Fans of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch detective franchise expect another great read in ECHO PARK. They won’t be disappointed in it – the 12th novel in the series – but I fear that the popular detective may be winding down a bit. Not only has he come back from retirement for this caper, he’s now wearing reading glasses.

After returning to the job, Bosch is assigned to the cold case squad and to a lesbian partner. One of his unsolved cases is a missing person case that coincidentally was assigned to him originally some 13 years earlier. A pretty young girl went missing and Bosch was unable to find her body or her killer. While revisiting the case, he discovers a clue that, had he initially not overlooked it, would have cracked the case, prevented the girl’s death and no doubt stopped her killer from taking nine additional victims.

Nope, I’ve not spoiled the ending. In true mystery-thriller fashion, nothing is ever as it seems. Determined to prove his salt as an investigator and avenge his previous bungling of the case, Bosch enlists the help of a newspaper reporter and an FBI-profiler-cum-love interest to help him work the case backward and from outside the establishment, and for good reason. It turns out that there is some political wrangling associated with the case and no one can be trusted, whether they’re in law enforcement or not.

As a detective myself, I can attest to the fact that Connelly has the police jargon down and uses it effectively and appropriately. This is no doubt due to his early career as a reporter covering the crime beat. He also accurately describes the unglamorous side of investigations, paperwork and reading reports and files. This well-crafted cliffhanger doesn’t shortchange the reader on action, though. Woven into the tale are body parts in trash bags, shootouts, some sweet lovin’, and did I mention the lesbian partner? –Ken Davis

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• CRIME BEAT: A DECADE OF COVERING COPS & KILLERS by Michael Connelly