The Overlook Reviews
“The scramble to investigate threats to national security, justified or otherwise, is a timely subject and one on which Connelly puts a brilliant new spin.”
— Publishers Weekly, * Starred Review
“Treat The Overlook like a tasty hors d’oeuvre: down it in one quick gulp, and look forward to the next Bosch entree.”
— Bill Ott, Booklist, American Library Association
“Connelly, once again, has hit a home run. He does it quietly and without any pyrotechnics. He makes it look deceptively easy.”
— Robin Vidimos, The Denver Post
“The Overlook is about crime and the “marks,” the “transfers” that it leaves on a community.}
— Oline H. Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
“The Overlook” will keep you on the edge of the precipice to the last page.
— Steve Bennett, San Antonio Express-News
“The good news: In plenty of time for summer reading, Michael Connelly has given us another crime thriller starring Los Angeles homicide detective Harry Bosch. The even better news: Although “The Overlook” takes a more terse tack than other Bosch books, it meets Connelly’s standards in all ways.” — Harry Levins, St. Louis Post Dispatch
“Speaking of cool, Connelly’s Harry Bosch is back in The Overlook, a novel that began as a serial for The New York Times Magazine. (The story, says the publisher, has been “expanded and revised substantially.”) Why was a doctor found murdered, execution-style, on Mulholland Drive? Was it because he had access to radioactive substances? Los Angeles cop Bosch is his typical selfish, driven and coolly effective self as he follows divergent trails. Perhaps because of its original format, “The Overlook” isn’t as cohesive and tight as most Bosch outings; still, fans won’t want to miss it.”
— Michele Ross, Cleveland Plain Dealer
“A second mystery novelist whose stories are set in Los Angeles is veteran Michael Connelly, back with another Harry Bosch tale, “The Overlook.” The LAPD detective is off the Open-Unsolved Unit and back on Homicide, catching a live case for a change. Murder, conflict with his bosses and the FBI, cover-ups and a touch of romance blend to make this another winner in the franchise.”
— Allen Pierleoni, Sacramento Bee
“Like police detective Harry Bosch, the star of 13 of his best-selling novels, writer Michael Connelly is a hard-boiled pro. His novels are remarkable for their authentic detailing of police procedures. His new book, The Overlook, originally was created as a 16-part serial for the New York Times Magazine. Connelly has expanded and revised it into its present form as a novel about a body found on an overlook near Mulholland Drive in L.A. Bosch butts heads with the FBI — including onetime lover Rachel Walling — and LAPD brass trying to figure out who killed a scientist. Solving the murder is all in a night’s work for Bosch.”
— Carol Memmott, USA TODAY
“The last entry in Connelly’s unstoppable Harry Bosch series, 2006’s Echo Park, was perfectly okay. When you’re a trusted brand name and your hero is a straightforward, jazz-loving tough, that can too easily be enough. What a treat, then, to open Bosch’s 13th installment, which was serialized in The New York Times Magazine, and smell fresh blood. Bosch is hunting not just a murderer but also some missing radioactive substances that could paralyze his beloved L.A. Admittedly, it’s an easy, early guess as to who the bad guy is, but Bosch gets into some amusingly tense tussles with the feds as his case climbs up the ranks of national importance.”
—Karen Valby, Entertainment Weekly B+
“Harry Bosch has been promoted from the LAPD Open Unsolved Unit to the Homicide Special Unit, but this supposedly greener pasture hasn’t brought better sleep. His very first case at his new job involves the murder of a doctor with access to radioactive cesium. The investigation moves to red-alert status when it’s discovered that a large quantity of the deadly material disappeared shortly before the killing. With the threat of an imminent terrorist attack hovering in his head, Bosch must not only track down the killers but also sidestep homeland security turf wars in the process. Thrilling with the deep tinge of reality.”
— BarnesandNoble.com Editors Review
“It takes place in a twelve-hour period and reads like a half episode of TV’s “24.” Its pace will suck you in and keep you hooked through to the end. Armchair Interviews Says: This is a quick shot in the arm for those that need a Harry Bosch fix.”
— ArmchairInterviews.com
“The fear of terrorism brings in the FBI and ratchets up the suspense to an almost unbearable point, especially with the twists it takes”
— Stacy Alesi, BookBitch.com
“No one needs to sing Michael Connelly’s praises. The guy is as solid as his lead detective. Connelly plots the story perfectly and brings it home with all the self-confidence and easy storytelling of a master.”
— Sue Burke, FreshFiction.com
“This complex, tortured soul with a long back-story of failed relationships and rocky work history rivals Loren D. Estleman’s Amos Walker and James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux as one of the most compelling and fully realized heroes of modern crime fiction.”
— Bruce DeSilva, Associated Press
“The Overlook has fewer of the contemplative departures in which Bosch considers his history or relationships — the sort of passages that make previous books like long, multidimensional jazz improvisations. This one is an intense riff, and that’s satisfying, too.”
— Nancy Gilson, Columbus Dispatch
“A former crime reporter, Connelly clearly knows his way around the inside of a police department. His stories smack of authenticity. And, as always, his writing and pacing are top-notch. “The Overlook” was originally written as a 16-part serial published weekly in the New York Times Magazine. But Connelly has reworked it so that you can’t tell. It’s a great — and timely! — read.”
— Curt Schleier, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Connelly’s books are always compellingly suspenseful, but this one runs in overdrive, with little time for Bosch’s usual reflections on the past. …the energy and skill Connelly continues to bring to this series will leave readers eager for Bosch’s next case.”
— Colette Bancroft, St. Petersburg Times
“The Overlook” thus makes for a current-events opportunity for any reader searching for a new favorite fictional character to follow. If you like this one – and it would be surprising if you didn’t – it wouldn’t hurt to start at the beginning, with a younger and more nimble yet no less ornery Bosch, in “The Black Echo.”
— George Meyer, Tampa Tribune
“Our Tip of the Ice Pick Award goes yet again to veteran crime novelist Michael Connelly for his 13th Harry Bosch novel, The Overlook. …Let me just say that this is perhaps the sparest, most riveting and most plot-driven Bosch novel to date. Adapted from a 16-part serial in the New York Times magazine, The Overlook has been considerably reworked for book publication—now richer and more complex, it is well worth reading even if you read it in the original form.”
— Bruce Tierney, BookPage
he Overlook made the following “Best Of 2007” Lists
Amazon.com’s Best of 2007 Lists
# 2 Customers’ Favorite Mystery/Thrillers
# 32 on Customers’ Top 100 Books
The Seattle Times, Best Crime Fiction 2007
Chicago Tribunes Favorite Books of 2007, Thrillers
