Harry Bosch
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Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch (pronounced /haɪˈrɒnɨməs ˈboʊʃ/) is a literary character created by Michael Connelly in the 1992 novel The Black Echo, and the lead character in a police procedural series now numbering thirteen novels. The novels are more or less coincident in time frame with the year in which they were published.
"Harry", as he is commonly known by his associates, is a veteran police homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Bosch was named after the 15th century Dutch artist, Hieronymus Bosch by his mother.
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[edit] Biography of the character
[edit] Background
Bosch's mother was a prostitute in Hollywood, who was murdered in 1961 when Bosch was 11 years old. His father, who he met later in life, was a powerful defense attorney. He spent his youth in various orphanages and youth halls, as well as with the occasional foster family. After learning of his mother's murder, Bosch, then living at a youth hall, dove to the bottom of the pool and screamed until he ran out of air and then swam back to the surface. This event is referenced during many of the Bosch novels. Bosch later ran away and joined the U.S. Army while he was still in his teens.
In Vietnam, Bosch was a "tunnel rat" with the 25th Infantry Division – a specialized soldier whose job it was to venture into the maze of tunnels used as barracks, hospitals, and on some occasions, morgues by the Vietcong.
[edit] LAPD career
After returning from Vietnam (going AWOL whilst on leave in Hawaii at age 18) he joined the LAPD and in the books we find him at the rank of Detective III (a position which entails both investigative and supervisory duties and is the LAPD equivalent of Detective Sergeant).
While in the LAPD, Bosch worked in the prestigious Robbery Homicide Division (RHD) for five years, but was drummed out by an Internal Affairs Division investigation involving Bosch's shooting of a suspect who was later linked to nine murders. Following the IAD investigation, Bosch was sent to Hollywood Detectives as a homicide investigator. At one point, Bosch left the LAPD and worked as a private investigator for three years. Upon leaving retirement and returning to the LAPD, Bosch was assigned to RHD's Open-Unsolved Unit, a cold case squad. Bosch transferred out of Open-Unsolved and into Homicide Special during the time between Echo Park and The Overlook.
During his time in the LAPD covered in the novels, Bosch was in Hollywood homicide and worked with Frankie Sheehan (Bosch's partner in RHD, who was later murdered in Angels Flight) and/or Jerry Edgar and Kizmin 'Kiz' Rider, who were the other members of Bosch's team in Hollywood homicide. In the DVD that came with The Closers there was included an excerpt of a speech real-life LAPD Chief William Bratton made at the Police Academy, in which he publicly asked Harry Bosch to return from retirement (Connelly was on the stand behind listening to the speech). In The Overlook, Connelly gave Bratton an approving endorsement (albeit without using his name) for "raising the morale of the rank and file" and for giving "Bosch his job back" (pp. 145-146 of the Vision paperback edition).
In The Closers, Bosch is once again partnered with Rider, while Edgar remains in Hollywood homicide. Bosch remained partnered with Rider until her transfer to the Chief's office after being shot during Echo Park; during The Overlook, Bosch was partnered with Detective Ignacio 'Iggy' Ferras, a younger detective with whom Bosch had not yet developed a solid rapport. Not a stranger to being second-guessed, Bosch has been investigated by the LAPD's IAD multiple times, and was always cleared.
[edit] Personal characteristics
In all of the books, Bosch lives in a house on stilts off of Woodrow Wilson Drive in the Hollywood Hills. The money that financed Bosch's home came from a production studio for a TV mini-series in which an actor (the fictional Dan Lacey) portrays Bosch in a case the detective had worked that involved a serial killer; Bosch also worked as a technical advisor on the mini-series. His house was later damaged during the Northridge earthquake shortly before the book The Last Coyote. After his house was condemned and demolished, he had a new one built on the same road, still facing out over the valley.
Bosch has a lively love life; he has had relationships with cops and civilians alike, with usually one love-interest per book. Bosch has a daughter, who, as of The Closers, is living with Bosch's ex-wife Eleanor Wish (a former FBI agent, ex-con and subsequently professional poker player, whom Bosch met in The Black Echo and married while on a case in Las Vegas, and who left Bosch in Angels Flight), who currently lives in Hong Kong. Recent stories find Bosch linked in a close relationship with FBI agent Rachel Walling. The liaison formulated in The Narrows and heightened romantically during Echo Park, but Walling broke off the relationship at its conclusion. Walling returned in The Overlook on a strictly professional basis, although numerous hints suggested a renewal of trust and possibly relationship.
As to Bosch's physical appearance, he has brown hair that is by now graying. Also in virtually every Bosch novel, his mustache is referenced as a key part of his appearance. Bosch's eyes are the other key aspect of appearance; they are brown and nearly black, and were mentioned often for this reason in A Darkness More Than Night. Connelly gives a good clue as to how he visualizes Bosch when in The Overlook he has a character tell Bosch that "You look like House" (actor Hugh Laurie).
Bosch is always finding himself in conflict with authority, whether with his lieutenant, a Deputy Chief of Police (specifically the fictional Irvin Irving, Bosch's recurring nemesis until forced to retire at the end of The Closers, and as a new city councilman is positioned to return in the future), or the FBI. His confrontational side is usually attributed to his strong sense of the right thing to do by the case, coupled with little regard for his career. At the end of The Overlook, Connelly states this trait can be described in a single word: "relentless".
Bosch has a half-brother, Mickey Haller, a Los Angeles attorney who makes his first appearance in the novel The Lincoln Lawyer. Haller is the legitimate son of the attorney that fathered Bosch. It is unclear if the two know each other.[1]
The original Bosch was famous for his religious portrayal of earthly sins (mostly debauchery) and their violent consequences. In the books there are parallels suggested between the hell in the paintings and the events of Bosch's life.
Besides the Connelly series, Harry Bosch has made cameos in several other authors' books. Bosch has popped up in books by Paula Woods, Joseph Gores, and Robert Crais.[2]
[edit] Defining traits and experiences
Bosch's personal motto is: Everybody counts or nobody counts. His most defining character trait, it describes his motivation to find the truth in any case, no matter where the investigation leads, and no matter the nature of the victim and the circumstances.
Some of the more significant traits about Bosch that also define his character include:
- Bosch is left-handed (The Black Ice)
- His mother was a prostitute and her murder when Harry was 11 was a key reason on why he became a homicide detective (The Last Coyote)
- Has a GED (The Closers)
- Once stole his foster father's Chevrolet Corvette; he was caught and sent back to live in a youth hall (The Closers)
- Wears his gun (A Smith & Wesson 5906 semi-automatic until The Overlook, when he carries a Kimber Ultra Carry) on his left hip when he is not expecting a tactical situation, but in instances where he has a chance to plan ahead, he wears his gun in a holster on his right hip, with the butt facing outward (A Darkness More Than Night and The Closers)
- Owns a Heckler & Koch P7 pistol in the Lost Light, and a Glock 27 in The Narrows.
- Likes jazz (Referenced in every Harry Bosch novel)
- Is one of the last detectives trained in hypnosis left in the LAPD (The Black Echo)
- Bosch is the only member of his police academy class still working for the LAPD (The Closers)
- Bosch has been working for the LAPD for over 30 years (Multiple)
- In novels in which Bosch is a member of the LAPD the narrative is in the third person voice; in those in which he was separated from the department the narrative is in the first person.
- Bosch had "HOLD FAST" tattooed on his knuckles when he was sixteen. (City of Bones and The Narrows) But his Drill Instructor during US Army Basic Training objected to these tattoos on the grounds that "HOLD FAST" was a Navy (Squid) motto. Bosch was ordered to punch a wall until his knuckles bled. When the scabs healed he was ordered to do the same again, so that he ended up with scars where the tattoos had been. (City of Bones)
- Bosch has a stylized rat tattoo on his right shoulder, indicating his time as a tunnel rat during the Vietnam War (The Black Ice)
- His nickname during the Vietnam War was Hari Kari Bosch. (The Overlook)
[edit] Novel series
| Novel | Partner and associates | Occupational Status | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Black Echo (1992) | Det. Jerry 'Jed' Edgar; FBI Special Agent Eleanor Wish | LAPD Hollywood Division | Detective III |
| The Black Ice (1993) | Det. Jerry 'Jed' Edgar; Officer Carlos Aguila of The Mexican State Judicial Police | LAPD Hollywood Division | Detective III |
| The Concrete Blonde (1994) | Det. Jerry 'Jed' Edgar; RHD Det. Frankie Sheehan | LAPD Hollywood Division | Detective III |
| The Last Coyote (1995) | ----- | On Involuntary Stress Leave from LAPD Hollywood Division | ----- |
| Trunk Music (1997) | Det. Jerry 'Jed' Edgar; Det. Kizmin 'Kiz' Rider; FBI Special Agent Roy Lindell | LAPD Hollywood Division | Detective III |
| Angels Flight (1999) | Det. Jerry 'Jed' Edgar; Det. Kizmin 'Kiz' Rider; IAD Det. John Chastain; FBI Special Agent Roy Lindell | LAPD Hollywood Division | Detective III |
| A Darkness More Than Night (2001) | Fmr. FBI Special Agent Terry McCaleb | LAPD Hollywood Division | Detective III |
| City of Bones (2002) | Det. Jerry 'Jed' Edgar | LAPD Hollywood Division | Detective III |
| Lost Light (2003) | FBI Special Agent Roy Lindell; Retired LAPD Detective Lawton 'Law' Cross | LAPD retired | Private Investigator |
| The Narrows (2004) | FBI Special Agent Rachel Walling | LAPD retired | Private Investigator |
| The Closers (2005) | Det. Kizmin 'Kiz' Rider | LAPD RHD Open-Unsolved Unit | Detective III |
| Echo Park (2006) | Det. Kizmin 'Kiz' Rider; FBI Special Agent Rachel Walling | LAPD RHD Open-Unsolved Unit | Detective III |
| The Overlook (2007) | Det. Ignacio 'Iggy' Ferras; FBI Special Agent Rachel Walling | LAPD RHD Homicide Special Unit | Detective III |
