The Rif Raff Book Club's August reading was Angel's Flight by Michael Connelly.

Angel's Flight by Michael Connelly

This book was a nice sit on the beach summer read. I thought the plot was predictable the characters contrived. It seemed the author threw in racial stereotypes to illustrate the crazy political correctness we try to have in this country. Was Detective Bosch a racist? The author made him out to be way to clever, way too understanding and way to loyal for reality. The true real emotions of the character came out in his craving for a smoke and breaking down to have one. The book was a quick summer read and somewhat entertaining. The book did not leave me wanting more from this author and I was glad when it just ended.

This was quite the pulp fiction read. It was a good escapism book. Old Harry Bosch knows his way around police politics and always solves the crime. I enjoyed the Los Angelos setting and the references to current events. I liked the fact that most of the characters had human flaws - especially Harry's wife's addiction to gambling. The parts about how the internet works and how technology is used to solve crimes was fairly juvenile but I imagine it had to be explained in the easiest way possible. After reading this book, one just has to chuckle and say, "Boy, it must be tough being a police detective! You're our hero Harry."

This was your average read, reminded me of a Turow or Grisham type of story formula. The behind the web pages internet scenes were sort of intriguing yet depraved, when you realized that it involved child porn. I was expecting something more to happen with the Carla Endrekin (sp?) character. I actually thought she may have turned out to be the murderer, you know, jealous other woman angle, but I was quite surprised by the twist of events. This was a good pick for August, beach reading season.