Wulf's Book Reviews

Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another read, another Bosch. A better Bosch than the previous one and, yet, still not back to old form. It begins interestingly enough when Bosch is called out to a liquor store he knows from way back, the owner of which has been murdered. Just as usual, this sets off a police procedural with Harry Bosch at its front and centre. Ignacio Ferras, his latest partner, also makes some appearances, but only attains any kind of significance at the very end. What comes next, though, is in several ways a complete departure from earlier paths: Maddy, at this point 13, is abducted in Hong Kong. Bosch is contacted and is told in no uncertain terms that he’s to stop looking into things. This is where a completely different part of the novel begins. Bosch, of course, travels to Hong Kong to join forces with his ex-wife, Eleanor Wish, to rescue their daughter. This part is basically a wild manhunt through the city and its seedier districts. T...

Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren My rating: 3 of 5 stars Phew… Once more, I was looking for a fun romance and despite recent disappointment, I chose to go with Christina Lauren's “ Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating ”. This first sentence of the blurb accurately sums up the essence of this entire novel: “ Just friends. Just friends. JUST FRIENDS. If they repeat it enough, maybe it’ll be true… ” “ Hazel ”, the same blurb goes on to tell us, “ knows she’s a lot to take ”. Absolutely, and Hazel does it so well, it leads to a string of boring, horrible, humiliating, and/or confusing double dates on which Josh and Hazel set each other up. Through these ordeals, which they go through about nine times, they and the reader suffer, but Josh and Hazel realise only very late they were actually going out with each other. This reader, on the other hand, would have had the chance to learn through pain and DNF this… novel. (He didn’t.) Josh — well, guess what: ...

The Overlook by Michael Connelly My rating: 3 of 5 stars Ugh… I didn’t expect this. A bad Bosch novel! Well, bad is, of course, relatively speaking: “ The Overlook ”, instalment 13 of the ongoing Bosch series by Michael Connelly , isn’t outright bad. It’s just surprisingly and significantly mediocre. For the first time in his new job in Robbery Homicide Division (RHD) at Homicide Special as a senior investigator looking into cases that might require long-term engagement, Harry is called out to the eponymous overlook where a murder took place. Soon it becomes clear the case might not solely be a murder, but also a case of terrorism, and so the FBI is called in. Rachel Walling is first among them. If you remember the previous novel’s outcome with respect to Harry and Rachel, you might wonder at the tension between them. There’s a bit of it, but not much. “Not much” is, in fact, something that can be said about many aspects of this novel as well as the novel in its entirety. Harry is...

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren My rating: 3 of 5 stars Isn’t it the worst act of treason when a book disappoints? I was looking for a fun romance by one (or actually: two) of my favourite romance authors. That’s how I came across “ Love and Other Words ” by Christina Lauren and, sadly, and unusually, it turned traitor quickly! Macy and Elliott have been friends since childhood. They’re perfect for each other and they both know it. They even get together until one day, Macy breaks off contact for a whopping 11 years. The reasons? They do make sense, but eleven years? I’m not sure I can suspend my disbelief that much. This is where “Love” starts: Macy is now a resident physician. Elliott is, probably, some kind of author. Either we don’t really get to know, or I already forgot. He seems to pretty much have all the time in the world. Once they meet again, things start moving inexorably to the inevitable happily-ever-after. Unfortunately, despite many nice ideas, “Love” tells u...

Echo Park by Michael Connelly My rating: 4 of 5 stars Michael Connelly's “ Echo Park ” returns readers to the streets of Los Angeles, with LAPD detective Harry Bosch once again at the center of a haunting case which involves a file Bosch could never truly let go. Years later, new evidence in the form of a serial killer’s confession offers closure, but as is typical for Bosch, easy answers don’t satisfy him. This is classic Connelly territory: police work that’s both methodical and deeply personal, drawing readers into the emotional and ethical struggles of a detective haunted by the ones he couldn’t save. While “Echo Park” references previous Bosch cases and relationships, it would “work” for newcomers to the series as well. Long-time fans, however, may notice it lacks some of the intensity and inventiveness of earlier series entries, such as “The Concrete Blonde” or “The Last Coyote”. The plot moves briskly, but certain character arcs - particularly Bosch’s relationships with co...

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker My rating: 4 of 5 stars I went into “ All the Colors of the Dark ” by Chris Whitaker thinking it was a mystery or thriller which for the most part, it absolutely isn’t. “Colors” basically is the story of Patch, a one-eyed boy who helps a girl about to be abducted, and is abducted himself in the process. During his incarceration in absolute darkness, he’s joined by a girl, Grace, with whom he shares a year in captivity. He’s never going to get over her. » “I carved our initials in the oak tree by the graveyard,” he said. “Defacing nature for me, be still my beating heart,” she said, biting her lip to keep back her smile. « On the other hand, there’s Saint, a girl Patch’s age and his best friend. Even though she is a teenager when she meets Patch, it quickly becomes clear that Saint loves Patch boundlessly and unconditionally. After Patch’s abduction, Saint investigates tirelessly until she finds him. » To love and be loved was more than co...

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold My rating: 5 of 5 stars There’s a dragon in the land, and the prince needs to vanquish it in order to free the fair maiden. They triumphantly return, marry, and live happily ever after. I’ve never really questioned the scenario or really thought about it. With “ Damsel ” by Elana K. Arnold , this changed: The dragon’s lair is actually beautiful. Our damsel, Ama, isn’t all that much in distress - at least until the arrogant, self-serving prick of a prince, Emory, picks her up. As the story proceeded, I grew increasingly uncomfortable about how Ama is treated not only by the prince, but by everyone around her. All of her needs and wishes are dismissed at best, punished at worst. Ama is treated like a vessel; she has no “value” as a person but as a means to an end. (If you’re living in the US right now, Emory, under another name, is your king.) Ama is literally and metaphorically hurt by this, but never broken. In a furious, angry finale, she transcends the conf...

The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey My rating: 3 of 5 stars She has a death wish, he’d rather retire than help—in “ The Wolf Tree ” by Laura McCluskey , Georgina “George” Lennox and Richard “Richie” Stewart make for a weird pairing in a complicated story about life and death on Eilean Eadar, an isolated Scottish island. After months of leave due to having been injured during an operation, George makes it back to the police force and her old partner, Richie. Their assignment is to look into the assumed suicide of a young man from the aforementioned island, due to “inconsistencies”. At the outset, everything seems fine and the small community of about 200 people is close-knit. And, yet, there is something “off” from early on that neither the reader nor the inspectors can exactly point to. Sounds good, eh? Sadly, this is just the promising beginning of a story that, for a long time, doesn’t seem to go anywhere. George is bold to a fault, but never hesitates to help if she’s needed. She does...

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry My rating: 2 of 5 stars “ Great Big Beautiful Life ” by Emily Henry was promised to be just that: The love child of a well-known romance author, centring on two authors set against each other. The prize: To write a book about a famous socialite from a legendary family who disappeared and is shrouded in mystery. What could possibly go wrong? Well, for starters, while this novel had high hopes of growing up to become Taylor Jenkins Reid's “ The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo ”, a strong and bold story, “Life”’s story is immensely conventional. Whereas “Life” is “Dallas” or “Dynasty”, “Husbands” is “The Crown”. Margaret Ives, our former socialite, has no special story to tell our authors. It’s just a rich-girl story with some drama and tragedy and some, very simplistic, family secrets. Alice Scott, an author at a run-of-the-mill yellow press gossip magazine, senses the chance of a lifetime when she finds Margaret. Sadly, she just isn’t a very ...