I found the resolution and ending of ECHO PARK quite
satisfying. There are a couple of elements I'd like to raise
for discussion. It was great to see Pratt meet his demise
when he was so close to pulling off his scam and it was
equally great to see Bosch vindicated in his pursuit of
Anthony Garland.
I'd like to know how Garland actually came to kill Marie
Gesto. As far as we know, Garland, though certainly deeply
disturbed, is not a serial murderer. We assume, along with
Harry, that he murdered Gesto because of her resemblance to
the girl who moved to Texas, but we don't really know. The
only story we have about Marie's death we got from Waits and
we do know that for the most part its fabricated. It troubles
me that Garland, who was so unflappable on the subject for 13
years, completely loses it in Echo Park and murders Pratt,
even though his father told him not to. Not that it's
unrealistic. Certainly minds that resort to murder can behave
very irrationally after long calculating periods. Under the
circumstance I didn't see that Pratt's demand for more money
would have acted as such a powerful stresser on Anthony. Part
of Anthony's motive has got to be not only to embarrass his
father, but to involve him in his crimes.
Tho other thing about T. Rex Garland is what happens to him?
We're left thinking that he's going to prison. But from what
we know about the history of LA crime & punishment,
people like T. Rex tend to get off scott free. The recent
case of Phil Spector comes to mind. This guy shot a girl
after a lifetime habit of bringing women home and threatening
them with guns. But the jury was hung and they're not going
to try him again. WHAT? Conclusion: If you have enough money
you can kill people in Los Angeles. So as far as I can see T.
Rex didn't kill anyone. He's at best guilty of conspiracy
after the fact. A good lawyer can probably get most of the
evidence thrown out as inadmissable due to the way it was
collected. There was nothing illegal about the campaign
contributions. Maybe all this is addressed in a future book I
haven't read yet. If so, rest assured I will read it.
My last comment is about Rachel Walling. What is the matter
with this woman? She fights side by side with this guy. Did
he put her life in danger? Not once. He faced the danger
himself, calculated the odds correctly and solved the
problem. And this in her opinion makes him a loose cannon and
she doesn't want to live with him. This from an FBI agent who
completely ignores all the rules imposed upon her when she
sees an opportunity to bring a bad guy to justice. That she
walks out on Harry makes a good story, but her reasons don't
ring true. My sense is she has emotional problems around
intimacy and if Harry plays it cool, she'll come crawling
back. Where else is she going to find a guy like that?
I greatly enjoyed my introduction to Harry Bosch.
Thanks,
Patrick King
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