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The Burning Room
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The Burning Room
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The Burning Room
Audiobook10 hours

The Burning Room

Written by Richard Powers

Narrated by Titus Welliver

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

A special signed limited edition of the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly follows Detective Harry Bosch and his new partner as they investigate a recent murder where the trigger was pulled nine years earlier.

In the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit, not many murder victims die almost a decade after the crime. So when a man succumbs to complications from being shot by a stray bullet nine years earlier, Bosch catches a case in which the body is still fresh, but all other evidence is virtually nonexistent.

Now Bosch and rookie Detective Lucia Soto, are tasked with solving what turns out to be a highly charged, politically sensitive case. Beginning with the bullet that's been lodged for years in the victim's spine, they must pull new leads from years-old information, which soon reveal that this shooting may have been anything but random.

In this gripping new novel, Michael Connelly shows once again why Harry Bosch is "one of the greats of crime fiction" (New York Daily News).
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 3, 2014
ISBN9781619694279
Unavailable
The Burning Room
Author

Richard Powers

Richard Powers is the author of thirteen novels. His most recent, The Overstory, won the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. He is also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the National Book Award, and he has been a four-time National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. He lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

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Reviews for The Burning Room

Rating: 3.8494718049295775 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A new novel, and Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch is still working on the LAPD Cold Case Unit, but now he has a new partner, Lucia Soto. Bosch himself is liberally strewn with emotional and emotive baggage amassed over his thirty years as a detective, and Soto, although less than a year into the job, has already gathered enough of her own. In her previous police posting she had killed two criminals after she and her previous partner had been caught in the midst of an armed robbery.Bosch and Soto are assigned to a cold case with a difference. Ten years previously, Orlando Merced, a guitarist in a mariachi band, had been shot while his group was performing in one of the cities plazas. Though seriously wounded, Merced had survived the shooting, but the bullet had been lodged too deeply within his body for it to be removed, and he had been left paralysed. When he died ten years later, there was no hesitation in deeming it a clear consequence of the shooting, meaning that the incident became a homicide case. At the time, police investigations had stalled, and the assumption had been that Merced was an unintended victim of a gang-related drive-by shooting. Merced had been taken up by an ambitious local politician who featured him heavily in his campaigns to become Mayor of Los Angeles. Merced’s eventual death is, consequently, a politically charged event, and there is immense pressure for the reinvestigation of the shooting to bring in a swift conviction.As if that were not challenging enough, Bosch finds himself drawn into Soto’s personal quest to explain a traumatic and tragic incident from her own past, and the two investigations proceed in tandem.A lot of the standard elements of any Bosch story are there – attempts by his superior officers to rein him in; conflicts with his teenage daughter; strained relationships with the press; outrage from public officials. Yet although we are on what might seem familiar ground, Connelly never makes this seem repetitive, and takes care always to make these twists seem fresh. He also writes effectively. Having started out as a journalist, Connelly knows how to trim the fat off his prose, and how to reach out and grab the reader’s attention.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Bosch has a new partner and they are working on the cold case of a man, recently deceased, killed by what they had assumed to be a random shooting. Things get complicated as Bosch delves into areas the powers-that-be would prefer he not venture.Connelly has written another excellent police procedural. A very enjoyable audiobook even if Connelly himself (or his editors) don't know the difference between imply and infer.The ending is a bit of a hill-hanger leaving the reader to wonder where Connelly intends to take Bosch next. (Of course, if you've read the later books in the series, you already know.)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit, not many murder victims die almost a decade after the crime. So when a man succumbs to complications from being shot by a stray bullet nine years earlier, Bosch catches a case in which the body is still fresh, but any other evidence is virtually nonexistent.Now Bosch and his new partner, rookie Detective Lucia Soto, are tasked with solving what turns out to be a highly charged, politically sensitive case. Starting with the bullet that's been lodged for years in the victim's spine, they must pull new leads from years-old information, which soon reveals that this shooting may have been anything but random.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Bosch is assigned a new partner to look at a couple of old 'cold' cases. This is not one of Connelly's best Bosch stories, but there if you have invested in the character throughout the previous 18 books, this will feel like the return of an old friend.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Classic Harry Bosch story but very shallow and predictable compared to the previous books in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A typical Connelly, typical Bosch. Fast-paced, easy to read, difficult to put down. This one seemed to lack a bit of substance though, slightly below par for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Bosche connects a fire with a bank robbery and also manages to solve an old murder in which the victim died 10 years after the shooting.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In his seventeenth Harry Bosch novel, Connelly presents his readers with a terrific police procedural. Rather than chasing some serial killer who is stalking him or his family, Bosch is actually working a full-on cold case. In fact, he is working a ten-year-old shooting of a mariachi musician in the plaza in East Los Angeles. At the time, it had been chalked up to gang warfare. But, the victim took ten long years to finally die. With the autopsy ruling this to be a death from that old shooting and a bullet removed from his spine, Bosch has something to work with. Not much, but something. He and his new partner, Lucy Soto, set about interviewing the other members of the band and discover that the shooting was not what it seemed to be and that there were politics involved and love triangle and other things. Meanwhile, Soto reveals to Bosch that she is working a hobby case in her spare time, one where she had been a victim as a child as the apartment building and child care area in it burned to the ground.

    This Bosch novel feels a bit like one of Block's Scudder novels in that, rather than being filled with bodies found off Mulholland or a serial killer taunting Bosch, it is a classic clue-by-clue detective story. There is not a lot of action in the classic crime fiction sense, although as the reader you always have the sense that something could go awry with the investigation and there could be a confrontation at any time. This book is about the little clues and details that Bosch, with all his years of experience, puts together.

    I found this book to be well balanced between the investigatory aspects and the details of Bosch's family life with his teenage daughter, which served to humanize the detective and show a different side to him. I also enjoyed the descriptions of downtown LA, which Connelly is quite familiar with having been a Times reporter in a different life.

    All in all, a solid, professional job as we have all come to expect from Connelly's writing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was very excited to get a copy of Michael Connelly's latest book from the publisher through Netgalley. I have read every other book written by Michael Connelly in the Harry Bosch series, and am a true fan of the stories and characters. And this one was not disappointing. Despite being on #19, this is not a tired series and it seems that Connelly continues to put a lot of work into his books. There is less focus on Harry and his personal life than in some of the more recent books, but this allows Connelly to do what he does best -- telling great stories, with what feels like a real glimpse into the life of police officers, Los Angeles and the the world of journalism. This book had the added bonus of Harry's new partner, Lucy, who is a promising character for future books. As usual, now I feel the let down of having to wait for the next one...
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    100% Connelly; 100% Addictive - so reads the blurb on the back cover of this thriller - to that I would add 100% Satisfaction. As ever Connelly tells us of an investigation lead by Harry Bosch into the dark side of LA. Harry has a new partner, one with a history and agenda of her own, and the development of their relationship is at the core of this book. This can most definitely be classified as a police procedural, with the two investigations being peeled like an onion, gradually revealing the inner layers. Connelly' writing is as unfussy as ever and the pace gradually builds through the book until the surprising end. I count myself as very lucky to have picked up on Connelly early in his run; "The Poet" lead me to the first four Harry books and I have been able to enjoy one a year ever since. One of the great features of his writing is the way in which all the characters (even those only with us for a page or so) come alive and are believable and distinct. I doubt that there will ever come a time when I don't look forward to the next book by him.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I know, another audiobook, but again I had the time and took advantage of it. I'm a newcomer to the Harry Bosch books, I think this is my second one so far. And of course, the first one I read was after he had retired so I'm really behind. Anyway, this is probably the next to last one since his new partner is a young rookie, Lucy Soto. The case they get is very unusual in that the victim had been shot 10 years ago but the bullet had lodged in his spine and it couldn't be removed. Now , the victim is dead and Harry and Lucy must investigate 10 years after the fact. They soon learn that the crime is linked to two other crimes, a robbery at a check cashing building and a tragic fire that killed several young children. All three crimes seem to have political undertones that, even a decade later, threaten other lives. I liked the interaction between Harry with his many years of experience and Lucy being the newbie who needs to learn all that Harry can teach her. Harry also learns a lot from her as well. I have to assume, in a perfect world, that reading these books in order would be the best. However, jumping in at the end didn't hamper my enjoyment of this book. I like this character enough that I will hunt out the other books and at least attempt to read in a better order!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very routine Harry Bosch on a warmed up cold case. New partner was not totally credible but the story was a excellent if a bit confusing towards the end. 6/10, I think.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another good read from Connelly. Connelly does not treat the reader as an idiot, providing every detail to the minutia, instead he rolls the progress of the investigation along allowing the reader to fill in with their own experience the details as necessary. The story line is intriguing and keeps you interested to the very end. Not a classic in the traditional sense in the making, but a good solid entertaining read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the nineteenth book in the Detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch series. Although I have not read any of the previous books, this one felt very familiar as a conventional police procedural that does not push the boundaries of the genre. Bosch is nearing retirement from the Open-Unsolved Unit of Los Angeles Police Department and is joined by an inexperienced partner, Lucia Soto. Bosch and Soto are investigating two old crimes, in one of which Soto has a personal interest. I thought the writing was accomplished, if not particularly distinctive. The plot would fit nicely into a tv series, however Soto's lack of personality would likely get her killed off before the end of the first season. Bosch was a much more interesting character. I liked the book, but did not love it. Maybe I should try some of the earlier Bosch novels.I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I'm a fan of Michael Connelly, particularly his Hieronymous (Harry) Bosch books, so I've been trying to read all of them. I actually listened to the audiobook of this one. Titus Welliver was the narrator. Early books in the series were narrated by Len Cariou and I thought his voice was perfect for Bosch but Welliver is a good narrator and I have no complaints.Bosch is still working as a detective for LAPD but he is now investigating cold cases. He has been assigned a new partner. Lucia Soto is young and Hispanic and Bosch at first has his doubts about her but she ends up impressing him with her dedication and insight. A man who was shot over 10 years ago and had the bullet lodged in his spine has just died. The shooter was never found but now that the bullet can be removed from the body there are hopes that ballistics might be able to shed some light. At first that seems to be another dead end as the marks on the bullet don't match anything in files. Then a technician in video is able to show that perhaps another man was actually the intended target. There was someone with a motive to kill him since he had been having an affair with a rich man's wife. As Bosch and Soto follow up on that Bosch learns that Soto is interested in another cold case. When Lucy was a young child the apartment block where she lived was set on fire and a number of people died of smoke inhalation. That has haunted her ever since and was her motivation for joining the police. Bosch calls in an anonymous tip linking the two cases so he and Soto can also investigate it. In going through the file of that case Bosch learns that a robbery took place at a cheque cashing store close to the scene of the fire just at the same time. He has a theory that the robbers set the fire to draw police there so they could have more time for the robbery. The action careers back and forth between both investigations and you have to pay close attention to know which cases is being investigated as Bosch and Soto visit people and places all over California.I wonder if Soto will show up again. Bosch seems to go through partners regularly. Also he doesn't have much time left with the Department so she might be left on her own when Bosch finally retires.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Harry Harry Harry, you are like my favorite slippers. You make my life better and never disappoint. This time Harry has a new partner - a kid of the female variety. They are working a really old, cold case that the kid was actually a part of when she was really a kid, in day care.

    As usual the plot and the writing is very satisfying. I hope that Connelly can put off Harry's real retirement forever.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good to catch up with Harry Bosch again. It was an easy read, only a little excitement. Ended like there will be another book to follow ...
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Connelly's Bosch stories are usually reliable diversions, but this one didn't work for me. Perhaps I have overdosed on the formula.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Burning Room was a story that seemed to go nowhere. The ending was sad and reinforced the phrase, "no good deed goes unpunished." It only got three stars in this review because it was difficult to keep track of all of the cases and people involved. This is not one of the author's better Harry Bosch stories.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Solid Bosch novel. Seemed to end too soon. Also looks like there will at least one more Bosch novel and possibly more.

    I look forward to another, I'm a Bosch fan.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Harry is training Lucy a new partner and a fairly new cop. As they are working on a case that is both old and new Harry finds Lucy reading yet another case and finds out the reason she became a cop. When she was a child she was a survivor of arson at a daycare center that killed several children. Harry does what he can to try and get them the old arson case without mentioned that there is a conflict of interest. In the end, Harry closes several cases but becomes even more disillusion about being a cop and making it to the end of his retirement.

    Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Burning Room: This one reads like three stories that were abandoned, rehashed and bundled together to meet a publishing deadline. Not up to the usual standard.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Somewhere along the way someone gave me a Michael Connelly book to read and it sent me into the world of LAPD cop Harry Bosch. Forewarned is forearmed – this is one in a series. I did not start at the beginning and have read two or three novels with this character. It is not necessary to start at the beginning as enough information seems to emerge through the books so that you can piece it together. However, if you are a reader that gets sucked into series’, then be ready.A mariachi band member was shot several years earlier in the Mariachi Plaza in Los Angeles. The bullet has been lodged in his spine and this has prevented the LAPD from being able to solve the shooting. The guitarist has now died and the cold case unit with Detective Harry Bosch and Detective Lucia Soto is now on the case.The unfolding story has a backdrop of local Los Angeles politics which of course lead the higher ups in the Department to both cover asses and ward off the detectives on the case. There are also racially sensitive issues that emerge as the focus is on the Latino community both from a political perspective and a criminal perspective.One of the things I enjoy about the Bosch novels is that they are set in Los Angeles and the author delves deeply into both neighborhoods and the surrounding county. This is interesting for the reader because it expands the normal setting of LA based books into the nooks and crannies that the average visitor would not normally see.The other thing is that the character of Harry Bosch has been developed over a long period. With series books, this means that long standing characters develop depth and dimensions that don’t happen in single, one off books. Harry has depth.In one sense, this is a typical police procedural. But it is one with some bulk behind it due to its presence in the series. Just a great, entertaining piece of crime fiction.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I suppose this is what we have to look forward to from Michael Connelly in this stage of his career: a decent story, padded by a 2nd plot whose only connection with the first is the contrived pairing of the lead detective with a rookie who happened to be at the scene of the 2nd cold case, boring prose, wooden dialogue, and a total squandering of the huge equity built up for the Bosch character by refusing to mine any of it throughout the novel.

    The dialogue in particular bothers me. It really has the feel of a 'first pass' that was never cleaned up, with the author plugging in what he intends to say but never editing it later to make it sound realistic. The rest of the writing isn't much better. I think Mr. Connelly, who used to be one of my favorite writers in this genre, has reached the point where he's calling his work 'good to go' much too early, when several more passes of editing would do it a world of good.

    As I mentioned above, the 2 plots represent fairly solid 'cold case' stories that could have stood independently if a writer who wanted to do the work was at the helm. Unfortunately, they were thrown together and, although they were both solved satisfactorily, more detail in both would have been better. Most of the procedural work seemed solid and Bosch's instincts were sharp, but in at least one situation I can think of a very unlikely discovery of evidence was a shortcut that might have been better handled more realistically.

    It's sad to see "Harry" Bosch, one of the giant characters of police procedural fiction, riding off into the sunset in such a sad way. Contrast it with how John Sandford is handling the aging Lucas Davenport in his 'Prey' series and you'll see the difference between an author who has planned out and cares about the character's transition and one who seems to be just going through the motions.

    This isn't a bad book, but if you want to read some really good Connelly you should try his early Bosch novels.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Superb Bosch story. Harry is back in Open and Unsolved with a new rookie female partner and given a 20 year old murder case to solve as the victim has only just died from their wounds. Harry is a bit uncertain about his new partner, especially when he finds out she is pursuing a 20 year old personal hobby case in her own time. As always authentic LA / California locations, strong well-drawn characters and clever plotting elevate this story above the ordinary. The plot involves politics, corruption, anti-hispanic discrimination cleverly woven together. Highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Like his other books, this seems like it is more of a procedural than a mystery---that there is nothing to guess, but in fact, like all good mysteries, there are some clues near the beginning of the story so that you can guess at least part of it. Harry has become a mentor, to a young woman who joined the police to try and solve an arson case in which she was a victim and who is now Harry's partner. There are references to Harry's previous cases and books in the series. While the two cases in the story are not connected to each other, they both are cold cases in which SPOILER!!!! the perpetrators are not brought to trial and more than one person was responsible. The book kept my interest and I cared about the characters, but it wasn't outstanding.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Less than a year from retirement, Harry Bosch has a new, rookie partner, and a new / old cold case to solve. Connelly's clear line of sight into policework and the politics behind it are at play again. BURNING ROOM, just like Connelly's other works, is well written, fleet-footed and engrossing.SPOILERY BELOW:Bosch's new partner, Lucia "Lucy" Soto, seems well equipped to take over as the new lead of the Connelly-verse of titles if he decides to let Bosch finally retire.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Everybody counts or nobody counts: "The Burning Room" by Michael Connelly


    Published on the 3rd of November 2014.

    Publishing editors come and go. They move to different companies, they take over several different lines. Some who run SF and Crime Fiction lists know nothing about SF or Crime Fiction and care even less, but they usually move on editing other kinds of book.

    The greatest obstacle to novels becoming identical is the fact that every author is different, every book he or she produces is different. Or they should be. This’s what the word “novel” means. Something which is new.

    Unfortunately authors are discovering that the easiest way to book publication is to produce something which is exactly like another, either the kind of thing which they have done before or that another writer has done before. Publishers want books which are “in the tradition of this” or “will be adored by readers of that” or “are the latest in the bestselling series of…”


    The rest of this review can be found on my blog.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Masterfully written, not from the aspect of high literature, but from the aspect of an attention-keeping story. Connelly melds an aging veteran with a newbie and manages to revolve it around the strengths of both. Well done.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Harry Bosch novels always are enjoyable. This one pairs him with a new, young partner, Lucy Soto. Its about a cold case murder in which the victim dies 20 years later, and a fire, in which many children are victims. Well done, but the link between the two cases somewhat hard to establish after so long.