Desert Star: The Brand New Blockbuster Ballard & Bosch Thriller

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Harry sympathizes with Jake Pearlman's desire to see his sister's murder solved, remembering how he investigated his own mother's death long ago. That was The Last Coyote. Renée Ballard stood on the front step. Bosch had not seen her in almost a year. She looked thinner than he remembered. He could see where her blazer had bunched over her sidearm on her hip.

Ballard has taken on the task of re-opening the cold case team, using volunteers. Her first ask is Harry and the first talk is finding out who murdered a councilmans sister. Harry, who always marching to his own drum, has his own white whale of a case, that of a whole family murdered. Both Ballard and Bosch are rule breakers, using what they can to solve cases, giving justice to the murdered and their families. There are many things I love about Connelly’s writing, but the key to what always gets me, are his characters – the way he matures them. It appears Harry may be coming to the end of his detective career, but I hope he doesn't hang up his credentials just yet.And so you want me on this…squad, or whatever you’re calling it. I can’t be a reserve. I wouldn’t pass the physical. Run a mile in under six minutes? Forget it.” The whole book has a tired feel to it. MC might be interested only in the TV series, but he should know that there are some book lovers who don't watch TV and OTT (like me!). And so I got wind of it and went to the captain with a proposal. I move over from RHD and reconstitute the Open-Unsolved Unit—work cold cases.”

I am sorry, Mike Connelly fans. This review is going to be harsh. In my defense, I too am a fan of Michael Connelly. (notice the present tense?) Bosch gets older, and you feel it, see it and experience it quite honestly through his movements/attitudes. The Alleged Car: Multiple references to Bosch's 30-year-old Jeep Cherokee, which he has been driving the entire novel series. Bosch has the window down when meeting Ballard, because the A/C in his car doesn't work anymore. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.Harry's white whale is the murder of the Gallagher family. Father, mother, son and daughter killed and buried in a single grave in the desert. Harry has a suspect but he is gone. He wants justice for the Gallagher family. He wants their killer. Renée's offer may be his last chance. He is in his seventies now. The squad is being sponsored by Los Angeles Councilman Jake Pearlman, who hopes the cold case detectives will solve the rape and murder of his 16-year-old sister Sarah in 1994. Renée entices Bosch to join the cold case squad by promising he can investigate the Gallagher homicides, but she expects Harry to look into Sarah's rape and murder as well. No Name Given: Renee meets the chief of police to brief him before the big press conference. As per Michael Connelly tradition, the chief is not named. First priority for Ballard is to clear the unsolved rape and murder of a sixteen-year-old girl. The decades-old case is essential to the councilman who supported re-forming the unit, and who could shutter it again—the victim was his sister. When Ballard gets a “cold hit” connecting the killing to a similar crime, proving that a serial predator has been at work in the city for years, the political pressure has never been higher. To keep momentum going, she has to pull Bosch off his own investigation, the case that is the consummation of his lifelong mission.

Stars: Michael Connelly always keeps readers current on law enforcement technology. In this one, I learned that there are palm prints in the forensic data bases. The data is limited, but it’s a thing. But before he can get his hands on the Gallagher case he must help Ballard and the team on the Sarah Pearlman murder. Sarah was killed in her bedroom in the 90s. Her body was discovered by her brother who has since gone on to become an LA councilman. It’s his funding that has made it possible to reopen the unit. This is a somber yet excellent entry in the Bosch and Ballard series. We see Ballard dealing with the politics and stress that comes with being the boss of the cold case unit--including handling Bosch, a lone wolf for life. Bosch is in a bad place and also determined to solve the Gallagher case, no matter what. The cold cases Connelly presents are all intricate and detailed (as always) with his usual research and police authenticity. In this 24th book in the 'Harry Bosch' series, Detective Bosch and his sometimes partner Detective Renée Ballard look into cold cases. The book would be best enjoyed by readers familiar with the series. The 'Desert star' of the title is a hardy little flower found blooming amidst inhospitable conditions such as a makeshift stone memorial for the Gallagher family in the Mojave desert, which is where Harry goes to fuel his energy for the case.

Of course, when it comes to cold cases, there's no better man than Harry Bosch, he of the 'Everybody counts or nobody counts' mantra. Ballard has had these very words printed above the door in the unit, which she points out to Harry when she's showing him around. Because of course, Ballard needs him in the unit, as she knows his skills as an investigator. He's there voluntarily, but Harry is driven by a desire for justice, not financial gain. He's also haunted by what the calls the 'library of lost souls' - row after row of files containing unsolved murder cases. No badge, no gun,” Ballard said. “But you do get that desk with the six books. When can you start?” Dwyer Murphy (“An Honest Living”) will be among the authors at the Miami Book Fair, miamibookfair.com. Murphy and Jason Rekulak (“Hidden Pictures”) will be in conversation with Gio Gutierrez, curator of The Booze and Books Club, an experiential social group for readers, at 4 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Miami Dade College / Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave., Miami, Building 8, Third Floor, Room 8302. She frowned as though she had expected a warmer reception. But Bosch didn’t know why she would have, after the way things had ended last year.