The Black Box, by Michael Connelly

This was an audio book.

Another great Harry Bosch story, set in nearly contemporary time, ca. 2012. Harry investigates a cold case that dates to the Rodney King LA riots of 1992. At the time of the riots, Bosch and a partner responded to the murder of a woman, but in the thick of action and danger, with the National Guard deployed all around them, they were only able to do a very quick and preliminary investigation of the body and the crime scene, then were forced to rush to another murder. 20 years later, Bosch picks up the threads, and unravels an amazing fabric of conspiracy.

This is the stuff we go to Connelly for.

The Choirboys, by Joseph Wambaugh

This book is sort of a sick farce. It has made me laugh aloud, and I will read the whole thing (I'm not quite done as I write this), but "redeeming social value?" No. I suppose there are some cops who fit Wambaugh's description, but I doubt that there are many, and I doubt that there are any who quite fill these caricaturizations.

Of course, the book is dated. Its copyright is 1975. Sexism, racism, and homophobia (especially the first and third) were not quite as objectionable then as now (and really, racism was--if not worse or more common--somehow different back then, perhaps more in the open? One could write a book on that subject, and I'm certainly not qualified.), and what was considered to be illegal and/or antisocial was actually a little bit different.

So, having not completed the book, I'll reserve some--not much--judgement for now.

The "Choirboys" are a group of LA cops who meet after work in MacArthur Park for drinking and debauchery. This is known as "choir practice." The book is made up of stories of their various adventures on and off duty.

The Overlook, by Michael Connelly

This was an e-book from the PC Library.

This book was quite short, but still pretty entertaining. Harry Bosch solves a murder in spite of interference from the FBI, who seem determined to turn the incident into a national security issue. Bosch doesn't think it is.

As I've been reading a number of Wambaugh's LAPD novels lately, I was interested to note several details in common, for example, the mention of the Federal Consent Decree under which the LAPD was operating (still is? I don't know). Of course, most of these details are simply factual, so they would have to be identical.

The Hollywood Crows, by Joseph Wambaugh

An audio book.

Community Relations Officers, CRO, pronounced "crow."

Good stuff. Made me feel like I knew Hollywood a little better.

Hollywood Moon, by Joseph Wambaugh

an audio book

Another of Wambaugh's novels about the LAPD, with characters that appear in other books. This was quite entertaining, and improved many a commuting trip.

There is an interesting bit of conversation that advocates very strongly for equal treatment and respect for female cops.

Harbor Nocturne, by Joseph Wambaugh

This was an audio book.

An interesting story, well done, that deals primarily with a human trafficking case in which several would-be migrants to the USA lose their lives. The bad guys include a Ukranian and Korean gangster who have formed an unlikely and unholy alliance, and a low-level hustler from San Pedro who, in becoming their lackey, has found himself seriously out of his depth.

There is a central character, Dinko Babich, of Croatian ancestry, a young man who lives in San Pedro with his widowed mother. He falls in love with a young girl who has been illicitly transported from Mexico to work as a stripper. She is in deep trouble with the above-mentioned gangsters.

Woven in and out of the plot are a group of wonderful LAPD characters. There is the story of these police officers, that of the gangsters, the young Mexican girl, Dinko and his mother--and all of these stories play out together, rushing in and out of the focus of the novel like the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

And one mustn't forget Hollywood. Hollywood is all over, and all through this book. There are the super-hero impersonators, the stars in the pavement, and the insanity that is, in the words of the cops, "fucking Hollywood."

This was a terrific novel, of course, which provided a lot of boredom-relief on my commute for a few days.

The Drop, by Michael Connelly

Bosch, post-9 Dragons. A fabulous read, another great Bosch adventure, and yet another reprieve from the impending retirement of the great detective. Michael Connelly does not disappoint.

The New Centurions, by Joseph Wambaugh

This book, which was published circa 1970, is quite dated, but nevertheless I devoured it. The writing pulled me into seamy early 1960s Los Angeles, seen through the eyes of three young policemen. The story begins in the Academy, and progresses through five years of experience, through the Watts riot of 1965.

My friend Marshall loaned me this book, a very old paperback copy with extremely dark and brittle pages. This was not a shortcoming, it lent to the ambience of the story, taking place in a dim, smoky, black and white world of heat, humidity, and uncomfortable clothing.

So many cigarettes, cigars, and pipes were smoked that I was suffering from literary bronchitis by the end. It's odd how, in 2013, one recoils at the use of the word "Negro," once considered a respectful term for an African-American person. At least, as a white person in that time, I was taught that it was respectful. I don't believe that it's considered to be so anymore.

What an excellent novel, and a terrifically entertaining read. It's the first Wambaugh I've read, and I look forward to many more.

Watts Riot, Wikipedia Page

The Black Echo, by Michael Connelly

Michael Connolly writes thrilling mysteries. This one stars Harry Bosch, a detective in the LAPD who has few friends among the administration. Bosch becomes involved in a mystery that begins with a murder of a man who turns out to be one of his long-ago "tunnel rat" buddies from the Vietnam War.

It's a great trip, full of the kind of in-your-face behavior and language that Harry Bosch is famous for. The ending has great twists and turns, and takes you at high speed to the very end.