Need a cozy sweatshirt, bookish tote, or mug? Get one at the BookBrowse Merch Store!

Summary and Reviews of The Closers by Michael Connelly

The Closers by Michael Connelly

The Closers

by Michael Connelly
  • Critics' Consensus (6):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • First Published:
  • May 16, 2005, 416 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Feb 2006, 464 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

Detective Harry Bosch is back with the LAPD with the sole mission of closing unsolved cases. The murder of a 16 year old girl in 1988 is his first file. A DNA match makes the case very much alive again, and it turns out to be anything but cold. The ripples from this death have destroyed at least two other lives, and everywhere he probes, Bosch finds hot grief, hot rage, and a bottomless well of betrayal and malice.

Winner of the 2006 BookBrowse Diamond Award for Most Popular Book of 2005.

In Los Angeles in 1988, a sixteen-year-old girl disappeared from her home and was later found dead of a gunshot wound to the chest. The death appeared at first to be a suicide - but some of the evidence contradicted that scenario, and detectives came to believe this was in fact a murder. Despite a by-the-book investigation, no one was ever charged.

Now Detective Harry Bosch is back with the LAPD with the sole mission of closing unsolved cases, and this girl's death is the first he's given. A DNA match makes the case very much alive again, and it turns out to be anything but cold. The ripples from this death have destroyed at least two other lives, and everywhere he probes, Bosch finds hot grief, hot rage, and a bottomless well of betrayal and malice.

And it's not just the girl's family and friends whose lives Bosch is stirring up afresh. With each new development, Harry Bosch finds increasing resistance from within the police force itself. Old enemies are close at hand. Even as he pushes relentlessly to find the truth, Bosch has to wonder if this assignment was intended to be his last. Digging up the past may heal old wounds-or it may expose new, searing ones.

From the mind of the man GQ has called "the best mystery writer in the world," The Closers is a masterpiece of thriller writing that is as sharp and immediate as the greatest fiction.

Also available as a Time Warner AudioBook, eBook and Large Print Edition.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!
  • award image

    BookBrowse Awards
    2006

Reviews

Media Reviews

The Chicago Sun-Tribune - Gary Wisby
The return of Harry Bosch is good for his beloved City of the Angels and great for readers. And bad, really bad, for the bad guys. Because rusty as he is after a three-year hiatus -- he needs to be brought up to speed on a few crime-tech advances -- Harry remains relentless. This is the guy who had Hold Fast tattooed on his knuckles when he was a 16-year-old runaway.

The Miami-Herald - Connie Ogle
Bosch must take a hard look at the ''ripples'' -- the repercussions that devastate crime victims' families and friends -- as well as come to terms with how his devotion to police work has shaped his life. In addition to being a fascinating mystery, The Closers is a profoundly moving story about the importance of finding and recommitting yourself to a purpose, no matter who or what you are.

The New York Times - Janet Maslin
...a sharp, straightforward police procedural.....Mr. Connelly continues to make his doomy, secretive Los Angeles a living, breathing character in his stories.

Booklist - Bill Ott
Starred Review. Hard-boiled fans don't like traditional commitment much (it makes us itchy), but Bosch turns us into believers. Give Connelly credit for having the courage to tinker with one of the richest characters in the genre.

Library Journal - Jeff Ayers
Fans and newcomers alike will love seeing Bosch back in uniform, stirring up trouble.

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Connelly comes as close as anyone to being today's Dostoyevsky of crime literature, and this is one of his finest novels to date, a likely candidate not only for book award nominations but for major bestsellerdom.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Closers, try these:

  • The Bricklayer jacket

    The Bricklayer

    by Noah Boyd

    Published 2011

    About this book

    More by this author

    Someone gives you a dangerous puzzle to solve, one that may kill you or someone else, and you're about to fail... And there is no other option. No one who can help. No one but the Bricklayer.

  • City of the Sun jacket

    City of the Sun

    by David Levien

    Published 2009

    About this book

    More by this author

    Riveting suspense in the tradition of Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly, City of the Sun introduces retired detective Frank Behr—an imposing, charismatic former cop who agrees to take the case of a boy who’s been missing for over a year.

We have 6 read-alikes for The Closers, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member.
More books by Michael Connelly
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

  • Book Jacket
    Dream Count
    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    A searing new novel from the bestselling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists, exploring four women's desires.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Raising Hare
    by Chloe Dalton

    A moving and fascinating meditation on freedom, trust, and loss through one woman's friendship with a wild hare.

  • Book Jacket

    The Antidote
    by Karen Russell

    A gripping dust bowl epic about five characters whose fates become entangled after a storm ravages their small Nebraskan town.

  • Book Jacket

    Jane and Dan at the End of the World
    by Colleen Oakley

    Date Night meets Bel Canto in this hilarious tale.

  • Book Jacket

    The Dream Hotel
    by Laila Lalami

    A Read with Jenna pick. A riveting novel about one woman's fight for freedom, set in a near future where even dreams are under surveillance.

  • Book Jacket

    Girl Falling
    by Hayley Scrivenor

    The USA Today bestselling author of Dirt Creek returns with a story of grief and truth.

  • Book Jacket

    Fagin the Thief
    by Allison Epstein

    A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London's most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.

Who Said...

The purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

B O a F F T

and be entered to win..