Blood Work (Terry McCaleb Series #1) »

A former Los Angeles Times crime reporter, Michael Connelly s familiarity with the seamy side of L.A. adds a steamy kind of street cred to his hardboiled, gritty detective novels -- especially his bestselling series of mysteries featuring dark detective Hieronymous Harry Bosch.

March 1998

In Blood Work, New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly departs from his crime novels featuring LAPD Harry Bosch and introduces Terry McCaleb, a retired FBI agent with a bad heart from years of tracking down criminals. After an emergency heart transplant, McCaleb withdraws to his sailboat in the Cabrillo marina to comfortably recover. Weeks after his surgery, he discovers that he is alive because of a tragic crime. The heart of a murder victim beats behind the ropy scar on his chest -- and, as the living remains of the murder victim, it becomes his mission to solve the crime.

The plot twists, and it becomes clear that the police must have overlooked something. As the horrors unfold, McCaleb realizes that he is tracking a killer whose crimes are as baffling and horrifying as anyone he ever encountered at the FBI. Blood Work is at its core a film-noir tale of good, evil, and retribution. A crime novel that will send a chill down your spine and make you turn on all the lights in the house, Blood Work deservedly stands tall in Connelly's roster of impressive novels.

Washington Post Book World - Paul Skenazy

A wonderfully taut read.