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  • A Darkness More than Night: Harry Bosch Series, Book 7

  • Written by: Michael Connelly
  • Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
  • Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (73 ratings)

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A Darkness More than Night: Harry Bosch Series, Book 7 cover art

A Darkness More than Night: Harry Bosch Series, Book 7

Written by: Michael Connelly
Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
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Publisher's Summary

Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is up to his neck in a case that has transfixed all of celebrity-mad Los Angeles: a movie director is charged with murdering an actress during sex, and then staging her death to make it look like a suicide. Bosch is both the arresting officer and the star witness in a trial that has brought the Hollywood media pack out in full-throated frenzy.

Meanwhile, Terry McCaleb is enjoying an idyllic retirement on Catalina Island when a visit from an old colleague brings his former world rushing back. It's a murder, the unreadable kind of murder he specialized in solving back in his FBI days. The investigation has stalled, and the sheriff's office is asking McCaleb to take a quick look at the murder book to see if he turns up something they've missed.

McCaleb's first reading of the crime scene leads him to look for a methodical killer with a taste for rituals and revenge. As his quick look accelerates into a full-sprint investigation, the two crimes - his murdered loner and Bosch's movie director - begin to overlap strangely. With one unsettling revelation after another, they merge, becoming one impossible, terrifying case, involving almost inconceivable calculation. McCaleb believes he has unmasked the most frightening killer ever to cross his sights. But his investigation tangles with Bosch's lines, and the two men find themselves at odds in the most dangerous investigation of their lives.

©2001 by Hieronymus, Inc., All Rights Reserved (P)2001 Time Warner AudioBooks, a Division of Time Warner Trade Publishing

What the critics say

"[This] novel is...flawless, cleverly conceived, superbly plotted, and morally complex..." (Publishers Weekly)
"Connelly allows Bosch and McCaleb to regard each other critically in ways that sharpen the reader's perception of them..." (New Yorker)

What listeners say about A Darkness More than Night: Harry Bosch Series, Book 7

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best Bosch Yet

After the Black Echo this is Bosch’s best story. The narrator is not my favourite, but the story is incredible. Love the addition of Terry McCaleb.

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not my favourite

I had hard time getting into this one as the narrator’s voice for Bosch was just awful. Sounded like an 80 year old drunk. Sadly this thru off the entire book for me, not too mention it was more about the secondary character than Bosch.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Quality 'Crossover' Of Sorts

This engrossing mystery is largely a Terry McCaleb investigation, but Harry Bosch is integral to the tale, Jack McEvoy (from the 'Poet' books) makes an appearance, and even Mickey Haller (the 'Lincoln Lawyer') is mentioned. This book incorporates virtually all of Michael Connelly's protagonists in some form or another - 'A Darkness More Than Night' is a real treat for Connelly fans.
Don't worry. Those unfamiliar with Connelly's previous efforts are offered a quality twisty Crime Thriller, too (you don't need to know those characters in order to enjoy this whodunit). Retired FBI Profiler Terry McCaleb is asked to help with the hopelesly stalled murder investigation of a known scumbag - while LAPD Homicide Detective Harry Bosch testifies in a straight-out-of-the-headlines sensational "Trial Of The Century". LA Times/Fair Warning reporter Jack McEvoy gets involved in twisting the two cases together and Connelly brings us to a pulse-pounding climax.

Hachette Audio does a very nice job bringing this story to the Audiobook audience. Sound quality is admirable and Richard M. Davidson gives a performance with excellent diction, spot-on timbre/cadence/tone, and notable voice-acting.

Takin in toto, this recording rates 9.5 stars out of 10. Fans of Mystery-Thrillers in general and Michael Connelly fans in particular shouldn't hesitate to spend the Credit.

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Good listen.

Understand why narratir had to use two distinct voices fot Terry and Harry but Harry sounded so gruff, so different from the Harry in other books.
overall though did not take away from the story. thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Keith
  • 2005-11-23

Narrator is the worst ever

The book content is good. But, the narrator completely ruins it. His voice is extremely annoying -- starts sentences loudly and ends sentences in a barely audible mumble.

81 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Douglas
  • 2007-08-26

A Darkness More Than Night

I'm sure this is a good book--Michael Connelly is a major crime novel talent--but the reader, Richard M Davidson, is terrible. I could only bear listening to a couple of chapters, then I had to stop. Davidson's crude narration is like someone sightreading the 6:00 News rather than reading a story. And he mispronounces words. I will never purchase or listen to anything by this reader again.

51 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Pacific NW Islander
  • 2011-10-21

Great story, but mispronunciations were annoying

Cabrillo does NOT rhyme with Brillo (as in Brillo pads). Cabrillo is a Spanish word--ca-bree-o. There were other words also mispronounced--it distracted from the story. Also, Harry was voiced as an old cop, with a gravelly voice--not in tune with prior audio books in this series.

42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Creed
  • 2006-11-18

Next narrator, please!

The story was OK, I found it entertaining, if not up to par for a Harry Bosch story. However, Mr. Davidson's narration was simply annoying. The reading sounded like an old 40's newsreel, which did not suit the genre or the story at all.

40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Aaron
  • 2003-03-06

Terrific Pairing of Connelly's best Detectives.

For fans of Michael Connelly this book was a delight. Terry McCaleb back in a new book and the main suspect is Harry Bosch. Connelly did a masterful job of combining his two stars into one novel. The story is well written and full of twists and suspence. Definitely a book that deserves to be called a page turner.

40 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Ed
  • 2007-02-24

Screams and Whispers

This book lost one star for its narration and one star for the ridiculous way that one of the suspects was profiled. I listened to the book primarily in my car and was constantly adjusting the volume to account for Davidson's screams and whispers. Maybe it wasn't the narrator's fault. Maybe the sound mixer should have done a better job. Either way, the frequent highs and lows were distracting and annoying. Pretend, if you will, that you're not an ex-president and you're name is Richard Nixon. If you were going to commit a crime would you leave a photograph of the Watergate Hotel at the crime scene? Or if you were trying to frame Mr. Nixon for a crime, would you leave a photo of the Watergate at the scene? Well the premise is similar in this book, although the connection is not as obvious. Even if you accept the premise then the more likely conclusion would be that someone was trying to frame Nixon. Not in the this book. If you can get past this and the narration, it was an otherwise enjoyable listen. This was my second Connelly book but my first McCaleb/Bosch listen. I'll try another with a different narrator.

29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Ted
  • 2012-06-17

Not As Good!

First off, Richard Davidson's reading comes as a shock! I was used to Dick Hill's powerfully nuanced interpretation of Harry Bosch and the Connelly ensembles of characters. Davidson's growling, one-dimensional performance is abrasive. He's just as annoying with his interpretation here of the legendary Terry McCaleb who Clint Eastwood created in his film portrayal.

Secondly, Connelly demands that we stretch our levels of disbelief to the point of tearing to make it over critical plot demands. I almost chucked things at how abruptly we were asked to accept the way Bosch's friends turned on him.

If not for the momentum this series has ignited in me, and the promise of a new reader in oncoming novels, I'd not have held on through the adequate ... but PREACHY... remainder of this novel.

I'm hoping the next in this series will repay the tenacity it took to finish... A Darkness More Than Night. Up until now, I owed Connelly for an entertaining series. Going into Peter Jay Fernandez's reading of the next... City Of Bones... We're even and I'm wondering if that will be my last visit to Harry Bosch's California...

25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Marius
  • 2007-08-02

Anchor Steam, strangulation, sinners and set-ups

A classic well-drawn West Coast cop thriller. A minor criticism is that it takes a while (from the cop perspective) for the penny to drop, straining credibility a little. This is the third Harry Bosch book I’ve listened to, and Michael Connelly certainly has a gift for creating interesting characters, using a crisp and effective writing technique. The narrator, Richard Davidson, does a great job, not only with the obligatory “tough guy” stuff, but also with the full range of characters.

16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Marcus
  • 2011-05-15

Meh story, even worse narrator

Off the bat, in the prologue, you'll notice two things: this isn't structured like a typical Bosch novel and the narrator is subpar (especially on Bosch's voice).

The story is told half and half between a retired FBI guy Terry McCaleb and Bosch. You spend most of the novel wondering when things are going to get more consolidated and you get back in the seat with Bosch full time, but they don't, it never becomes a true Bosch novel and the plot remains split between two main characters.

On top of that, the plot is just ridiculous. I know Connelly likes to leave a little surprise for the ending, but this one was just sad. You could see it coming (the twist), but at the same time, it was so absurd and inconsequential that you had no idea what it was nor even really cared after it was revealed.

Definitely not one of Connelly's best works, and the narrator made it even worse.

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • El Loco
  • 2003-12-10

Disappointing

This was by no means a bad book, but after reading the reviews I expected a little more from it. This was my first time reading about the Adventures of Harry Bosch, but as such I never really, truly cared about the characters. Sure, I had some vested interest, but even this hardly mattered.
My main complaint is the lack of things to keep the book going. Except for maybe a tiny bit in the beginning, and a tiny bit at the end, there was absolutely no action going on. A detective-type story has lots of potential for exciting scenes; this book rarely capitalized on that. Frankly, I just didn't find the investigation that exciting. There were only a select few times that I didn't find it easy to put the book down.
Overall, it's an average book. Not bad - it was enjoyable, after all - but nothing to tell a friend about either. There are better choices out there.

11 people found this helpful