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BOOK REVIEW

Two Series of Novels

By Fred H. Olin, MD

A couple of times before I’ve commented on series of books that Haller, who doesn’t have a fixed office: he works from the back seat
are best read in the chronologic order of the stories in their world. of one of his three fully office-equipped Lincoln Town Cars. These
Here I am, doing it again. These books are the approximately 20 books intersect the Bosch books every now and then, particularly
police procedurals about a Los Angeles homicide detective named poignantly when Harry and Mickey discover an unsuspected rela-
Harry Bosch, written by Michael Connelly, and a really short series tionship. No spoilers here fans. You’ll have to read to find out.
of two books by Don Winslow about the Mexican drug cartels. If,
after we are done here you decide to read the Connelly books, you Don Winslow’s two books about Mexican drug cartels are “The
can find a list of the books in appropriate order on line. The books Power of the Dog” and “The Cartel,” and that’s the order in which
are individually good even if you don’t undertake the journey, but to read them. These are scary books: the writing makes the subject
in my opinion they’re better this way. frightening in its implications. Each contains scenes and episodes
that were written and published before events that mirrored these
One characteristic that each of these series shares with the other “fictional” occurrences happened in what passes for real life. Then,
and also with the other sets of books I recommended, including the very day I wrote this the Express-News’s headline was “Violence
David Downing’s Berlin books and Tana French’s Dublin Murder se- Roars Again in Mexican Border State.” The story was about two car-
ries, is that each book includes references to individuals and events tels killing each other’s members in Tamaulipas. That happened in
in previous books. If you recognize those, the current book makes “The Cartel” also.
more sense
I have read several other novels by Mr. Winslow that form a sort
Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch is a moody, driven sort of guy of series centered on the surfing and drug scenes in Southern Cali-
whose intense focus on each case that comes along is almost fornia. There is a bit of a chronologic link between a couple of them,
pathologic. In an interview, the author, Michael Connelly, said but they each stand alone quite well. They include “The Dawn Pa-
that as a result of Bosch’s background Harry feels that he must be trol,” “The Gentlemen’s Hour,” “Kings of Cool,” “Savages” and
“…relentless and bulletproof…” That’s “bulletproof ” in the sense “The Winter of Frankie Machine.”
that no one can get to him personally or emotionally. He was or-
phaned when his prostitute mother was murdered and spent his I borrowed all of the books referred to here from the San Antonio
childhood in foster homes and a youth hall. He was sent to Viet Public Library in one form or another. Think about looking them up.
Nam as a “tunnel rat,” going into the Viet Cong’s underground
network to search, kill and destroy. Privately, he’s a loner, who Fred H. Olin, M.D. is still a semi-retired orthopaedic surgeon
tends to sit in his hillside home and listen to saxophone jazz and who doesn’t seem to get much of his honey-do list done when he’s
have a beer. He is not good at relationships with women, although reading, but remember, he’s doing it JUST FOR YOU!
he does attract and keep (at least temporarily) several ladies who
are interesting character studies themselves. At work, Harry is
somewhat less concerned about his superior’s opinions of him
than perhaps he should be, and is openly at war with at least one,
Assistant Chief Irving. He’s intensely loyal to his several partners
and his sense of obligation to the victims and their families is what
drives his performance. Unlike some fictional detectives, both in
print and on TV, Harry seldom makes unsupported jumps to con-
clusions: he plugs away at what he has and sooner or later resolves
the mystery. Connelly’s writing is tight, concise and holds to-
gether well. There is minimal inter-book repetitiveness.

Connelly has another series of books based on “The Lincoln
Lawyer,” about a Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer, Mickey

34 San Antonio Medicine • June 2016