The Wrong Side of Goodbye (A Harry Bosch Novel, 19) Paperback – Illustrated, May 16, 2017

When I looked at Amazon's prices for the various formats of "The Wrong Side of Goodbye" I thought my eyes deceived me. I looked a second time, more carefully. Yes, no doubt about it. Here was a brand new book, an instant best-seller, by a very popular author, and the latest in one of the most popular crime fiction series ever written. But something seemed out of whack. Could this be? The Kindle price was higher than the Hardbound price! Outrageous! Perhaps it's happened before....but this is the first time I've seen such pricing. Perhaps it's a test to see just how far publishers can go (Amazon says their prices are set by the publishers). Well, if that's the case then my answer is "too far", "straw that broke the camel's back" etc etc etc.For the past couple of years since the settlement of some shameful legal cases highlighting this industry's pricing sins, the consumer's cost of e-books has been inching up, up, up. Meanwhile the quality - namely typos, lack of universal page numbering, missing pages, and other - has been incredibly poor. Not a product line to be proud of. But enough is enough. What to do!?I buy over 150 books a year and I'm BOYCOTTING. I'm not buying another ebook over $9.99. Let this industry try to make a profit selling hardbounds. I can still read hardbounds; I did it for 40 years before ebook readers. And let's see.....how many major national bookstore chains are still in existence? One, is it? And how much money can electronic retailers make delivering single copies of a hardbound.....? Maybe it's time to re-think that pricing strategy, guys.

In The Wrong Side of Goodbye, former LAPD detective Harry Bosch is hired as a private eye to find out whether a reclusive billionaire has an heir related to him by blood. Now well into his 80s, the man had left behind a pregnant underage Mexican girl “on the wrong side of goodbye” when he was a college student. Harry’s search will lead him into the heart of Chicano culture in Southern California. The investigation will also expose him and his teenage daughter to great danger, as the board members of the billionaire’s company seek to protect their access to wealth and power.Two mysteries, unfolding in tandemMeanwhile, Harry has been taken on as a volunteer reserve officer by the San Fernando Police Department to investigate cold cases. He has succeeded in linking a series of bold and brutal rapes through his usual dogged research. While he pursues the search for an heir to the billionaire’s fortune, Harry and his young female partner find themselves ever closer to identifying the rapist. Unlike so many other mystery novels, in which all the strands of the plot are tied together neatly in the end, the two cases unfold in tandem.Harry Bosch may be aging, but he’s still in fine formIn so many instances, long-running series of mystery novels lose steam after a time. But Michael Connelly’s work remains fresh and compelling even in the 19th novel of his Harry Bosch series. (He has also written ten other mysteries between 1992 and the present.) The Wrong Side of Goodbye is detective fiction at its best. It’s no mystery that Connelly is now producing for Amazon the third season of a television series based on the Harry Bosch novels.

I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Connelly at a favorite hangout in Tampa, Florida some years back. We chatted a bit about his writing and he ended up buying me dinner. I wanted to know what made him such a good writer and decided to read everything he's written. I began with his Harry Bosch novels - and look forward to each and everyone. This is another very good Michael Connelly work worth every penny of the hefty Kindle price. The problem is that it moves along at such a brisk pace that it's over before you know it and you find yourself craving another Harry Bosch fix. As a former soldier and son of a Vietnam veteran there are parts of this book that I find intensely moving. This was a very good read - made even better by inclusion of Harry's half brother - "The Lincoln Lawyer" - Micky Haller. As always, I look forward to Michael Connelly's next Harry Bosch or Micky Haller novel.

As usual, heavy on detail and description. I like reading how Harry does his research, how he works things out. I enjoyed Harry working with his brother and that the story demonstrates that they are clearly different people with a different outlook on life-and that worked well. I felt you could feel Harry's strength of character very clearly in several sequences throughout the book. Enjoyed several different threads to this book- a good read.

If you love crime fiction but have never read any of the novels featuring Harry Bosch, then 'The Wrong Side of Goodbye' would be a good one with which to start as you do not need to know much about Harry Bosch's past life to thoroughly enjoy this novel. But be aware that if you enjoy it then you'll probably want to read the earlier books in the series and then you'll discover how addictive they are!If you have read other books in the series, then this one may initially strike you as being a little different. The plot has fewer twists and turns than in previous novels, but it still retains all the other elements we fans of the series enjoy; Harry's dogged determination to solve a case, his ability to think outside the box based on his experiences as well as his creativity, his concern for the 'victim' and ensuring that justice is served (etc.). There is plenty of action as well as the added bonus of the involvement of his half-brother, the lawyer Mickey Haller (who has featured in other novels by Michael Connelly).In this novel Harry is involved in two investigations. The first involves a request from a childless billionaire who is close to death but who believes he may have sired a child when he was a young man. He hires Harry to investigate but on the proviso that Harry doesn't tell anyone else about this investigation or his findings. The search for a possible heir appears impossible at first but as Harry starts to make progress in his search the level of suspense and menace in this story-line increases dramatically.The second investigation involves Harry's part time job as a member of the San Fernando Police Department. Harry is asked to help the team find a serial rapist. This story-line is more of an action thriller. Both story-lines however follow a traditional police procedural approach, with the narratives following Harry's investigations.So if you enjoy police procedural crime thrillers, this book should definitely not disappoint. It is, like all Michael Connelly's books, easy to read and contains enough action and suspense to keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next and how it will end.

Connelly's usual standard. (That Bosch just goes on and on - in fact, it's entertaining to see how Connelly keeps him active.)Two contemporaneous cases: one provides the action, the other the suspense. The ending was a little more low key than usual but I really liked it. And there were a few unexpected twists.If you like Connelly, you'll like this. (You may not give it 5 stars, like me, but I think you'll enjoy it.)

The 21st book in the Harry Bosch series by my favourite author Michael Connelly. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed every book this talented author has ever written it is no surprise that I jump at the chance to read any new books. I really enjoy reading book series as it allows you to really get to know the main characters and you get a really good experience from not only the plot but all the sub plots etc. This is typical of that situation and I loved every page.In this latest book Harry is running with two investigations, a rape case under his guise of a part time officer with the San Fernando Police Department and as a PI he's been asked by a very wealthy 85 year old man to try to find an heir. While running the two cases side by side the book is well paced and Connelly manages to keep both cases interesting, and well paced.A great writing style and I love how the author feeds hints to the reader, certainly in the running for my favourite read of 2017.I highly recommend this book, series and the author to any avid reader of police procedural books and crime thrillers in general.

I have read all the Harry Bosch books in the series and enjoyed everyone immensely. Sometimes it seems that the book is slow in starting, or a story subject of little interest, don't give up you will not be disappointed. Michael's knowledge of the Law and procedures in applying it is second to none.For me I find it sad that his use of the English Language is Americanised but I guess many of his readers are American. One of the worst for me is the word 'Gotten', there is of course no such word in correct English. The storyline more than makes up for this. I recommend reading the books in the correct order, although they are predominately stand alone books, there is a degree of follow on.