Michael Connelly (other)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring
LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney
Mickey Haller J. Michael "Mickey" Haller, Junior is a fictional character created by Michael Connelly in the 2005 novel ''The Lincoln Lawyer''. Haller, a Los Angeles-based defense attorney, is the paternal half-brother of Connelly's best-known character, LAP ...
. Connelly is the bestselling author of 38 novels and one work of non-fiction, with over 74 million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into 40 languages. His first novel, '' The Black Echo'', won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002,
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly's 1997 novel, '' Blood Work''. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of Connelly's novel '' The Lincoln Lawyer'' starred Matthew McConaughey as
Mickey Haller J. Michael "Mickey" Haller, Junior is a fictional character created by Michael Connelly in the 2005 novel ''The Lincoln Lawyer''. Haller, a Los Angeles-based defense attorney, is the paternal half-brother of Connelly's best-known character, LAP ...
. Connelly was the President of the Mystery Writers of America from 2003 to 2004.


Early life

Connelly was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second eldest child of W. Michael Connelly, a property developer, and Mary Connelly, a homemaker. He is of Irish ancestry. According to Connelly, his father was a frustrated artist who encouraged his children to want to succeed in life and was a risk taker who alternated between success and failure in his pursuit of a career. Connelly's mother was a fan of crime fiction and introduced her son to the world of
mystery novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
. At age 12, Connelly moved with his family from Philadelphia to
Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
, where he attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School. At age 16, Connelly's interest in crime and mystery escalated when, on his way home from his work as a hotel dishwasher, he witnessed a man throw an object into a hedge. Connelly decided to investigate and found that the object was a gun wrapped in a
lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...
shirt. After putting the gun back, he followed the man to a bar and then left to go home to tell his father. Later that night, Connelly brought the police down to the bar, but the man was already gone. This event introduced Connelly to the world of police officers and their lives, impressing him with the way they worked. Connelly had planned on following his father's early choice of career in building construction and started out at the University of Florida in Gainesville, at the Rinker School of Building Construction, studying construction management. After earning grades that were lower than expected, Connelly went to see
Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...
's film '' The Long Goodbye'' (1973). The film, based on
Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
's eponymous 1953 novel, inspired Connelly to want to become a mystery writer. Connelly went home and read all of Chandler's works featuring Philip Marlowe, and decided to transfer to the
University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications The College of Journalism and Communications is an academic college of the University of Florida. The centerpiece of the journalism programs at UF is WUFT, which consists of both a WUFT (TV) Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television a ...
, major in journalism, and minor in creative writing.


Early career

After graduating from the University of Florida in 1980, Connelly got a job as a crime beat writer at the '' Daytona Beach News-Journal'', where he worked for almost two years until he went to the '' Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel'' in 1981. There, he covered the crime beat during the South Florida cocaine wars. He stayed with the paper for a few years and in 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of the 1985
Delta Flight 191 Delta Air Lines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled Delta Air Lines domestic service from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Los Angeles with an intermediate stop at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). On August 2, 1985, the Lockheed ...
plane crash, which story earned Connelly a place as a finalist for the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
. The honor also brought Connelly a job as a crime reporter at the '' Los Angeles Times''. He moved to California in 1987 with his wife Linda McCaleb, whom he met while in college and married in April 1984. After moving to Los Angeles, Connelly went to see High Tower Court where
Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
's character Philip Marlowe had lived (in his 1942 novel '' The High Window''), and
Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...
had used for his film '' The Long Goodbye'' (1973). Connelly got the manager of the building to promise to phone him if the apartment ever became available. Ten years later, the manager tracked Connelly down, and Connelly decided to rent the place. This apartment served as a place to write for several years. After three years at the ''Los Angeles Times'', Connelly wrote his first published novel, '' The Black Echo'' (1992), after previously writing two unfinished novels that he did not attempt to get published. He sold ''The Black Echo'' to Little, Brown to be published in 1992 and won the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best first Novel. The book is partly based on a true crime and is the first one featuring Connelly's primary recurring character, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch, a man who, according to Connelly, shares few similarities with the author himself. Connelly named Bosch after the Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch, known for his paintings full of sin and redemption, such as the painting ''
Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
'', a copy of which hangs on the office wall behind Connelly's computer. Connelly describes his own work as a big canvas with all the characters of his books floating across it as currents on a painting. Sometimes they are bound to collide, creating cross currents. This is something that Connelly creates by bringing back characters from previous books and letting them play a part in books written five or six years after first being introduced. Connelly went on to write three more novels about Detective Bosch—''
The Black Ice ''The Black Ice'' is the second novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. Plot In the book, narcotics officer Calexico (named after the place Calexico) Moore's body is disco ...
'' (1993), ''
The Concrete Blonde ''The Concrete Blonde'' is the third novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was published in 1994. Background Connelly said that he obtained the seed idea for ''The Co ...
'' (1994), and ''
The Last Coyote ''The Last Coyote'' is the fourth novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was first published in 1995 and the novel won the 1996 Dilys Award given by the Independent Myst ...
'' (1995)—before quitting his job as a reporter to write full-time.


Full-time novelist

Michael Connelly received a good deal of publicity in 1994, when President Bill Clinton came out of a bookstore carrying a copy of ''
The Concrete Blonde ''The Concrete Blonde'' is the third novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was published in 1994. Background Connelly said that he obtained the seed idea for ''The Co ...
'' in front of the waiting cameras. A meeting was set up between the two at
Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
. In 1996, Connelly wrote '' The Poet'', his first book not to feature Bosch, instead the protagonist was reporter Jack McEvoy. The book was a success. In 1997, Connelly returned to Bosch in '' Trunk Music'' before writing another book, '' Blood Work'' (1997), about a different character, FBI agent
Terry McCaleb ''Blood Work'' is a 1998 mystery thriller novel written by Michael Connelly which marks the first appearance of Terry McCaleb. The character McCaleb later returns in ''A Darkness More Than Night'' (2000). The book ''Blood Work'' was used as the ...
. ''Blood Work'' was made into a film in 2002, directed by
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
, who also played McCaleb, an agent with a transplanted heart, in pursuit of his donor's murderer. The book came together after one of Connelly's friends had a heart transplant and he saw what his friend was going through with survivor's guilt after the surgery. When asked if he had anything against the changes made to fit the big screen, Connelly simply replied: "If you take their money, it's their turn to tell the story". Connelly wrote another book featuring Bosch, '' Angels Flight'' (1999), before writing ''
Void Moon ''Void Moon'' is the ninth novel by American crime author Michael Connelly. It was released in the UK in 2000 and was the third of Connelly's books not to follow the character Harry Bosch. It was also his first novel to feature a female protag ...
'' (2000), a free-standing book about Las Vegas thief Cassie Black. In 2001, ''
A Darkness More Than Night ''A Darkness More Than Night'' is the tenth novel by American crime author Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detecti ...
'' was published, in which Connelly united Bosch and McCaleb to solve a crime together, before releasing two books in 2002. The first, '' City of Bones'', was the eighth Bosch novel, and the other, ''
Chasing the Dime ''Chasing the Dime'' is a 2002 novel by American crime-writer Michael Connelly. It is his twelfth novel overall, and the only one to feature protagonist Henry Pierce. The story is told in third-person narrative. Plot summary Henry Pierce's na ...
'', was a non-series novel. In 2001, Connelly left California for
Tampa Bay, Florida Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...
, together with his wife and daughter, so that both he and his wife could be closer to their families. His novels still took place in Los Angeles. In 2003, another Bosch novel, '' Lost Light'', was published. With this book, a CD was released, ''Dark Sacred Night, the Music of Harry Bosch'', featuring some of the jazz music that both Connelly and the fictional character Bosch listen to. While writing Connelly listens exclusively to instrumental jazz, though, because it does not have intrusive vocals, and because the improvisational playing inspires his writing. '' The Narrows'', published in 2004, was a sequel to ''The Poet'' but featured Bosch instead of McEvoy. Together with this book, a DVD was released called ''Blue Neon Night: Michael Connelly's Los Angeles'', in which film Connelly presents some of the places in Los Angeles that are frequently featured in his books. ''
The Closers ''The Closers'' is the 15th novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, and the eleventh featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. This novel features a return to an omniscient third-person style narration after the pr ...
'', published in May 2005, was the 11th Bosch novel. It was followed by '' The Lincoln Lawyer'' in October, Connelly's first legal novel; it features defense attorney
Mickey Haller J. Michael "Mickey" Haller, Junior is a fictional character created by Michael Connelly in the 2005 novel ''The Lincoln Lawyer''. Haller, a Los Angeles-based defense attorney, is the paternal half-brother of Connelly's best-known character, LAP ...
, Bosch's half-brother. The book was made into a film in 2011, starring Matthew McConaughey as Haller. After releasing ''Crime Beat'' (2004), a non-fiction book about Connelly's experiences as a crime reporter, Connelly went back to Bosch with '' Echo Park'' (2006). This book sets its opening scene in the High Tower Apartment that Connelly rented and wrote from. His next Bosch story, ''
The Overlook ''The Overlook'' is the 18th novel by American crime writer Michael Connelly, and the thirteenth featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. The novel first appeared in serialised form in ''The New York Times Magazine'', in s ...
'', was originally published as a multi-part series in the ''
New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
''. After some editing, it was published as a novel in 2007. In October 2008, Connelly wrote ''
The Brass Verdict ''The Brass Verdict'' is the 19th novel by American author Michael Connelly and features the second appearance of Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael "Mickey" Haller. Connelly introduced Haller in his bestselling 2005 novel ''The Lincol ...
'', which brought together Bosch and Haller for the first time. He followed that with '' The Scarecrow'' (May 2009), which brought back McEvoy as the lead character. '' 9 Dragons'', a novel taking Bosch to Hong Kong, was published in October 2009. ''The Reversal'' (October 2010), reunites Bosch & Haller as they work together under the banner of the state on the retrial of a child murderer. The Haller novel ''The Fifth Witness'' was published in 2011. '' The Drop'', which refers in part to the "Deferred Retirement Option Plan" that was described in the novel ''
The Brass Verdict ''The Brass Verdict'' is the 19th novel by American author Michael Connelly and features the second appearance of Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael "Mickey" Haller. Connelly introduced Haller in his bestselling 2005 novel ''The Lincol ...
'' (2008), was published in November 2011. The next Bosch novel was ''The Black Box'' (2012). Connelly's subsequent novel, a legal thriller, was a return to Haller: ''
The Gods of Guilt ''The Gods of Guilt'' is the 26th novel by American author Michael Connelly and his fifth to feature Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. The book was published in the United States on December 2, 2013. The novel follows Haller ...
'' (2013). His next book returned to Bosch in ''
The Burning Room ''The Burning Room'' is the 27th novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, and the seventeenth novel featuring Los Angeles Police Department detective Harry Bosch. The book was published by Little, Brown and Company on November 3, 2014 F ...
'' (2014), and then Connelly used Haller as a main supporting character in the Bosch novels ''The Crossing'' (2015) and ''
The Wrong Side of Goodbye Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly is the bestsel ...
'' (2016).


Film and television

* Connelly was one of the creators and executive producers of '' Level 9'', an action TV series that aired for 13 episodes in the 2000-2001 season on the UPN television network. * His novel '' Blood Work'' was adapted into a 2002 film with a screenplay by Brian Helgeland and direction by
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
, who also played the lead role. * Connelly is the subject of the video documentary ''Blue Neon Night: Michael Connelly's Los Angeles'' (2004). * He occasionally made guest appearances as himself in the ABC comedy/drama TV series ''
Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
''. Along with fellow crime authors James Patterson, Dennis Lehane, and
Stephen J. Cannell Stephen Joseph Cannell (; February 5, 1941 – September 30, 2010) was an American television producer, writer, novelist, occasional actor, and founder of Cannell Entertainment (formerly Stephen J. Cannell Productions) and the Cannell Studios. ...
, he was one of Castle's poker buddies. * Connelly's novel ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' was made into a
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 2011, with Matthew McConaughey playing defense lawyer Michael "Mickey" Haller. * In 2022, Netflix adapted Connelly's second novel in ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' series, ''
The Brass Verdict ''The Brass Verdict'' is the 19th novel by American author Michael Connelly and features the second appearance of Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael "Mickey" Haller. Connelly introduced Haller in his bestselling 2005 novel ''The Lincol ...
'', into a 10-episode series simply titled '' The Lincoln Lawyer (TV series)'' (with certain plot points changed to update the story as the original novel was written in 2008). Due to the series reaching #2 on the most viewed series on Netflix in its first three days as well as incredibly favorable audience reviews and a strong critical response, a second season was ordered in 2022 which will reportedly be based upon Connelly's fourth novel in ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' series, ''
The Fifth Witness ''The Fifth Witness'' is the 23rd novel by American author Michael Connelly and features the fourth starring appearance of Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael "Mickey" Haller. ''The Fifth Witness'' was published in the United States ...
''. The second season streamed on Netflix sometime in 2023, the third season is expected late 2024. * Connelly is the executive producer of '' Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story'', a documentary about the jazz saxophone player, Frank Morgan. * Connelly produced a TV series for Amazon Studios called '' Bosch,'' based on Connelly's Harry Bosch novels. It began streaming on
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...
in early 2014, and ran for seven seasons on Amazon, concluding in 2021. A spin-off called '' Bosch: Legacy'', also produced by Connelly, began streaming on Amazon Freevee in 2022. * Connelly's short story ''Avalon'' is being adapted into a television series by David E. Kelley and Connelly for
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
.


Awards and honors

Connelly has won nearly every major award given to mystery writers, including the
Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...
,
Anthony Award The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Among the m ...
,
Macavity Award The Macavity Awards are a literary award for mystery writers. Nominated and voted upon annually by the members of the Mystery Readers International, the award is named for the " mystery cat" of T. S. Eliot's ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' ...
, ''Los Angeles Times'' Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award,
Dilys Award The Dilys Award was presented every year from 1992 to 2014 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It was given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Booksellers ...
,
Nero Award The Nero Award is a literary award for excellence in the mystery genre presented by The Wolfe Pack, a society founded in 1978 to explore and celebrate the Nero Wolfe stories of Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, ...
, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award,
Maltese Falcon Award The Maltese Falcon Society is an organization for admirers of Dashiell Hammett, his 1930 novel '' The Maltese Falcon,'' and hardboiled mystery books and writers in general. Founded in San Francisco in 1981, the organization is no longer active in th ...
(Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (France) and
Premio Bancarella Award The Premio Bancarella is an Italian literary prize established in 1953; it is given in Pontremoli every year, the last Saturday or the last Sunday in July. At first, six books are selected and award the ''Premio Selezione Bancarella'', then the b ...
(Italy). In 2012, ''The Black Box'' won the world's most lucrative crime fiction award, the RBA Prize for Crime Writing worth €125,000. He received the
Cartier Diamond Dagger The Diamond Dagger is an award given by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime's contribution to the genre. Winners * 1986 – Eric Ambler * 1987 – P. D. James * 1988 – John le Car ...
in 2018 from the
Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors’ organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its Dagger awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. T ...
.


Writing techniques

When starting a book, he says, the story is not always clear, but Connelly has “a hunch” as to where it is going. The books often reference real-world events, such as the
1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...
and the September 11 attacks. Events that might seem of minor significance are included in some of the books, because of Connelly’s personal interest in them. For example, ''City of Bones'', in which Detective Bosch investigates the murder of an 11-year-old boy, was written during Connelly's early years as a father of a daughter, and it hit close to home. According to Connelly, he didn't mean to write about the biggest fear of his life; it just came out that way. David Geherin states that Connelly "deliberately avoids ornate language, the kind that makes the reader stop and savor the choice of words or elegant phrasing. He doesn't want anything to inhibit the forward momentum he is working to create." Detective Bosch's life usually changes in harmony with Connelly's own life. When Connelly moved 3,000 miles across the country, Bosch's experiences sent him in a new direction in ''City of Bones'', written at that time. According to Connelly, his "real" job is to write about Bosch, and he brought McCaleb and Bosch together in ''
A Darkness More Than Night ''A Darkness More Than Night'' is the tenth novel by American crime author Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detecti ...
'' in order to look at Bosch from another perspective and to keep the character interesting. Connelly often changes perspectives between characters in his novels. In ''Void Moon'', Connelly frequently alternates between following protagonist Cassie Black and antagonist Jack Karch. In ''Fair Warning'', Connelly outright changes the overarching perspective of the book on occasion, regularly following protagonist Jack McEvoy in a first-person point of view while occasionally branching away from his story to follow the antagonists in third-person.


Recurring characters

Every character in the list below, with one exception, has appeared in a Harry Bosch book. All of Michael Connelly's novels occur in the same fictional universe and character crossovers are common.


Main characters

* Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch – a Los Angeles Police Department detective. * Michael "Mickey" Haller – criminal defense attorney and Bosch's half-brother. * Terrell "Terry" McCaleb – criminal profiler for the Federal Bureau of Investigation assigned to Los Angeles. While tracking down "The Code Killer", McCaleb needed a heart transplant. While recovering from his surgery, McCaleb is contacted by Graciela Rivers, the sister of the woman whose heart was implanted in his body. She asks him to investigate her sister's murder. A movie based on the novel and starring Clint Eastwood was released in 2002. * Jack McEvoy – crime reporter, brother of one of the Poet's victims. *
Rachel Walling ''The Poet'' is the fifth novel by American author Michael Connelly. Published in 1996, it is the first of Connelly's novels not to feature Detective Harry Bosch and first to feature Crime Reporter Jack McEvoy. A sequel, ''The Narrows'', was pu ...
– FBI agent. * Cassidy "Cassie" Black – burglar and ex-con. Lead character in ''Void Moon''. Has a cameo in ''The Narrows''. She is described by Mickey Haller in ''The Brass Verdict'' as a client by way of her unique modus operandi. * Henry Pierce – Chemical scientist and entrepreneur. Lead character in ''Chasing the Dime''. Pierce is the only Connelly character who has never appeared in a Harry Bosch novel (in fact he has not appeared in any other Connelly novel). However, Bosch was referred to by a character in ''Chasing the Dime,'' although not by name. * Renée Ballard – a Los Angeles Police Department detective.


Other characters

Each of these characters has appeared in at least two of Connelly's novels. * Lieutenant Grace "Bullets" Billets – Harvey Pounds' successor as Bosch's supervisor in Hollywood Homicide squad. When first introduced, she had a husband, but was in a
same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries w ...
with Kiz Rider. * Madeline "Maddie" Bosch – daughter of Bosch and Eleanor Wish; Mickey Haller's niece. * Joel Bremmer - Keisha Russell's predecessor on the ''LA Times'' crime beat. In ''
The Concrete Blonde ''The Concrete Blonde'' is the third novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was published in 1994. Background Connelly said that he obtained the seed idea for ''The Co ...
'', it is established that Bremmer wrote a novel about a string of murders committed by a serial killer known as "The Dollmaker." Bremmer used this pattern as a cover to commit several murders of his own. * Earl Briggs – Haller's regular driver until ''The Gods of Guilt'', when he is killed in a car crash. * Elizabeth Clayton – a drug addict who helps Bosch in ''Two Kinds of Truth''; in return he tries to help find the murderer of Elizabeth's daughter Daisy. Elizabeth commits suicide in ''Dark Sacred Night''. * John Chastain – former LAPD Internal Affairs detective, killed during the events of ''Angels Flight''. * David Chu – Bosch's partner in RHD Special Homicide. Was with LAPD's Asian Gangs Unit (AGU) during the events of ''9 Dragons.'' * Teresa Corazon – Bosch's love interest in ''The'' ''Black Ice'', appears later in ''City of Bones'' and ''A Darkness More than Night''; medical expert examiner. * Jerry "Jed" Edgar (aka J. Edgar) – Bosch's former partner in Hollywood Homicide squad; appears in ''Two Kinds of Truth'' as a member of the Medical Board of California. * Ignacio "Iggy" Ferras – Bosch's former partner in the RHD Homicide Special Unit, killed during the events of ''9 Dragons.'' * Hayley Haller – Daughter of Mickey Haller and Maggie McPherson; Harry Bosch's niece. * Aaron Hayes – A lifeguard at the beach Ballard often surfs or sleeps at. He has a casual sexual relationship with Ballard. * Carmen Hinojos – LAPD psychologist; first appears in ''The Last Coyote,'' Bosch later contacts her upon returning from Hong Kong to help Maddie cope with the events of ''9 Dragons.'' * Irvin S. Irving – former LAPD Deputy Chief and Bosch's chief nemesis in the department, later an L.A. city councilman. * John Iverson - Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Detective in ''Trunk Music'', appears later in ''Void Moon''. * Thelma Kibble – Cassie Black's parole officer. * Howard Kurlen – detective in Van Nuys Division and frequent opponent of Haller's on the stand * Janis Langwiser – former prosecutor, now a criminal defense attorney. * Raul Levin – Mickey Haller's private investigator in ''The Lincoln Lawyer''. Killed during the events. * Roy Lindell (aka "Luke Goshen") – FBI agent who first appears in ''Trunk Music.'' * Buddy Lockridge – McCaleb's friend and business associate. * Lola – Ballard's dog, a rescue, appears in every book Ballard appears in. * Bella Lourdes – Bosch's partner at the San Fernando Police Department; appears in ''The Wrong Side of Goodbye'' and assists Bosch and Ballard in ''Dark Sacred Night''. * Oscar Luzon – A colleague of Bosch's at the San Fernando Police Department; appears in ''Two Kinds of Truth''. In ''Dark Sacred Night'' Luzon is discovered to have tipped off gangster friends about an investigation, and attempts to commit suicide while being detained, resulting in Bosch's dismissal from the department. * Maggie "McFierce" McPherson – A prosecutor in the Van Nuys Division, Haller's first ex-wife. * Robert Olivas – Lieutenant of RHD in ''The Late Show'' who sexually harassed Ballard. Her complaint resulted in her transfer to the Late Show when no one backed her up. Has been promoted to Captain by the time of ''The Night Fire''. * Lucius Porter – Hollywood Homicide Detective (''The Black Echo'' and ''The Black Ice''). * Harvey "Ninety-Eight" Pounds – Bosch's ex-supervisor in Hollywood Homicide squad, murdered in ''The Last Coyote''. * Abel Pratt – LAPD Open-Unsolved Unit supervisor. * Kizmin "Kiz" Rider – Bosch's former partner in Hollywood Homicide squad and the RHD Open-Unsolved Unit; now an aide to the L.A. chief of police. When introduced, she was in a
same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries w ...
with her commanding officer, Lt. Grace Billets. * Graciela Rivers-McCaleb. Terry McCaleb meets Graciela and her nephew Raymond at the beginning of ''Blood Work''. In ''A Darkness More Than Night'' Terry and Graciela are married and living on Catalina Island, and they have a young daughter and have adopted Raymond. In ''The Narrows'' she moves back to the mainland with the children. * Keisha Russell – '' Los Angeles Times'' reporter, started on the Los Angeles crime beat, Now based in D.C., and occasionally provided information for Bosch. Jack McEvoy's ex-wife. * Larry Sakai – Coroner technician with the LAPD. * Francis "Frankie" Sheehan – Bosch's original partner in Robbery-Homicide Division. * Lucia "Lucky" Soto – Bosch's partner in ''The Burning Room''. Assists Ballard in ''Dark Sacred Night''. * Lorna Taylor – Mickey Haller's current secretary and second ex-wife. * Ed Thomas – Hollywood Homicide Detective (mentioned in ''The Poet'', appears later in ''The Narrows''). * Steven Vascik – A process server in ''Angels Flight'', based on a real-life acquaintance of the author. Vascik is credited with photos of Hong Kong on the author's website (photo gallery 15–17). * Jaye Winston – Detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, works alongside both Bosch and McCaleb in ''Blood Work'' and ''A Darkness More Than Night.'' * Eleanor Wish – ex-FBI agent, ex-con and Bosch's ex-wife, mother of Bosch's daughter Maddie; moved to Hong Kong. Killed during the events of ''9 Dragons''. * Dennis "Cisco" Wojciechowski – Mickey Haller's private investigator. Formerly associated with the Road Saints motorcycle gang who bestowed him with the nickname Cisco in reference to The Cisco Kid. (Wojciechowski is named after Connelly's real-life investigator, who, like Bosch, is a Vietnam veteran.)


Bibliography


Novels


Author

Novel collections: * ''The Harry Bosch Novels, Volume 1'' (2001), includes "The Black Echo", "The Black Ice" and "The Concrete Blonde" * ''The Harry Bosch Novels, Volume 2'' (2003), includes "The Last Coyote", "Trunk Music" and "Angels Flight" * ''The Harry Bosch Novels, Volume 3'' (2010), includes "A Darkness More Than Night", "City of Bones" and "Lost Light"


Editor

* ''The Best American Mystery Stories 2003'' (2003) – collected short stories. * ''Murder in Vegas'' (2005) – collected short stories. * ''The Blue Religion'' (2008) – collected short stories. * ''In the Shadow of the Master'' (2009) – collected short stories by Edgar Allan Poe, with observations by current mystery writers including
Sue Grafton Sue Taylor Grafton (April 24, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was an American author of detective novels. She is best known as the author of the "alphabet series" (''"A" Is for Alibi'', etc.) featuring private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fic ...
and
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
.


Short stories

''Harry Bosch'' series: * Collections: ** ''Angle of Investigation'' (2011), collection of 3 short stories: **: "Christmas Even", "Father's Day", "Angle of Investigation" ** ''Suicide Run'' (2011), collection of 3 short stories: **: "Suicide Run", "Cielo Azul", "One Dollar Jackpot" ** ''Mulholland Dive'' (2012), collection of 3 short stories: **: "Cahoots", "Mulholland Dive", "Two-Bagger" * Uncollected short stories: ** "Blue on Black", in ''Hook, Line & Sinister'' (2010); with Rachel Walling ** "Blood Washes Off", in ''The Rich and the Dead'' (
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
) ** "Homicide Special", in ''The Drop'' (2011); written exclusively for copies of ''The Drop'' sold in Waterstones stores ** "A Fine Mist of Blood", in ''Vengeance ''(2012) ** "Switchblade" – an ebook companion to ''
The Gods of Guilt ''The Gods of Guilt'' is the 26th novel by American author Michael Connelly and his fifth to feature Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. The book was published in the United States on December 2, 2013. The novel follows Haller ...
'', published on 14 January 2014 ** "Red Eye", in "FaceOff" (2014), co-written with Dennis Lehane; with Patrick Kenzie ** "The Crooked Man", in "In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon" (Nov 2014) ** "Nighthawks", in "In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper" (Dec 2016) ** "The Guardian", in "Tampa Bay Noir" (Aug 2020) * All short stories: ** "Two-Bagger", in ''Murderers' Row'' (2001) and ''The Best American Mystery Stories 2002'' (2002) ** "Cahoots", in ''Measures of Poison'' (2002) ** "Christmas Even", in ''Murder...and All That Jazz'' (2004), partner: Jerry Edgar ** "Cielo Azul", in ''Dangerous Women'' (2005); backstory to ''A Darkness More than Night'' ** "Angle of Investigation", in ''Plots with Guns'' (2005) and ''The Penguin Book Of Crime Stories'' (2007) – continuation of ''The Closers''; partner: Kiz Rider ** "Mulholland Dive", in ''Los Angeles Noir'' (2007), ''Prisoner of Memory'' (2008), ''The Best American Mystery Stories'' (2008), and ''A Prisoner of Memory and 24 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories'' (2008) ** "Suicide Run", in ''Hollywood and Crime'' (2007) ** "One Dollar Jackpot", in ''Dead Man's Hand'' (2007) ** "Father's Day", in ''The Blue Religion'' (2008), and ''The Best American Mystery Stories'' (2009); partner: Ignacio Ferras ** "Blue on Black", in ''Hook, Line & Sinister'' (2010); with Rachel Walling ** "Blood Washes Off", in ''The Rich and the Dead'' (
2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
) ** "Homicide Special", in ''The Drop'' (2011); written exclusively for copies of ''The Drop'' sold in Waterstones stores ** "A Fine Mist of Blood", in ''Vengeance ''(2012) ** "Switchblade" – an ebook companion to ''
The Gods of Guilt ''The Gods of Guilt'' is the 26th novel by American author Michael Connelly and his fifth to feature Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller. The book was published in the United States on December 2, 2013. The novel follows Haller ...
'', published on 14 January 2014 ** "Red Eye", in "FaceOff" (2014), co-written with Dennis Lehane; with Patrick Kenzie ** "The Crooked Man", in "In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon" (Nov 2014) ** "Nighthawks", in "In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper" (Dec 2016) ** "The Guardian", in "Tampa Bay Noir" (Aug 2020) ''Mickey Haller'' series: * "The Perfect Triangle", in ''The Dark End of the Street'' (2010) * "Burnt Matches", in "The Highway Kind: Tales of Fast Cars, Desperate Drives and Dark Roads" (Oct 2016) Stand-alones: * "After Midnight", in ''Men from Boys'' (2003) * "The Safe Man", published anonymously in ''The Secret Society Of Demolition Writers'' (2005)The Secret Society of Demolition Writers
"
* "The Third Panel", in "Alive In Shape And Color" (Dec 2017) * "Avalon", in "When a Stranger Comes to Town" (Apr 2021)


Children's short stories

* "Short Cut" published in ''Half-Minute Horrors'' (2009), for kids ages 9-12


Non-fiction

* ''Crime Beat'' (2004), collected journalism from the ''Sun-Sentinel'' and ''Los Angeles Times''


Filmography


Television

* '' Level 9'' (2001)—co-creator and co-executive producer * ''
Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
'' (2009–2011)—actor (cameo) * '' Bosch'' (2015-2021)—co-creator, writer and co-executive producer * '' Bosch: Legacy'' (2022)—co-creator, writer and co-executive producer


Features

* '' Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story'' (2014)—executive producer


Adaptations

* '' Blood Work'' (2002), film directed by
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...
, based on novel '' Blood Work'' * '' The Lincoln Lawyer'' (2011), film directed by
Brad Furman Brad Furman is an American film and music video director, producer, and writer. Career Furman grew up in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, attended Friends' Central School, and went on to study at New York University (NYU) where he earned a BFA in ...
, based on novel '' The Lincoln Lawyer'' * '' Bosch'' (2014-2021), series developed by Eric Overmyer, based on novel series '' Harry Bosch'' * '' Bosch: Legacy'' (2022), series developed by Michael Connelly, Tom Bernardo and Eric Overmyer, based on novel series ''Harry Bosch'' * '' Avalon'' (2022), series created by Michael Connelly and David E. Kelley, based on short story "Avalon" * '' The Lincoln Lawyer'' (2022), series created by David E. Kelley, based on novel series ''
Mickey Haller J. Michael "Mickey" Haller, Junior is a fictional character created by Michael Connelly in the 2005 novel ''The Lincoln Lawyer''. Haller, a Los Angeles-based defense attorney, is the paternal half-brother of Connelly's best-known character, LAP ...
''


References


External links


Michael Connelly's Official Web Site


'' The Washington Post'', June 22, 2009.
Connelly Interview
by identitytheory.com
Interview on The Next Track podcast about music in the Harry Bosch novels
*
Interview with Michael Connelly
''Speaking of Mysteries TV Series'' (2001) {{DEFAULTSORT:Connelly, Michael 1956 births Anthony Award winners Bancarella Prize winners Barry Award winners Cartier Diamond Dagger winners Dilys Award winners Edgar Award winners Living people Macavity Award winners Maltese Falcon Award winners Nero Award winners Shamus Award winners Connelly, Michael University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications alumni Writers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Writers from Los Angeles