The Overlook by Michael Connelly

The Overlook, by Michael ConnellyThe latest Harry Bosch novel was released in print and audiobook formats earlier this week. The Overlook was originally published as a serial in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, but the novel has been expanded and revised. It’s still a lot shorter than most of Connelly’s works; the audiobook version clocks in at just over six hours, instead of the usual 10+.

Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch are who introduced me to the amazing pleasure that is listening to audiobooks. Rochelle and I began listening to Lost Light, the ninth Harry Bosch novel, on a drive back from LA. When we got home we parked the car, threw our stuff in the house, and climbed into bed to continue listening. It remains my favorite audiobook so far.

One of the truly terrific things about the Harry Bosch books is that the entire series is available in unabridged form. The Overlook is the thirteenth book so far, and all told there is more than 125 hours of listening pleasure. If you want to start at the beginning, here’s the full series to date:

  1. ::amazon(“1593352549”, “The Black Echo”):: [Formats: ::amazon(“1593352549”, “MP3 CD”)::, ::amazon(“1593356307”, “Audio CD”)::]
  2. ::amazon(“159335259X”, “The Black Ice”):: [Formats: ::amazon(“159335259X”, “MP3 CD”)::, ::amazon(“1593356390”, “Audio CD”)::]
  3. ::amazon(“1596009225”, “The Concrete Blonde”):: [Formats: ::amazon(“1596009225”, “MP3 CD”)::, ::amazon(“1596009209”, “Audio CD”)::]
  4. ::amazon(“1596009292”, “The Last Coyote”):: [Formats: ::amazon(“1596009292”, “MP3 CD”)::, ::amazon(“1596009276”, “Audio CD”)::]
  5. ::amazon(“159335312X”, “Trunk Music”):: [Formats: ::amazon(“159335312X”, “MP3 CD”)::]
  6. ::amazon(“1597376876”, “Angels Flight”):: [Formats: ::amazon(“1597376876”, “MP3 CD”)::, ::amazon(“159737685X”, “Audio CD”)::]
  7. A Darkness More Than Night
  8. City of Bones
  9. Lost Light
  10. The Narrows
  11. The Closers
  12. Echo Park
  13. The Overlook

I Dream of Harry Bosch

I’ve written how Rochelle and I listen to audio books on our iPods. It’s by far the best way we’ve found to fill commute and other dead time, and I frankly barely use my iPod for music; probably 95% of the time, it’s on for audio books. And one character rises above them all: Harry Bosch.

I’ve written how Rochelle and I listen to audio books on our iPods. It’s by far the best way we’ve found to fill commute and other dead time, and I frankly barely use my iPod for music; probably 95% of the time, it’s on for audio books.

The novel that got me well and truly hooked was Lost Light by Michael Connelly. It was one of the highest rated unabridged books on ::audibletl(“000”, “Audible.com”):: in 2004, and Rochelle picked it out on a whim. Mystery genre, highly rated by other listeners, a good narrator on the sample provided. Nothing more complicated than that.

We listened to it on a drive back from LA, and were gripped. When we got home, we dragged our crap into the house, and got immediately into bed with the book playing over the stereo to finish it. It was superb, and remains my favorite audio book.

The best news was that it was the ninth book in an 11-book (and continuing) series about LA homicide detective Harry Bosch. We’ve since acquired all of the other Harry Bosch novels which are available in unabridged format on Audible.com (about half of the total books written)…and all the rest on MP3 CD (I’ll write more about those soon).

Every time I listen to a Harry Bosch novel, especially the ones narrated by Len Cariou, I have Harry Bosch dreams, and can hear the narrator’s voice in my head for weeks. Highly, highly recommended.