Glenda Carroll is the author of the Trisha Carson mysteries that take place in the diverse San Francisco Bay area, from the tree-lined streets of Marin County to the fog-covered Golden Gate Bridge and the ‘play ball’ atmosphere of Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. They include Dead Code, Drop Dead Red, and Dead in the Water. Currently, Glenda is working on the fourth book in the series, Dead to Me. The underlying current in the series is open water swimming. When she isn’t writing or swimming, she tutors first-generation, low-income college-bound high schoolers in English.
Glenda authored an article, Why I like Michael Connelly’s Bosch, for the September 2022 issue of the Northern California Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America newsletter, Line Up. I’m sharing what she had to say about Harry Bosch with her permission.
When everything shut down at the start of the pandemic, I discovered Bosch, a police procedural series streaming on Amazon Prime. The seven-season crime series about Los Angeles police detective Harry Bosch is based on the books by Michael Connelly.
I liked the character of Bosch immediately. He was more than the tough on the outside, marshmallow on the inside detective. He didn’t talk much—he liked jazz.—and had a dog named Coltrane. His past was complicated. His mother was a prostitute who loved her son, fought for him, and was murdered. He ended up in the foster care system. Then, he married and divorced an FBI agent who morphed into a risk-taking professional gambler. Their daughter loved them both but understood that Harry, who spent evenings going over his cases and listening to jazz, was the stable parent. That complicated backstory came into play in each episode, while Harry took extra (and sometime not-so-legal) steps for the homeless and addicted.
It was that personal understanding and internal warmth that set him apart from the usual hardcore detective. He’d been there, down in the trenches, and never forgot it. The part of Harry Bosch couldn’t have been more perfectly cast. Titus Welliver, an actor I had never heard of before, stepped into the persona perfectly.
Somewhere during all this television time, I realized that Bosch was adapted from several police procedurals written by Michael Connelly. I wondered how true to the books the scripts were, so I became a steady customer of the San Rafael Public Library, reading the 20-odd books that Connelly wrote that featured Harry Bosch. To my surprise, the plots were followed, twist by twist. Even some of the dialogue found its way into the scripts. I thought about this for hours, and I really couldn’t say which was better—the books or the streaming series.
When Bosch concluded (you can still find it on Amazon Prime), another series, Bosch: Legacy popped up on Freevee with the same characters and tight plots.
Unfortunately, I’ve seen every episode of both series at least twice. I am currently Boschless, waiting for whatever comes next.
“(Trisha Carson is)…a smart, steadfast gumshoe who continues to flourish… Carroll’s writing bounces off the page.” Kirkus Reviews
Books are available: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords, and Kindle
You can reach Glenda at:
Ggcarroll43@gmail.com
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Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Ms.-Glenda-Carroll/e/B00CIJ7HJ8/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
I like Connelly’s books as well, Glenda. Titus Welliver also does the voice of Bosch in the audio book versions of the novels. For the ones featuring Bosch and Connelly’s new character, Renee Ballard, actress Christine Lakin and Welliver do a fabulous duet. Good luck with your own series.
I, too, am a big Bosch fan and I had the pleasure of hearing Connelly speak in Phoenix a few years ago. I really liked his latest Ballard/Bosch book.
I would probably act like a tongue-tied teen if I ever met him.
I think it’s time for me to try these books again. I love Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series. Thanks for the nudge!
I liked the Lincoln Lawyer series as well. I use Michael Connelly books (and John Grisham’s, as well) as text books on how they encourage readers to turn the page. I even outlined one of Connelly’s Bosch police procedurals to understand his techniques of telling a story and getting the reader engaged and staying engaged. I learned a lot doing that (until I became so engrossed with the story I forgot to take notes.)
I admit, I had to get used to Welliver in the part. It happened gradually, since I had a much different picture of Bosch from reading the books. He grew on me and I finished the series liking his portrayal. I’ve always been a Connelly fan, from the very beginning. He spoke at a conference, I think it was the one in Boise ID, but don’t quote me, and said he was thrilled to be there because it got him out of watching Finding Nemo for the 17th time with his toddler. This was years ago, after his first book propelled him to the top of the charts. He said he was stunned by that! I guess I pictured HIM as Bosch.
Since I started with the TV series and then read the books, I could see and hear Titus Welliver (what a name!) in the part.
I love Connelly’s books, but I’m always afraid TV adaptations will disappoint me. This gives me encouragement to watch Bosch.
I thought the adaptation was spot on!
For the most part, I think the TV series did justice to Connelly’s work. I hope to see more of Titus Welliver. I think Titus was spot on for Bosch. Now whenever I think of Bosch, I see Welliver.
I’ll check out the audio. Thanks for the tip!
I’ve found the audio pretty good. I really like the narrator for the Lincoln Lawyer books.
I haven’t really tried audio books. Obviously, that should be my next step. Maybe I need to think of getting my own mysteries on audio.
Love this blog! I wasn’t big on the prime Bosch series. Your post makes me want to rethink it. Your books sound quite good, too, Glenda! Will heck them out!
A few of my writer friends felt the same way you do. I’m just giving you my opinion. Maybe I just identified with the main character. (Although I’m not a cop but I understand how the past influences the present. You might want to try Michael Connelly’s book that feature Bosch.