Harry Bosch isn't getting any younger, and signs that he's even more fed up than usual with his life in general - and the Los Angeles Police Department in particular - are everywhere in this, the latest installment in one of my favorite series. A big part of his discomfort stems from learning that one of his LAPD cases is coming back not only to bring into serious question all his other cases, but to threaten his future as a volunteer who now helps solve cold cases at the San Fernando Police Department.
On the whole, I'd say this one is not my pick of the litter - it falls a little bit short of making my heart go thump-thump. But on the other hand, just when I was feeling just a bit disappointed, along comes Mickey Haller - the "Lincoln Lawyer" of the author's other popular series who's also Harry's half-brother. They've made crossover appearances in other books, but this time, the interaction seemed to last longer and boosted my interest right back to the top of the scale once again.
This one begins as Harry is starting to work on an SFPD cold case of a woman who disappeared 15 years ago, leaving behind an infant. She was never found, and because of the baby, it's assumed she was the victim of foul play. Just then, he gets a visit from LAPD representatives, including his former partner Lucia Soto. As he expects, the news isn't good; Preston Borders, who's been on death row for 30 years, has come up with "evidence" he insists will clear his name and get him released from jail. That evidence also implicates Harry, who handled the case way back then - and it's damning enough that his enemies at the LAPD are determined to reopen the file and investigate.
Meanwhile, back at the SFPD, a new case comes in; father-and-son pharmacists are shot to death in their mall store, with all the characteristics of a mob hit rather than a robbery gone terribly wrong. Immediately, Harry gets deeply involved in this case as well, taking on a role unlike any he's ever played before. As all this is going down, the LAPD investigation that calls Harry's actions on that long-ago case into question starts to heat up, he ups and calls Mickey - who's more than ready to put his sometimes out-of-the-mainstream (and always fun to read about) investigative and courtroom skills to work. But Mickey's methods almost always leave a bit to be desired on the ethics side, and let's just say that adds tension to the already somewhat strained relationship between the two.
In the end, everything comes out in the wash, although not everything ends up spotless. That's just fodder, I'm thinking, for the next go-round. Woo hoo - bring it on!
Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown and Co., October 2017); 417 pp.
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