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Thirty-odd
years ago I knew this beautiful woman named Marti. We were good friends
who never (well, almost never) let the boy-girl thing complicate our
friendship. We were always giving each other books to read and music
to listen to.
One
of us gave to the other an album named "One Nation Underground"
to listen to by a group called Pearls Before Swine. The album was
a haunting, spare affair full of memorable songs; though my copy
of it disappeared long ago, I still have most the lyrics committed
to memory. But the most memorable thing about the album was the
cover art, a nightmarish collage of debauchery and death. It turned
out to be part of a painting titled "The Garden of Earthly Delights"
by a Dutch painter who worked under the name Hieronymus Bosch. And
it is this painting that forms that basis for much of the plot of
Michael Connelly's new thriller A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT.
A
DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT heralds the return and pairing of two of
Connelly's recurring characters: Terry McCaleb, previously seen
in BLOOD WORK, and Harry Bosch, the complicated L. A. P. D. homicide
detective last seen in Connelly's ANGELS FLIGHT. McCaleb, recovered
from heart surgery and living a quiet life with his wife, stepson,
and new daughter, is drawn, almost against his will, back to the
world of criminal profiling when he is asked to assist the L. A.
P. D. in a baffling homicide case. The victim, a man whose history
includes being suspected in the murder of a prostitute, is found
nude and bound in such a manner as to result in his asphyxiation.
McCaleb notes the presence of a ceramic owl in the background of
the crime scene photos. The presence and placing of the owl, which
apparently did not belong to the victim, intrigues McCaleb. His
research into the symbolism of the owl, coupled with a Latin phrase
found written on the victim's bindings, eventually leads McCaleb
to the painting "Garden of Earthly Delights" --- painted by Hieronymus
Bosch, Harry Bosch's namesake. McCaleb soon discovers that Bosch
and the victim have an antagonistic past relationship and that Bosch
had seen the victim as recently as the night prior to his death.
McCaleb, simultaneously reluctant to be involved in the investigation
yet compelled to continue, is rapidly being drawn to the conclusion
that Harry Bosch, his friend of some 12 years, is a murderer.
Bosch,
meanwhile, is involved in a high profile murder trial. A prominent
Hollywood film director is on trial for murder as a direct result
of Bosch's investigation of the death of a beautiful, would-be actress.
Bosch is the principal witness against the director and, as such,
is under relentless attack from his legal defense team. When Bosch
discovers he is suspected of murder by McCaleb, he confronts him
directly, challenging him with the statement, "You Missed Something."
But what?
A
DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT is unquestionably Connelly's best effort
to date. Connelly's bibliography has been increasing quantitatively
and qualitatively year by year, but his latest effort is far beyond
anything he has written to date. His unhurried, spare narrative
style is a perfect match for his characters, particularly the complicated
Bosch, who continues to hold his stare into the abyss of the soul
of southern California far too long for the good of his sanity and
his soul. A DARKNESS MORE THAN NIGHT will almost certainly put Connelly's
name on the must-read lists of a new legions of mystery and suspense
aficionados. Highly recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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