Harry Bosch is getting old; especially since some of his investigations have marked him deep within his body and, with the years piling up on the clock, he now pays the price every day. Same as this radioactive poisoning from which he had difficulty recovered (see On your knees) seems to be catching up with him… However, when Renée Ballard – who now heads Cold Cases at the LAPD – offers him to return to service, he doesn’t hesitate for a second.
This is a return to familiar territory for Bosch; he has already settled several cases during his long years in cold cases and he quickly finds his bearings. His new “team” is a bit special, but he is first there to complete his investigation into the massacre of an entire family – father, mother and children – found a few years earlier in the desert behind -country of the City of Angels. But first he and Ballard must look into another cold case involving the murdered sister of the city councilman who is responsible for the resurgence of the Cold Case unit.
And, of course, nothing turns out quite as we might have hoped.
When you have flair…
Firstly because the “political control” over the squad is constant… which horrifies Bosch. When, in addition, it becomes obvious that a mole is part of the team, things will quickly take a surprising turn. But also and above all because good old Harry still has flair and he soon begins to follow a very interesting lead in the case of the desert killer. As the discovery of the mole surprisingly leads to the resolution of the first case, Bosch shifts gears and is found overnight in Florida in pursuit of the serial killer who has obsessed him for so long. And there…
As is now his custom, Michael Connelly gives us another real police 101 course: administration of justice, archival work, investigative techniques and procedures to follow. His intimate knowledge of the internal workings of American police forces allows us to understand the extent to which law enforcement is compartmentalized and limited in its action. But his fluid and inventive writing, very well rendered by Robert Pépin’s translation, nevertheless manages to energize the story. Its main characters, Bosch and Ballard in the lead, still ring true and even the “support staff” play their role solidly, going well beyond the figuration.
But what is first obvious in this story teeming with various actions and betrayals is that Harry Bosch is getting old, as we have said, and that we can even wonder if we are not haven’t just read his latest investigation. Sniff.