Introduction to Hosts and Mystery Genre
00:00:10
Speaker
Welcome to a Cluedin bonus episode. I'm Sarah. And I'm Brooke. And we both love mystery. Hi, Brooke.
Choosing 'The Black Echo' for Readalong
00:00:19
Speaker
Hi, Sarah. I love doing readalongs with you.
00:00:25
Speaker
I enjoy them too. I think it's really fun to take a deeper dive into a book. and this time we are doing The Black Echo by Michael Connelly. And this is the first in his Bosch series.
00:00:41
Speaker
Yes, our newsletter subscribers got a short list of choices. And this was their pick for us to read along.
Readalong Structure and Sections
00:00:51
Speaker
So why don't we start, Brooke, by just describing how we're going to approach this read-along. In past books that we've read together, we typically mark out various sections of the book, and then we don't read ahead.
00:01:08
Speaker
we just read what our assignment is for the week, we discuss it, and then we go back. And a lot of times we'll share some of our suspicions or our thoughts about what might be coming next. That's right. And so we've broken the book up into three sections.
00:01:24
Speaker
The first episode where we talk about the book in detail will be parts one and two. The second will be parts three, four, and five. And the final episode will be parts six, seven, eight, and nine. And those are all shorter parts. We've tried to divide it more or less equally in terms of page count for each of those sections so listeners can read along with us.
00:01:52
Speaker
And we hope that you will. I mean, this is a fantastic book to go to your library and grab or your favorite used bookstore because it's been out since 1992.
Experiences with Michael Connelly's Works
00:02:01
Speaker
Sarah, I have not read any Michael Connelly before.
00:02:06
Speaker
So I have, I've read a few of the Lincoln lawyer books. I've read one of his standalone books called The Poet, which was quite dark.
00:02:18
Speaker
ah And then i actually have read one of the Bosch books um from much later in this series, but it was a while ago. So this is more or less fresh for me as well.
00:02:30
Speaker
Yeah, I've definitely seen like we've watched the Lincoln Lawyer, both the TV adaptation and then um the movie. ah And then I actually had in my head that the Clint Eastwood movie from the early two thousand s it's Michael Connelly's blood work story.
00:02:49
Speaker
And I had it in my head that that was a Harry Bosch story, but it's, it's not, it's not a Bosch story, but I will, um, just to give you a heads up that very likely because of that movie, when I read this book, a night, a 40 year old Clint Eastwood is probably going to be Harry Bosch in my head.
00:03:10
Speaker
vi Because Clint Eastwood, right? Right, right,
Link Between Bosch and Lincoln Lawyer Series
00:03:13
Speaker
right. i love it. um One of the things that I think is really interesting is that the Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer series are loosely connected.
00:03:23
Speaker
I don't know if we're going to see any of that in this first book, but, you know, he's created this world where those two characters exist together. Oh, I didn't know that. But you and I love it when an author does that and creates, you know, connections between their characters.
00:03:39
Speaker
So that'll be fun. I agree. May not be something we see here since this is Connelly's very first novel, but it will be fun to explore further.
1992's Influence on 'The Black Echo'
00:03:50
Speaker
You know, he won an Edgar Award for this and it was his first novel. So I think that we're in for a treat.
00:03:56
Speaker
Absolutely. And I think as well, it'll be really interesting because, as you said, this was published in 1992. There was, i think, a big cultural shift starting to happen or or happening in the early 1990s. Right.
00:04:12
Speaker
um I think a ah shift politically to President Bill Clinton. Right. ah Grunge music was starting to emerge. The Cold War was ending. ah It'll be interesting to see if any of that is reflected in this book, because it would have been written 1991 or maybe even earlier. So, you know, it it may not.
00:04:34
Speaker
And we may have to wait um for a few books before we see any of that reflected. That's right. I will date myself ah unabashedly. 1992 is the year I graduated from high school. So I'm all about this era.
00:04:50
Speaker
Fabulous. Well, I can't wait to start reading at Brooke. I'm so excited, Sarah. So next time you'll want to come back being prepared and having read parts one and two.
Accessing Exclusive Content
00:05:02
Speaker
And I will say that this will be exclusive content just released to our cartel members. So if you are not already a cartel member, you're going to want to join that group in order to get these special bonus episodes. And Sarah, do you want to tell people how they can become a member?
00:05:19
Speaker
Absolutely. So we've got a link on our website and there's a couple of different options for people to choose with respect to payment. The cheapest option is $12 a year.
00:05:33
Speaker
ah That's only available as a single one-time annual payment. Thanks, Sarah. Well, we hope that you come and join us in this really fun read-along of The Black Echo. and Until then, i'm Brooke.
00:05:45
Speaker
And I'm Sarah, and we both love mystery. Clued in Mystery is written and produced by Brooke Peterson and Sarah M. Stephen. Music is by Shane Ivers. If you liked what you heard, please consider telling a friend, leaving a ri review, or subscribing with your favorite podcast listening app.
Membership and Social Media Engagement
00:06:01
Speaker
Visit our website at cluedinmystery.com to sign up for our newsletter, The Clued in Chronicle, or to join our paid membership, The Clued in Cartel. We're on social media at Clued in Mystery.