Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers

More of a diary than a book

I threw it away half way through

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Crime Beat Audio Book by Michael Connely

Very disappointed. It was about different stories he wrote about as a newspaper man. There was no story behind any of them. I gave it away before the last cd was finished.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I BOUGHT THIS BOOKIN 2003 AND LOVED IT!

I have read this book like 5 times and love it more and more each time!

I like Bosch¿s logical step by step process of culling through the clues in a case...

Reviewed by Stephen B for Readers Favorite

"Christmas Even"

A pawn shop owner suffering from repeated break-ins discovers what is at first assumed to be the dead body of the burglar still in his place of business. Harry Bosch, Los Angeles homicide detective, and his partner investigate and discover that things aren¿t always what they seem to be. How is the death connected to a saxophone found in the burglar¿s apartment, which was specially made for a famous jazz musician?

"Father¿s Day"

On the annual holiday Bosch investigates the death of a real estate¿s infant son. The child had some health problems, causing challenges for the parents. Suspicion falls upon the father who left the child unattended in an overheated automobile. Bosch negotiates the intricacies of the case as well as contemplating the facts about his relationship with his own child.

"Angle of Investigation"

Two days on the job, rookie patrolman and Vietnam veteran Harry Bosch and his training partner discover the corpses of a dog and its owner in a residential bathtub. Present day Bosch, ensconced in the cold cases department with partner Kiz Rider, tackles the decades¿ old murder.

This is another collection of short stories from Michael Connelly. These show the determined and dedicated homicide detective who will not give up on the little things about a case. I like Bosch¿s logical step by step process of culling through the clues in a case. This is especially shown in the first and last stories. Since I listened to an audio version of these stories I also have to state that the narrator in his slow precise style helped the stories along. He was clear and Connelly¿s style came through clearly. As a Bosch fan, I recommend taking small bites out of your day to listen to these stories.

Not for fiction lovers!

I am currently about 3/4 through this book. I am very disappointed and much prefer his fiction. This is like reading the same thing over and over because it will cover a case from police view, journalist view, TV views etc. and each one repeats much of the same details.

Ho Hum!

After the first few sentences, this book bored the hell out of this reader. having read the newspapers, all the rehashed stories were redundant. Connelly could've done much, much, MUCH better. Can a reader say refund?

Not as entertaining as Connelly's fiction, this accumulation of newspaper articles seems repetitive and boring.

Expecting something more like true-life stories in the vein of Harry Bosch or other Michael Connelly characters, I was disappointed by the way the material was presented, as newspaper articles. Sometimes a number of articles going over the same information became boring because it was so repetitive. I'm going to stick to his fiction, which I thoroughly enjoy, from now on.

Predictable

Good quick read. Short chapters with good start - stop places.

Michael Connelly fan but not on this book

The small crime stories did not interest me. I've never been disappointed in his novels.

It started off a little slow but really got into the book.

It started off a little slow but really got into the book.

CRIME BEAT

I am an avid reader. I love James Patterson, John Grisham, Janet Evanovich books, but someone recommended that I try Michael Connelly. I couldn't finish the book. It just didn't seem to be going anywhere, so after reading about one-third of it, I put it down and have no desire to pick it up again.

I love the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. Just be prepared to laugh out loud when you read them!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Sort of disappointing.

I didn't feel this book was to the standard of other Michael Connelly books I have read. I know it was a compilation of stories he worked on years back, but it was not very cohesive and it seemed to include lots of duplicated material.

Michael Connelly, Shame on You!

Never have I quit on a Michael Connelly book, but there is a first time for everything! There was none of the excitement of his other books just boring recounts of old stories. I kept thinking it would get better, but by page 56, I knew it was a stinker!

proof that truth is stranger than fiction

Whoever said truth was stranger than fiction might have been referring to bestselling author Connelly's first foray into non-fiction, Crime Beat. While all of us recognize his name thanks to such list toppers as The Lincoln Lawyer, Chasing the Dime and Blood Work, few may know that before writing novels he was a crime reporter, assigned to homicides. Crime Beat is a collection of the pieces he wrote during that time and are, if you can believe it, often even more chilling than his fictional tales. Admittedly, he found inspiration for many of his novels in his reporting days yet the pieces included in Crime Beat are even more compelling as they are related in the voices of the victims, their families, and the detectives who handled the cases. And, what voices they are! Len Cariou captures with his stage trained elocution and knife sharp diction. This Tony winner gives a first rate performance as the initial narrator explaining how Connelly came to be fascinated by police work. The second voice we hear is that of actress Nancy McKeon who grips listeners with her reading of the heartbreak of a victim's family. Many audio edition fans will remember her narration of Faye Kellerman's Street Dreams. Actor/director Carl Franklin whose films as a director include Devil A Blue Dress and One True Thing rounds out this stellar trio, reading with cool assurance. An added bonus is an introduction by Connelly. As for the actual crimes? Listening is believing and frightening, indeed, ranging from a psychopathic mass murderer who posed as a fashion photographer to a husband who hired someone to beat his wife to death. True crime enthusiasts will be enthralled. - Gail Cooke

Very Disappointing - Yawn!

Felt as though one of my absolute favorite authors let me down. I hope Connelly is not experiencing writer's block. I cannot think of any other reason to publish this collection of repetitive true crime newspaper articles. Admittedly he appears to have been a good reporter but I don't get the point of putting these into book form - especially without any additional observations or insights. It doesn't work. I have always considered Connelly to be an insightful author with great integrity and humanity - kind of like his own Harry Bosch - but the concept of this book seemed insincere. I was tempted to ask for my money back but will just keep it in my library with my beloved complete collection of Connelly books and will have to anxiously await his next book - as long as it is not a collection of his newspaper articles. I loved Lincoln Lawyer - a cool new character and I would very much enjoy getting to know him better.

A Waste of Time

What a disappointment! I love all of Connelly's books and was looking forward to a riveting read, but this is just a collection of old newspaper articles (1984, etc.) with no new info or comments from the author. There are several articles about each incident, so, as with newspapers, each subsequent article reintroduces the previously known facts. You end up reading the same information over and over. I gave up about halfway through the book.

A big letdown

I love Connelly's books and had high hopes for this one, after reading his introduction on how he came to be a crime writer and novelist. But what follows is simply a collection of what appears to be old newspaper stories about crime cases from the 80's and early 90's. There is no new insight or reflection on the author's part. I gave up about halfway through, but I still look forward to Connelly's next novel.

Disappointing

Michael Connelly is probably my favorite author of crime fiction, but this half hearted nonfiction effort is a huge waste of time. I realize this is nonfiction but none of Connelly's considerable creativity is used to make the 'true crime' stories even mildly interesting. Please Michael in the future stick to fiction and leave the nonfiction work to others more suited to the task.

I feel ripped off!

I really look forward to Connelly's books. I eagerly bought this one expecting his usual top drawer detective mystery writing. What I got instead was a dull rehash of crime stories that he wrote in the past as a reporter in Florida and Los Angeles. There is no reader satisfaction in this kind of writing.

I was robbed, get me Harry

This was a complete rip off, a bunch of rehahed newpaper reports from years ago put together to make a book. Not only boring but it then repeats the same story from different persepectives to confound the boredoom. Feels like to was put out just yo make a bick, shame on you Michael Connelly to treat your readers like this,