The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly

The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch, #3) (Windsor Selection S.)

by Michael Connelly

From the bestselling author of The Lincoln Lawyer and The Gods of Guilt.

When LAPD detective Harry Bosch shot and killed Norman Church - the 'Dollmaker' - the police were convinced it marked the end of the search for one of the city's most bizarre serial killers.

But four years later, Norman Church's widow is taking Bosch to court, accusing him of killing the wrong man. To make matters worse, Bosch has just received a note, eerily reminiscent of the ones the Dollmaker used to taunt him with, giving him a location where a body can be found.

Is the Dollmaker still alive? Or is this the work of a vicious copycat killer, determined to repeat the Dollmaker's grisly feats and destroy Bosch's career in the process?

Reviewed by empressbrooke on

3 of 5 stars

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In Harry Bosch's third outing, we finally get to learn more about the infamous case that resulted in Bosch's demotion to the Hollywood homicide unit. The Concrete Blonde is more of a legal thriller than a police procedural as the plot revolves around the widow of the serial killer shot by Bosch suing the LAPD. A wrench is thrown into Bosch's defense when more corpses matching the serial killer's MO pop up.

I enjoyed this book more than the first two in the series, although it still hasn't inched up into 4-star territory for me. There just seems to be a wall between me and Bosch, preventing me from really getting absorbed. Connelly's dialogue is even more natural this time, and the melodrama is at an all-time low, which gives me hope that the series will continue to get better.

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  • Started reading
  • 25 October, 2008: Finished reading
  • 25 October, 2008: Reviewed