The Drop

Harry Bosch, Book 15

By: Michael Connelly

Narrated by: Len Cariou

Harry Bosch has been given three years before he must retire from the LAPD, and he wants cases more fiercely than ever. In one morning, he gets two.

DNA from a 1989 rape and murder matches a 29-year-old convicted rapist. Was he an eight-year-old killer, or has something gone terribly wrong in the new Regional Crime Lab? The latter possibility could compromise all of the lab's DNA cases currently in court.

Then Bosch and his partner are called to a death scene fraught with internal politics. Councilman Irvin Irving's son jumped or was pushed from a window at the Chateau Marmont. Irving, Bosch's longtime nemesis, has demanded that Harry handle the investigation.

Relentlessly pursuing both cases, Bosch makes two chilling discoveries: a killer operating unknown in the city for as many as three decades, and a political conspiracy that goes back into the dark history of the police department.

Impressed? Ace detective Harry Bosch is also on the case in other exciting Michael Connelly crime-fiction novels.©2011 Michael Connelly (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Harry Bosch Rule!!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Drop to be better than the print version?

I prefer the audio version because if the reader is good the story comes alive. Len Cariou narrated this book perfectly. He gave life to the characters. The printed edition cannot do that.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the juxtoposition of the two crimes -- they were different yet the author was able to blend the stories together well.

What about Len Cariou’s performance did you like?

It was Len's ability to enliven the characters in the book. As you listen along, it seems that you are watching a play.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Everyone count or none at all -- Harry Bosch

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. Len Cariou's narration was perfect (and he does not have a lisp either), and the story is full of twist and turns typical of Connolly, that you really need to focus so as not to miss anything. Harry's relationship with his daughter is further developed in this story and it was done very well. Maddie is already displaying a sharp sense of observations and maturity, inherited from Eleanor Wish, her mother and Harry, her father. I can't wait until Maddie follows in Harry's footstep. She'll make a great detective!

Perfectly written, as usual

Connelly is the very best at writing the ideal hard-boiled detective story. Harry Bosch is beloved for a reason. In this book, there is not just one but two mysteries to unravel. My only problem with the book is I couldn't make it last. I couldn't hit stop on my iPod. The plot, characters and setting are believable and right on target. I just wish Connelly could write faster. I can never get enough of Harry Bosch.

And Len Cariou is wonderful as the narrator. Bosch is the only character where 2 different narrators (Dick Hill and Cariou) can perform him equally as well.

If this is your first Bosch book, wait and listen to others first as there is great backstory in those.

Bosch never gets old...

Where does The Drop rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 50.

Would you recommend The Drop to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes I would. Harry Bosch of The Drop is an intelligent and incorruptible cop.

What does Len Cariou bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Len Cariou has become the voice of Bosch. I recently re-read The Black Echo and I all I could hear in my head was Len Cariou's voice taking the place of my own. Cariou adds belief and atmosphere.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Any moment Harry had with is daughter.

Any additional comments?

Connelly continues to give us suspense, integrity and discipline in the character of Harry Bosch. Harry is like a favorite uncle to me. There are few book characters that I always remember, but Bosch will be one of them. I was happy to see Bosch's nemesis Irvin Irving playing a part in the drop, but I also felt the case of Irving's son's suicide was a disjointed part of the story.

Still, a great entry into the continuing sage of Harry and Maddie Bosch.

Good story, but narration makes him sound too old

It took me longer to warm up to the Bosch stories than Conelly's other protagonists, and I have read many out of sequence. I liked some and not others; and I finally realized it was not the character, but the narration imposed on the character, which is what really gives the character life. At first, I thought of Bosch as a grizzled old gumshoe, kind of a Mickey Spillane character, which I didn't find interesting. Then the context of the stories and other narrators made me realize he was not that old, and was, indeed, more than just street smart, but actually cultured and intelligent. Even well-spoken. This gave me a whole new interest in the character; so it bothers me when he sounds like a gravelly-voiced geezer.

I love Len Cariou on Broadway, and find him a talented actor. I just don't think he is the right voice for Harry Bosch. It is an incongruity with the fact that Bosch has a young daughter and active sex life that he is made to sound at least in his sixties, to my ears. He would be so much more interesting if his apparent intelligence and culture were the most obvious incongruity with his job. Street smarts do not have to be translated into a gumshoe typecasted voice.

Cariou, unfortunately, defines Harry by his voice. Harry needs his own voice to keep listeners who are looking for more than body counts, interested.

Pretty darned good one

I love the series, the characters, etc., and I am comfortable with this reader. I think this was fairly good but for a few small nitpicks. I think Maddie's role was too small. Since so much of the story had to do with child predators (more on this later), I think more parallels between Harry's love and concern for his teenager could have been presented. Chu's gaffe was too great. Harry would not have dealt so evenly with him, nor would he have reversed his decision to cut him loose.

About the stories. the murder/suicide should have been its own single book, and it could have been more thoroughly examined. I can't figure out why these two crime stories were put together. They do not relate in any way.

Pell's story was sad and horrific, and it too could have had its own full length treatment. I must also add that I am beginning to worry that writers are falling back on the child predator t too often as the source of fiction. This one was handled more humanely than most; Pell's talking about his ordeal was better than having to wade through the details through cataloguing evidence . I think I know what Connelly was attempting in bringing us to sympathize with Pell as victim, but he nearly exonerated Pell's crimes in that process.

I am not happy with the final scenes of the suicide story. The confrontations between Bosch and Irvin and then with Kiz and Bosch were not clear enough for me to see the exact truth. I don't want to believe that Kiz has gone all 10th floor, but for now, we might assume it as such. So, in the end I am not satisfied with the verdict regarding George's death. I don't want to believe McQuillen, but it does sound plausible. I am just not sure.

And what about Dr. Stone? She was kind of a vague character, and I am not sure why her situation with her son was so offputting to the relationhship with Bosch. Perhaps The very significant nature vs. nurture conversation was valuable, but not conclusive. Maybe I blanked out for some pages. At any rate, it is not even clear if Bosch will pursue her.

For these books, this was a 4*, which for me puts it at the top of the best. I like the Bosch series better than the Mickey Haller series, though there are standouts in that one too.

In summary:
1) why two unrelated stories (or did I miss the subtleties that connect them)?
2) why exactly did Harry not pursue Dr. Stone?
3) why did Harry forgive Chu -- it is really not his style?

The Drop is Da Bomb

This is my 2nd Harry Bosch book, lucky for me! Now I envision a future of happily listening to over a dozen prior Harry Bosch books! This book really kept me listening which is surely a sign of a great audio book. Great plot line, fast pace, wonderful characters kept me glued to my headphones from start to stop of this audiobook.

An excellent addition to a reliable series

This is an engaging addition to Connelly's great series. Both plots kept my attention and it is fun to watch Bosch's daughter become a wise-beyond-her-years teen.

The voice was a too wispy

The story was good and contained a varied ending for Bosch. Unfortunately, the voice wasn't that good.

Kept me listning

Loved the story and I was captivated. Wanted to keep listening to the very end..

One of Harry's Best

Sometimes, Connelly get carried away with too much gunplay, but this one is a good deal more credible. The final scene is well done and requires some thought on the reader's part.