Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Trunk Music
Trunk Music
Trunk Music
Audiobook12 hours

Trunk Music

Written by Richard Powers

Narrated by Dick Hill

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Back on the job after an involuntary leave of absence, LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is ready for a challenge -- but a murderous Las Vegas crime ring might prove to be more than he bargained for.

It starts with the body of a Hollywood producer in the trunk of a Rolls-Royce, shot twice in the head at close range - what looks like "trunk music," a Mafia hit. But the LAPD's organized crime unit is curiously uninterested, and when Harry follows a trail of gambling debts to Las Vegas, the case suddenly becomes more complex - and much more personal.

A rekindled romance with an old girlfriend opens new perspectives on the murder, and he begins to glimpse a shocking triangle of corruption and collusion. Yanked off the case, Harry himself is soon the one being investigated. But only a bullet can stop Harry when he's searching for the truth . . .

LanguageEnglish
Release dateMay 16, 2017
ISBN9781543612530
Trunk Music
Author

Richard Powers

Richard Powers is the author of thirteen novels. His most recent, The Overstory, won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. He is also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the National Book Award, and he has been a four-time National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. He lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

More audiobooks from Richard Powers

Related to Trunk Music

Titles in the series (6)

View More

Related audiobooks

Suspense For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Trunk Music

Rating: 4.037022548713952 out of 5 stars
4/5

1,283 ratings50 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Ok I get it, this book series is great, at least it is based on this book. I had never read a Bosch book but saw them all the other night in the bookstore and went with one with an interesting title. Take a realistic cop who is never perfect, and a storyline that even though I figured out at least a quarter of the way in, is very well executed, and you have a great book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Harry Bosh continua desenmascarando complots y corrupción. Una novela que te mantiene en constante estado de intriga y quieres continuar leyendo.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    SORRY THAT WAS THE LAST BOCSH NOVEL FOR ME TO LISTEN TO.IT WAS AGAIN GRIPPING AND AND THOUGHTFUL. MANY THANKS.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another good book in the series. I like the ending.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Very good crime, mystery book, I will read again. Great detective .
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great book throughly enjoyed the story line it kept you engaged.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This one ended up having lots of twists and turns! Good book!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is another great Harry Bosch novel with lots of twists that kept me turning the pages until the end. I liked that his love interest from The Black Echo shows up again. That was a pleasant surprise! I love Harry's lingo and expressions and they keep me chuckling to myself. The end of the book came quickly and what a surprise that was. I'm now looking forward to the next book to see what's in store for Harry.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This book feels so OOC for Harry Bosh. Even though the plot is thick with twists and turns, names and places, it all seems to be in vain at the end. All in all, a solid sequel and a good prequel to some of the later books.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Tight mystery, but writing was pedestrian. Much as I like Connelly, I think I prefer the Lincoln Lawyer series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Characters are very well developed. Women are interesting and strong.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another great Harry Bosch tale. Keeps you interested. Goo good
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The book was better than the show - as always! If you've seen the show on Amazon, there are some changes to who did it so it's still worth reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Trunk Music by Michael Connelly; (4 1/2*)Another most excellent Bosch detective novel. The author has this character well developed & nailed down. I feel as if I understand a bit of what makes Bosch click by now and he is a well rounded character.This particular story begins with a murder in one of the canyons off Mulholland Drive in Hollywood. Having the ups & downs, twists & turns, flack within the LAPD, as with Connelly's other novels always makes for a great read! And this one adds a nice twist with switching it up between Vegas & L.A.Keep them coming Connelly. I am liking them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Might be the best of the Bosch series. LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is lead on a case that's more than he bargained for. It starts with the body of a Hollywood producer in the trunk of a Rolls-Royce, shot twice in the head at close range - what looks like "trunk music," a Mafia hit. But the LAPD's organized crime unit is curiously uninterested, and when Harry follows a trail of gambling debts to Las Vegas, the case suddenly becomes more complex - and much more personal. A rekindled romance with an old girlfriend opens new perspectives on the murder and the corruption and collusion behind it. Yanked off the case, Harry himself is soon the one being investigated.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another good Bosch book. Intricate plotting with a lot of surprises.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Overall, I liked the book, but I just couldn't get past the plot point in which the FBI didn't come in immediately with regards to the suspect. Without giving any spoilers, it just didn't make any sense to me that they would hang back for even one minute. Also, I didn't like the ending mainly because I can't imagine things going well on that front (again, trying not to include spoilers). Not one of my favorite Bosch books, but still very compelling and fast paced with really good characters.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Vivid, intricately plotted, fascinating. I devoured this in 4 days. Mysteries don't get any better.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Twisty with burst of violence, Bosch is on a new murder with a new team in this long but excellently paced case. There is still plenty of Bosch working by himself when he follows leads to Las Vegas and get complications that have complications.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Probably a 3.75. A good, complicated plot, good characterisation (not too cliched) and at least Bosch wasn't quite as obnoxious as in the previous book!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The more I move forward with this series, the more I’m glad that I started reading it propelled by my enjoyment of the TV show it inspired: not only it offers a welcome digression from a steady “diet” of science fiction and fantasy, therefore helping me avoid reader fatigue, it also showcases an engaging character whose personal journey is still ongoing as he deals with interesting murder cases, the complex social microcosm of a big city like Los Angeles and the even more convoluted political ramifications between law enforcement agencies.Returning to work after the compulsory leave of absence described in the previous book, Harry Bosch is eager to go back to solving homicides, and the first one he’s called to investigate looks like a mob hit: a body is found in the trunk of an abandoned Rolls Royce, and once the victim’s identity is revealed (a small-time producer of porn movies with a side occupation as a money launderer) everything seems to point toward organized crime. Some details, however, don’t add up and the investigation leads Bosch and colleagues along several paths, both in L.A. and in Las Vegas, where the victim was a frequent visitor: it’s here that the detective makes an unexpected encounter with someone from his past, a chance meeting that is fraught with uncomfortable memories and unrepressed emotions. As the hunt for the killer becomes more complicated Bosch faces a web of misdirections and red herrings - as does the reader - but nothing, not even a false accusation of having planted evidence, will distract him from following his leads with the usual dogged determination, until he solves the case.In my review of the previous book in the series I spoke of a turning point for the main character, and here the differences in personality and approach to situations are indeed remarkable: Harry Bosch is still relentless in his pursuit of the truth, and he’s still prone to ignoring the rules when they clash with his methods, but while in the past he might have looked possessed by an inner darkness, now he’s more at peace with himself and this attitude reflects on the way he deals with people. It’s possible that having finally solved his mother’s murder he gave himself the permission to be more human, to be happy and to reach out to other people: this new approach is evident in his relationship with his old-time partner Edgar and with the new one assigned to the team, Kiz Rider, who is a brilliant, on-the-rise detective. Rider, and Lieutenant Grace Billets, Bosch’s new chief, are welcome additions to a story that was begging for a few female figures of substance: in particular I was happy for the arrival of Billets because I enjoyed her TV character very much, and because she marks a huge difference from the previous commander, since she is stern and tough but also knows how to give some slack to her detectives when it’s necessary to get things done.While this “new” Bosch still indulges in his lone-wolf attitude at times, here in Trunk Music we see how he’s able to work with a team - of which he has been given command with a show of faith in his skills as a coordinator - and to ask for the cooperation of other people instead of getting it literally at gunpoint as he used to do in the past: it’s as if he’s been trying to rebuild himself, just as he’s now rebuilding the house that was wrecked by the earthquake in the previous book, and the parallel about new beginnings extends also to his private life, where the chance encounter I mentioned before leads to a momentous change that sees him involved in a stable relationship. One of the reasons I’m enjoying this series so far is Connelly’s ability of showing his character’s evolution through the experiences he deals with: in this book he faces his own feelings for a woman from his past and comes to admit his vulnerability where she is concerned, but at the same time he’s able to avoid being distracted by those same feelings in his search for the truth. What comes out is a more rounded - and more human - character than the one presented at the beginning of the series, and makes him more relatable and sympathetic.Of course the investigative parts of the story are no less intriguing than the characters peopling it: the old-fashioned detective activity is still present, of course, with witness questioning, search for connections and so forth, but some details of the forensic angle start to come into play more than they did before - which never fails to intrigue me because I’m totally fascinated by the scientific side of police work. And in this particular case there are several clues that seem marginal at first, only to be later revealed as pivotal in the solution of the case: nothing is left to chance here, there are no hanging threads that end up nowhere, there is instead a fascinating organization at the roots of these stories that leads the reader, alongside the detectives, toward the final revelation and the surprises awaiting there, because there are no foregone conclusions here and the sustained, never slacking pace of the story carries you from step to step while keeping you totally immersed in its progress.An important consideration, that became more noticeable in Trunk Music, is how the books and the TV series they inspired are similar but never the same: since I encountered these stories in their televised form first, I thought that the “excitement factor” might be diminished by my foreknowledge of the way they went, but this fifth book confirmed how the TV scripts changed many of the pieces on the playing field, allowing me to enjoy the books because of the marked differences between the two mediums. Which leads me to believe that I have still many surprises awaiting me down the road…
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A nicely-done police procedural in the Harry Bosch series. Although this is the fifth book in the series, it's the first one I've read. The plot is interesting, as are the characters, if they do fall a little flat from time to time. My editor brain cringed a few times at some things I thought the book's editor should have caught and fixed--especially since this is not a first-time author. However, it's not something likely to bother the average reader. Definitely recommended if you like mysteries/procedurals; I'll likely look for more books in this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Bosch goes to Vegas running into Eleanor Wish. Bosch chases down the bad guys who are both the LVPD and the mob. Not a lot of action. The book was familiar because a lot of it was used for one of the TV seasons plot elements. Running into the girl who got away on his Honeymoon in Hawaii was a bit much and there really wasn't much action but still a good, dense read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is the latest in this GREAT mystery series. It doesn't come out until early next year so, in the meantime, you might want to re-read the first in the series - Black Echo. (reviewed in 1996)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This latest installment in the Harry Bosch series takes our fearless protagonist to Las Vegas where he confronts the mob and meets up again with the former Love of his Life, Eleanor Wish. Will it finally work out for these two? Well, this is Harry, so probably not.Connelly crafts yet another thrilling, keep-you-guessing, deeply resonant tale. I'll keep reading these as long as he writes them.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I didn't like this addition to the series as much because Mafia stories don't truly interest me. But I have to add to that: I wanted to reach into my iPod and snatch Bosch up by his collar to pull him away from yet another seriously damaged/damaging woman. Ai yi yi!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    LAPD detective Harry Bosch is back on active duty and his first case is a doozy: A dead guy found shot to death in the trunk of his Rolls Royce. The investigation takes him from LA to Las Vegas and back again, on the trail of of movie moguls, mobsters, and money laundering. The case is complicated when he meets up with someone from his past who may or may not be connected to the case. A good entry in the series, although I'm getting a bit weary of Harry's constant run-ins with Internal Affairs and his bosses. It's starting to seem like a crutch for Connelly, an easy way to gin up some conflict apart from the case itself, which is nice and twisty and satisfyingly solved.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A good Bosch mystery that leaves you guessing about some things until the end. This fills in some gaps I had between early Bosch novels, and the TV series which is based on later ones.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Trunk Music
    3 Stars

    When the body of a B movie producer, Tony Aliso, is found in the trunk of a car, Detective Harry Bosch is called in to investigate and follows the clues to a Las Vegas nightclub with ties to organized crime. Soon Harry finds himself at the center of a complex web of lies, deceit and murder that may just signal the end of his career…

    Not the best installment in the series. The first half is too slow and focuses excessively on the organized crime element, which is not a favorite trope of mine. That said, this would not be an issue were it not for the fact that it is so obviously misdirection. The second half is better once the investigation changes focus and there are one or two surprising twists that keep the pages turning.

    In terms of character development, Harry is in a better place following the angst ridden events of the previous book. The return of an old flame has some sweet moments, but it must be said that this particular romantic entanglement has not future and only plays into Harry’s “damsel in distress” complex.

    Several new characters are introduced - Kizman, Billets and Goshen. Each has an interesting role to play in the story and will hopefully develop in future installments. Goshen is particularly intriguing and I look forward to reading more about him.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If you want masterful set ups, delicious twist and turns; you can’t go wrong with Trunk Music which also packs a lot of procedural details, great characterization and the introduction of a new lieutenant in the excellently named Grace Billets (or Bullets, as per her nickname) plus, a new partner named Kizman Rider (or Kiz, who may or may not stay in the unit) we’re also re-introduce to Bosch’s old flame Eleanor Wish. The only cats missing here are Crate and Barrel (I really like those guys, this being book #5 of the ongoing series, I might’ve miss the why of their absentia in this story) In Trunk Music we are treated to a fun case with the killing of a movie producer found in the trunk of his car, hence the ‘mob-term’ trunk music. Corrupt cops, back stabbings and blackmail set in the City of Angels where homicide detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch and his partner Detective Jerry Edgar are the heroes every police department should have.5 out of 5