Review: "Switchblade" Isn't the Sharpest Tool in Connelly's Workshop
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 5, 2014
I like Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch mystery novels because he creates a credible universe in them where there is a lot more going on besides the murder Bosch is trying to solve.That is why I can't give "Switchblade: An Original Short Story," an unreserved recommendation. The tale gives you the crime and an acceptable resolution, but it leaves out all the personal interaction Bosch usually has with other cops, his latest girlfriend and his teenage daughter. It is Connelly stripped down to the essentials -- and the essentials in this case simply aren't enough to make it a completely satisfying read.In the story, Bosch is working solo in the L.A.P.D. closed case unit when a woman who has been hired to help the investigators winnow out murders worth pursuing brings Bosch one in which an anonymous tip points to a man who is already doing time for a killing similar to the one that is still open.  Bosch runs down the file and quickly comes up with some corroborating evidence, though the assistant district attorney who has the case wants more.Bosch nails it down through a plot twist that most readers will find believable and satisfying. But "Switchblade" is too short for the full Connelly treatment: Connelly's novels are fully populated with characters that are etched skillfully enough to seem real. This story has a very limited cast of characters, so all the byplay that makes most of Connelly's work so readable is missing. It is as if Connelly had written the story, then gone through the manuscript and deleted the stuff that usually keeps me turning the pages of one of his books.If you are a die-hard Connelly fan who feels compelled to read everything he writes, the hell with it: "Switchblade" is a couple of hours of cheap entertainment. But if you are looking for the full Connelly treatment, hold out for his next novel. You'll be glad you did.