I get asked on a fairly regular basis why I do the My Library Shelf project. The idea was birthed after reading The Shelf: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose. The premise is fairly simple. Select a shelf — ideally with at least one classic novel and no more than 5 works by a single author — and read with a sense of adventure. The project is always much easier and more exciting at larger libraries. Unger Library has been a little more challenging. Few classics are mixed in with the contemporary works and there are LOTS of shelves dominated by mass market authors. That has meant that I have to be a little more flexible with the “rules” of the project, but I still get to enjoy the adventure of reading books with which I would not otherwise engage. Sometimes, I find a really enjoyable book like The Black Echo.
The Black Echo is the first of Michael Connelly’s novels featuring Detective Harry Bosch. (The Bosch novels seem to be quite popular. There are currently 21 books in the series as well as a television series based on the character available on Prime Video.) Bosch is a Vietnam vet who has joined the LAPD as a rough-around-the-edges, no-nonsense homicide detective. In the opening novel, Bosch is called to investigate an apparent overdose victim found in a water drainage system above the Hollywood Hills. What should have been an easy case becomes much more personal when Bosch recognizes the victim as a fellow serviceman from his past. Now the case has become personal.
The Black Echo is full of intrigue and excitement. The twists and turns continue until the novel’s closing passage — with an ending that this reader did not see coming at all. I especially enjoyed the southern California setting and the attention to geographic details. I was able to travel the familiar roads with the detective as things were described with stunning clarity. Connelly is a gifted story teller and I am looking forward to returning to more of his works as I continue to make my way through My Library Shelf.
What’s ahead? For now, I am returning to The Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer. My plan is to include the final two books in the saga in the rest of my 2020 reading.
