A former police reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Michael Connelly is the author of the Harry Bosch thriller series as well as several stand-alone bestsellers, including the highly acclaimed legal thriller, The Lincoln Lawyer.
Bestseller Connelly's excellent 18th Harry Bosch novel (after 2011's The Drop) opens in 1992, a few days after the acquittal of the cops who beat up Rodney King incited an eruption of violence in Los Angeles ("Flames from a thousand fires reflected like the devil dancing in the dark sky"). In a South-Central alley, Bosch and his partner, Jerry Edgar, briefly examine the body of a Danish photojournalist, Anneke Jespersen, who's been shot dead. There's not enough time or police will power to enable Bosch to pursue the case-though he does retrieve a single spent 9mm brass shell casing. Twenty years later, while working cold cases in the LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit, Bosch gets a second chance to answer for Jespersen. Contemporary forensic technology connects the shell casing to a gun and to the first Iraq war. The tenacious detective finds himself caught in a maelstrom of departmental politics and personal danger as he searches for the "black box" of the title ("a piece of evidence, a person, a positioning of fact that brought a certain understanding and helped explain what happened and why"). Connelly draws on all his resources-his thorough knowledge of police work, his ability to fashion a complex tapestry of plot, and his ever deepening characterization of Bosch-to craft a mystery thriller sure to enthrall fans and newcomers alike. Agent: Philip Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
In Connelly's 19th Harry Bosch crime novel (after The Drop), the approaching 20th anniversary of the 1992 L.A. riots finds Harry assigned to a task force taking a fresh look at unsolved cases from that time. Harry was at the scene of the murder of a female photojournalist from Denmark back then and has carried the guilt over that investigation being buried in the chaos of the uprising. Now he has a second chance to make things right. Harry's brilliance for intuitive thinking and doggedness for pursuing his hunch lead him to follow the clue of a single bullet found at the murder scene. What looks like a back-alley killing has a much deeper story that sends Bosch following a cover-up involving the U.S. Navy. Balancing his personal life, dodging an antagonistic lieutenant, and pursuing the case challenge Harry and engage the reader. Verdict Recommended for readers who enjoy consistently strong character development and police procedurals with tough, ethical detectives fighting crime. Ridley Pearson's novels offer a similar experience. [See Prepub Alert, 5/12/12.]-Susan Carr, Edwardsville P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
"Connelly's lean, just-the-facts style makes for crisp dialogue and a brisk, info-driven plot....A haunted quality has always been one of the chief attractions of Connelly's series and of Bosch's character."-- Washington Post "Art Taylor "
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