Editorial Review:
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In his first case since he left the LAPD's Open Unsolved Unit for the prestigious Homicide Special squad, Harry Bosch is called out to investigate a murder that may have chilling consequences for national security. A doctor with access to a dangerous radioactive substance is found murdered in the trunk of his car. Retracing his steps, Harry learns that a large quantity of radioactive cesium was stolen shortly before the doctor's death. With the cesium in unknown hands, Harry fears the murder could be part of a terrorist plot to poison a major American city.
Soon, Bosch is in a race against time, not only against the culprits, but also against the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI (in the form of Harry's one-time lover Rachel Walling), who are convinced that this case is too important for the likes of the LAPD. It is Bosch's job to prove all of them wrong.
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Reader Reviews for The Overlook (Harry Bosch):
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: my first connelly book
Comment: This was my first Michael Connelly book.
I heard Neal Boortz talking about him.
Lucky for me this was an awesome work of murder mystery fiction.
If you like things from a Federal angel, ie, The Feds, FBI, Homeland Security, this has it all.
By the end it was hard to stop reading.
So far this is my favorite Connelly book.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Let's hope Bosch isn't beginning to "circle the drain" himself
Comment: This is the 13th novel featuring Harry Bosch in little more than a decade, and while the LAPD homicide expert has evolved somewhat (he actually owns a digital camera now), he really hasn't changed in the essentials, even if he is getting older and grayer. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. Harry's mission -- to speak for the dead, because "everybody counts or nobody counts" -- is timeless, but his inability to handle authority well limits his prospects in the department and also seems to guarantee a succession of partners (the last two of whom have been shot while on the job). Now he's in the new "Special" unit of the Robbery-Homicide Division, handling cases that are too sensitive, or newsworthy, or simply too likely to become a "hobby" to be relegated to the homicide teams in the city's seventeen precincts. As his first roll-out since his transfer -- which he's been waiting for almost anxiously -- he's called to an execution-like murder scene at a scenic overlook on Mulholland Drive, which quickly ties back to the theft of a large quantity of medical-grade cesium from a hospital where the victim worked. It appears to be a terrorist crime and Harry's sometime lover, FBI agent Rachel Walling, becomes involved. Only one witness turns up, whom Harry tries to keep under wraps as insurance against losing control of the case to the feds (who really don't care about the homicide). And then the LAPD's own Homeland Security department goes off on a tear, which Connelly uses as an example of the present tendency of our government at all levels to cry "Terrorism" to cover up Constitutional and other legal infractions. The whole narrative covers twelve hours (and, true to form, Harry's newest partner takes a bullet) and the geography, as Bosch notes, is very restricted -- but where the whole thing ends up is, nevertheless, a long, long way from where it all began. This isn't a bad story but it's ultimately rather lightweight compared to some of Detective Bosch's earlier outings. There's not much subtlety, either in the characterizations (especially of the feds) nor in the motivations. And I'm beginning to tire of Agent Walling's personal psychological instability. Much of this may be a result of the author having originally written the story as a serial in the NEW YORK TIMES SUNDAY MAGAZINE. It certainly *feels* like a serial, or an overextended short story. And what in the world was the final fate of Capt. Hadley and his killing of a bystander whose politics he didn't approve of? After his little Vietnam warning-story, I can't see Bosch agreeing to cover for him. Perhaps Connelly is becoming too concerned with marketing his work and less concerned with writing it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A very minor Bosch novel
Comment: A blown up novella, THE OVERLOOK is a particularly minor addition to Connelly's normally excellent Harry Bosch series. Originally part of the NY Times series of weekly serials, this book worked fairly well as a short story but the expanded version brought nothing to the story. It seems to be basically a way to make another buck on what amounts to a reprint. The story itself is not a bad little mystery, but it could have been easily been part of a series of novellas or at least as part of a collection. As a stand alone, it just doesn't have enough going on to be anything more than an afterthought.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but light reading
Comment: Without ruining the end I will say that the best part of The Overlook is the ending. There are so many red herrings in this you will never guess what the end will be all about until you're almost two pages past it. Just joking of course!
The Overlook is a fun thriller, the type you enjoy reading and are wondering yourself what will happen next. It has moments of suspense mixed with great classic detective narratives. All in all this is a great and fun book and well worth your time. This book is tremendously fun and if you read for enjoyment you will love this!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A quick, but satisfying read
Comment: Originally created as a 16-part serial for the New York Times Magazine, The Overlook is a fast-paced, straight forward, easy-to-read 225-page Harry Bosch novel. The Overlook is a follow up to Echo Park and Bosch is reunited with FBI agent Rachel Walling.
Stanley Kent, a medical physicist, has been murdered execution style and 31 vials of radioactive cesium are missing. The cesium could be used to create a deadly dirty bomb. National security is at risk and the FBI is trying to squeeze the LAPD and Bosch out of the investigation.
The FBI contends that the terrorism threat trumps the murder investigation. Bosch disagrees. He believes murder is the key to the case. He senses a great deal of misdirection going on and he has to prove his point, working outside the normal channels, of course.
This is a quick, but satisfying read.
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