Switchblade

Review #1

Switchblade audiobook free

I like Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch mystery novels because he creates a credible universe in them where there is a lot more going on besides the murder Bosch is trying to solve.

That is why I can’t give “Switchblade: An Original Short Story,” an unreserved recommendation. The tale gives you the crime and an acceptable resolution, but it leaves out all the personal interaction Bosch usually has with other cops, his latest girlfriend and his teenage daughter. It is Connelly stripped down to the essentials — and the essentials in this case simply aren’t enough to make it a completely satisfying read.

In the story, Bosch is working solo in the L.A.P.D. closed case unit when a woman who has been hired to help the investigators winnow out murders worth pursuing brings Bosch one in which an anonymous tip points to a man who is already doing time for a killing similar to the one that is still open. Bosch runs down the file and quickly comes up with some corroborating evidence, though the assistant district attorney who has the case wants more.

Bosch nails it down through a plot twist that most readers will find believable and satisfying. But “Switchblade” is too short for the full Connelly treatment: Connelly’s novels are fully populated with characters that are etched skillfully enough to seem real. This story has a very limited cast of characters, so all the byplay that makes most of Connelly’s work so readable is missing. It is as if Connelly had written the story, then gone through the manuscript and deleted the stuff that usually keeps me turning the pages of one of his books.

If you are a die-hard Connelly fan who feels compelled to read everything he writes, the hell with it: “Switchblade” is a couple of hours of cheap entertainment. But if you are looking for the full Connelly treatment, hold out for his next novel. You’ll be glad you did.

Review #2

Bad Wolf audiobook Series Shifters Unbound

A steady paced short story which has Harry Bosch involved in a cold case. In a short span of time, he needs to look and make sense of a possible new antagonist or one already in prison with his first parole hearing due soon. Toward the conclusion Harry sees additional clues becoming reality with the story taking a nice twist.

I’ll never understand reviewers complain and feeling cheated by short story lengths. Every book you may perceive clearly has that information spelled out in the “Book description” at the bottom of the page. This is a perfect example. Amazon clearly states the length at 44 pages, as well as other information. It’s all there for a prospective buyer’s knowledge.

Review #3

Audiobook Bad Wolf by Cris Dukehart

Review #4

Audio Bad Wolf narrated by Cris Dukehart

Fans of Michael Connelly are familiar with his favorite main character, Detective Harry Bosch. In this story, Bosch is working Open-Unsolved murder cases in the Los Angeles Police Department. Their are eight teams in the unit. Each team is assigned specific years of responsibility. Their are more than 6,000 unsolved cases dating back to 1896.

Bosch is assigned a case investigated and closed in 1992. An anonymous tip had called in stating only “that the victim “Billy” had been killed by a man named Patrick Sewell”.

Bosch remembered a case where a body had been found in the burned out remains of the Brown Derby restaurant destroyed in the 1992 riots. The body was that of 19yr. Old Billy Ratcliff.

He checked recent records for the name Patrick Sewell and learned he was serving a life sentence for a murder commited in Orange County four years after the Billy Ratcliff killing. Both murders were similar in that the victims were homosexuals stabbed with a switchblade knife.

The knife from the Ratcliiff murder was found in the evidence box. It was sent to forensics for a DNA test against Sewell’s DNA from the Orange County murder. Urgency was requested since Sewell was due for a parole hearing in 6 months.

The lab results confirmed that the knife contained the DNA of both Ratcliff and Sewell. Bosch thought that the DNA evidence cinched the case against Sewell but the Deputy District Attorney, nick named “The Lion” refused to file the case until Bosch had completed a full investigation. He would not take a case into court that was not “Bulletproof.”

The rest of the story line concerns Detective Bosch’s quest to gather all the the evidence necessary to nail Sewell for the murder of Billy Ratcliff. There are some twists and turns here that make the quest interesting.

Review #5

Free audio Bad Wolf – in the audio player below

I hope Michael Connelly sacks whoever priced this book, because it is criminally short. I know it’s a short story but I would have felt conned if it was 99p, let alone £1.99. It’s not even a particularly good story by Connelly’s standards. I am a real fan and have read all his books and greatly enjoyed most of them, but this was very disappointing.

I see that there are currently 88 reviews on the US Amazon site, of which 76 give only 1 star for exactly the same reason, so they must have priced it ridiculously high there too. I would have thought Amazon would be trying to help get Bosch as much publicity as possible, because he is the subject of one of their first forays into television, but the only publicity that this book will get is bad.

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