But it's typical great Michael Connelley
348143
I've this far only read the first 8 chapters.  But it's typical great Michael Connelley.  You don't need to be a lawyer to appreciate it, but if you have an interest in the law, lawyers, courts and the judicial system in L.A., Connelley is the "go to" guy.

I'm in the process of completing "The Burning Room", a Harry Bosch book.  Also, 5 star terrific.
1235968
Connelly's last episode of the Harry Bosch series was a bit lame. I recommended that Connelly should phase out good old Harry, who didn't seem to find new cases for himself any more, just repetitions of the same old. I suggested to follow up on the Lincoln Lawyer, the hero of the stand alone book of the same title, defense attorney Mickey Haller.
That's what Connelly has done. He does listen to advice! But being also a little stubborn, Harry shows up in the story, which is told by Mickey.

Mickey has been out of work for a year, a 'sabbatical' following drug (pain killer) addiction and rehab and family disintegration. Now he feels ready to go back, and right away he has a windfall: a colleague has been murdered and Mickey inherits his cases. Harry is the investigating cop on the case of the murdered lawyer.

Biggest case among the inheritance is a great double murder with a Hollywood producer as defendant. Mickey jumps into action, the biggest challenge being that his 'predecessor's' computer and calendar were stolen by the killer.
Though the case against his client looks strong, Mickey manages to find the 'magic bullet' and create reasonable doubt. All seems to be set for a great comeback by the Lincoln Lawyer...

The novel is great entertainment, if you like cop stories and court stories. Here you have two for the price of one.
The book has four main suspense drivers: the murder case of the lawyer whose cases M takes over; the murder case where M is the defense lawyer; his hunt for the magic bullet (ie the tool that cracks the prosecution's solid case); and our growing suspicion that somehow things are quite different in the end.
The magic bullet thing is a bit of a cheap trick by Connelly. The narrator keeps us in the dark for several chapters. That is unfair as narrative device.

The book descriptions here and on the cover of the book make much about the Haller/Bosch relation. I would say: overstated. Just a normal distrustful cooperation, nothing special.
And by the way, Johan Rilz is absolutely not a normal German name. Neither is Malcolm Pepin a normal French name.
831998
Very typical Michael Connelly novel.  So well written, spell-binding.  Been reading his books several years and will certainly continue.
987292
Harry Bosch has never failed me since first discovering him after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake in The Last Coyote.  The Overlook shows me that Michael Connelly's ability to have Bosch grow and develop as a long term mystery character is unsurpassed.  Bosch can be hard edged and hard to take with his combativeness, but he follows his gut and doesn't back down and when he needs to relax he puts on some jazz.

Connelly is well able to adapt to the times in  The Last Coyote  Harry's house is damaged and fragile from the earthquake which rocked the city and both him and his house are barely hanging on, while in The Overlook Connelly has moved to the modern concerns of  terrorism and Homeland Security. A medical physicist has been seemingly executed by terrorist and radioactive cesium has been stolen from him.

For those who relish surprises, this perhaps is not the most challenging mystery as I soon figured out which way it was going.  For those who just love Harry Bosch this is a great one to add to the continuing list.
3085229
I'm a big fan of Connelly's books. He never fails to deliver. This is not his best, but it's very good nonetheless. I would recommend it.
3646909
When I open a Michael Connelly novel I expect tight writing, a well concieved plot, great (but never boring) detail, and suspense that builds with the turn of the page.  The Gods of Guilt fulfills all of those expectations.
4172384
Michael Connelly delivers HarryBosch as a sound character
well worth following, consistantly and over and over always
a great read. Caaan't seem to get enough of him.
2898244
Michael Connelly is a good Author.  It shows in the quality of all his books.  The Reversal is a Lawyer book with the LA Cop Harry Bosch in it.  In this story, Mickey Baller is pressed into service as a special prosecuted in the re-trial of a convict given a new trial because of DNA evidence.  Mickey and Harry win the tropical but that just sets more horror in motion.

Richard Ruppel
3682938
Somehow us readers who enjoy Harry Bosch detective stories hate to see their hero getting old - or should I say older? Working with the Lincoln Lawyer only adds to the heart and mind missing Harry. In the Crossing, Harry has been in forced retirement, hate the thought, but putting that aside Harry is crossing the line when he slowly falls into Mickey's lap and starts working for a defense attorney. Right off the bat all law enforcement hate our hero. He's working for "the other side" and it's a sin not to be forgiven ... ever. Harry, on the other hand, has ideas of his own. He will work the case and see if Micky is right - the client is innocent. It doesn't look good.. Evidence says the guy stinks with guilt. Harry, being Harry, starts digging in areas other detectives skipped over. He finds holes and some aren't good. The banter is great. The action typical Michael Connelly - because if you become a Connelly fan you expect the story to peel apart like the cover of a banana. When the scraps are in a pile, the unexpected happens. Heck you can't spoil the story - you can only love it and enjoy the read a second time to see what you missed. Obviously I'm a big fan of Michael Connelly. This took takes me back to earlier works by this author - well thought out plot, great characters and a fantastic story. It's what a mystery thriller is all about. Put it on your must read list.
3348896
This was the first book by Michael Connelly that I read, outside of his Harry Bosch series. In my opinion, it is one of his best.
3660874
In Michael Connelly's THE REVERSAL, the great LAPD Det. Harry Bosch is teamed with his half brother Mickey Haller as they seek justice for a young girl murdered 24 years ago.

Jason Jessup has been in jail for 24 years for the murder of Melissa Landy when his conviction is overturned due to new DNA evidence. The DA is convinced he's guilty and wants to retry Jessup. He needs an independent prosecutor and asks Mickey Haller to take up the case. Haller agrees, only if he can do it his way. He brings on Maggie McPherson, his ex-wife, as a second prosecutor, and requests that Harry Bosch be his police investigator.

Melissa's sister Jessica originally identified Jessup as the killer, but Jessup has a lot going for him. The new DNA evidence and Jessica's troubled past create problems for the prosecution. As usual, there are several twists and turns. Haller excels in the courtroom and Bosch is at his best when trying to get to the bottom of a case.

Bosch now has custody of his daughter after his her mom was killed in 9 DRAGONS. Haller also is juggling a daughter between himself and Maggie, her mother. While the characterizations in the novel are entertaining, the novel works because of the case.

Connelly's best novels are usually the ones with the cases that seem simple at the start but soon reveal several layers. This one is no different. If Jessup didn't kill Landy, who did? And what is Jessup doing now that he is a free man?

THE REVERSAL had me turning the pages. Connelly's novels are never overwhelming, but subtle in their effectiveness. In THE REVERSAL, Connelly delivers a solid courtroom drama along with compelling investigation by Bosch.
310597
We know, of course, Michael Connelly's novels are the very best of the crime-detective-lawyer works of this generation but now he adds even more luster to his name by becoming an amazingly good short story writer. It's a difficult form and he is a true master of it. If this wonderful author had his laundry list published, I'd pay full price for it. He's terrific.
George Atkins
3271988
If you enjoy Connelly and Bosch, you'll like this one too.
907634
You read Connelly for the characters, including his two favorites: Harry Bosch and the city of Los Angeles, and for the prose, which is clean and utterly realistic. He is a master of the genre. Solid plot and a well-balanced blend of nostalgia and grit, narrative and suspense. Read it; he doesn't disappoint.
4190124
Once again we're drawn into the warped world of Harry Bosch...and it's good to be home. I was disappointed in Mr. Connelly's last two outings with his Lincoln Lawyer in the lead. Not his best work. My concern was that he had a contract to fulfill and suddenly decided to just churn out books. I was wary about pre-ordering this book, for fear I'd discover I was right. But thankfully, Connelly is back to his usual standards of excellence with THE DROP, and Harry's carrying us right along with him, ready or not.
2306821
This is one of the best Michael Connelly books. His characters are always well developed and his plots are not your typical police procedural. It seems to me that when he wrote this book is when he really started to develop as an author. I saw the movie and read this one first along with the other Mickey Haller books. I then went back and started reading the Harry Bosch books in order. The first 3-4 were okay but not of the same quality of the later books. As I get farther along in the series I can see that Connelly matured as a writer and the books were of increasingly better quality. This book may be the best of all of his books. The characters are unique but not unbelievable. The plot has twists that are surprising and plausible, The pace is steady and engaging. I was never bored. Generally, If a book is just okay, I will read it in 4-7 days. If a book is great, I find myself carrying my kindle around and reading the book every chance I get. I read this book in 2 days. I is an excellent book. John Sandford is my favorite Author but the Michael Connelly, Mickey Haller books are a close second. The Bosch books are well worth reading as well. If you like Sandford, Jeffery Deaver, and to some degree James Patterson (whose books are inferior IMHO), You will love this book.
4336779
Michael Connelly is easily one of the best and most consistent crime fiction authors working today.  I've read almost all of Connelly's novels, but for whatever reason there are still a couple of middle Bosch novels that I have yet to read.  City of Bones was (until recently) one of those novels.

I'm please to report that it's another solid effort from Connelly.  It isn't a high water mark for the author (like Angels Flight, Concrete Blonde, Lincoln Lawyer, or The Poet) but it's still one of his better novels.  It has many of the characteristics that I appreciate in a Bosch novel.  Connelly has good insight into the politics of the LAPD and his novels always feel procedurally accurate and the language of the cops always rings true.

A lot of reviewers seem disappointed with the resolution of this case but I actually liked it.  As someone who reads a fair amount of crime fiction, I was expecting a bigger twist at the end and the person who I thought would turn out to be the killer would have made for a typical, but implausible ending, so in a strange way I was pleased that I was wrong, and that the identity of the killer actually resulted in a much more realistic explanation.  Some reviewers seem to regard this solution as a little anti-climactic but I liked that I was genuinely surprised by the outcome, and its unusual mundaneness.

Given the short time frame of the novel I did think that Harry seemed relatively unaffected by the sudden death of a character he was close to and he seemed to recover from his fractured ribs awfully quickly, but these are minor complaints.

I finished this novel very quickly, found it highly entertaining to read, and think that it measures up to some of the better novels in the series.