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First released in 1996 The Poet is considered by many to be the ultimate Connelly Classic, a twisted and disturbing novel and his only book to end without resolution, leaving readers hanging in the hairy, scary darkness. This year Michael Connelly has released the sequel, a book he once ... Read review
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled: The Narrows is at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel to The Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled:The Narrowsis at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel toThe Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating the ...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled: The Narrows is at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel to The Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled:The Narrowsis at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel toThe Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating the ...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled:The Narrowsis at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel toThe Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating the ...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled: The Narrows is at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel to The Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled: The Narrows is at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel to The Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating t...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled:The Narrowsis at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel toThe Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating the ...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Sequels are all about expectations fulfilled: The Narrows is at once a new novel about ... more
Michael Connolly's series hero Harry Bosch, cop turned private eye, and a sequel to The Poet, his most highly regarded stand-alone thriller. Harry is investigating the death of Terry McCaleb--the former FBI man who dominated in Blood Work; Rachel Walling has been recalled from administrative exile when the Poet, her former boss Backus, starts killing again and sending taunts intended for her and McCaleb (who he also trained). Connolly is very good on the psychology of investigation and on the essential voyeurism involved in contemplating someone else's mental processes. This is a book with a strong sense of place--Connolly can find menace anywhere from the desert of Nevada to the half-hidden dangerous LA river that gives the book its evocative title. If the book has a weakness, it is in the personal interactions of the two detectives--both Harry and Rachel act according to scripts we know well from previous adventures. Nevertheless, The Narrows is one of America's major thriller writers at the top of his game.--Roz Kaveney
Postage & Packaging:£2.75 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Another Connelly, can there be too many? Disadvantages: not enough dead bodies
Michael Connolly is truly the master of the modern crime-thriller and a writer of extraordinary talent and endurance. In the modern publishing era of ‘print ‘em fast and pile ‘em high’, many best-selling authors now trade specifically on their recognized names, pushing out endless titles of questionable value. In this respect, Connolly is something of a rarity, having maintained a high level of consistency and quality, whilst at the same time, notching ... .../>
First released in 1996 The Poet is considered by many to be the ultimate Connelly Classic, a twisted and disturbing novel and his only book to end without resolution, leaving readers hanging in the hairy, scary darkness. This year Michael Connelly has released the sequel, a book he once said could never be written. The Narrows is the new and ingenious follow-up to The Poet.
If you are already familiar with The Poets work then ... more
Michael Connolly is truly the master of the modern crime-thriller and a writer of extraordinary talent and endurance. In the modern publishing era of ‘print ‘em fast and pile ‘em high’, many best-selling authors now trade specifically on their recognized names, pushing out endless titles of questionable value. In this respect, Connolly is something of a rarity, having maintained a high level of consistency and quality, whilst at the same time, notching up fourteen books in the last thirteen years. As a renowned and prolific author of numerous bestsellers, Connolly has garnered a complex and unfailing ability to entice, excite and appal his readers.
First released in 1996 The Poet is considered by many to be the ultimate Connelly Classic, a twisted and disturbing novel and his only book to end without resolution, leaving readers hanging in the hairy, scary darkness. This year Michael Connelly has released the sequel, a book he once said could never be written. The Narrows is the new and ingenious follow-up to The Poet.
If you are already familiar with The Poets work then you will no doubt be looking forward to the next instalment of this chilling saga, if not, then here is a quick review to show what you’ve been missing….
The Poet As a seasoned crime reporter, Jack McEvoy considers himself a specialist of death. But his professional expertise does nothing to lessen the shock when he learns that his brother, a respected police officer, has committed suicide, apparently unable to take the strains of the job.
McEvoy decides that the best way to exorcise his grief is by writing a feature on police suicides. As he begins researching he quickly arrives at a stunning revelation… there has been a trail of police suicides, each strangely connected by their poetic suicide notes –taken from the works of Edgar Allen Poe.
Following his leads and muscling his way inside an FBI investigation, Jack uncovers the story of a lifetime. Through his reporting, however, he also makes himself a visible target for this wicked and deadly perceptive murderer who has so far avoided capture.
At the same time, Rachel Walling an Agent at the FBI Headquarters Quantico, is taking a major role in the hunt for the killer, who has now been labelled The Poet. As an expert in human behaviour and psychology she relishes the challenge, applying skill and dedication to the pursuit of this heinous slayer. But somehow The Poet manages to elude the investigation at every step and even she begins to wonder if they will ever catch him.
The Narrows At the outset of The Narrows, we discover former agent Walling is now working in far flung South Dakota. Following the aftermath of the infamous case of The Poet, Rachel found herself demoted to lower level investigations in the middle of nowhere, leaving her once blossoming career dead in the water.
Unknown to Rachel, a package is sent to the FBI Headquarters, addressed specifically for her attention. In her absence it has been opened and the parcel is found to hold a hand-held GPS – a global positioning device. The machine has been programmed with eight specific indicators that plot positions in the Nevada Desert. Further investigation reveals the bodies of eight men in a mass burial plot deep in the desert.
Now Rachel gets the call she has always dreaded - the Poet is back and he is inviting her to play his deadly game. Called in to collaborate on the new investigation she finds herself drawn back to face the memories that have haunted her for all these years. With the re-emergence of one of the most ingenious and evil murderers Walling is ready to face her nemesis once again… and this time she is determined to finish the job and finally prove her worth.
Meanwhile, retired LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch also gets an important, if seemingly unrelated, phone call. Graciela McCaleb is contacting him to discuss matters relating to her husband Terry, a retired investigator, who recently passed away. Terry McCaleb had a heart transplant some years ago and, although he seemed to be recovering well, on a recent boating trip he collapsed and died without warning.
Graciela explains that the death of her husband was believed to be due to complications with the donor heart and therefore criminal investigations were not deemed necessary. But, in the weeks following, Graciela has discovered that Terry’s medicines have been tampered with and she now turns to Harry to investigate further.
Bosch reluctantly takes on the case and starts by checking the events in the final weeks of Terry’s life. He finds that Terry was spending a lot of time on his boat, not just fishing, but also working on numerous unsolved police cases. Amongst the files and folders Bosch discovers photographs that lead him to believe that both Terry and his family were in danger from a mystery fishing client – who is also believed to have stolen a GPS device that Terry was using to locate shoals of fish….
Soon Bosh is following the clues that point him towards the Nevada Desert… where he is sure to find much more trouble than he bargained for!
In The Narrows, Connelly once again supplies top notch entertainment. As always, he excels at portraying horrifyingly realistic crimes and criminals alongside tortured and emotional victims. One of Connelly’s strongest features is his ability to acutely observe and relate to human nature, the needs and wants that drive us and the dark personalities that live within each and every one of us. This is something that is often reflected both through the dedicated and obsessed investigators who hunt for justice and the disturbed but logical minds of the killers at large.
Where many Connolly novels have focused clearly on the gross particulars of mutilated and abandoned corpses, The Narrows is a much tamer account that follows the living personas involved in this complex case. Whilst the concentration on people and relationships did weave a satisfying web of intrigue, I felt that the book lacked the usual gripping tension without the expected threat of blood and guts around the next corner.
Although The Narrows is a sequel, you don’t need to have read the first book in order to understand the second. However, it is important to be aware that many of the finer details of the earlier story are revealed and it does tend to give away the main surprises. So, if you are a reader who delights in the intricacies and particulars of murder and mayhem, for the fuller enjoyment, it’s best to read The Poet before delving into The Narrows.
In addition to the continued storyline, Connelly has, very cleverly, integrated plots and characters from several other previous novels to provide an intricate murder mystery that is sure to delight his countless fans – and attract many new readers into the bargain.
First there is the welcome addition of Harry Bosch, protagonist of numerous Bosch novels (The Concrete Blonde, Trunk Music and Angels Flight etc). This roguish, sarcastic but ultimately lovable LAPD homicide cop takes every murder personally and challenges authority at every opportunity. In this new instalment Bosch continues with his sardonic and darkly humorous demeanour, remaining integral to the success of the unfolding case and retaining his title as a firm favourite.
Terry McCaleb featured most strongly in yet another Connolly bestseller Blood Work, the book that details Terry’s heart transplant and the macabre way in which he came to be at the top of the donor list. McCaleb, now gone but never to be forgotten, plays a hand in tying two worlds together, unwittingly introducing Bosch to Rachel Walling for the first time. Regular Connolly readers may also notice several other names and faces, including Bosch’s old partner Kizmin Ryder and a brief glimpse of the master thief Cassie Black from Void Moon.
The Narrows has proved a stroke of genius on the part of Michael Connolly, making a worthy addition to his collection of timeless and terrifying thrillers. This book has already earned a top slot on the bestseller lists for the hardback release and come the new year it will no doubt follow that trend when the paperback hits the shelves.
Advantages: A nice read Disadvantages: None of note
“Those who plot the destruction of others often perish in the attempt”
Harry “Hieronymus” Bosch is enjoying life away from the LAPD, with the recent discovery that he has a daughter and his work as a private detective it seems Bosch has finally found some purpose and meaning to his life. But a meeting with a dead colleagues` wife puts him on collision course with the LAPD and the FBI again. Graciela McCaleb want Harry to investigate her husbands ... ...death. Harry decides to take the case, as much as a favour to his dead friend and his widow than in the thought that he might actually discover any foul play, but when he starts to dig beneath the surface he discovers that Terry McCaleb had been investigating some of his old cases and that one of them could have well lead to his murder, a theory that gathers credence when it is discovered that Terry’s` life saving medicine had been tampered with ...
stuleg 26.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Narrows - Michael Connelly
The Narrows is another novel my Michael Connelly to feature the character Harry Bosch however in this novel Connelly brings back some of the characters from a previous novel called The Poet. In effect this novel is the sequel to The Poet whilst at the same time progresses the ongoing story of Bosch time in law enforcement. Before reviewing the plot and my opinion of the book I will start with a brief review of the main characters. One warning point ... ...by necessity it gives away the ending to the previous book The Poet. Both are excellent thrillers and well worth reading so if you are likely to get The Poet, stop reading now, rate the review excellent and leave a comment telling me how great I am.
The Main Characters
Harry Bosch has featured on over half a dozen Connelly novels. The jazz loving Los Angeles detective is introduced in The Black Echo, the former star of the elite Robbery & Homicide ...
atticusuk 24.10.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Narrows - Michael Connelly
Advantages: A brilliant chilling thriller, a must read Disadvantages: Ending just seemed a little forced
== THE NARROWS ==
=== MICHAEL CONNELLY ===
=== INTRODUCTION ===
Book sequels are notoriously difficult. It seems very hard to produce one successfully without falling into the rehashed old plot twists and warmed-over characters that usually cumulates in a paler version of the first book. ‘The Narrows’, however, has not fallen into these traps it is a great ending to the dark world of lurking evil glimpsed in its forerunner, ‘The Poet’.
The Poet ... ...leaving a sombre line from the poetry of Edgar Allen Poe at the scene, scrawled by the forced victim as a farewell note.
‘The Narrows’ is from Michael Connelly (former police reporter for the Los Angeles Times). It is his 14th novel and features Harry Bosch and FBI agent Rachel Walling.
=== THE PLOT ===
The Poet is back!!!!!
FBI agent Rachel Walling is still trying to recover from the scandal that had broken out over her unprofessional affair ...
oldchem 14.08.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Narrows - Michael Connelly
Advantages: Provides big payoffs for long-time Michael Connelly fans. Disadvantages: Contains major spoilers for earlier books.
Firstly, an important announcement concerning THE NARROWS, the book contains crucial spoilers for those who have not yet read THE POET. If you were planning on reading THE POET, do so before picking this book up. In my opinion, failing to do so will ruin both books. The Poet is active again. The brilliant but deranged serial killer who somehow escaped in Michael Connelly's award-winning book THE POET has left the FBI the location of his killing field. ... ...combatant in the earlier book, to come and catch him. Since The Poet disappeared Rachel has been posted to the Dakotas as a form of FBI punishment for her failures, but she answers the call and heads straight for the Nevada desert where ten bodies are being exhumed. Switch to Harry Bosch who is working as a private detective. He is hired by Graciela McCaleb to investigate her husband's death. Terry McCaleb (BLOOD WORK) has finally succumbed to his ...
damieng 20.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Narrows - Michael Connelly
Advantages: Enticing, twisting and enthraling Disadvantages: Disapointing End
This was the first book I have ever written by this writer and it will not be my last. The book had a great story line, strong characters and I really just could not put the book down.
The story itself is a sequel and this was something I did not know before hand but picked up along the way of the reading. The prequel is The Poet and the shame as I probably wouldn't read it now having some inclination about how the story ends. The Narrows begins ... ...strange hour of the day. Following the case of the POET and a misjudgment of character Agent Rachel Walling is demoted and transferred to the work in the middle of nowhere. It appears that she is perhaps waiting on the case which will spring her back into full action. An anonymous package has been sent to Quantico where Rachel no longer works but is opened anyway on her behalf. The package contains a GPS devise which has led the FBI to the Nevada ...
Caylen 21.07.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The Narrows - Michael Connelly
![The Narrows [Abridged version] - Michael Connelly](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/86733535.jpg "The Narrows [Abridged version] - Michael Connelly")
![The Narrows [Abridged version] - Michael Connelly](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/74782415.jpg "The Narrows [Abridged version] - Michael Connelly")
