The Blurb:
At the end of a long, dark night Detectives Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch cross paths for the very first time.
Detective Renée Ballard works the graveyard shift and returns to Hollywood Station in the early hours to find a stranger rifling through old files.
The intruder is none other than legendary LAPD detective Harry Bosch, hunting for leads in an unsolved case that has got under his skin.
Ballard escorts him out but - curious to know what he was searching for - soon becomes obsessed by the murder of Daisy Clayton. Was she the first victim of a serial killer who still stalks the streets?
Dark Sacred Night was published on 30th October 2018 by Orion, and you can buy it from Waterstones, Amazon UK, Amazon US and other good bookshops.
Dark Sacred Night was published on 30th October 2018 by Orion, and you can buy it from Waterstones, Amazon UK, Amazon US and other good bookshops.
My Review:
As I mentioned above, I've enjoyed Mr Connelly's books for a number of years, first reading The Poet, before moving on to the Harry Bosch books. But I'm a little bit behind in the series, and so this was a jump forward. As a result, I hadn't met Renée Ballard in her previous outing, but that didn't matter, as this works perfectly as a standalone. I also read it straight after watching Bosch season 5 on Amazon Prime, so that was good timing!
Bosch is no longer in the LAPD and is a reserve for the San Fernando PD, but Ballard, working the night shift, known as 'The Late Show,' finds him looking through old files. She has, of course, heard of him, but hadn't met him previously, and is soon intrigued as to what he's investigating. Once she finds out, she is determined to help him with it, treating it as a hobby case and working on it in her own time and on quiet shifts.
This is a long read, coming in at 489 pages, but well worth it. It was great to see Bosch back, and I really liked the introduction of Ballard. Those of us who have read previous books know where we are with Bosch, what to expect, and I love that familiarity. But it's also great to have someone new in the mix. I really liked Renée and think she is full of promise. She's strong and determined, having had a difficult childhood, and a bad time before moving to the night shift, She's willing to bend the rules to get to the truth, but not break them. It's also good to see that she has a bit of a life outside the job.
The relationship between her and Bosch is tentative at first, but develops as they both realise they can trust and rely on the other. They think similarly, which means they work well together, making for a good partnership. I do worry, though, that neither of them gets enough sleep!
There is a lot going on in this book. As well as Bosch and Ballard's joint investigation, which goes down several dead ends, we also see the cases Ballard works as part of her regular job. For a Brit, it's an interesting insight into the workings of US police cases.
I'm always intrigued by titles of books, especially when the relevance isn't immediately obvious. The title here comes from a sentence spoken by a religious zealot who is briefly a person of interest in the case, and could easily be missed. I like that.
There is plenty to keep the interest here, and lots of action. It's paced perfectly, and just flows very naturally. I found it an easy and immensely enjoyable read. I realise that eventually Bosch will have to retire properly, but if it's the plan that Ballard should eventually be his successor, I reckon she'll do a grand job. In the meantime, I look forward to their next adventure together.
The Author:
Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of over thirty novels and one work of nonfiction. With over seventy-four million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Connelly has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction.
His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly's 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit cinemas worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent number 1 New York Times bestsellers include Two Kinds Of Truth, The Late Show, The Wrong Side Of Goodbye, The Crossing, The Burning Room, The Gods of Guilt, The Black Box, and The Drop.
Michael is the executive producer of Bosch, an Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver and streaming on Amazon Prime. He is also the executive producer of the documentary films, Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story and Tales Of the American.
He spends his time in California and Florida.
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