9 Dragons by Michael Connelly - Review & Giveaway

Congrats to lucky winner - Gena!

There's no denying Harry Bosch is one of the smartest fictional detectives around and Connelly is a master at writing police procedurals. In Nine Dragons, crippled with a partner who has lost his nerve and with a self-imposed debt to pay, Harry investigates the death of a struggling Chinese shop owner which takes him into the deadly world of Triads. His own prejudices about Asians hampers him even as an internal leak has Harry suspecting everyone around him.

The investigation then takes an lethal international turn when Bosch's daughter is kidnapped in Hong Kong. What then happens is a kick-ass Hollywood style (actually make it Jackie Chan style, minus the martial arts shenanigans) adventurous romp with dead bodies piling up in the city of 9 Dragons, Kowloon, in Hong Kong.

The mystery is quite gripping, but what held me fascinated even more were the nitty gritty details of police investigation which are (true to life) 99.99% perspiration and only a 0.01% inspiration. Quite unlike what they show you on CSI or any of the other thousand and one TV mystery serials. Harry has to do a lot of hard work and puts in a lot of effort to solve what at first appears to be a small time shooting of a shop owner, but then develops into quite something else.

The story begins in LA and then moves over Hong Kong in the second half and in both parts, Connelly proves he has a gift for making the place come alive through his words. This is especially true of Kowloon where it's culture, streets, festivals, underworld etc come to startling 3D life. Readers have always known Harry Bosch as a detective, now we come to see him as a parent, as a Dad bent on finding his daughter come hell or dragon and without his badge to protect him. The ending was a terrific shocker and kinda bittersweet. And it leaves Harry with a lot more to deal with than when the story started. I quite look forward to what's going to happen in the next book of this series.

Great story-telling, realistic portrayal of people, places and situations, a breathless suspense and a very human central character makes this book (and this series) a must read for anyone who loves a good book.

GIVEAWAY

The Prize

A copy of this book will go to one lucky reader.
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• Recommend a mystery book that's set in Asia.
  
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Deadline   Midnight CST of November 21, 2009.

Eligibility  US & Canada only.

Please read the Disclaimer. Good luck!
Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book for review.
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