Blood Work Mass Market Paperback – October 1, 1998

I’ve read all of the Bosch, Mickey Haller and Renee Ballard books, but this was my first Terry McCaleb novel. I may re-read A Darkness More Than Night to refresh my memory on this character now that I have this foundation from Blood Work. Mr. Connelly is one of my favorite authors. He tells a fast-paced story and this book read very quickly. I enjoyed getting to know Terry and appreciated all the plot twists as the story unfolded. If you’re a Connelly reader, you’ll want to add this one to your list.

This book is for anyone who loves smart, well planned crime thrillers. The clues are given to the reader at the same time as, or slightly after, McCaleb gets them. We are surprised along the way at what we learn about McCaleb, the FBI, the LAPD, and the other characters. It's brilliant. It is slightly tarnished by some typos, which are unusual in this author's work.

When I purchased Blood Work online, I thought I was buying the sequel to Trunk Music. “The Also By Michael Connelly” page in the front matter of Trunk Music listed Connelly’s books by publication date, however, not by which character series they were part of. So, when Blood Work arrived, I was surprised to be reading about former FBI agent Terrell “Terry” McCaleb instead of LAPD detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch.Surprised, but not disappointed. Blood Work is a good story in its own right (with an prospective reference to Michael Haller Jr. seven years before The Lincoln Lawyer was published). It follows McCaleb’s investigation into the murder of Gloria Rivers. At first, her murder appeared to be the random act of a convenience store robber. As McCaleb digs into the case at the request of Gloria’s sister Graciela, he uncovers a deeper, more sinister background to the case that hits a little too close to home.Blood Work was not quite the page-turner other Connelly books have been, at least not in my opinion. That only means it took me a weekend to read it instead of a day. Connelly is a great storyteller and has become my favorite crime novelist.I close with a piece of dialogue between McCaleb and his neighbor Buddy Lockridge. It describes perfectly why crime novels and murder mysteries are so popular:[Lockridge:] “Good books are fast reads. You read crime novels?”[McCaleb:] “Why would I want to read made-up stuff when I’ve seen the real stuff and can’t stand it?”Buddy started the car. He had to turn the ignition twice before it kicked over.“It’s a much different world. Everything is ordered, good and bad clearly defined, the bad guy always gets what he deserves, the hero shines, no loose ends. It’s a refreshing antidote to the real world.”“Sounds boring.”“No, it’s reassuring. Where to now?”Reassurance that the good guys beat the bad guys in the end. That’s why I continue reading Michael Connelly. If you’re interested in other books involving Terry McCaleb, check out A Darkness More Than Night and The Narrows. And if you want to read Connelly’s Bosch books in proper order, make sure to check out his website.

I have a few writers I go to when I've read a couple of unsatisfactory books in a row. And he simply never disappoints. This was probably only a 4/4 1/2 star book of his, but I'm so grateful for his dependable talent that it leaped to 5 star! Our protagonistTerry McCaleb has left the FBI after suffering an on job heart attack, a quickly deteriorating heart function and an heart transplant. He is quietly working on the boat he inherited from his dad, The Following Sea and taking his anti-rejection meds and trying to heal following his life-saving operation .He's contacted after an article in the LA Times.by the woman who has figured from the facts in the artical that he received the organ her sister Gloria had given up after being fatally shot in a convenience store robbery. And he feels the debt and cannot but agree to look into her sister's death. And a great reads follows that set up. With characters you care about, interesting procedural details and a completely satisfactory ending. The plot's not original but it's well done and your attention never flags.

Better late than never! I've enjoyed nearly all of Connelly 's books, especially Bosch. I don't know how I missed Terry McCaleb?? I just happened upon this book in Goodreads a few days ago. It's an excellent read and a mystery that will keep you up late at night! I loved it. Going to go look for #2 now!

But I understand - first in the series took time to lay out who he is, what he did, why he is where he is at this point in his life. Once that got established the book became one of the classic good reads! I like this new guy and hope there are more to come of his adventures.

Good

This is my favorite Michael Connelly novel I’ve read so far. Excellently plotted. Rich in character detail. And still unbelievably fast paced. From the ten or so of these books that I’ve read, I’d recommend this as the perfect place to start. The Bosch books that come before are excellent, but slower paced. The Poet, for me, felt a little far-fetched, but Blood Work hits its target dead center.Admittedly, Connelly still struggles slightly with the romance. Maybe its me, but the love scenes in all the books I’ve read by him just don’t work. I can always hear Barry White playing in my head. Sometimes they need to be there, sometimes they don’t. In Blood Work, they make sense, and he doesn’t spend too much time on them, so fine, forgiven. They don’t even come close to being a deal killer and frankly, most people probably won’t even notice anything amiss.Also, there are a few plot elements that may strike a careful reader as too perfect. More than many other crime writers I’ve read, Connelly does a great job making his detectives work hard to find the clues, and makes those discoveries believable. Every now and then, someone will pull a needle out of a haystack that makes you want to be like – really?? – but you just have to move on. Again, most people won’t notice or care.This is an excellent read through and through. Highly recommended.

This book introduces us to Terrell (Terry) McCaleb, an ex-FBI investigator. He lives on a boat moored in the Cabrillo Marina and spends his time refurbishing it while he is recovering from a heart transplant. His life is effectively on hold; he is not allowed to drive and he cannot undertake investigative work as he has no state license. In effect, his sole focus is on avoiding any form of activity that could result in his body rejecting his new heart. That is, until the day he is approached by Graciela Rivers asking for his help in solving her sister’s murder – and her revelation that her sister is the one who saved his life as the heart beating in his body is hers.After this gripping start the subsequent investigation is relatively slow in its early stages. McCaleb finds that every lead in the case appears to have been thoroughly investigated by the police. Furthermore, he has virtually no access to the crime files he would have used had he been investigating this case as an active FBI agent. He has to depend on past colleagues and a degree of subterfuge to make any headway in the investigation. But progress he makes.As with the Harry Bosch novels, this is a police procedural style story except that in this book most of the police are hindering rather than helping Terry McCaleb find a killer as they resent an outsider interfering with their case, even though they are making little headway with it. There are plenty of twists and turns as the story progresses and with hindsight, the clues are there to identify the killer but Michael Connelly is such a skillful writer, they are easily overlooked (or at least they were by me!). The characters are very plausible and the plot is clever, original and imaginative.In short, another great novel from Michael Connelly that, once started, you'll find hard to put down.

After the introductory chapter, I originally felt that the story line was perhaps a bit slow. However, unlike many murder mysteries, the clues have to be teased out involving serious detective work by the main character who, initially, is reluctant to become involved.I found the story line intriguing with sufficient twists and red herrings to dispel my earlier unease as to whether I had made an error of judgement in purchasing this book and the motive behind the murders certainly did not become apparent until revealed by the author.I would have no hesitation in recommending this book and if,like me, you feel it is a little slow and ponderous in parts - stick with it. Michael Connelly rarely, if ever, disappoints.AnOn

This book is the first in the Terry McCaleb series from Harry Bosch author Michael Connolly.If you enjoy the Bosch series I suggest you read this before book 7 of Bosch as it contains some background information which is useful, many don't realise it and then are presented with Terry McCaleb in a 'Darkness more than Night' without any context of who or what he is.Overall this is an enjoyable first book in the series, plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader hooked and I look forward to reading the next in the series.

This is the first book I have read by Michael Connelly (I had not heard of him until I went to the dentist and sat in the waiting room reading and my dentist told me to try him) and I am so glad I did, I loved this book.Blood Work features Terry Mccaleb who is a retired FBI agent (he has recently had a heart transplant). One day a women (Graciela) turns up on his boat where he lives asking for his help. Her sister was murdered and her killer was never found. He says no first of all and asks her why she went to him and she explains that he has got her sisters heart.So Terry decides to look into it for her. He gets in contact with some old friends her worked with and before long he is re-reading witness statements, watching videos tape and collecting new information.This is very fast paced and has some twist and turns. Michael Connelly has written this very well and sets the scene very well - highly recommended if you like crime and thriller.

I'm a great fan of Michael Connolly and I thought I'd ready all his books; until I spotted this. I almost read it in one go, it's so gripping and unique! The plot twists and turns, offering many credible solutions and possible villains, it really kept my brain working at full tilt. You definitely won't be disappointed by it and it's more than satisfactory ending. Buy it now.