Happy Holidays! Here are the books I finished this month that didn’t merit full reviews due to time constraints and/or a lack of 250 words to describe them…
The Burning Room****
Usually with Bosch books, I can tell within the first 30 pages if they’re gonna be good or not. This one was different. I didn’t have a sense for it at first and had a little trouble connecting with it but it turned out to be great. I liked Connelly’s integration of Lucia Soto, who was a perfect match for Bosch. Great ending too. One of the best of the series.
Nineteen Eighty Three***
I appreciate what Peace is trying to do but I wish he would have streamlined the narrative the way he (kinda) did in 1 and 3 for the finale. It’s some bleak books, ones I will revisit some day to try and grasp the full depth of what he was doing.
Black Dahlia Avenger**
I had hoped to write a long piece on this and other “factional” Los Angeles books I tried to read the last two months. Time and other commitments prevented me from doing so. There’s a problematic nature with all of these suppositions on actual events, most of them horrendous crimes like Elizabeth Short’s murder and the Manson Family killings. Some day, I’ll explore the space on it.
And There He Kept Her****
Giving this the First Author Four (Stars). It’s a decent, character-driven novel. The only character I couldn’t connect with, weirdly, was the MC. Yeah he’s been through a lot but so has everyone else in this book and he acts in a tool-ish, curmudgeonly manner. Don’t know if I’ll go onto book two but I liked this well enough.
The Crossing****
Grabbed this one as soon as I saw it would be the plot for the new season of Bosch. Plus, I wanted to see how Harry did after the events of The Burning Room. This is good as far as Bosch books are concerned. A layered mystery and Connelly’s typical fascination with LAPD corruption. Maybe now that Harry’s retired from the department, he’ll actually do something about it.
The Nice Guys****
Loved the movie and enjoyed the novelization. Ardai gets all the beats right and they really come alive. Only downside is I knew the whole time what was going to happen, so suspense was nil. But it was still fun to revisit the characters and this story.
What Hath God Wrought*****
Sadly, there’s just no way I’d be able to do a full considered review of this historic, important text before noon tomorrow. Will just say: if you want to learn about How We Got Here as Americans, read this first, followed by McPherson’s Battle Cry of Freedom and finish it with Foner’s Reconstruction.