The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly is the forth book in the Harry Bosch Universe. This is detective Harry Bosch’s most personal case, a thirty year unsolved murder case with the victim being Harry’s mother. Harry is on suspension and is not even a detective with his badge and gun taken away. At first he takes the case as a distraction but he opens up old wounds and might never be the same again. This is the most personal case but also the slowest novel so far. The pace is so slow and gets into it’s stride as the character heads to Florida about mid way through. The novel has a very long ending where you think it’s over but there’s still a mystery to solve and Harry is going to solve it how ever long it takes. This is the fourth book and you do not have to read the other books to know what’s is going on and everything that happened in those books that is pertinent is talked about. Harry who is usually stoic and has a lot of walls built up, lets a few of those walls down and we see him show way more emotions than usual. We get to see more from the bureaucratic side as Chief Irving gets a bigger role and goes head to head with very different styles which was fun to read. This Case was easier to follow than some of the others but there is a lot of repetition involved which is the major reason for the slow narrative. This a re-read for me and it took me a while to start remembering I still forgot who the killer was a and a lot of the turns at the end which really good. I will say this book at one of the best endings, but also one of the worst beginnings. For watchers of the TV Show Bosch it has harry tracking down the investigators of his mom’s crime but is really different. This loose storyline starts at the end of season two and continues into season 3. Also we get to read about the moment that where Harry trows a supervisor through the window in season 1.
Plot Summary: Harry Bosch Has been suspended and placed on leave for throwing his lieutenant through a plate glass window, and now has to see a psychiatrist that decides when he can return. Bosch hates the idea and just wants to return, but talking with her makes him think of his past and his murdered mother. He starts digging in and rattling some very important people. Bosch is driven and he will take down who ever he can using his own brand of justice.
What I Liked: The ending was really good especially what happened after the climax, I love how people are seen in a new light after it is revealed. There is a death in this one that kind of rocks you, because they were a character from the beginning and what it does to Bosch. I really liked the Florida storyline and you can tell this case is getting to Bosch because he’s usually so careful, but starts letting his guard down and other characters can see right through him. This novel is all about conversations and there’s some great ones with a lot of back and forth. I love that people keep noticing a finger injury and Bosch keeps lying about it just to mess with people. I loved that Irving is starting to get in the books more he and Bosch’s relationship is my favorite part of the Bosch TV show, and they really come head to head in this book. I like how the Last Coyote was worked into the story as a metaphor for Harry.
What I Disliked: The pace at the beginning was so slow it takes 20% of the book to decide to take his mother’s case. The repetition was extreme Bosch breaks down the full case to 4 people and we the reader get to live it through Bosch, so it was a lot and did not do anything for the pace. There’s a scene with a reporter that ask what’s going on, and I was like please do not recap everything, and thankfully it does not.
Recommendation: This was one of the weaker told stories, but the story is still good. The pace was the worst so far. I feel this was a really important story for the character of Bosch and especially where he is at the end of this book. I will barely recommend this book on it importance for the character of Harry Bosch than on the strength of this novel. I don’t feel this was the worst book but the end really saves it. I rated The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly 3 out of 5 stars. Goodreads rates this book as one of the highest reviewed books, so my review is a little bit different. The order of the Harry Bosch Books so far 1) the Black Echo, 2) The Black Ice, and 3) The Concrete Blonde, 4) The Last Coyote. The order in which I rank them from best to worst is 1) The Concrete Blonde, 2) The Black Ice, 3)The Last Coyote and 4) The Black Echo.
You must be logged in to post a comment.