The Black Echo by Michael Connelly

Hey fellow book lovers, I am currently listening to the book The Black Echo by Michael Connelly on CD. I read this book years ago, so it is not a new release, but I needed something to listen to and it was a handy grab at the library. If you are not familiar with Connelly's books, he writes the Harry Bosch series, which are set in Los Angeles. They are a mixture of police procedural, mystery, suspense, and crime novels all rolled into one. Harry Bosch is a tough as nails police detective who does not play by the book. He never kisses butt, and is not considered a team player. In addition, he is not well-liked by his superiors, but he always come through for the victims. In The Black Echo, Bosch takes the call to investigate a dead body in a pipe and recognizes the deceased as his former Vietnam tunnel rat partner Billy Meadows. The death was reported by a kid calling 911 in the middle of the night. Billy is a drug user and his death looks like an accidental overdose. However, Bosch is not convinced it's a natural death, and finds suspicious evidence at the scene indicating there was a witness. After digging, Bosch uncovers a link between Meadows and a year-old unsolved bank robbery where the perps broke into the bank from digging a tunnel underground and blasting through the floor of the bank. The robbers spent a long holiday weekend drilling holes into deposit boxes and stealing valuables. Working with Special Agent Eleanor Wish, Bosch wants to find out what the robbers were really after..(why not break into the vault and steal millions of dollars?) but instead drilled boxes for unknown valuables. While conducting his investigation, Bosch also has to deal with internal affairs investigating him. He has two IA detectives following him and messing things up. His witness turns up dead, and another robbery may be in the works. Bosch and Wish have to figure it out before it is too late. It is a good book, although I don't think Agent Wish and Bosch should become romantically involved. If you like FBI/police procedural/mystery novels this book is for you. However, there is bad language and descriptive crime scene gore. I gagged a few times while eating lunch and listening at the same time! Happy reading!