Mystery Book Reviews

Book Review: 9 Dragons

By Sandy Amazeen Nov 1, 2009, 1:58 GMT

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is off the chain in the fastest, fiercest, and highest-stakes case of his life. Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South L.A. neighborhood, a store Bosch has known for years. The murder of John Li, the store\'s owner, hits Bosch hard, and he promises Li\'s family that he\'ll find the killer. The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He ...more

LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is back on the job in one Connelly’s best mysteries in a long time. Bosch and his partner were asked to investigate the murder of a convenience store owner located in tough neighborhood, the same storeowner who years earlier treated him with kindness. After assuring the owner’s son that he will find the murderer, Bosch begins to suspect this was no random robbery gone wrong but quite possibly, an execution. Suspecting a connection with the Triads, Bosch seeks assistance from the Asian Gangs Unit but it is hardly an amicable collaboration.

As Bosch suspects there is a leak within the Department, his daughter Maddy is kidnapped and held in Hong Kong. Bosch must balance the need to find his daughter before its too late while working the murder investigation in LA. Fortunately, he receives assistance from his ex-wife and her current boy friend yet for all his expertise, little could have prepared him for the truth.

This riveting, gritty, get down and dirty mystery packs a punch with numerous subplots winding through the main storyline while maintaining palpable tension throughout. The twists demonstrate just how misleading first appearances can be as Bosch ventures into a world where culture and tradition can hide a multitude of sins.