I will begin this review with a candid confession. I am a Connelly fan boy.
I have been reading Connelly from the past six or seven years. He is a former L.A. Times crime reporter who took to full time writing nearly twenty years back and over the years has become a consummate plotter of superb police procedural mysteries. He has created the fantastic Harry Bosch and the mercurial Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer. I have devoured his annual offerings hungrily and have seldom been disappointed.
This book has its roots in a real life incident. It is 1992. L.A. is burning as an aftermath of the Rodney King case's verdict. Bosch, who is an LAPD detective, finds the body of a Scandinavian reporter during the riots on the streets of the city of Angels. However, he is unable to investigate the case thoroughly as the police department is overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases it has on its platter due to the rioting.
The story moves on to 2012. Twenty years have passed since the incident. L.A.P.D. wants to show people they haven't forgotten the victims of the riots and hence Bosch gets one more shot at finding out the killer.
The political maneuvering and the personal life of Bosch are described in detail and helps the reader to engross himself completely in the tale.
The best part about the series is how the character of Bosch has evolved over time. He has aged along with his author and readers and is nearly sixty now. He remains a man on mission, for whom everyone counts. He is the best kind of cop, full of real life dilemmas with his heart in the right place and is my favorite fictional detective.
For Bosch aficionados, there can be no better gift than this book to celebrate twenty years of this excellent series. For the newcomers, this is a great book to dive into, to find out why Connelly is universally acknowledged as an accomplished crime writer and a master plotter.
You better believe the blurb which says 100% Connelly, 100% addictive. Bosch's world is one which you would not want to leave in a hurry.
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