Twenty Years of Michael Connelly

If you're a Michael Connelly fan, you may have noticed the symmetry in his latest novel, The Black Box.  The novel is based on the re-investigation of a twenty-year-old cold case: it has been twenty years since Connelly first introduced Harry Bosch in The Black Echo.  As Connelly noted in an interview in the Huffington Press, Bosch appeals to us as a character because"[h]e's a good guy trying to do a good job under very difficult circumstances. And isn't that what we all do in our lives? He doesn't suffer fools lightly. He has a distrust of authority and these are things that I think most of us have."

In his distrust of authority he may remind us of Lee Child's protagonist Jack Reacher, but that's where the similarity ends.  Reacher is not known for his introspection or self-doubt, but rather for his body count.  However, both authors share a straightforward, engaging style of writing that continues the hard-boiled detective tradition of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Ross McDonald, whom Connelly cites as his main influences.

Connelly has written twenty-five novels in total, of which the majority feature Bosch as the protagonist.  He  has also developed other protagonists, including a reporter (Jack McEvoy), an FBI agent (Terry McCaleb), and attorney Mickey Haller, who was successfully played by Matthew McConaughey in the film version of The Lincoln Lawyer.

The Huffington article mentions that a television series may be in the works featuring Harry Bosch.  Please refer to the original article at  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ellen-sterling/michael-connelly-pleasing_b_2340275.html for Connelly's thoughts on who could best portray Bosch.  (And thankfully it's not Tom Cruise.)

For a review of The Black Box and an interview with Connelly, check out the Globe and Mail at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/michael-connellys-latest-keeps-crime-writers-streak-alive/article5839925/.  You can also watch Connelly's interview with Travis Smiley on PBS at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/michael-connelly/.