn for Ms Chandler.....

      If you're not following Bosch in his endeavours yet, start reading/listening to Connellys books!
    • 5/5
      Much much better than the previous book in the series.
      This involves a wrongful death lawsuit against Bosch for killing aa serial killer and similar murders appearing during the trial just like those committed by the now dead serial killer. This was an excellent book.
    • 5/5
      SIMPLY GRIPPING TWISTS AND TURNS. ANOTHER BOSCH WINNER. NICE ENDING.
    • 5/5
      Connelly’s gift is his believable, complex and rich portrayal of every character be it the main or minor each with their individual character, motives and stories.
      As Bosch says, “everyone matters or no one matters”.
      Dick Hill is the ultimate narrator; I sorely miss him in the latter Bosch series.
    • 5/5
      Great story, even better than the TV series. Classic Bosch.
    • 5/5
      Loved it. Connelly and Bosch brilliant as ever. Fun read
    • 5/5
      great plot with twists and turns. good narration too
    • 4/5
      Harry is always good.He’s a very believable character. Bring on the next book!
    • 5/5
      This is a ridiculously good book. The plot was well researched and presented, and the pace with which different points were unrolling was steady and realistic. The same praise can be said about the characters, both minor and major ones (with the notable exception of Sylvia) added a certain something to the story. If you enjoy mystery/thriller/etc. books, this is a must-read for you.
    • 5/5
      Great book in Bosch series. Check it out
    • 4/5
      The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly; (4 1/2*)As I read Connelly's Harry Bosch novels in order they just keep getting better. In this novel we return to an incident referenced in the first two books; Harry Bosch's killing of Norman Church, a murderer known as 'The Dollmaker'. Bosch had violated police procedure by going to the Dollmaker's apartment alone and had shot the Dollmaker after incorrectly concluding that he was reaching for a gun. Nonetheless, the LAPD concluded that the Dollmaker had committed eleven brutal murders. Although makeup from nine of the victims was found in the Dollmaker's possession Bosch now finds himself a defendant in a federal court civil trial brought by the Dollmaker's wife. He is accused of having violated the Dollmaker's civil rights.The description of this trial is fascinating. Mrs. Church is represented by a high profile attorney known for her legal skills and air of righteous indignation. Bosch is represented by a Deputy City Attorney. Nonetheless Bosch is hopeful that given the ample evidence against the Dollmaker the jury will find in his favor.However just as the trial begins another body turns up, murdered the very same way as the other victims. Known as "The Concrete Blonde," she was murdered after Bosch had killed the Dollmaker. Could Bosch possibly have killed the wrong man or is there a copycat killer out there? If that is the case can the police find him in time and will any of this affect the ongoing trial?I enjoyed "The Black Echo" and felt that "The Black Ice" was an excellent read but "The Concrete Blonde" is by far the best of the lot. I'm seriously liking this BOSCH character.
    • 5/5
      Enjoyed this book. Took some unexpected turns and twists. Kept us enthralled.
    • 5/5
      I read this year and years ago and totally forgot who did it !!!! I couldn’t stop listening to this audio book and highly recommend it xx
    • 4/5
      I'm nearly sure that this is my first book by Michael Connelly and I loved it. I don't know why it took me so long to read one of his books finally but I'm so glad I finally did it. It is a great story, I couldn't stop reading. I probably should have started with the first book in the series but fortunately it doesn't matter for the story.

      Harry Bosch is a very complicated character. Knowing him only from this one book, I can't say I know him well but I don't have an impression that he is underdeveloped. I really like the layers that I see and him being a man of many different shades. I like his devotion for Sylvia and the way he thinks about her as his home. And I enjoy the complicated path of his thoughts and feelings. He is a very good and fascinating hero, I would read some other books from Connelly just for Harry Bosch.

      But if the other books by this author are as good as this one, I won't have to do this only to see the development of the hero. The Concrete Blonde is a very well-written story. It's suspenseful, with enough twists to keep you on the edge all the time and with believable explanation and close-up. Harry Bosch is a part in a court case, he is accused of killing an innocent man instead of a serial killer - the Dollmaker. Bosch was always convinced that he shot the right man but now the new victim of the Dollmaker is discovered and the detective receives a letter, just like the ones the murderer was sending him back in the days. Is Bosch truly guilty? Or if he killed the right monster, who is responsible for the death of the girl found in the concrete floor?

      The action is fast and catches you from the first pages. And the story becomes better and better with every page. I can't say that the story is someway extremely innovative or genuinely memorable (I'm afraid I won't remember it in a few months) but it's a great read absolutely worth my time. And this is definitely not my last book from Michael Connelly.
    • 5/5
      Great narration and an ending you won’t see coming! Bosch at his most persistent and unflinching! Every mystery reader will love this one!
    • 4/5
      This was a good book. Loved the story even though I figured some of it out before the end.
    • 5/5
      Great plot twists .... and Harry is the BOMB !
    • 5/5
      This was an intricate story with lots of twists and turns which holds your interest until the very end. I love the relationship between Harry and Sylvia. Bosch is such a complex character which makes the books very interesting and entertaining. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
    • 4/5
      En este su tercer libro, Connelly mantiene a los lectores en suspenso constante, maneja los hilos de la historia de manera formidable, incluye un toque romántico que a mi en lo personal no me parece necesario sin embargo este no desmerece la historia en lo absoluto.
    • 4/5
      Harry Bosch is investigated as to whether his shooting of a serial killer was righteous while pursuing a copy-cat killer. Solid and enjoyable police procedural.
    • 4/5
      W/ Bosch finished on Amazon Prime it's still nice to be able to read his stories. Connelly's books are a guilty pleasure read ...
    • 3/5
      Well written mystery/thriller, creepy in spots. I had to suspend my disbeleif a little bit at the resolution. 3rd in the Bosch series. I enjoyed the first three & need to continue with this series at some point. So many books, so little time!
    • 4/5
      It’s true that third time’s the charm: this third book in Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series looks indeed to have reached the solid ground needed for a continuing story, one that reinforces my resolution of adding more crime/thriller novels to my usual reading “menu” and to give further space in the genre to this series in particular.A past investigation - one that was previously mentioned in passing - has come to bite Bosch in the behind: four years prior he was involved in the manhunt for the serial killer nicknamed “the Dollmaker” because he used to garishly paint the face of his victims with their own makeup. Following an unexpected lead, Bosch burst into the apartment where the killer brought his victims and shot him when the man seemed to reach for a gun under his pillow: the police found later that Norman Church, that was the man’s name, had a lot of incriminating evidence in that apartment, and therefore Bosch had indeed apprehend the true killer, but his off-procedure actions brought on a severe reprimand and his transfer from the prestigious Robbery Homicide Dept. to the far less glamorous Hollywood Division.Now Church’s widow is suing Bosch and the LAPD protesting her husband’s innocence: the man was not actually reaching for a gun but for his toupee, and she maintains he was not a serial killer but an honest family man. The situation is complicated when a message, similar to those the serial killer sent to the police, brings to the discovery of another corpse - this one buried under the foundations of a building - and it seems that the victim was killed after Church’s death, therefore raising doubts about Bosch’s performance and threatening him with an accusation of wrongful death. The detective is forced to walk a difficult path between the courthouse, where his every action is put under merciless scrutiny, and the investigation for the new victim, which leads him to question his own past convictions and actions as he and the LAPD try to figure out if there is a copycat killer still on the prowl.Of the three books I’ve read so far in this series, this is the most fast-paced and engrossing: on one side there is the hunt for evidence about the existence of another serial killer, and then the actual hunt for the man, punctuated by dead-end clues and faulty leads and culminating into a very unexpected (at least for me) revelation; on the other there is the courthouse trial, where Bosch’s conduct and past are put under a ruthless microscope as the prosecuting attorney pulls no punches in her campaign to discredit the detective. The character of Honey Chandler (nicknamed “Money” thanks to her rate of successes in the field) is an intriguing one: a very capable, very determined woman who is able to shake Bosch’s bedrock certainties making him question his own conduct and certainties: this is not the first time his actions have fallen under the spotlight, or that his career has been in jeopardy, but Chandler manages to make it quite close and personal, shaking the foundations of his perception of himself.This sense of fallibility, this uncertainty, manage to suddenly make Bosch more human, far more relatable than previously shown, and contribute to turn him into a far more sympathetic character than he was so far. He seems less afraid of his emotions and has even started what looks like a stable relationship with a woman, and although he still keeps much of his feelings to himself, he appears willing to admit to their existence and to let them surface from time to time. While from Bosch’s point of view these might appear like weaknesses, these chinks in his carefully construed armor help in rounding his character and adding more layers to it: for a series that runs for the considerable number of books it has reached so far, this is more than necessary because it would be difficult to carry on for long with a protagonist that never changes from his “lone wolf” self - he needs to evolve through experience and in this book I saw the first glimmer of those changes that I hope will continue the transformation in the course of the series.The layering of characterization goes hand in hand with a compelling plot where the search for and validation of evidence is made more intriguing by a lack of the kind of technology we are used to in our present time: in the mid-90s, when the story is set, the term “legwork” applied to police investigation was still quite apt, as the detectives had to actually move all over the place to confirm or discard each piece of collected information. This allows the author, in this particular case, to take his readers through the seedier parts of Los Angeles, where the porno industry (and the crime racket) made money through hard-core movies and the sale of X-rated tapes - yes, tapes. So quaint… ;-)Another element I enjoyed here is that although the story is focused on the search for a serial killer, we are not exposed to the gorier aspects of the situation, since the author prefers to detail those of the manhunt: this allows for one of the few lighter sections of the book, when we are given an inside view of the re-formed Dollmaker Team and the interactions between the .detectives. As is bound to happen in any task force, the person in charge is not the best-and-brightest of the bunch, and I was amused at the tongue-in-cheek banter of the detectives as they poked fun at their leader practically under his nose.Where I was slightly dubious, at the end of the previous book, about the possibility of carrying forward with this series, I am now much more hopeful that the next volumes will be as narratively intriguing as this one and look forward to discovering what lies down the road.
    • 4/5
      An earlier one. So readable and all the characters interesting.
    • 3/5
      More court scenes than I like, but the ending made it worthwhile. Connelly's prose is a bit flat. > The house in Silverlake was dark, its windows as empty as a dead man's eyes.> "Or maybe … I popped the wrong guy. Maybe whoever wrote this note we got is telling the truth." That hung out there in the momentary silence like dogshit on the sidewalk. Everybody walks carefully around it without looking too closely at it.
    • 5/5
      My husband spent 32 years of his life on two different police forces in 2 states and he seldom likes the way the police are portrayed in novels and movies by authors and screenwriters that seem to be wanting to sell the books and theater seats and not paying attention to how they are portraying the men and women that put their lives on the line for the public everyday...but he has always appreciated how Michael Connelly tells their story through the sometimes scarred character of Detective Harry Bosch. This novel was one of...if not the best of the series. It was very well researched...and showed how the police not only worked together to solve a heinous crime..but their deep relationships with one another. The courtroom parts were a little off...but I guess that added to the story and certainly gave us a character to hate. The author threw in a lot of twists and there were a lot of suspects that could have been the killer known as the "Follower". I'm surprised none of these books have been made into a movie. Thank you Mr. Connelly for showing how thin that "Thin Blue Line" is that is composed of the men and women that wear the badge every day.
    • 5/5
      Almost a 4.5. The early courtroom scenes and Bosch being a tough guy w the young layer late flawed the story but the many pieces fell in place. MC does a good job of keeping his character together, mostly. Glad Sylvia came back and its good to see the Chief warming to Bosch. Looking forward to th enext one.
    • 4/5
      Harry is being subjected to a civil suit for killing a man in the line of duty whom he believed was a serial killer known to the public as "The Dollmaker." While on trial, another body is discovered that seems to indicate that the Dollmaker is not dead, may still be at large, and worst of all that Harry killed the wrong man. Harry and co. must investigate this new death to determine whether that's the case, or if this is a very skilled copycat or even a previously unknown partner. I've been whipping through these Harry Bosch novels and actually not been taking the time to review them as I've read them. They're starting to blur together at this point, but they're all good. Great main character, whom the reader really roots for, flawed though he is. Excellent cast of supporting characters as well. Also, and best of all, though these are cop novels and the early ones are rather dated, they're on the (good) side of treating women as humans and not being racist. So, kudos to Connelly for that.
    • 2/5
      I am feeling rather disappointed about this novel. After a couple of excellent books to kick off the sequence, Connelly definitely sold me the dummy with this one.The basic premise was sound enough. There had been various references in the previous two books to an incident in which the protagonist, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch had confronted and then shot a man suspected of being the serial killer known as The Dollmaker. Bosch had fired because the other man had ignored warnings to stand still and had reached in desperation for something beneath a pillow. Bosch fired without hesitation, only to discover that he had been reaching for his discarded toupee rather than a gun.Now, four years later, the victim's widow is suing the police force for compensation. As the trial opens a new corpse bearing all the hallmarks of a Dollmaker killing is discovered, leaving everyone to draw the uncomfortable inference that the man whom Bosch shot might have been innocent.This all made for an intriguing backdrop to the story, but somehow it never quite seemed to get going. The courtroom scenes subsided into predictable turgidity, and even the investigation into the 'new' murder just rumbled on without Connelly's customary flair.
    • 4/5
      This book is much more about Harry Bosch than the previous two, and those segment are visceral. The range of suspects is somewhat roughly handled.