Review

From Publishers Weekly
Connelly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, combines courtroom drama and police procedural in this thriller about a serial killer thought dead.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Homicide detective Harry Bosch is fighting for his professional reputation in civil court. He is charged with killing an allegedly innocent man known as "The Dollmaker." The Dollmaker, however, was a serial murderer who strangled his victims and made them up to look like dolls. Suddenly, a new murder comes to light, with all the trappings of the Dollmaker's style. Bosch has to clear his name and find the copycat killer before he strikes again. Slick plot twists, fast action, and fine suspense mark this excellent thriller and courtroom drama. Characterizations by reader Dick Hill are imaginative and authentic, and the recording benefits from subtle special effects that lend realism. This is a good, solid story that translates exceedingly well to audio. Strongly recommended for all mystery and suspense collections.
Susan B. Lamphier, Somerville P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Michael Connelly puts together another taut thriller featuring Harry Bosch. Bosch battles the establishment this time in a court case over his confrontation with a suspected serial killer. Dick Hill immediately draws the listener into the intrigue. His narration is perfect for the voices of the detectives, attorneys and other characters. His portrayal of Bosch quickly captures the appeal this new hero has for readersÐand now listeners. Hill's female voices are good, as well, as he develops the characterizations with ease and distinction. The plot twists are riveting, and Hill holds his audience with his outstanding performance. R.F.W. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award winner (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
In his latest adventure, LAPD detective Hieronymous "Harry" Bosch--whose first excursion, The Black Echo (1992), won an Edgar--moves into Scott Turow territory. Bosch is Exhibit A in a civil suit against the city filed by the family of a man Bosch killed: a man he and the police believe was the serial murderer of prostitutes and porn stars whom the media dubbed the Dollmaker. As Bosch's trial opens, however, a Dollmaker-style note directs the police to a woman's body buried in concrete, a "concrete blonde" who turns out to have been murdered with all the Dollmaker's trademarks after Bosch killed the suspect. Did Bosch kill the wrong man? Strongly plotted and deftly orchestrated, the novel shifts back and forth between the courtroom and the streets, between Bosch's often troubled relationships with his professional colleagues and his deepening love affair with the schoolteacher widow of a brother officer, and between Bosch's unaccustomed self-doubts and his suspicions of others. A fast-paced, classy mystery. Mary Carroll

From Kirkus Reviews
Veteran crime reporter Connelly's (The Black Ice, 1993) third novel deftly blends cop thriller and courtroom drama in a darkly gripping tale structured around a set of gruesome serial killings. Gritty LA homicide detective Harry Bosch acted recklessly when he killed a man who may or may not have been the serial killer known as the ``Dollmaker'' for the makeup he applied to his victim's faces after he raped and murdered them. Four years and a big demotion later Bosch stands trial for the murder of Norman Church--whose widow, with the help of her tough-cookie lawyer, asserts that Church was not the Dollmaker. Bosch's confidence that he got the right guy crumbles as the prosecution provides an airtight alibi for one of the murders and as another victim (a buxom blond porn star slayed after Church's death) is uncovered from a concrete grave. Our clever, instinctive hero quickly discovers that the murders were committed by two men--one of them a copycat still on the prowl. To vindicate himself and save future victims, Bosch stands trial by day and hunts for the killer at night. A sordid premise becomes thornier and more chilling as Bosch realizes that the copycat is a colleague--an insider in the Dollmaker case. Suspects include Bosch's turncoat ex-partner, a shifty vice-squad cop, a journalist who reported on the Dollmaker, and an eccentric professor of psychosexual behavior. The courses of the trial and the investigation collide in an intricately plotted and turbo-charged conclusion safely arrived at by Bosch's cunning, foresight, and trademark intuition. Clich‚s persist in characters like the brassy woman lawyer, the foolish bureaucrat, and the hero with a tarnished heart of gold. But the charming, if retro, writing (``The courtroom seemed as silent as a dead man's heart'') and the lurid thrills make this gem as lovable as any tale of serial murder can be. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
"A stylish blend of grit and elegance." --Nelson DeMille

"Masterfully Entertaining." --Houston Chronicle

"Gritty." --San Diego Union-Tribune

"Outstanding...Can't Be Put Down." --Kansas City Star

"Crackling authenticity." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Turbo-charged...a darkly gripping tale." --Kirkus Reviews

From the Inside Flap
The Bookcassette® format is a special recording technique developed as a means of condensing the full, unabridged audio text of a book to record it on fewer tapes. In order to listen to these tapes, you will need a cassette player with balance control to adjust left/right speaker output. Special adaptors to allow these tapes to be played on any cassette player are available through the publisher or some US retail electronics stores.

From the Back Cover
"Masterfully Entertaining." -- Houston Chronicle
They called him the Dollmaker-the serial killer who stalked Los Angeles and left a grisly calling card on the faces of his female victims. With a single faultless shot, Detective Harry Bosch thought he had ended the city's nightmare...

"Gritty." -- San Diego Union-Tribune
But then the dead man's widow sues Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man-an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature...

"Outstanding...Can't Be Put Down." -- Kansas City Star
Now, for the second time, Harry must hunt down a death-dealer who is very much alive, before he strikes again. It's a blood-tracked quest that will take Harry from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go-the darkness of his own heart.

"Crackling authenticity." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Turbo-charged...a darkly gripping tale." -- Kirkus Review