Book Review: Void Moon by Michael Connelly

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Thrilling ride

Cons: Pace near the beginning; characters hard to root for

The Bottom Line:

Ex-con character

Created issues for me

Story still thrilling

Cassie Black Finds More Danger than She Bargained For

Michael Connelly is best known for his Harry Bosch novels, especially now that the character is starring in an Amazon TV series.  But he has a few standalone novels out there, and I’m am trying to work them into my reading schedule as well.  That’s what brought me to Void Moon, which is different in some ways and classic Connelly in others.

Cassie Black is an ex-con who served five years after the robbery of a guest in a Las Vegas casino went horribly wrong and is 10 months into her parole.  She’s managed to get a transfer approved to Los Angeles, and she is working at a Mercedes dealership.

Despite Cassie’s desire to go straight, she finds herself needing cash in a hurry, so she decides to go back to her old life for one last crime.  In fact, she becomes part of a plan to rob a high roller at the very casino where her life fell apart six years ago.  Will things go better this time?

I’m being vague on purpose because this is one of those wonderful plots that you need to watch unfold for yourself.  And in this way, this book is classic Michael Connelly.  He creates fabulous stories and executes them perfectly for maximum suspense.  I got very caught up in this story and had to know how it would all play out.  I did feel the beginning was a bit too slow and technical, but once the book really took off, I was hooked, and it became a first-rate thriller.

On the other hand, the characters in this book could be better.  I hate rooting for criminals, so it took me a long time to truly begin to root for Cassie.  As the book goes along, it becomes impossible not to root for her as the other characters are just as nasty.  Still, this book doesn’t have the clear-cut line between good and evil that I normally want in my fiction.  I have an issue with Oceans Eleven for the same reason.

I actually listened to the unabridged audio book as read by L. J. Ganser.  He does a great job of bringing Cassie and this world to life.

While this book is technically a standalone novel, it does have some references to the events of an earlier Harry Bosch book.  It isn’t necessary to have that background to understand this book, but it is a delightful Easter egg for Connelly’s fans.

Don’t get me wrong, Void Moon is a wild, thrilling ride from a true master.  I had enough of a problem with the characters that I couldn’t love it, but they probably won’t be an issue for most readers.

This review is part of this week's Friday's Forgotten Books.