Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsPerfect place to start reading Michael Connelly
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2019
This is my favorite Michael Connelly novel I’ve read so far. Excellently plotted. Rich in character detail. And still unbelievably fast paced. From the ten or so of these books that I’ve read, I’d recommend this as the perfect place to start. The Bosch books that come before are excellent, but slower paced. The Poet, for me, felt a little far-fetched, but Blood Work hits its target dead center.
Admittedly, Connelly still struggles slightly with the romance. Maybe its me, but the love scenes in all the books I’ve read by him just don’t work. I can always hear Barry White playing in my head. Sometimes they need to be there, sometimes they don’t. In Blood Work, they make sense, and he doesn’t spend too much time on them, so fine, forgiven. They don’t even come close to being a deal killer and frankly, most people probably won’t even notice anything amiss.
Also, there are a few plot elements that may strike a careful reader as too perfect. More than many other crime writers I’ve read, Connelly does a great job making his detectives work hard to find the clues, and makes those discoveries believable. Every now and then, someone will pull a needle out of a haystack that makes you want to be like – really?? – but you just have to move on. Again, most people won’t notice or care.
This is an excellent read through and through. Highly recommended.
