The Narrows (novel)

infobox Book |
name = The Narrows
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Michael Connelly
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Harry Bosch, #10
subject =
genre = Crime novel
publisher =
release_date = April 30, 2004
media_type = Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
pages = 416 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-316-15530-6
preceded_by = Lost Light & The Poet
followed_by = The Closers

"The Narrows" is the 14th novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, and the tenth featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. As Bosch crosses paths with FBI Agent Rachel Walling, the novel ties story elements left unresolved in "The Poet" and those from "Blood Work" and "A Darkness More Than Night" together into the Bosch mythos.

Plot summary

While investigating the death of ex-FBI profiler Terry McCaleb, Bosch begins to suspect that the notorious serial killer The Poet, presumed dead, may be the culprit. Digging deeper, Bosch meets and eventually joins forces with FBI agent Rachel Walling, who went up against The Poet the first time around. The novel shifts points of view, cutting from Bosch's first-person commentary to the third-person perspectives of Walling and The Poet.

Bosch and Walling bring the Poet to justice in the end by chasing him through storm flooded drains in L.A., and he dies in the end by drowning. His death is confirmed this time, as opposed to an earlier novel where he was merely assumed dead. So, in an ironic twist of fate, his death saved the court system the trouble of trying him. This is significant because Bosch and Walling were convinced that if he had an opportunity, the Poet would just escape any way and be free to kill again.