Sharon and I are huge fans of Connelly -- one of the best police proceduralists around.  Harry Bosch is a thoroughly realized character; plots are intricate and exceedingly well drawn; all the details feel "right" and on the mark.

We just finished his latest, The Dark Hours, with his third major creation (after Bosch and "The Lincoln Lawyer") -- Det. Renee Ballard.  Enjoyed it a lot.

HOWEVER, there's a question I'd like to  pose to any and all other Connelly devotees.  Have you noticed -- and do you mind -- that Connelly seems bound and determined to include two elements in nearly all his works:  first, a strong bent toward (endorsement of?) violence -- not just the murders that typically trigger the stories, but how the denouement almost never means an arrest and coming to trial.  Rather, the criminals always seem to get mowed down in one fashion or another.

Second, the corollary of the first:  the element of vigilantism is ever-present.  It seems to be Bosch's standard modus operandi -- and now we see it in Ballard as well.  Anything wrong with this picture?

A final note:  just beginning Gary Shteyngardt's Our Country Friends.  I've not read any of his previous books, all well-received and/or awarded.  He's clever, funny, and engaging.   If anyone out there has read any of his earlier works, I'd like to hear your reactions/recommendations.  Thnx.