Harry Bosch Books In Order

Publication Order of Harry Bosch Books

Publication Order of Harry Bosch Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Bosch Universe Books

Harry Bosch Biography:

This detective series (now 19 books as of 2013’s ‘ The Gods of Guilt ‘ installment) follows the life of Hieronymous ( ” Harry ” ) Bosch, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Harry Bosch stands about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with a wiry frame and a small but strong build. He has dark eyes and a moustache. He was the child of a prostitute mother and a father who was a powerful defense attorney. He spent most of his childhood in orphanages and foster homes.

His mother was murdered when he was eleven years old. He later ran away and joined the US Army as a teenager and joined the 25th Infantry Division in the Vietnam War. He went AWOL while on leave in Hawaii and joined the LAPD, where he rose to his high ranking detective position with the LAPD’s Robbery Homicide Division but then demoted to the Hollywood homicide desk.

Bosch is portrayed as a ” maverick ” from the very start; a reputation that is to follow throughout the series.

The Black Echo:

“The Black Echo” is the first book in the series. It follows Harry as he gets demoted to the Hollywood homicide desk after killing the main suspect in a serial killer investigation. His partner is Jerry Edgar, who continues to appear throughout the series, even though not always as Bosch’s partner.

In ‘The Black Echo’, one of Bosch’s old war buddies, Billy Meadows, is killed. Bosch connects the death to a bank robbery and works with the FBI to solve the case. The robbery may have been about more than the money. The entire plot of ‘ The Black Echo ‘ is driven by Bosch’s investigation of the murder of his friend, and this introductory novel also uses the story to explain Bosch’s origins, his Vietnam story as a “tunnel rat”.

The Black Ice:

“Black Ice” is a street drug comprised of heroin, crack and PCP. A narcotics officer is found dead on Christmas night – an apparent suicide. Bosch’s enters the investigation against the wishes of the top brass and follows the trail of leads to find out what really happened, ending up in the seedy world of Mexican drug gangs in California as well as Mexico, where he has to contend with corrupt police officers, a fly breeding lab and also takes part in a raid of the drug kingpin’s ranch.

As with all of the books in this series, ‘ The Black Ice ‘ takes the reader on a journey that goes to a wide variety of exiting locations and unlikely situations, all described in accurate detail in a way that presents the reader with a clear picture of scene and event.

Bosch’s love life is also addressed here. Throughout the series, Bosch is presented completely, and in ‘ The Black Ice ‘ his relationship with a pathologist dissolves, prompting the trip to Mexico where the plot’s real fireworks begin.

The Harry Bosch Series:

This series really separates itself from other detective novels with its superior character creation. Less-insightful novels jump right into the action and leave a perhaps technically-accurate and action packed storyline but fail to deliver the kind of realism on display throughout the Harry Bosch series.

The attentive reader is well-rewarded for the character and story background creation by a novel that is full bodied, realistic and memorable. The books all maintain a more or less accurate portrayal of time throughout (meaning that the series, now in its 21st year, portrays about the same period of time and history through the various storylines).

Bosch, for example, ages about twenty one (21) years by the 19th installment of the series. Harry Bosch is marked out as a ” Maverick ” detective from the very first book, and much of the plot line revolves around his changing position with regard to rank and title.

He appears as a detective, a private investigator, on involuntary leave, and as of the addition of 2012’s ‘ The Black Box ‘ as a detective on deferred retirement. Connelly also likes to insert real life events into the storyline, like the Rodney King beating and the September 11 2001 terrorist attack.

He also inserts less world shattering news as well. This has the effect of really bringing the realism home, and taking the story from the written page out into the real world. All of these books are extremely well written. There is a reason why Connelly’s books have been translated into no less than 36 languages.

The author’s own personal experience as a crime reporter really informs the foundation of the storyline, and the reader gets insight that would be (and often is in many books in this genre) otherwise lacking. Bosch’s appearance is not confined to this series alone.

He also continues on in the storyline of Connelly’s other series works. Connelly weaves his works together in a way that presents completely different foundations for plot while retaining core characters that have already been developed from other series novels.

This adds a degree of depth not often seen, even in a long-running series. As an example of this, attorney Mickey Haller appears throughout this series, and goes on to a series of his own in which Bosch is featured regularly.

The Author:

Michael Connelly has won every major award that is granted to mystery writers, including the Edgar Award, the Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery / Thriller Award, France’s Grand Prix Award and many others.

After graduating college, Connelly got a job writing crime-related news with the Daytona Beach News Journal. It was three years into this career path when he wrote ‘ The Black Echo ‘, the first book in the Harry Bosch series. His work as a crime reporter has provided a level of depth few can match with regard to technical accuracy and realism in his storylines.

Connelly is a very prolific writer, and has three stand alone novels and two other series-based novels (both of which have appearances by Harry Bosch). He additionally has an extensive list of short story works, and his journalistic career can be reviewed in Crime Beat, a 2006 collection of journalism from the Sun Sentinel and Los Angeles Times.

One Response to “Harry Bosch”

1. Anne Daniels: 9 months ago

   Love this series. It’s captivating and makes you want to read more!!

   Reply