I’ve written reviews for probably hundreds of books. But never before has one hurt so much to write.
I’ve always said there are two types of authors: 1) Michael Connelly and 2) everyone else.
What I mean by that is he stands apart from the rest of the pack. Some of my favorites are CJ Box, James Grippando, Brad Thor, Tess Gerritsen and Barry Eisler. But Connelly gets his own category.
It’s like when someone asks me what bands do I like. I mention several but never include The Beatles. Why? Well, they’re the Beatles. They stand apart from everyone else.
Every generation has that one author who is head and shoulders above the rest. And this generation has Connelly. He is a literary genius. A master of words, a wordsmith. His writing is terrific, his phraseology is perfect. His characters are real, dialogue rings true, his stories exciting and engaging and you’re always hit with both exciting realism and unforeseen plot twists.
The Wrong Side of Good-Bye sucked.
I always read his novels slow so I can enjoy them savor them like a good juicy steak. When I begin a Connelly novel—be it Harry Bosch, Mickey Haller or a standalone like Chasing the Dime--I sit back, get all comfy in my favorite recliner and for a few nights disappear into the world of Michael Connelly and forget about my problems.
This book was an effort to get through. This book was a struggle to finish. The last 60 pages I actually skimmed. It became like I was doing homework and not reading for enjoyment.
And that is what hurts me to write this. I am a huge fan of Michael Connelly. I’ve rated every one of his novel 5 stars. I’d rate them 10 if I could.
But this was a major disappointment.
In this novel Harry is working two separate cases. He is working on finding a serial rapist while being hired by a billionaire at the end of his life searching for heirs.
The serial rape part was interesting. Harry’s a detective and that’s what detectives do. Or at least detectives in works of fiction. The parallel storyline, however, was boring and uneventful. We spend half the book following Harry around as he files motions and searches through records and birth/death certificates. I was fascinated to see how Mr. Connelly would somehow tie these 2 separate storylines together.
He didn’t.
I cant help but feel he has two potential stories in his head but not enough for a full novel and therefore took two semi-storylines and combined that into one book.
I’ve always found Mr. Connelly’s writing crisp and fast-moving. However, this novel seemed to go off the tracks and drag over and over again. Yes, Harry lives and works in LA. And like Randy Newman says, “I Love LA.” But this novel went over and above with directions. Harry took the 5 freeway to his exit, made a right, drove three blocks to the such and such, made a left…You get the idea.
And one scene, which should have been exciting dragged.
***spoiler***
There was one scene where Harry and Sisto are searching the house for Bella. Is she alive? Is she dead? Is she even there? This should be compelling and spellbinding. Yet, it dragged on and on and on. We are given a play by play of Harry going into every single room, looking in every single corner, behind every box in an attic. They go out back, they look in a wash, they go down into the wash, then they come back out of the wash. Then they see boxes which harry assumes covers a trapdoor. And for three paragraphs we are given a play by play of how Harry uses a handcart to move boxes and lift a manhole.
***end spoiler***
Two more things that make no sense and cause me to wonder is Connelly wrote this or had a ghostwriter.
***Spoiler****
Ida, Vance's confidante and assistant for 35 years is upset because she was left out of the will. However, Vance has no second thoughts to handing Harry $10,000 for a 20 minute meeting, $10,000 to a complete stranger???
Also, Vance is a billionaire a la Howard Hughes. He has close ties with the US govt and therefore, since his company built choppers used in Viet Nam, he probably has known several presidents and numerous political powerbrokers over his life. That being the case, then when he wants to find any missing heirs, why in the world would he hire a homicide detective??? He would likely hire someone who had worked for the FBI. The FBI finds people. Homicide detectives don't.
****end spoiler****
There are always surprises in his novels. But not this one. It was SO OBVIOUS who the killer was that I figured, “Nah, it can’t be that person. That’s too obvious.” Well, it WAS that obvious.
I read the book in 3 nights: about 120 pages the first night, 110 the next and 150 the final night. It started out good and interesting. The middle of the book slowed and the last third dragged. I’ve never had such a hard time finishing a book by Michael Connelly as I did this one.
I’m pretty sure that this is the first novel he’s written since getting involved with the BOSCH TV show. Supposedly, it’s a good show. But please, Mr. Connelly, perhaps you should back away from the show and focus more on the writing. This novel didn’t flow and was very disjointed. I cant help but feel he wrote it in between takes of filming.
Not every Tom Hanks film is Forrest Gump. Not every Hitchcock film was Psycho. Not every Spielberg movie is Schindler’s List. Not every Beatles’ song is Hey, Jude. Even Hanks and Hitchcock and Spielberg and the Beatles have things that don’t measure up to their standards. I truly hope that this is the case for The Wrong side of Goodbye rather than a trend.