Void Moon

His books are hard to put down. Never a dull moment.

I love Connelly's Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer books but this one was a bust. Very unlikable characters and lots of gory details. I stuck with it, skipping many many pages, hoping it would get better, but it didn't.

After having read most of the Harry Bosch novels, I decided to read one of the two books that are not part of a Michael Connelly series:  VOID MOON.  This book is so different from the author's usual type that it took a while to adjust.

Cassie Black is on probation for a crime she committed 6 years ago in Las Vegas.  She feels the "outlaw juice" rise up in her veins and she decides to make one last heist in order to escape her dull life as a used car salesman of Porsches.  With meticulous skill and care, she perpetrates the perfect crime until she finds out the money she stole is mob-money.  With nowhere to hide, Cassie starts to run.  However, the man chasing her seems to have a psychotic need to kill everyone related to the crime.

I downgraded this book because of the slow movement of the first half of the book due to the almost tedious explanation of all the tools and electronic gear Cassie gathered and used in the commission of her crime.  On the other hand, I enjoyed seeing a probationer turn into a quasi-heroine.  The last half of the book was absolutely fascinating and moved very, very well.

This book was published in 2000 and, as best as I can determine, was the only one by Connelly that featured Cassie Black as the protagonist.
There’s a lot of travel between Los Angeles and Las Vegas by Cassie and others who are intent on locating a huge amount of money. Cassie is trying to sell new cars at a Porsche dealership in L.A. while keeping an eye on her daughter, a youngster who was adopted by another woman when Cassie got sent off to prison for a six year term.
But now Cassie is working a “big con” and trying to score a huge amount of money. The folks in Las Vegas have other ideas and enlist the help of a thug named Karch who doubles as an amateur magician.
The plot moves in a nonlinear pattern with scenes that will stretch your credulity to the breaking point. I stuck with it all the way to the end even though I was tempted at times to throw in the towel. Even though Cassie is alive at the book’s end, I’m not surprised that Cassie has not made her appearance at any more Connelly novels.

Starts slow but builds to a suspenseful climax with a lot of misdirection. Hoping to make a score she winds up with more than she expected. This is a caper plot with a high body count rather than a police procedure novel. Characters from Bosch novels reappear. Recommended!

He didn't write this. If you judge writing by story only, the story is decent B-grade fare, nothing more to see here, may as well move along. Otherwise, dialog and narrative are dry and colorless, devoid of any Connelly nuances. The plot clearly has been carefully outlined beforehand, with i's dotted and t's crossed down to minutiae of detail. Impossible for him to abandon all that is ingrained in him since the beginning. To add insult, a 2017 publish date is advertised with no mention of the fact that it was originally published in 2001, a dishonest sales practice. Connelly owes me ten bucks.

Loved this book..another hit

Very good read

Good story. Connelly writes a very interesting story. always.

Awesome author