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Nine Dragons |  | Author: Michael Connelly
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $27.99
Buy New: $12.85
as of 11/23/2009 05:36 MST details
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Seller: afbookstore
Rating:  146 reviews
Sales Rank: 95
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.6
ISBN: 0316166316
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780316166317
ASIN: 0316166316
Publication Date: October 13, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, October 2009: An investigation into a cold-blooded murder introduces Detective Harry Bosch to a Chinese underworld lurking in the dark recesses of the City of Angels. Its tentacles are far reaching, yet it remains shrouded in secrecy due to time-honored cultural traditions that keep the exploited from speaking out. To the victim's family, Bosch promises revenge, but when his own daughter suddenly becomes a target, he promises blood. However, working a case with leads on both sides of the Pacific provides little room (or time) for error. 9 Dragons is a gritty, coffee-and-cigarettes crime thriller full of smart twists and generous helpings of suspense. Fans of Michael Connelly can expect another exceptional thrill ride, while newcomers will be immediately engaged by the tortured and unrelenting Bosch. "He knew one day it would come to this, that the darkness would find [his daughter] and that she would be used to get him," writes Connelly. "That day was now." --Dave Callanan
Product Description
LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is off the chain in the fastest, fiercest, and highest-stakes case of his life.
Fortune Liquors is a small shop in a tough South L.A. neighborhood, a store Bosch has known for years. The murder of John Li, the store's owner, hits Bosch hard, and he promises Li's family that he'll find the killer.
The world Bosch steps into next is unknown territory. He brings in a detective from the Asian Gang Unit for help with translation--not just of languages but also of the cultural norms and expectations that guided Li's life. He uncovers a link to a Hong Kong triad, a lethal and far-reaching crime ring that follows many immigrants to their new lives in the U.S.
And instantly his world explodes. The one good thing in Bosch's life, the person he holds most dear, is taken from him and Bosch travels to Hong Kong in an all-or-nothing bid to regain what he's lost. In a place known as Nine Dragons, as the city's Hungry Ghosts festival burns around him, Bosch puts aside everything he knows and risks everything he has in a desperate bid to outmatch the triad's ferocity.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 146
New to Connelly November 23, 2009
Cherise Kachelmuss (IL)
I have not read a Michael Connelly book before but his new book Nine Dragons sounded interesting. Detective Harry Bosch and his partner investigate the murder of a convenience store owner which takes a bad turn when the detective's own daughter is kidnapped by the murderer. The book has twists and turns and I really liked how it had the personal touch involving the detective's family. Usually detectives in mystery novels are loners and their family has left, but this one was different.
Overall, I was on the edge of my seat with this book and loved all the suspense and excitement. Since reading this book, I have learned that the detective is actually part of a series Connelly has written, so I will be added the previous books to my reading list. It was nice to be able to read this book too without prior knowledge of the Harry Bosch books, which I have learned there are 14 others. The book would have probably have been better having known more of Harry's behavior and past experiences, but regardless the book was fine on its own. It dragged on a little at the end, but overall it is still a good read.
I received this book to review it.
 A terrific story - Connelly at his best November 22, 2009
Israel Drazin (Boca Raton, Florida)
Michael Connelly's books are consistently excellent, and Nine Dragons is clearly the best of them all.
The book is filled with gripping tension because of the multiple events, many of which are quite unusual. Harry Bosch, the brooding and melancholy, but enormously interesting and dedicated detective, needs to solve the murder of a man who once helped him when he was in need. Bosch's partner is a good man and a good cop, but seems to be afraid of working outside on the streets, and this causes problems for Bosch. A Chinese officer is assigned to help him, and the officer senses that Bosch is prejudiced against him.
Bosch's daughter is kidnapped in China. The Triads threaten him. His ex-wife wants to find their daughter, but blames him for the daughter being kidnapped. She threatens that once the daughter is found; she will not allow Bosch to see the daughter again.
Bosch needs to go to Hong Kong, China to find her. Where can he get a gun? How can he find his daughter in such a large city? Can he overcome the tension with his wife during the search? Will it hinder him? Will his ex-wife's beau hinder his efforts? Is this man associated with the Triads?
There seems to be a leak in the case in San Francisco. Someone seems to be telling the triads what Bosch is doing. Bosch makes mistakes and there are unintended consequences.
These are some of the many tensions that Connelly melds together to create this excellent mystery novel.
Who comes to help Bosch may surprise most readers; but surprise or not, it is a delight, for Bosch and for us.
9 Dragons November 22, 2009
Sandra Kirkland (High Point, North Carolina United States)
This is Michael Connelly's 15th book in his series about Harry Bosch. Harry is a homicide detective in LA. He lives for his job, and for his 13-year old daughter, Maddie, who lives with her mother in Hong Kong, and who he sees every couple of months for a few weeks.
As the book opens, Harry and his partner are assigned the next homicide. It seems a routine shopkiller murder; the victim an elderly Chinese man who immigrated to this country with his family and opened a store, then expanded to a second one. Harry and his partner soon discover though, that this killing isn't as routine as it seems. The storeowner was paying a weekly tribute to one of the Chinese Triads, the organized crime gangs that operate in both China and the United States. There is a good chance that this was a Triad killing, as the shopowner had told them he would stop paying due to lower sales.
Having identified the Triad operative who collected the tribute and is probably the killer, Harry and Chu, a policeman from the Asia Group Unit in the LA Police, start surveillance, hoping to find a way to make their case. They are surprised when the suspect comes out with a large suitcase, obviously on his way to flee the jurisdiction. Harry suspects that the man has been tipped off on the police investigation, something that could only occur from the inside.
To prevent the man's escape, he is arrested at the airport. The plan is to hold him until evidence can be found, but then a new, startling episode occurs. Harry gets a video on his cellphone. It is footage of Maddie being held hostage in Hong Kong, and there is a message that Harry must back off on the suspect or she will be harmed. Harry drops everything and flies to Hong Kong. There, helped by his ex-wife and her new partner, a man who works in security, they race against time and the Triads to find Maddie before she is hurt.
Fans of the Harry Bosch series will not be disappointed. I liked the first part which showed the routine workings of a murder investigation. It showed the beaucracy and budget and political considerations that often hamper police work, and seems much more realistic than many books that portray everything falling into place almost magically. The book changes tempo as Harry moves to Hong Kong. The suspense rachets up with every new encounter, as the reader anxiously follows to see if Harry will be successful. This book is recommended for mystery and thriller readers.
 One man's trash is another man's.... November 21, 2009
Peachy (Florida)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I purchased this book on the basis of the reviews I read on this very site. Years ago, I had a Connelly book on tape (The Overlook). Read by someone else, it was an okay story and I was desperate for something to read. I'm still looking for something to read.
After approximately 150 pages, I was 20 chapters into this story and that is where I couldn't take anymore of it. The writing is remedial at best. Although the genre is something that appeals to me, this book certainly supports the adage, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."
If you want this book - I will give you mine.
 Oops November 20, 2009
Pat in Northern Utah
[CONTAINS SPOILERS] Having read all of Michael Connelly's books and liking most of them a lot, I was looking forward to 9 Dragons. I was quite disappointed, though. No Michael Connelly feel to it at all. It seemed like Harry Bosch could have been anybody; he didn't seem to have much personality. One of the things that made prior books so interesting was Harry's grappling with the police/legal system where he usually fit like a square peg in a round hole. There was none of the usual tension between hierarchy and Harry; even his loo was supportive and reasonable. The other characters, both repeats from other books and new ones, also seemed flat. I couldn't even put a face on Sun Yee; I got no feel for what, if anything, he and Eleanor might have seen in each other. The whole search-and-rescue thing in Hong Kong was completely unbelievable, as so many other reviewers have pointed out. Harry, Eleanor, and Sun Yee simply did not have enough to go on to make the leaps of faith they did. And, why bring Mickey Haller into it at all if he's only going to play a part any lawyer could have played? How about expanding a bit on why Harry wasn't too keen on getting closer to Mickey and his daughter?--although I've read the prior books and understand the relationship, I'm sure many readers had no clue what was going on there. It almost seems like Connelly has a checklist now: mention Jack McEvoy (check), mention Mickey Haller (check), mention Eleanor Wish (check).
My concern now is that Connelly has painted himself into a corner and, if he continues with Harry, readers will have to contend with a newly kinder and gentler Harry as he embraces fatherhood full-time.
I do have to admit, though, that I am glad to see Eleanor gone; I never did like her.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 146
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