Best Book in a Genre I Didn’t Think I Liked: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. I loved this book. I know I wrote a review of it, but I had to mention it again. It’s a great book and I highly recommend it.

Best Michael Connelly Book: I love Michael Connelly. He is one of my favorite crime/thriller authors. However, I was less than impressed by 9 Dragons. Sure the Hong Kong imagery was good, but I didn’t feel like the story was there, like is has been in previous books. Yes, I enjoyed the book, but not one I have any interest in reading again. I also enjoyed The Scarecrow, but my favorite Michael Connelly book I read this year was The Brass Verdict. I found the story compelling and I loved seeing Bosch from another person’s perspective. With exception of the “surprise” at the end of the book (which I found disappointing) this was a great book.

Best Conclusion to a Trilogy: One of my new favorite authors is Brandon Sanderson. I read Mistborn and absolutely loved it. In 2009, I read the final two books of the Mistborn Trilogy: The Well of Ascension and The Hero of the Ages. In these final two books, Sanderson does what few authors do. He completes a trilogy in which each of the books is interesting, and enjoyable, yet each tells a different story and accounts for the changes that occur as a result of the actions in the prior book(s). I particularly like The Well of Ascension in that it tells the story that is rarely told, namely the rebels have won and are in charge: now what? I cannot recommend these three books highly enough.

Nonfiction Book I Bought on a Whim: I normally do not read a lot of nonfiction. This year, however, I was in Seattle and browsing at the Elliot Bay Book Company when I came across Traffic: Why We Drive the the Way We Do. I flipped through the book and thought it looked interesting. I eventually bought the book and really enjoyed it. Traffic is one of those things that endlessly frustrates me. It was great to read this analysis of traffic as well as many explanations about how our views about traffic are intuitive, but wrong. I know this is a strange book to point out, but I enjoyed it so much, that I sent it to my sister as a Christmas present.

Of course I read a number of other books that I enjoyed as well. Without going into details, I would just say that I really enjoyed the following books as well: The Reapers and The Lovers by John Connolly, 7th Son: Descent by J.C. Hutchins, and Whiskey Rebels by David Liss.

The book begins with McEvoy learning that he is being laid off and that for the two weeks that he has left, he must spend his time training his replacement. From there, the book addresses many of the issues currently facing the newspaper industry and its employees.

As a former crime reporter, Connelly brings his knowledge of the industry to the novel and brings the newsroom alive. Maybe it is because I find the study of the decline of the newspaper industry fascinating, but I found this story more interesting than the actual plot of the novel.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the book. The plot was typical Connelly (this is a good thing in my book) with plenty of action to keep things moving and a bad guy that was certainly creepy.

One of the things that made this book less creepy, however, was that, like The Poet (the novel where McEvoy first appears) the story is told from both McEvoy’s and the bad guy’s point of view. This means that, even when McEvoy thinks he has everything figured out, you know that he doesn’t.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the time I spent reading the book and would not hesitate to suggest it to anyone who likes Connelly’s books.

On a related note, there are two other aspects about this book that I really enjoyed. First, there is a book trailer that gives some back story into events that happen before the book starts. You can find chapter one, chapter two, and chapter three, all on YouTube. I thoroughly enjoyed the movies. I also picked up on two two (admittedly inconsequential) inconstancies between the book and the movies. However, I recommend that you check them out. They contain no spoilers, so feel free to watch them before you read the book.

The second thing was that there are a number of websites referenced in the book. Those sites take you to secret locations on Connelly’s website that include additional background information about things in the book. As an added bonus, if you read the book on a Kindle (as I did), the hyperlinks are active and you can easily navigate to the sites with a simple click.

You can buy the book in hardcover

Or in a Kindle edition.

The story revolves around a trial for a major client that has been accused of murdering his wife and her lover. Haller gets the case (and several more) by inheriting them when a fellow defense attorney is murdered. Bosch is trying to solve the murder of the first defense attorney while Haller is trying to build a defense for his client.

The book is very much in the vien of The Lincoln Lawyer and is an enjoyable ride. It includes many twists and turns as you try to figure out who killed the first defense attorney and why as well as whether Haller’s client is guilty of not. I really enjoyed the book and completed it in less than 48 hours. If you like Connelly’s other books, you will like this one.

Notwithstanding my enjoyment of the book, I did have a couple of small quibbles with it. It turns out that Haller was as much of a jazz aficionado as Bosch is. The scene where this is discussed, just didn’t ring true to me. Second, there is a reveal at the end of the book that I just did not enjoy. It felt contrived and pointless to me. Nevertheless, these quibbles did not dampen the overall quality of the book for me.

As an additional bonus, you can listen to a chapeter that Connelly cut from the novel. It deals with one of the  other cases that Haller inherited. This case doesn’t really have anything to do with the events of the book (thus explaining why Connelly cut it).  However, it is an enjoyable short piece that provides a nice insight in the failings of the justice system. You can download an mp3 of Connelly reading this chaper at Crimewav.com. If you enjoy crime fiction  and are not familiar with Crimewav, I urge you to check it out.