Michael Connelly (born July 21, 1956, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. His books, which have been translated into 35 languages, have garnered him many awards. Connelly was the President of the Mystery Writers of America from 2003 to 2004.

The Black Echo is the debut novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, featuring the Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch.

Harry Bosch, a Vietnam veteran who served as a "tunnel rat" during the war, became an L.A. police detective, advancing to the prestigious Robbery-Homicide Division. However, after killing the main suspect in the "Dollmaker" serial killings, Bosch is demoted to Hollywood Division homicide, where he partners with Jerry Edgar. The death of Billy Meadows, a friend and fellow "tunnel rat" from 'Nam, attracts Bosch's interest, especially when he determines that it may have been connected to a spectacular bank robbery using subterranean tunnels. Bosch suspects that the robbers were after more than money and partners with the FBI, in particular agent Eleanor Wish, in an attempt to foil their next attack.

Bosch and Wish end up connecting the robberies to a group of Vietnamese living in Orange County, as well as some Americans that may have been involved with them.