Void Moon

The plot was quite good, but so very much of the book was the details of how to commit various crimes and I found it tedious. The main bad guy, psychopath, was hard to read about with a lot of detail about killings and his gruesome thoughts. It was not so much that it was over-the-top gruesome, but just that it moved so slowly without actually doing much for the story. The book held my interest enough, primarily with liking the main character and hoping for a good resolution, so that I completed it. The audio rendition was very good which helped. I'll have to give it "I liked it" even though there was so much of it that I did not like.

In this novel Connelly tells his story from the other side of the law. His protagonist Cassie Black is a recent ex-con and former scam artist who with a debt to settle and a few ghosts to be laid to rest. While the action is compelling--one expects nothing less from Connelly--I didn't entirely buy Cassie's character or the choices she made. I also found the bad guys a bit too formulaic.

Still, it's a good read.

I had a hard time putting this one down... it was very engaging and suspenseful and I was always wondering what Cassie would do next. At the start, I thought it was one kind of story (a woman trying to rebuild her life after jail) but it ended up having a much larger scope than that. Guess I should have known that Connelly wouldn't have made the novel straight-forward.There are a lot of plot components but they are nicely tied together (full-circle) by the end of the story. The origins and motivations of all the characters are explained.I liked how the bad guy (well, the baddest guy) was, on one hand, a very bad guy but on the other hand, just wanted what he thought was his due. He even had a couple redeeming features (trying to help a stranger type thing).And the big change in Cassie in the final scene of the book was believable and redeeming.

Cassie Black has just been released from prison for manslaughter. In Nevada a participant in a crime can be convicted of manslaughter if anyone gets killed in the course of the crime. Cassie's lover, Max Freeling was killed during their robbery at the Cleopatra in Las Vegas. Once again, Connelly has written a fast-paced thriller, but one without Harry Bosch.

I'll admit, I am a Michael Connelly fan and am at the point with him, that if he wrote a phone book - I'd read it. He is a master in this genre; from the first paragraph I'm beguiled and swept overboard into the familiar home of mermaids, completely immersed in someone else's world. I detest Las Vegas, gambling offends me and magic tricks are near the top of things that produce catatonia AND all of it is Void Moon. Yes, I recommend the book; the story is captivating, the characters feel right, no-one is superhuman, everyone is loaded with flaws and he kept me wondering almost to the end. He understood who Cassie Black really was and pulled her through a bowl of spaghetti to reach her destiny. Good read.

Another great book by Michael Connolly. It would be a page-turner if I'd gotten it on paper. Fine use of technology and the gambling industry in Vegas.

Disappointing thriller. Main character is a female ex-con who returns to a life of crime, but we're supposed to be on her side. Unlikeable characters. Ending has the feel of a sequel coning on - unsatisfying.

A bit of a departure of Connelly's other books. I could see where this, if done properly, could be developed into a worthy series. I liked that it gave you a little look at old school Vegas, mainly from some of the characters' perspective, but wasn't boo-hoo nostalgic. The story moves along quickly and has some interesting characters and quirks. I think I'll be haunted for a while trying to decide if Max really did say what he said about being a father.

As a fan of the Harry Bosch series, I put off reading this book for a while because I figured that it would not be as good as the books in that series. (I didn't especially like The Lincoln Lawyer, for example.) This book is different in pace and style from the Bosch series, but it is very good. It is more thriller than mystery, and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. The description of the planning and execution of the hotel room heist by protagonist Cassie Black is a masterpiece of suspense writing. I'll never feel safe in a hotel room at night again. Good thing I'm not a high roller.

Degrees of evil are explored through the book's characters.

This is the best Michael Connelly book I have read so far. I like Bosch as a character, but this book is superior to any of the Bosch series.

Honestly just could not get into this book whatsoever. The main character is about as unappealing as can be - and there is just no action or pick me up, no hook to suck you in. I expected more from Connelly and enjoy his other works. Perhaps this one just didn't work for me.

Fast paced, exciting, and characters you become attached to.

Un interesante giro de Connelly. Deja a un lado a Harry Bosh y se adentra en un nuevo personaje. El principio me pareció muy lento a diferencia de lo que nos tiene acostumbrado. Sin embargo cuando comienza la acción se distingue claramente el estilo del autor. No desesperen con un principio lento , llegará el momento que seguramente l@s cautivará .

An exciting and easily read book. Narrating the exploits of clever likeable burglar and a calculating cruel private eye. Connelly at his best navigating twists and turns in the plot.
An excellent book.

Michael Connelly weaves a story better than anyone. Void Moon may be one of his best. Cassie Black, working with Max, was one of the best. They worked out of Las Vegas, successfully slipping in and out of the rooms of high rollers while they slept and relieving them of their winnings. Then Max was gone and Cassie did time and started a new life. But, now she needs back in the game. Connelly manages twists and turns that are so tight you need a seat belt.

Void Moon is a difficult book to read. It takes most of the book to figure out who is who in the book and to see that something is actually happening. In fact one could call this book boring until the last three chapters. It is interesting to learn the astrological reason for a void moon and its bad luck ramifications. Unfortunately only three stars were awarded in this review.

Almost gave up a third of the way in. Then: boom! It becomes a real page turner. Though, I still didn't care for much of anybody throughout the whole book. Certainly not the protagonist. Still: recommended. Worthwhile ending.

A just released female con does one last theft job in Vegas.

Good for a ‘thriller’ crime drama...even though it is now a bit dated.Y

Excellent! Unexpected turns.

This is not the best book by Michael Connelly but still a very good one. I can easily imagine making it into a movie.

I have a sweet spot for con artists of all sorts and I totally love heist stories. And heist is a big part of this book. Cassie is out of prison on her probation time living quite life. Then out of sudden everything changes and needs some serious amount of money. She agrees to take a job but nothing goes as it should.

I do really like Cassie, she is a complicated heroine. There is something deeply upsetting about her, she is some kind of a tragic heroine after all. I do really care about her and some part of would love to see her finding some happiness at least or even peace. It looks like she appears in some other book by Connelly, so maybe I will read it one day to meet Cassie again.

The plot is really good. However, I would like to spend more time with Cassie and less with Jack Spade. The plot is full of action and twists and the whole idea is really good, again worth a movie script.

I read this novel as a stand-alone and as I read the first three pages I was intensely immersed in the love story of Cassie and Max and immersed in the details of the ritual between them. I had never heard of a Void Moon so I was quite intrigued by the title, wondering what a Void Moon is and if it fit into the ritual and/or what other meaning would be revealed.

I was mesmerized by Cassie's planning and so wanted her to achieve the dream of going "to the place where the desert is ocean."

I'm so glad I had luxurious hours of reading available as I didn't want to put the book down sometimes reading pages as quickly as possible and sometimes reading slowly so I could assimilate the meticulous actions by Cassie in the penthouse of a casino hotel room. WoW!

I'll remember Cassie Black. Hope you take the time to read about her too! But, perhaps this is a novel to read at home or on the beach and not in a hotel room.

I didnt love this one. It's far too technical and didnt include any of the characters I care about. I believe it comes up later in the Bosch universe but honestly I just wanted to get through it the whole time.

One of my favourite films is Charley Varrick, directed in 1973 by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau, in which the title character and three associates mount a raid on a bank in a small New Mexico town. They think that they have planned the escapade well, down to every last detail, and expect to net around $20,000. Unfortunately, the raid does not go smoothly, and two of the gang, including Charley Varrick’s wife, are killed. Charley and the final member of the gang, the hapless Harmon, manage to escape and hole up in a trailer park a few miles away. When they finally get around to counting the swag, they find that they have actually got away with over $750,000. They are even more perplexed when the bulletins on local television put the sum stolen at around $18,000. Harmon is overjoyed but Charley is immediately concerned, suspecting that they have inadvertently stumbled upon a Mafia laundering operation. This proves to be the case, and the paid find themselves hunted down by a contract killer, sent not just to recover the money but also to lay down a lesson to deter anyone else from following suit in the future.This novel has many similarities. Cassie Black is working for a Porsche dealership in LA, having been released from prison on parole. She had been inside for her part in a series of audacious burglaries in Las Vegas in which she and her late partner Max had identified successful high stakes gamblers at the large casinos and then broken into their hotel rooms to steal their winnings. Now she is out and trying to go straight, but still dreaming of one last big job that could set her up for life. Max’s half-brother Leo contacts her, thinking that he may have just such a job for her. Cassie havers but takes the job on, only to find herself in the same position as Charley Varrick, having netted a huge amount more than anticipated, and worrying to whom it really belongs.This was the first of Michael Connelly’s books to feature a female protagonist and also the first in which the central character is a criminal rather than working for law enforcement. It is written with his customary tautness – just as gripping as ever, with a fine attention to detail that stops short of being intrusive or tedious. Cassie Black is an engaging and immensely plausible character. Like all of Connelly’s characters, she has her flaws, too, which simply lends to the credibility of the story. Very entertaining, and immediately gripping.

Overall, it is a quick-paced modern-era crime thriller that is quite detailed and nuanced. It is an enjoyable read. Cassie Black is on parole in Los Angeles, having found a job as a saleswoman for a Porsche dealer. She is quite the saleswoman, but she is bored and longs for more action. Leo is her contact, her middleman. He sets up action and he has something for her that is guaranteed to have a large pay-off. Cassie initially doesn't want this job because the last time she did a job at "the Cleo" (which is a thinly disguised pseudonym for the Luxor), she ended up in prison and her boyfriend/ fiancé ended up dead. She absolutely does not want to go back, but the payoff is so large that she can't turn it down. Cassie is the consummate professional and one of the more interesting things about this book is the exquisite detail about Cassie's preparations including what items she needs to pull off the job and how she practices her craft. You would think that with this much detail the book would be tedious. It's not. Connelly provides fascinating details about how a pro would go about ripping off a mark in a Vegas hotel room. The entire book takes place over the course of just a few days in Cassie's life, but every second of the job is infused with excitement and anticipation. And yes, a void moon is apparently something astrological that occurs between the changing of the signs and it is something that Leo advises Cassie to avoid by all means. Although some of the plot devices might be clichés and some of the characters as well, Connelly is professional enough to pull it off and this is a very worthwhile read.

A taunt thriller that keeps you turning pages. Excellent character development.

This was my only remaining unread Michael Connelly book. I'd put off reading it cos I'm not that fond of his non Bosch books. I quite enjoyed it although the whole heist plot thing I'm not that keen on. Quick read.

I needed to read this more quickly than I did. Not because it wasn't good - it was - and I devoured it but over the two and a half weeks I lost track of the details as there were a lot of moving pieces. Leo Renfro, the Shaws, Cassie, Max, Thelma... But a solid read and I didn't find myself looking fo Bosch as much as I thought I might.I liked the ties into the Bosch series especially with Joey Marks and the character development of Black. She was a much more believable character than Barch, Grimaldi and while I loved the early and middle chapters, I felt the ending contrived and rushed. I wish there were more Cassie Black books as I like that fallen hero.

This is a departure from Harry Bosch where the bad guys come out ahead.