Echo Park

Written by Michael Connelly

Narrated by Len Cariou

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch in a modern thriller from No. 1 bestseller Michael Connelly - author of THE LINCOLN LAWYER and ANGELS FLIGHT.

In 1993 Homicide Detective Harry Bosch was assigned the case of a missing person, Marie Gesto. The young woman was never found - dead or alive - and the case has haunted Bosch ever since.

Thirteen years later, Bosch is back in the Open Unsolved Crimes Unit when he gets a call from the DA's office. A man accused of two killings is willing to confess to several other murders in a deal to avoid the death penalty. One of his victims, he says, is Marie Gesto.

When investigating these previously unsolved crimes, Bosch begins to crack when he realises that he and his partner missed a clue that could have prevented the serial killer striking again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette UK Audio
• Release date: Feb 12, 2015
• ISBN: 9781409160762

Michael Connelly

Michael Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. His books have been translated into 36 languages and have won many awards. He lives with his family in Florida.

Reviews for Echo Park

[davewilde-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Harry Bosch is Connelly's most popular character and he has put out over a dozen Bosch novels over the years. He is here an LAPD detective who came back from retirement to work cold cases, including a few he couldn't put down over the years. Marie Gesto disappeared after stopping at the Mayfair Market on Franklin on her way up Beachwood to the Sunset Stables. Her car and her neatly folded clothes were found in an apartment garage overlooking the Hollwyood Bowl, but her body was never found. Bosch always believed that it was a rich man's son who did it, but Bosch couldn't prove it even though he had hassled the son so much that there were countless restraining orders keeping Bosch away from the son.

A man is found during an Echo Park traffic stop with bags of body parts with him. Soon, it turns out that the man is ready to confess to nine other murders including Marie Gesto's in order to avoid the needle. Although he leads Bosch and others to Gesto's body, Bosch isn't buying it and a world of trouble both political and law enforcement wise opens up. It was a great read. In fact, it was quick easy reading and absolutely compelling. Highly recommended.

[myckyee_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a nice addition to the series. The plot is a bit complicated but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Thank goodness it's more updated with technology - I don't think I could read another where Harry puts his cellphone in a briefcase after he uses it.

[pidgeon92_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Definitely one of the better books in the series.

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book by Michael Connelly that I have read, having read 'The Black Echo' a couple of years ago. This may have some bearing on this review.The basic plot is that Harry Bosch is haunted by the disappearance of a young woman 13 years before when there is an unexpected development in the case. When things go wrong there are suspicions of political mascinations in the case.The general plot outline is intriguing, the book is well writen and the storyline always kept me interested but ultimately never really grabbed me completely (although that could be down to my lack of familiarity with the main character rather than any deficiency with the book). The ending was just a little too too tidy for my liking and on the whole it felt more like a 'made for movies' book with an eye on a film makeover. An interesting read but little more than that. Would I read another book in the series? Probably Yes. Would I go out and actually buy and part with money for another book in the series? Unlikely

[cameling_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A dead man found in a tunnel is initially dismissed by the first responders as just another junkie who overdosed, with the exception of Harry Bosch, who noticed discrepancies in the crime scene that would indicate what the others have assumed. On closer examination of the corpse, Harry realizes that he knows the dead man, that he had served with him during the Vietnam War and that he was a member of a group known as the tunnel rats.Harry's tenaciousness is not appreciated from his own homicide department, to the FBI and especially not to individuals in Internal Affairs. With distrust from almost every corner and obstacles placed deliberately in his way, it takes Harry's craftiness, some luck and a whole lot of scheming and good detective work for him to tie the dead man to a bank heist, a Vietnamese police captain and eventually to the reason behind the chain of events that had taken place, which involved several murders.There are enough twists in the plot to keep the reader guessing until the very end.

[robinmichel · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Started extremely well, but I found the ending rather disappointing

[infjsarah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well MC did it to me again. Another enjoyable Bosch book. And we know all along who the killer is but do we?At about 90% in, we have a theory and I'm thinking that it's completely implausible but it's a thriller so go with it. I should have known better cos at that point, there is a complete right turn and suddenly what we and Bosch thought is wrong. Fooled again!

[ennie_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Decent police procedural, but I'm going to leave it on the laundry room shelf for my neighbors to enjoy (which may be where I got it). LA policeman Harry Bosch revisits an old case, when the bad guy confesses years later. There is a lot of police work connecting the dots, talking to people, going to crime scenes, etc. Solid but not especially thrilling.

[ebyrne41_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Though I missed Michael Connelly's visit to Dublin in late November, I thought it a good time to revisit his Harry Bosch series, it being some time, years even, since I had last read him. My choice was 'Echo Park', for no particular reason other than it being readily to hand. Echo Park was first published in 2006 and is the 12th in the series featuring Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch. In it a convicted killer is ready to admit to a killing thirteen years previously as part of a plea bargain to avoid the death penalty, a case Harry was involved in but which remained unsolved. Harry over the years had revisited the case time after time to see if any further progress could be made, but never to any avail, despite his resolute belief in the guilt of one particular suspect. And now this new development suggests that his long time chief suspect was innocent all along.Not the most riveting of reads this police procedural, it lacks atmosphere and is a bit formulaic. That said the plot is well enough constructed, but character development is not very strong, Bosch included, mores the pity. Depth of character I like, but it ain't here. An ok read at best, but nothing memorable. I had given this 4 stars first time around but find myself downgrading that to 3 on a second reading, maybe the result of having read a lot of very good crime novels in the interim.

[briandrewz · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyable mystery. Really liked the character of Harry Bosch. The climax was gruesome and completely satisfying. The book had everything you need: a good plot, characters you can love and hate, and a satisfying ending. Recommended!

[darrol_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

What keeps me coming back to this series is the personality of Harry Bosch and his ongoing tilting against his employers.

[mashley_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good serial killer detective fiction with Harry Bosch. Good villian.

[justagirl_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Brilliant. I was so wrapped up in the end I forgot to pay the bill at a restaurant! Luckily I was called back before I left the building. A continuing return to form for one of the best crime writers around.

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable twists and turns.

[seasidereader · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's likely that a reader coming to Connelly for the first time would have a different take on Echo Park than a longer-time fan. This feels like one of his best-crafted tales to me. It's a procedural at heart, with themes of distrust of the system, corruption, and justice for victims intact, and some new twists thrown in.

[ppescosolido_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Connelly remains one of the best suspense/detective fiction writers working today.

[mrtall_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Echo Park is another solid entry in Michael Connelley's long-running Harry Bosch police procedural series. The plot – old murder is suddenly confessed to by freshly-captured serial killer – runs along a nice clear arc, making for a smooth read. Unfortunately, that arc is inscribed a bit too deeply, so it's no sweat guessing exactly what's going down. This is not much of a whodunit, but it makes for a highly enjoyable police procedural nonetheless.

[edwardsgt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another terrific outing for Harry Bosch in the Open Unsolved Unit, showing his usual pig-headed approach to solving crime by the book! A welcome reappearance of FBI Agent Rachel Walling too as well as other old friends like partner Kiz Rider and former partner Jerry Edgar.

[cassieguthrie_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fun, fast-paced read that's hard to put down. Harry Bosch character is very likeable, and this plot was GOOD! After 15 years, a recently apprehended serial killer confesses to a crime that has haunted Bosch. A young woman on her way to a stable vanishes without a trace, her clothes found neatly folded on the front seat of her car. Many twists and turns later, we get to the heart of this confession.

[rudyjohnson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Harry's back and Persistent as ever. I was a bit disappointed in the last few Bosch novels but after reading "Echo Park" Michael Connelly and Harry Bosch are back with this excellent and well told tale. Harry Bosch has returned from retirement and is now working in the Open Unsolved Unit. The book opens with Harry working on a case that involves the murder of a young beautiful girl. Harry still remains a believable character. He has his flaws but overall he is a pretty decent fellow. In other words he's the same old Harry that I have always enjoyed reading about. Echo Park continues Harry's journey into the dark side of men and once again he gets knocked around, but his persistence keeps him faithfully at doing his job. In summary, I give Echo Park a enthusiastic endorsement.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another solid addition to the Harry Bosch series. I listened to this book which was read by Len Cariou, my favourite narrator for Harry Bosch's voice. In this book Harry and his partner Kiz Ryder are working in the Open Unsolved section of the LAPD. Harry keeps pulling out the file of a case he worked on thirteen years before in which a young woman had been abducted and never found. Harry had a suspect, the son of a rich oilman, but was never able to prove anything. Every so often though he would pull this man in for questioning. He has the file on his desk again when he gets a call from another detective who went to archives looking for it. A man was stopped driving through Echo Park by police who had been in the area and thought he looked suspicious. When they looked in his van they saw several garbage bags with blood leaking out of them. Raynard Waits had dismembered two young women so he was looking at the death penalty. His lawyer had suggested to the DA that Waits would give details about a number of other unsolved murders in return for the death penalty being dropped. One of the cases was Bosch's unsolved disappearance. Waits said he could lead police to the location of where she was buried. So Harry and Kiz Ryder joined the field trip to find the site. They took a path through a wooded area and at one point there was a steep drop that could only be negotiated by going down a ladder. Waits could not do it while his hands were cuffed so the cuffs were removed but only while he went down the ladder. He then led the group to the grave. When he was being returned to the van he had been brought in his cuffs again had to be removed so he could go up the ladder. At the top of the ladder Waits grabbed the other detective's gun, shot him and Kiz Ryder and another policeman and took off to the parking lot where he stole the van the forensic team had used. Bosch did not pursue because he was trying to save Kiz Ryder's life. Although he was put on home duty he continued to look for Waits, bringing in FBI profiler (and former lover) Rachel Walling to help. It looks like Bosch and Walling might make things work between them as well as find Waits but, in the end, Harry is alone again. He does manage to take down Waits and flush out a department snitch who helped Waits and his lawyer. And he also proves that his initial hunch was right.Great plotting by Connelly.

[eyejaybee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This latest instalment in the career of Detective Harry Bosch finds him still working in LAPD’s ‘cold case’ unit. Almost predictably, he soon finds himself revisiting a case that he had formerly worked on himself – the hitherto unsolved disappearance (always treated as a suspected murder) thirteen years ago of Marie Gesto. Bosch had always remembered that case and had frequently reviewed the files in the intervening period, but had failed to make any progress. The case has resurfaced because Raynard Waits, who had been arrested while driving a van containing body parts from two other unrelated murders, has confessed to the killing of Marie Gesto, in a bid to bargain his way out of a certain death penalty by admitting to several other unsolved murders. An ambitious senior prosecutor, who is standing for election for the post of District Attorney, wants to score a high profile success with the case. As part of the preparation for the trial, he arranges for Waits to take police officers to the grave of Marie Gesto, so that her body might finally be recovered.While on the field trip to review the burial site, Waits manages a daring escape, killing a couple of the officers set to guard him, and goes on the run. While the senior police chiefs and the Prosecutor’s Office become increasingly embroiled in politicking to ensure that the other side takes the blame, Bosch, temporarily reunited with FBI Special Agent Rachel Walling, digs deeper into Waits’s background and tries to hunt him down.Bosch is as obdurate, yet also as empathetic and plausible, as ever. He is far from perfect, yet he is able to recognise and confront his flaws. Connelly has a simple and direct style that snares and then holds the reader’s attention immediately. Perhaps not the strongest book in the series, but still very good.

[lauren2013_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Echo Park
4 Stars

When a suspected serial killer confesses to a cold case that has plagued detective Harry Bosch for 13 years, he gets drawn into the political machinations of the police and the DA's office. What starts out as a routine interrogation turns into a complex conspiracy that may have devastating consequences for Harry and his partner.

As with many of the Bosch books, the 2nd half is better than the 1st. The initial setup and progression is rather predictable as the killer is introduced and the reader waits for the other shoe to drop. Thankfully, when it does, the clever twists and turns of the case transform an otherwise mundane story into an engrossing thriller.

Harry is one of those intense and brooding heroes always on the brink of self-destruction. His recklessness is particularly apparent in this installment as guilt and anger lead him to question is judgment and his mission.

As I've stated in past reviews, romance is not Connelly's forte. Nevertheless, the pairing of Harry with FBI agent Rachel Walling has been a stroke of genius. Their interactions are engaging and she is a good match for him both personally and professionally. Considering the way things turn out here, it would be a pity if Connelly allowed this relationship to slip through Harry's fingers.
Only time (and the next book) will tell.

[runner56_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I could say that Echo Park was my favourite Harry Bosch novel but I would be lying, they are all equally brilliant. Harry is back out of retirement working for the Open Unsolved Crimes Unit with the LAPD, cases that have gone cold and need a revaluation with fresh eyes. He is partnered with Kiz Ryder and one day they receive a call from the District Attorney's dept in respect of the case of Marie Gesto, an unsolved murder that has bitter memories for Bosch. When a van driven by Raynard Waits is routinely stopped, and during the search body parts are discovered wrapped in black plastic, the resulting fallout brings into question the handling of the Gesto murder inquiry some 15 years ago. It would appear that Waits is prepared to admit his culpability in the Gesto homicide. As Bosch delves deeper into the records it becomes clear that a valuable piece of evidence had clearly been overlooked in the original investigation. The case is further complicated by the political ambitions of a future DA candidate Richard O'Shea and when a dangerous life threatening situation develops on a field trip Bosch is annoyed and confused over the lies and deceit directed towards him. At the same time Harry is presently surprised when he rekindles relationship with FBI agent Rachel Walling but it remains to be seen if the two have a future together. Echo Park is an all consuming, edge of the seat thriller. Michael Connelly gives some great insights into the mindset of Bosch. He is an officer not accustomed or prepared to follow instructions or directions from his immediate superiors...."Bosch considered himself a true detective, one who took it all inside and cared. Everybody counts or nobody counts. That's what he always said.".....He always gets results but he is a maverick and as such his stubbornness and gung ho attitude creates dangerous and politically damaging situations for the LAPD Rachel Walling must look within herself and question whether she is prepared to accept and indeed love a police officer who appears to go through each day without fully understanding how his dangerous conduct affects those around him..."Are you saying all is forgiven? There's nothing to forgive. The past is past and life's too short. You know, all of these clichés. She smiled and they sealed it with a kiss."....... I am always astounded at the high quality of Connelly's writing his descriptions of the city of angels..."it was said that LA was a sunny place for shady people" and his deep understanding of a flawed but brilliant police officer so shaped by his difficult childhood and his experiences in the hell of Vietnam...."He had come many years and many miles but it seemed to him that he had never really left the tunnels behind, that his life had always been a slow movement through darkness and tight spaces on the way to a flickering light. He knew he was then, now, and forever a tunnel rat.".......Story telling of the highest order and highly highly recommend

[emigre_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Harry Bosch investigates an old case that haunted him for years when details of the case coincide with a new series of gruesome killings. Haunting book, even the bad guy is a little sympathetic.

[klaidlaw_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was my first Harry Bosch novel. It takes place in LA and has all the parts you would expect in a police mystery--good cop, bad cop, evil villain. I enjoyed the book, but I don't know that I will bother to get another from the series. It has enough twists to keep one turning the pages, but i found it a bit formulaic and predictable.

[conniejackson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Michael Connelly created another super Mystery. After I finished reading Echo Park I thought "what a great story" and I really enjoyed it. The plot was super and the author kept the action moving while keeping me wondering what was going to happen next. Overall, I though Echo Park was thrilling mystery and Michael Connelly as always never disappointed me in this story.If you are a mystery fan then don't miss this one. It's a fast pace of a read that will keep you turning page after page.

[rwt42 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first book read from this aurthor. Very good. Makes me wonder why I'm reading the Scandinavian crime writers. The comparison to them is interesting. They can't maintain interest with the dull, plodding, unfocused style they seem to all prefer. Definitely will red more of Connelly.

[nancy7mosholder · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Murder mystery, not very engrossing.

[reneemrobbins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love Harry Bosch books and this one was great as well! The book was suspensful and interesting from start to finish.