Reviews of Audio Books
The Overlook by Michael Connelly
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This short novel is based on a magazine story that the author decided to turn into a full-length novel.
Taking place after Echo Park and before The Brass Verdict, Harry Bosch is still feeling the repercussions of the less-than-optimal ending of the Echo Park case.
Now he is assigned what seems to be a random case of violence when a body is found on the side of Mulholland Drive far above Hollywood. The case quickly becomes something much more sinister with national security implications. At the crime scene Bosch runs into FBI Agent Rachel Walling, now assigned to a terroist task force after her involvment in the Echo Park case.
The Red Box by Rex Stout
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It is always great to see a classic title released in audio book format. Over the years many of the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe novels have appeared in audio. The latest, The Red Box, is from early on in the Wolfe series, written in the 1930s and taking place in 1936. Stout has created one of the most distinctive characters in mystery fiction right up there with Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple. Like Christie, Stout gives the reader a structured plot with an always interesting murder up front, lots of suspects and a denouement where all the parties are brought together while our detective explains the crime.
The death of a young model at a dress maker’s salon (remember this is before off-the-rack dresses) isn’t at all what it seems. Apparently she ate some poisoned candy. Was it murder, and was the victim the target?
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
Lawyer Mickey Haller, seen previously in The Lincoln Lawyer, is rather new on the scene appearing in only a single novel and the author seems to have decided to give us the flip side of the justice system, from the point of view of the defense.
The story starts with a brief prolog about a case in the 90s which public defender Haller beats an up and coming assistant district attorney by destroying a jail house snitch’s credibility. It’s a big win for Haller and a big loss for Jerry Vincent, his opponent. It has a profound effect on both men’s careers.
Jump forward to the present. Haller is called into the chief judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court and told that Vincent, now a famous defense attorney, was found murdered the previous night. And Haller has inherited Vincent’s practice. The good news is that Haller can certainly use the work; he only recently has begun to resurrect his law practice after a year-long detour into rehab. The bad news seems to be that Haller may not be ready for prime time.