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Critics' Opinion:
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First Published:
Jan 2001, 432 pages
Paperback:
Mar 2001, 432 pages
Explores the darkest precincts of Los Angeles and the hidden corners of the human heart. Connelly's most brilliantly plotted novel ever, a riveting courtroom spectacle woven together with a nerve-racking investigation.
LAPD detective Harry Bosch, star of Angels Flight, crosses paths with Bloodwork's Terry McCaleb in Michael Connelly's most tension-charged novel ever.
Harry Bosch is up to his neck in a case that has transfixed all of celebrity-mad Los Angeles: a movie director charged with murdering an actress during sex, and then staging her death to make it look like a suicide. Bosch is both the arresting officer and the star witness in a trial that has brought the Hollywood media pack out in full-throated frenzy.
Terry McCaleb is enjoying an idyllic retirement on Catalina Island when a visit from an old colleague brings his former world rushing back. It's a murder, the unreadable kind of murder he specialized in solving back in his FBI days. The investigation has stalled, and the sheriff's office is asking McCaleb to take a quick look at the murder book to see if he turns up something they've missed.
McCaleb's first reading of the crime scene leads him to look for a methodical killer with a taste for rituals and revenge. As his quick look accelerates into a full-sprint investigation, the two crimes—his murdered loner and Bosch's movie director—begin to overlap strangely. With one unsettling revelation after another, they merge, becoming one impossible, terrifying case, involving almost inconceivable calculation. McCaleb believes he has unmasked the most frightening killer ever to cross his sights. But his investigation tangles with Bosch's lines, and the two men find themselves at odds in the most dangerous investigation of their lives.
A Darkness More Than Night explores the darkest precincts of Los Angeles and the hidden corners of the human heart. It is Michael Connelly's most brilliantly plotted novel ever, a riveting courtroom spectacle woven together with a nerve-racking investigation. This is a new masterpiece of crime fiction by the writer USA Today has hailed as "one of those masters ... who can keep driving the story forward in runaway locomotive style."
PROLOGUE
Bosch looked through the small square of glass and saw that the man was alone in the tank. He took his gun out of its holster and handed it to the watch sergeant. Standard procedure. The steel door was unlocked and slid open. Immediately the smell of sweat and vomit stung Bosch's nostrils.
"How long's he been in here?"
"About three hours," said the sergeant. "He blew a one-eight, so I don't know what you're going to get."
Bosch stepped into the holding tank and kept his eyes on the prone form on the floor.
"All right, you can close it."
"Let me know."
The door slid closed with a jarring bang and jolt. The man on the floor groaned and moved only slightly. Bosch walked over and sat down on the bench nearest to him. He took the tape recorder out of his jacket pocket and put it down on the bench. Glancing up at the glass window he saw the sergeant's face move away. He used the toe of his shoe to probe the man's side. The man groaned...
Although getting to the meat of the book requires some patience, it's definitely worth it. The Count is one of literature's more memorable characters, and A Gentleman in Moscow is a well-written novel worthy of one's time. The book is sure to win Towles new fans as well as satisfy those already familiar with his writing.
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