Angels Flight

September 2, 2013
Connellyâs novel follows series hero Harry Boschâs investigation into the murder of an African-American defense attorney who made a career of courtroom victories at the expense of the Los Angeles Police Department. This installment in the series is especially dark, and narrator Peter Gilesâs reads in a voice that echoes with the dry croaking of a lifelong smokerâsomething that establishes a noirlike mood from the get-go. The narrator ably matches Boschâs downbeat mood, shifting from anger at having to deal with racism, not just in his city but within the ranks of the LAPD, to weariness, sadness, and frustration at his inability to stop the disintegration of his marriage. Giles sands some of the roughness from his voice and pitches it slightly higher for the bookâs female characters, like the detectiveâs soon-to-be-separated wife and his partner, Kiz Rider. But thereâs still an edge rough enough to remind us weâre not listening to an Agatha Christie cozy. A Grand Central paperback.