Harry Bosch

Detective Hieronymus 'Harry' Bosch /haɪˈrɒnᵻməs ˈboʊʃ/ is a literary character created by Michael Connelly in the 1992 novel The Black Echo, and the lead character in a police procedural series now numbering twenty novels. The novels are more or less coincident in time frame with the year in which they were published.

Harry, as he is commonly known by his associates, is a veteran police homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Bosch was named after the 15th century Dutch artist, Hieronymus Bosch.

Biography of the character

Background

Bosch's mother was a prostitute in Hollywood, who was murdered in 1961 when Bosch was 11 years old. His father, whom he met later in life, was a powerful defense attorney. He spent his youth in various orphanages and youth halls, as well as with the occasional foster family. After learning of his mother's murder, Bosch, then living at a youth hall, dived to the bottom of the pool and screamed until he ran out of air and then swam back to the surface. This event is referenced during many of the Bosch novels. Bosch later joined the United States Army when he was seventeen years old after getting his foster father to sign the enlistment papers giving his consent for his minor foster son.