Reader Reviews for A Darkness More Than Night (Harry Bosch):
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Another great book!
Comment:
Fun, enjoyable and interesting book. I don't write long rambling reviews....read and enjoy!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: One of Connelly's weaker efforts
Comment: I'm a big fan of Michael Connelly and I've read almost all of his novels (only one more left to read) but, like many reviewers, I have to say that A Darkness More Than Night is one of the author's weaker efforts.
The novel does have a lot of the good qualities that are evident in all of Connelly's Bosch novels, notably the dark nourish tone, the moral ambiguity, the insight into LAPD politics, and the accuracy (not that I'm an expert) of the police and courtroom procedures. Connelly's novels may not always have plausible resolutions (my chief complaint with this novel) but the details always seem technically accurate and I appreciate that.
But, there are a few issues that make this one of Connelly's less than stellar efforts:
1. Sometimes the plot device of having characters from previous unrelated novels cross paths in a novel works but more often than not, it feels like a gimmick. The introduction of McCaleb into a Bosch novel is plausible enough but the use of McEvoy was superfluous and felt gimmicky to me. McEvoy's role is small and could realistically have been filled by any generic reporter character. There was no need to include him in the novel and because his role is so secondary and generic the use of McEvoy was more of a distraction than a real asset to the novel. Generally speaking, combining characters from other novels (kind of like The Super Friends) can be an intriguing novelty but it doesn't usually make a novel any better.
2. There is no mystery in this novel. It's obvious who the killer is early on. I don't mind novels where the identity of the killer is known but these novels have a different dynamic. A Darkness More Than Night, on the other hand, doesn't deviate from the `police procedural format', and as a result, it's a mystery without any mystery. In the end you feel like you're waiting for the characters to catch up while you wait for the inevitable conclusion.
3. The novel may be realistic when it comes to the details of police and courtroom procedure but when it comes to the crime itself and the motivations and behavior of the person(s) responsible for it - its just too preposterous to be believed. The plot to frame Harry is outlandish and unnecessarily complicated and the final twist at the end was like a jigsaw puzzle piece that just doesn't fit.
Connelly is one of the best authors of crime fiction but this is a marginal effort and unless you are a completionist determined to read all the novels in the series, I suggest passing on this one and picking up one of the author's better novels. There is no shortage of excellent options but you can't go wrong with any of these: Concrete Blonde, The Last Coyote, Angels Flight, Echo Park, The Lincoln Lawyer, Blood Work or The Poet.
Customer Rating:
Summary: If you like Michael Connelly you will like this book
Comment: I had read this book several years ago but was unsure of the details so I reread A Darkness More than Night and it was just as thrilling the second time so if you want a fabulous summer book or a book to read on a rainy fall afternoons this is the thriller for you!
Customer Rating:
Summary: HARRY BOSCH SEVENTH BOOK
Comment: Sorry to be nit-picky with a good character like Terry McCaleb,profiler, but a little more Bosch and a little more twists or something. Too easy to guess ahead on this one. Definitely my least favorite in the Bosch series. oh, and yes, I will go on to the next book in the series.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Connelly and Bosch are Tired
Comment: I almost put this one down, and have read with great pleasure all of the Harry Bosch books (ok, except the Brass Verdict, which I read but without much pleasure either--guess what both these lemons have in common?). The plot cuts between endless and rather boring courtroom scenes and the plodding of the can't-stay-retired Bloodwork guy. The whole subplot of whether Harry is guilty of murder fails to entice, as you know he's not (even though I guess he kind of is, in the end). And the semi-twisting ending, which reveals an existential showdown between Bosch and McCaleb over all this, is a let down simply because everything else leading up to it lacked sufficient gravitas. Every artist has their low points, and this is Connelly's. He'd rebound and give us the Lincoln Lawyer a few years later, so I guess he (and Bosch) just needed to slow down and catch his breath. Unless you're a die-hard Connelly fan, skip this one.
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