A Darkness More Than Night (Harry Bosch)

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And this is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil.

And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind… special thanks to Raymond Chandler for inspiring the title of the book. Describing in 1950 the time and place from which he drew his early crime stories, Chandler wrote, ‘The streets were dark with something more than night.’ Sometimes they still are”--Connelly Wham Line: A very minor one, given that it comes early, but to those familiar with Connelly's 'verse, Edward Gunn's name as the victim in the murder book McCaleb is working through instantly brings Harry Bosch's presence in this story into focus. Follow the Harry Bosch series or The Lincoln Lawyer series or the Renée Ballard series or Other Main Characters.I know you know the law, but I am compelled to explain the last charge. Your brother's death occurred during the commission of a felony. Therefore, under California law you, as his co-conspirator, are held responsible for his death. This is the judgment: The Light has come into the world and the children of men loved the darkness more than The Light, because their works were evil. Significant Name: Hieronymus Bosch was a Dutch painter who specialized in nightmarish hellscapes. The rather dark nature of the original Bosch's work, as well as elements of several Bosch paintings occurring in Gunn's murder scene, leads McCaleb to take even more interest in Detective Harry Bosch as a murder suspect. A discourse follows on what motivates homicide detectives: "For some it would seem as almost a game to prove they were better, smarter, more cunning than their quarry. Others saw themselves as being speakers for the dead. There was a sacred bond cast between victim and cop that formed at the crime scene and could not be severed."

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(19) And this is the condemnation.--For "condemnation" read judgment; for "light" and "darkness," the light and the darkness. The object is salvation, not judgment ( John 3:17); but the separation of the good involves the judgment of the evil. The light makes the darkness visible. Both were before men. That they chose darkness was the act of their own will, and this act of the will was determined by the evil of their deeds. "The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." (Comp. Note on John 1:5.) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?This, then, is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. Unfortunately, Terry McBlah has a starring role, and this book is more of his story than a Bosch story. Which is... fine. It's fine. If I ever do a re-read of this series, I'll just skip this dud. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. It's that bizarre owl that's the centerpiece of McCaleb's investigative efforts. Author Connelly leads McCaleb (and this fascinated reader) on a magnificent journey through "A Garden of Earthly Delights", as it were - a fabulously informative sidebar on the paintings of sixteenth century Dutch Renaissance painter, Hieronymus Bosch. It isn't long before McCaleb and Winston have Harry Bosch in their sights as their sole suspect in Gunn's murder. They've got it figured as Bosch meting out frontier justice because he couldn't corral Gunn within the framework of the legitimate legal system.

Michael Connelly writes thoughtfully about homicide detectives that they "were usually of two kinds, those who saw their jobs as a skill or craft, and those who saw it as a mission in life." McCaleb started his search for details on Gunn's murder with an interview of detective Harry Bosch. Bosch, who had been assigned the case of the prostitute's murder and was certain that Gunn had been the killer, was apparently one of the last people to see Gunn alive. But Bosch can only find time to give McCaleb the most cursory of interviews. His time and his mind are fully occupied as the star witness in the very high profile prosecution of David Storey. Storey, a fabulously wealthy Hollywood producer, is on trial for the sex slaying of a young actress. He's alleged to have strangled her during a bout of rough sex and then staged the scene to make her death look like a case of accidental auto-erotic asphyxia.Winston's case involves a scumbag named Edward Gunn who was once arrested by Harry Bosch for the murder of a prostitute. Gunn managed to beat the charge and has now been found murdered in a ritualistic fashion. Winston's case is going nowhere and she fears that this may be a serial killer who will be targeting victims after Gunn. She appeals to McCaleb who had worked with her previously, to look at the evidence and offer an opinion. I'm going to do you all a favor and copy Turdy McGee's profile of Bosch (which should be a red flag, because he's shouldn't be profiling a PERSON in the first place), in its entirety, so you can understand how expert he is at this: Lead Police Detective: Harry hasn't been on the witness stand for a while, so this is our first chance in several years to hear him explain in so many words what his job is and where it fits in the ranks. As of this novel, he is a Detective 3rd grade, which he explains is equivalent to Detective Sergeant, but that's a rank the LAPD does not use; one step up would be Detective Lieutenant. Also, he specifies that he is the lead detective of a three-detective team at Hollywood division's homicide squad, with some supervisory responsibilities over other officers. It was interesting to read about how in the past the bureau and to an extent the police department were divided into two groups when officers chose to join a church to impress their deputy chief, a lay preacher, in the hopes of increasing their odds of promotion, or just receive better assignments. "It was like the saints and the sinners - two distinct groups. The born again and the born against."

And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil. While Harry is involved with the latest celebrity trial L. A. County Sheriff detective Jaye Winston visits Terry McCaleb, the former FBI profiler who retired after a heart transplant. Edward Gunn was found dead in his apartment on New Year's Day. A ritualistic murder. The case has hit a dead end but Winston is afraid she may have a serial killer on her hand and Gunn's murder is only the first. McCaleb is now living quietly, running a charter fishing boat with his new wife, adopted son and daughter. Winston had worked with McCaleb previously and she wants his help in putting together a profile of Gunn's killer. Just look at the case documentation and give her a profile. McCaleb may be retired but as he starts working on a profile he becomes hooked and can't let it go. Right for the Wrong Reasons: Jaye Winston has a suspicion that the Gunn murder investigation cannot wait, and she is absolutely correct about that; the problem is, she suspects that it's a Serial Killer case and there will soon be another victim. The fact is, everything is part of a Frame-Up to discredit Harry Bosch's testimony at the David Storey trial. Had she not gotten Terry McCaleb involved, it's entirely possible that Storey's plan would have worked. This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.In a parallel and of course interconnected investigation, McCaleb is led to believe that Bosch may be guilty (again, no surprise that the MC tec is not really the culprit--as the main character culprit never is, yawn). Bosch confesses to McCaleb that Harvey Pounds was killed because of an off-the-books investigation he was involved in. As it happens Hieronymus Bosch happens to be Harry's given name, and Terry puts two and two together to make five. He tells Deputy Winston he thinks Bosch killed the trussed up victim. Oh no.....say it ain't so!! 😕 To avoid a spoiler I’m going to be vague here. I didn’t see the logic of why McCaleb thought Gunn’s murderer was X. The murder scene was made to look like a painting that many people owned copies of or had seen. So why did he suspect one of these people as a murderer? My immediate reaction was this could be a set up or a frame, but McCaleb didn’t consider that. The reason I like this series is because McCaleb and Bosch are smarter than I am, but that wasn’t happening here. McCaleb’s conclusion as to X being a suspect should have been better justified.