History Literature / TheNarrows

* ReassignedToAntarctica: The book starts with Rachel Walling having been assigned to the [[TheRez Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] as punishment for having an affair with a reporter in ''The Poet''.

It is a sequel to previous Connelly novel ''Literature/ThePoet''. Serial killer The Poet, whose death was suspected but not confirmed, turns out to be still alive, and active. And what's more, the Poet has sent a message to FBI agent Rachel Walling, who tried but failed to catch him. Now the Poet is back and has ensnared Walling in a new game of cat-and-mouse.

Meanwhile, former LAPD detective Literature/HarryBosch (Connelly's most frequent protagonist), now a PI, is investigating the death of his old friend and former FBI agent Terry [=McCaleb=]. [=McCaleb=], a heart transplant recipient (and the protagonist of Connelly novels ''Literature/BloodWork'' and ''Literature/ADarknessMoreThanNight''), died when his body rejected the donor heart. The authorities have written it off as natural causes, but his widow suspects foul play. Bosch starts to suspect foul play as well when his investigation reveals that [=McCaleb=] had a stalker--who turns out to be the Poet.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: When Harry accuses The Poet of killing his friend, The Poet doesn't know who the friend is because he's "been kind of busy". Subverted because The Poet didn't kill Terry [=McCaleb=].

** Buddy complains about his representation in the movie, and after confirming that he got paid for his story, Harry tells him to "put your money in the bank and forget about the rest." This is not idle advice, but the voice of experience. Long ago, Harry got a big payday after having one of his cases made into a movie: it's how he can afford the house in the Hollywood hills.

* IncrediblyLamePun: Not wanting to tell his ex-wife why he no longer plays the saxophone, Harry Bosch says his teacher wanted him to "switch from alto to tenor - as in ''ten or'' fifteen miles away from him". The joke is, by Bosch's own admission, lame.

* MedicationTampering: As an elaborate form of suicide. Terry [=McCaleb=] tampered with his own heart medication instead of submitting to a second heart transplant.
* {{Narrator}}: Harry's part of the narrative is told by Harry in first person singular. Of the dozens of Harry Bosch novels that Connelly has written, this and ''Literature/LostLight'' are the only two which use Harry as a narrator.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: A subtle hint to the TwistEnding. Harry realizes that MedicationTampering isn't the Poet's style.

* ReassignedToAntarctica: The book starts with Rachel Walling assigned to the [[TheRez Pine Ridge Indian Reservation]] as punishment for having an affair with a reporter in ''The Poet''.
* RedLightDistrict: Clear, Nevada is a Pitiful/Hostile version. The fact that many of the men who go there take measures to conceal their journey make it the perfect hunting ground for the Poet, at least until his body count gets high enough for the Las Vegas Metro Police to start making connections between the men who have vanished without a trace over the course of a couple of years, and Terry [=McCaleb=] to figure out the common denominator. The Poet also previously operated in the RLD in Amsterdam for the same reasons.

* SuicideNotAccident: Terry [=McCaleb=]'s death was written off as a heart attack, but Bosch suspects that the Poet killed him. Instead, Bosch eventually figures out that [=McCaleb=] was facing another heart transplant surgery due to his body rejecting the donor heart. But another surgery would have bankrupted his family, so [=McCaleb=] tampered with his own pills, which brought about heart failure and death.

* TwistEnding: One you'll get a heads-up to if you pay attention to Backus' dialogue: He didn't kill Terry.

* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Instead of a suicide. Bosch eventually figures out that Terry [=McCaleb=] was facing another heart transplant surgery due to his body rejecting the donor heart. But another surgery would have bankrupted his family, so [=McCaleb=] tampered with his own pills, which brought about heart failure and death.

* TwistEnding: One you'll get a heads-up to if you pay attention to Backus' dialogue. [[spoiler:He didn't kill Terry.]]

* {{Sequel}}: To ''The Poet''. While all of Connelly's books are in the same universe, this is his only sequel to a prior novel, the only one where a villain returns.