Review: Minor Connelly, but still a good enough read to kill a little time
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 24, 2013
I'm not sure I ever would have thought of Michael Connelly as a short story author. There's something about his books that almost seems to demand a long-form narrative: the rich environmental details, the willingness to follow the often slow pace that police investigations really take, the gift for exploring his characters - all of these things seem to point toward novel length tales. And yet, this trio of short pieces are generally solid pieces of work, even if they don't quite come to life as well as his novels do. One part of that, I think, is their lack of contemporary setting; one of the things that makes Connelly's books so remarkable is the way they almost always seem to reflect their times, and these short stories feel more disposable, less anchored in time. That doesn't make the tales any less involving or the crime stories any less engaging, however. Whether it's a look at how the police investigate a possible suicide, a long-closed case that continues to haunt Harry Bosch, or a look at a clever way through an interrogation that's going nowhere, each of the stories is still involving and well-told, to say nothing of the way they all have that feeling of inside knowledge and awareness of how police work really unfolds. Suicide Run isn't going to be on the top of my Connelly list, but it's still enjoyable work from the great crime author, and it's a good way to spend a few hours, especially if you're just wanting a quick fix from one of the essential modern crime authors.