Michael Connelly
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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 bestselling author of 31 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 ''The Black Echo'' is the 1992 debut novel by American crime author Michael Connelly. It is the first book in Connelly's Bosch series. The book won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for "Best First Novel" in 1992. Plot The novel centers o ...
'', won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood 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 Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
as Mickey Haller. Connelly was the President of the Mystery Writers of America from 2003 to 2004.


Early life

Connelly was born in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, the second oldest child of W. Michael Connelly, a
property developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...
, and Mary Connelly, a
homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...
. 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. At age 12, Connelly moved with his family from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 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 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 The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in Gainesville, at the
Rinker School of Building Construction The M. E. Rinker Sr. School of Construction Management at the University of Florida prepares graduates for careers in the construction industry. As part of the university's College of Design, Construction, and Planning, the school's name was offi ...
, studying construction management. After earning grades that were lower than expected, Connelly went to see Robert Altman's film '' The Long Goodbye'' (1973). The film, based on Raymond Chandler'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, 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 ''The Daytona Beach News-Journal'' is a Florida daily newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler Counties. It grew from the ''Halifax Journal'', which was started in 1883. The Davidson family purchased the newspaper in 1928 and retained control unti ...
'', 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 plane crash, which story earned Connelly a place as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The honor also brought Connelly a job as a crime reporter at the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
''. 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's character Philip Marlowe had lived (in his 1942 novel ''
The High Window ''The High Window'' is a 1942 novel written by Raymond Chandler. It is his third novel featuring the Los Angeles private detective Philip Marlowe. Plot Private investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy widow Elizabeth Bright Murdock to rec ...
''), and Robert Altman 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 ''The Black Echo'' is the 1992 debut novel by American crime author Michael Connelly. It is the first book in Connelly's Bosch series. The book won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for "Best First Novel" in 1992. Plot The novel centers o ...
'' (1992), after previously writing two unfinished novels that he did not attempt to get published. He sold ''The Black Echo'' to
Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown (publisher), James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Ear ...
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 Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ;  – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...
, known for his paintings full of sin and redemption, such as the painting '' 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'' (1993), '' The Concrete Blonde'' (1994), and '' The Last Coyote'' (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 William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
came out of a bookstore carrying a copy of '' The Concrete Blonde'' in front of the waiting cameras. A meeting was set up between the two at Los Angeles International Airport. 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'' was made into a film in 2002, directed by Clint Eastwood, 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 Angels Flight is a landmark and historic narrow gauge funicular railway in the Bunker Hill district of Downtown Los Angeles, California. It has two funicular cars, named ''Olivet'' and ''Sinai'', that run in opposite directions on a shared ...
'' (1999), before writing '' Void Moon'' (2000), a free-standing book about
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
thief Cassie Black. In 2001, '' A Darkness More Than Night'' 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'', was a non-series novel. In 2001, Connelly left California for Tampa Bay, Florida, 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 ''Lost Light'' is the ninth novel in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series. It is the first Bosch novel to be narrated in first person; all prior Bosch novels had utilized an omniscient third-person style. Plot summary ''Lost Light'' is the fi ...
'', 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 __NOTOC__ The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson Riv ...
'', 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'', 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, Bosch's half-brother. The book was made into a film in 2011, starring
Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
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 Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...
'' (2006). This book sets its opening scene in the High Tower Apartment that Connelly rented and wrote from. His next Bosch story, '' The Overlook'', was originally published as a multi-part series in the '' New York Times Magazine''. After some editing, it was published as a novel in 2007. In October 2008, Connelly wrote '' The Brass Verdict'', 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'' (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'' (2013). His next book returned to Bosch in '' The Burning Room'' (2014), and then Connelly used Haller as a main supporting character in the Bosch novels ''The Crossing'' (2015) and '' The Wrong Side of Goodbye'' (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 The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
television network. *His novel '' Blood Work'' was adapted into a 2002 film with a screenplay by
Brian Helgeland Brian Thomas Helgeland (born January 17, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. He is most known for writing the screenplays for the films ''L.A. Confidential'' and ''Mystic River''. He also wrote and directed the films ...
and direction by Clint Eastwood, 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''. Along with fellow crime authors
James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the '' Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', '' Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' ...
,
Dennis Lehane Dennis Lehane (born August 4, 1965) is an American author. He has published more than a dozen novels; the first several were a series of mysteries featuring recurring characters, including ''A Drink Before the War''. Of these, four were adapted a ...
, and Stephen J. Cannell, he was one of Castle's poker buddies. *Connelly's novel ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' was made into a film in 2011, with
Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...
playing defense lawyer Michael "Mickey" Haller. *In 2022,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
adapted Connelly's second novel in ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' series, '' The Brass Verdict'', into a 10-episode series simply titled ''
The Lincoln Lawyer (TV series) ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' is an American legal drama streaming television series created for television by David E. Kelley and developed by Ted Humphrey, based on the 2008 novel '' The Brass Verdict'' by Michael Connelly, a sequel to his novel '' ...
'' (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 second season is expected to be available to stream on Netflix sometime in 2023. *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 Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
called '' Bosch,'' based on Connelly's Harry Bosch novels. It began streaming on Amazon Prime 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 Amazon Freevee is an American ad-supported video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service owned by Amazon, with original and licensed programming. History Amazon Freevee launched as a free, ad-supported video channel by the Amazon-owned online data ...
in 2022. *Connelly's short story ''Avalon'' is being adapted into a television series by
David E. Kelley David Edward Kelley (born April 4, 1956) is an American television writer, producer, and former attorney, known as the creator of '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', '' Picket Fences'', ''Chicago Hope'', ''The Practice'', '' Ally McBeal'', ''Boston Publi ...
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,
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 The Shamus Award is awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America (PWA) for the best detective fiction ( P. I. = Private investigator) genre novels and short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one ...
,
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 Bookseller ...
,
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 The Audie Awards (, rhymes with "gaudy"; abbreviated from ''audiobook''), or simply the Audies, are awards for achievement in spoken word, particularly audiobook narration and audiodrama performance, published in the United States of America. They ...
, 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 The Grand Prix de Littérature Policière (or the Police Literature Grand Prize) is a French literary prize founded in 1948 by author and literary critic Maurice-Bernard Endrèbe. It is the most prestigious award for crime and detective fiction in ...
(France) and Premio Bancarella Award (Italy). In 2012, ''The Black Box'' won the world's most lucrative crime fiction award, the
RBA Prize for Crime Writing RBA Prize for Crime Writing (Spanish: ''Premio RBA de Novela Policiaca'') was a Spanish literary award said to be the world's most lucrative crime fiction prize at €125,000. It is funded by Barcelona-based multimedia publishing company . Winners ...
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.


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 So ...
and the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
. 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. 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'' 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 John "Jack" McEvoy is a literary character created by Michael Connelly in the 1996 novel '' The Poet'' and starring again in the sequel '' the Scarecrow'' thirteen years later. In the interim, McEvoy appeared in one Harry Bosch novel – 2 ...
– crime reporter, brother of one of the Poet's victims. * Rachel Walling – 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 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'', 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 – Mickey Haller's daughter with Maggie McPherson; Harry Bosch's niece. * Aaron Hayes – A lifeguard at the beach Ballard often surfs or sleeps at. He has a friends-with-benefits 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 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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' 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'', and also someone Mr. Connelly apparently knows. 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 The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in '' Everybody's Magaz ...
. (Wojciechowski is named after Connelly's real-life investigator, who, like Bosch, is a Vietnam veteran.)


Bibliography


Novels


Author


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 Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...
, with observations by current mystery writers including Sue Grafton and Stephen King.


Short stories

*"Two-Bagger" – in ''Murderers' Row'' (2001) and ''The Best American Mystery Stories 2002'' (2002). *"Cahoots" – in ''Measures of Poison'' (2002) *"After Midnight" – in ''Men from Boys'' (2003) *"Christmas Even" – in ''Murder...and All That Jazz'' (2004); a Harry Bosch story (partner: Jerry Edgar) *"Cielo Azul" – in ''Dangerous Women'' (2005); a Harry Bosch and Terry McCaleb story (backstory to ''A Darkness More than Night'') *"The Safe Man" - published anonymously in ''The Secret Society Of Demolition Writers'' (2005) *"Angle of Investigation" – in ''Plots with Guns'' (2005) and ''The Penguin Book Of Crime Stories'' (2007) – continuation of ''The Closers''; with Harry Bosch (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); featuring Harry Bosch *"One Dollar Jackpot" – in ''Dead Man's Hand'' (2007); featuring Harry Bosch *"Father's Day" – in ''The Blue Religion'' (2008), and ''The Best American Mystery Stories'' (2009); a Harry Bosch story (partner: Ignacio Ferras) *“Short Cut” published in ''Half-Minute Horrors'' (2009) for kids ages 9-12 *"Blue on Black" – in ''Hook, Line & Sinister'' (2010); a Harry Bosch story, with Rachel Walling *"The Perfect Triangle" – in ''The Dark End of the Street'' (2010); a Mickey Haller story *"Blood Washes Off" – in ''The Rich and the Dead'' ( 2011); a Harry Bosch story *"Homicide Special" – in ''The Drop'' (2011); a Harry Bosch story written exclusively for copies of ''The Drop'' sold in
Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...
stores * "A Fine Mist of Blood" – in ''Vengeance ''(2012); A Harry Bosch story *"Switchblade" – an ebook companion to '' The Gods of Guilt'', published on 14 January 2014; a Harry Bosch story *"Red Eye" – in "FaceOff" (2014), co-written with Dennis Lehane; a Harry Bosch story, with Patrick Kenzie *"The Crooked Man" – published in "In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon" (Nov 2014); a Harry Bosch story *"Burnt Matches" - published in "The Highway Kind: Tales of Fast Cars, Desperate Drives and Dark Roads" (Oct 2016); featuring Mickey Haller *"Nighthawks" - published in "In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper" (Dec 2016); featuring Harry Bosch *"The Third Panel" - published in "Alive In Shape And Color" (Dec 2017) *"The Guardian" - published in "Tampa Bay Noir" (Aug 2020); featuring Harry Bosch *"Avalon" - published in "When a Stranger Comes to Town" (Apr 2021)


Short story collections

* ''Angle of Investigation'' (2011), includes "Christmas Even", "Father's Day" and "Angle of Investigation" * ''Suicide Run'' (2011), includes "Suicide Run", "Cielo Azul" and "One Dollar Jackpot" * ''Mulholland Dive'' (2012), includes "Cahoots", "Mulholland Dive" and "Two Bagger."


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"


Non-fiction books

*''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'' (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


References


External links


Michael Connelly's Official Web Site


''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', 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 Living people Bancarella Prize winners Anthony Award winners Barry Award winners Dilys Award winners Edgar Award winners Macavity Award winners Maltese Falcon Award winners Nero Award winners Shamus Award winners University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications alumni Writers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Writers from Los Angeles Cartier Diamond Dagger winners