Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780739475706
ISBN number: 0316734950
Label: Little, Brown and Company
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 405
Printing Date: October 09, 2006
Publishing house: Little, Brown and Company
Sale Popularity Level: 107313
Studio: Little, Brown and Company
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In 1993 Marie Gesto disappeared after walking out of a supermarket. Harry Bosch worked the case but couldn't crack it, and the twenty-two-year-old was never found. Now, more than a decade later, with the Gesto file still on his desk, Bosch gets a call from the District Attorney. A man accused of two heinous murders is willing to come clean about several others, including the killing of Marie Gesto. Taking the confession of the man he has sought-and hated-for thirteen years is bad enough. Discovering that he missed a clue back in 1993 that could have stopped nine other murders may just be the straw that breaks Harry Bosch.
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Rated by buyers 
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Bosch in on the edge in this book; he has been working the Maria Gesto case on his own time ever since her disappearance in 1993. She was never found - dead OR alive - so the file sits and mocks Bosch. When a man accused of two murders offers to come clean about several other open murders in order to avoid being put to death, he includes Marie Gesto in the bunch. Bosch is called in to listen to the testimony and do some work to ensure the department is not being scammed. When Bosch discovers a clue that was overlooked that might have helped him solve the Gesto case - and prevented all the murders by this same guy in the meantime - he starts to lose it.
This is a dark book in the series, yet one that gives us a lot of insight into Bosch and his world. Don't miss it!
Rated by buyers 
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This book was a gift to my son. Instead of English, he was sent a Spanish version. That didn't do him any good.
Rated by buyers 
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The story is interesting, though I am not sure if it's truly original. A murder convict takes the blame of an unsolved crime...but is it what it seems to be. The characters are well-developed and can be easily imagined as real-life people. I also liked the plot and the pace of the story, with Echo Park at the center stage. I would love to see this story turned into a TV show or a movie. However, I have couple of issues grappling with the reason behind Mario Gesto's murder, the main murder case. Was she killed just because she looked like someone else? Also, why would such a random killing happen with the killer having no past history of killing? He intimidated kids at one point and had a volatile relationship with his girlfriend, but is it enough to kill someone? I don't think there was enough justification provided for murdering Mario Gesto. Secondly, the revelation of the Raynard Waits' true name came by fluke or chance. I would have liked a more detailed assessment of the key events that happened in the novel and not about the build-up.
Apart of that, I would still recommend this novel to any crime novel lover for creating a wonderful atmosphere and believable characters.
Rated by buyers -
At this point I've probably read about 3/4 of the Harry Bosch books, albeit completely out of order. The series has always been somewhat borderline for me -- I really love the level of detail and authenticity Connelly brings from his years as a crime reporter for the LA Times. However, the storylines tend to be a little too over the top, and Harry Bosch has never been that interesting a protagonist to me. This twelfth entry in the series is a great example of these strengths and weaknesses.
At this point in his career, Bosch is working the Open/Unsolved Unit with his partner Kiz Ryder. One thing likes to do as part of his open-ended duties is revisit past failures, reviewing all the evidence, keeping tabs of key players, and looking for new leads (something he also did during his brief retirement). One of these cases is the 13-year-old disappearance and presumed murder of Marie Gesto (whose apartment is in the distinctive building seen in the Robert Altman film The Long Goodbye). The book rewinds in time so that we get to see Bosch and his then partner Jerry investigate her disappearance and get nowhere. Over the years, Bosch's infamous instinct has led him to suspect the son of a local oil tycoon as the killer. However, with no evidence, he has never come close to being able to make a case.
Returning to the present, a lucky traffic stop results in the capture of a serial killer who admits to killing a number of women, including Marie Gesto. The hitch is that he will only confirm this by revealing the locations of his victims' corpses if the city's prosecutor agrees to drop the death penalty. The prosecutor and an LAPD detective are soon in touch with Bosch, seeking his case notes and cooperation in trying to determine if the serial killer really knows where the bodies are. Thus Bosch gets entangled in this case, which has various political ramifications since the prosecutor is running for DA. The serial killer angle also causes Bosch to reconnect with his onetime flame, an FBI profiler who has appeared in previous books. References to previous cases and characters from the series also pop in and out, which may make readers new to Bosch feel somewhat adrift at times.
In any event, when the serial killer is introduced the book goes rather downhill for me. I'm not a fan of the serial killer subgenre, and watching Bosch and the killer play various head games with each other is boring -- we've seen/read it all before. It doesn't help that Connelly completely telegraphs a major incident in the book by suddenly shifting to an narrative mode in which every single step is detailed, tipping the reader off that Something Big Will Happen Any Minute. Fortunately, this is redeemed by the ensuing manhunt, which does a good job of showing how pursuing a paper trail can lead to a killer's lair. Unfortunately, Connelly then invokes the lame "we don't have time to call for backup" card, and allows Bosch to make a totally elementary (and implausible for him) mistake -- one most reader will spot coming.
As with most crime fiction, and the Bosch series in particular, the story is dominated by themes of moral corruption. At this point in the series, it's a well-trodden path, and it's somewhat tiresome to once again see all Bosch's instincts borne out, and arrive at the end to learn that those in high places are entirely disreputable. Once again, a decent ride-along with Bosch, but with enough flaws and thematic repetition to leave me feeling rather unenthusiastic about it.
Rated by buyers 
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All the entries in the Harry Bosch series have been good, but Echo Park is the best yet. The very first few chapters set up the mystery, and from there on out, the action and suspense ratchet up and never stop. Even the final wrap up is a page turner. An open and shut case turns into a very first rate conundrum, and Bosch has never been in a tougher position, trying to separate fact from emotion, trying to follow his own compass. His partner's been taken down, the woman in his life has trouble reconciling her roles as lover and profiler, and Bosch himself has been taken for a ride. High jingo strikes again. But for Harry, it's always a question of making choices that will allow him to live with himself, and no case has ever made that more of a challenge.
First rate crime fiction, with outstanding characterization and plotting.
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