Walt Longmire
A weathered lawman solving crimes with dogged persistence in a vivid setting. Wyoming instead of LA, but the same commitment to justice and a deeply moral protagonist.
Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch is an LAPD homicide detective who believes every victim deserves justice, no matter how cold the case or how powerful the people standing in the way. Connelly's plotting is methodical and precise, drawing on his years as a crime reporter in Los Angeles. The series spans Bosch's entire career, from his early days in Hollywood Division through retirement and beyond as a volunteer cold-case investigator.
Read in publication order, starting with The Black Echo (1992). publication.
| # | Book | Published | Rating | Where to read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Black Echo The Black EchoStart | 1992 | 4.0 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 2 | The Black Ice The Black Ice | 1993 | 4.0 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 3 | The Concrete Blonde The Concrete Blonde | 1994 | 4.2 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 4 | The Last Coyote The Last Coyote Bosch investigates his mother's murder. A pivotal book for his character. | 1995 | 4.3 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 5 | Trunk Music Trunk Music | 1997 | 4.0 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 6 | Angels Flight Angels Flight | 1999 | 4.1 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 7 | City of Bones City of Bones | 2002 | 4.2 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 8 | The Closers The Closers Bosch returns to the LAPD after retirement. A great entry point for the second phase of the series. | 2005 | 4.2 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 9 | The Burning Room The Burning Room Introduces Lucia Soto as Bosch's partner. | 2014 | 4.3 | Kindle $9.99Paperback $9.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $16.00 |
| 10 | The Dark Hours The Dark Hours Bosch teams with Renee Ballard. Part of the Bosch-Ballard crossover arc. | 2021 | 4.2 | Kindle $13.99Paperback $10.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $17.00 |
| 11 | Resurrection Walk Resurrection Walk Crosses over with the Lincoln Lawyer series. | 2023 | 4.1 | Kindle $14.99Paperback $11.99Audible $14.99Bookshop $18.00 |
Showing 11 of 24 - the openers plus the key entries. See the full 24-book list →
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Book #1, and still the best on-ramp. It sets up everything that makes this series work.
If you love Harry Bosch, try these next.
A weathered lawman solving crimes with dogged persistence in a vivid setting. Wyoming instead of LA, but the same commitment to justice and a deeply moral protagonist.
A brilliant, wealthy detective who hunts the worst criminals in Minneapolis. Sandford matches Connelly's procedural detail with a more action-oriented edge.
A Washington D.C. detective and forensic psychologist chasing serial killers. Faster pacing, shorter chapters, and a protagonist with similar moral conviction.
Publication order is ideal because Bosch ages in real time and his personal life develops across the series. That said, several books work as entry points: The Black Echo (the beginning), The Closers (Bosch's return to the LAPD), or The Burning Room (a later highlight).
Bosch and Mickey Haller (the Lincoln Lawyer) are half-brothers. They appear in each other's books starting with The Brass Verdict (2008). The crossovers increase in later novels, but you can read either series independently.
Amazon's Bosch series (2014-2021) blends plotlines from multiple novels per season rather than adapting them one-to-one. The tone and character are faithful, but the specific cases are remixed. The spin-off Bosch: Legacy continues the story.