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Amazon.com There seems to be an unspoken rule among mystery writers that once the author has created a successful character, the obligation to fans demands regular installments in the hero's life history, whatever the author's literary aspirations. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was famously unsuccessful at killing off Sherlock Holmes and resurrected his detective in response to public outcry. Michael Connelly's police procedural series featuring Harry Bosch has garnered numerous top mystery awards, including the coveted Edgar. But, strangely, it is his deviations from Bosch, including The Poet and Blood Work, that have drawn the biggest readerships--and have won awards of their own to boot (The Poet was honored with the 1997 Anthony Award). Now, once again, Connelly follows up the success of a Bosch book, Hardcover edition. Reader Reviews 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Second generation Las Vegas, August 16, 2003 Reviewer: Alan from Los Angeles, CA This was a page turner. It was very interesting to read about people whose parents emigrated to Las Vegas when Las Vegas was just starting to grow. These children of the first generation are a rotten bunch, but no one more rotten than Jack Karch. Call him whatever you want, ..., a psychopathic murderer (yes, he's that, too), a guy who knows some cool magic tricks, and a guy who gets so involved in his work he can go without sleep or food for several days. Karch makes the book, but of course he's the villain so he has to die in the end, a gruesome death at that. I liked Karch, as a character. I don't think many people do and I don't think I'd actually want to meet someone like Karch in "real life," but as a villain he's so grotesquely evil that he just makes the book. For Cassie Black, the heroine, I had no feeling. She does seem a little mixed up, but then she's second generation Las Vegan also, so maybe that explains that. Read it and weep. Diximus.
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