Detective

Another great book from Michael Connelly. Harry Bosch is still in evidence but the main detective character is Renee Ballard. She's a gutsy female character with more than a few of Bosch's character quirks to be acceptable to Connelly's fans.

Renee works the night shift in the Hollywood Division. On New Year's Eve 2020 she is teamed up with another female detective, Lisa Moore, because the LAPD wants all hands on deck. The two have been working on a case of serial sexual assault that take place around midnight on holiday nights. But instead of another sexual assault the two get called to a suspicious death where it looks like the victim maybe got hit by a stray bullet when guns were discharged in the air at midnight. Ballard is convinced it is a homicide and she wants to continue to work the case. Since the Major Crimes Unit is working on another big case, Ballard gets the green light to continue to work it. Her partner goes off on a little vacation with her boyfriend so Ballard is back to working alone. Just as it looks like the sexual assault perp didn't strike on New Year's Eve, a victim comes forward. Moore doesn't want to come back from her vacation which leaves Ballard to investigate both cases. She goes to see her mentor, Harry Bosch, because ballistic results from the murder show that the gun was used in a case Bosch handled when he was on the force. Of course, Bosch is more than eager to help Ballard with her cases and the two team up. The victims of the sexual assaults at first don't seem to share any common characteristics but Ballard discovers something that does link all of them. That's the key to finding the men (yes, men) responsible. And with Bosch's assistance they are also able to pin the murder on someone.Let's hear it for dogged investigators. ( )

I have known for sometime that Connelly was going to put Bosch out to pasture. While I don't think it will be soon it is clear that Ballard will be one of the characters to take up his place.... I suspect Maddie will enter the fray soon also. I really enjoyed this book and like that he didn't run from the current strife happening in police departments. I look forward to the next book. ( )

I think I've read all of the Harry Bosch and Renee Ballard books by Michael Connelly, and if this one isn't the best, it's among 'em, as Dizzy Dean said when asked if he was the best pitcher in baseball. This is a terrific police/murder/mystery novel. Numerous bad guys and numerous nefarious schemes are uncovered, along with some hair-raising action & police department back-stabbing. It has it all! ( )

LAPD Detective Rene Ballard, investigating a New Year's Eve murder along with an unsolved murder, teams up Detective Harry Bosch once again when their two cases--one old and one new--intersect, while an undetected killer watches their every move. At the same time, Ballard hunts a pair of serial rapists, who have been terrorizing women and leaving no trace.

The first half of the story had an interesting investigation while Ballard struggled not to fall into the low morale of the rest of her department due to social unrest and defunding. But then she does a couple of very risky things without a good reason. Also, at two different times, she and Bosch get strangers to go in their car with them to another location to get information, without the strangers knowing whether they were legitimate cops or not. This didn’t seem believable. I’ve enjoyed a number of Connelly’s other books but this was just a so-so read for me. ( )