| Plot Summary of City Of Bones |
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"Veteran detective Harry Bosch of the LAPD takes on the Bones case. The scattered remains of a teenager are found, buried on a hillside twenty years ago. The broken bones tell the story of a short and sad life, full of pain and abuse. His killer is almost certainly still at large and it is not easy to pin the blame on anyone, even if they confess to the killing. Connelly's characters are lightly but well drawn, and the technical details are convincing. The dialogue is quite earthy in places. The formulaic qualities of the story might lead you to think you can spot the killer, but there are some good twists and turns, and I didn't. A good Harrison Ford thriller waiting to be made."
Michael JR Jose, Resident Scholar
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"On New Years Day a retired doctor's dog digs up a bone belonging to, analysis shows, a 12-year-old boy , who was murdered some 20 years ago. Despite the age of the case, Detective Harry Bosch is determined to bring the killer to justice, mainly because the recovered bones show that the dead boy was the victim of prolonged and systematic physical abuse. But Harry has no way of anticipating what the effects of the case will be on his own life and the lives of others involved in the case. A mystery which is as baffling as it is chilling."
Stephen Coombs, Resident Scholar
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Little, Brown, Apr 2002, 25.95, 400 pp.
ISBN: 0316154059
The dog dug up the remains in a shallow grave in Hollywood Hills. The Los Angeles Police Department forensic team performs magic on the decaying bones by determining the victim was approximately twelve years old, was battered, and finally killed by a blow to the head around 1980. Not much more for the head Detective Harry Bosch to work on except the nearby-buried surfboard is quite distinguishing looking.
Since the homicide much of the neighborhood has turned over as people moved away. Harry follows the thin leads accompanied by rookie Julia Brasher. Not long after sharing the case, the two cops share a bed. After identifying the victim through his surfboard, Harry and Julia begin inquires with friends and family of the lad that take them to a series of shady individuals. Violent incidents occur leaving Harry to wonder if the efforts to solve a two decade old crime could prove dangerous for those involved today including two police officers.
Harry remains Harry as he retains that same edge that readers enjoyed in his previous book, A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT even with brash Julia to take some of the edge off the hero. However, Michael Connelly's effort to bring peril into the present deletes from the overall plot of a powerhouse investigative tale of a twenty year old murder. Still, CITY OF BONES is a taut Harry Bosch police procedural.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of City Of Bones |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 66.7%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 13.3%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
Special suspect?
- relative
Murder of certain profession?
- students/teachers
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- solving long-past murder
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex
Yes
A lot of techno jargon?
Yes
Kind of jargon?
- biology/medical
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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