There’s no denying that Michael Connelly can spin a good detective yarn.
His latest work, The Black Box, draws you in to its web as Rebus-like cold-case cop Harry Bosch gets emotionally driven to solve a
20-year-old murder.
Was it an LA gangland killing or was there a military connection?
Bosch uncovers the truth but it seems Michael Connelly ran out of ideas before he got to the end.
Perhaps he was in a hurry to finish the book and the ending he chose was the first that came to mind.
Whatever his reasoning, it’s a pity because until the two-word ninth paragraph of chapter 34 the book is plausible and enjoyable. From that
point on it’s second rate and he even has the audacity to excuse his ending by saying that the other character involved never explained
themselves.
Sorry, Michael, that’s really weak and insults your readers.
Michael Connelly’s The Black Box is published by Orion Books (£18.99 in hardback).
ANDREW HIBBERD
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