Desert Star, Michael Connelly, author; Titus Welliver, Christine Lakin, Peter Giles, narrators
Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch had not seen each other for a while, not since she decided to stay with the police force and not team up with him. Harry had retired from the force under an undeserved storm cloud. Yes, he was a rogue cop, often disobeying orders, but he was a good cop, especially when it came to solving crimes.
Renee is now in charge of a new division looking into cold cases. She wants Harry’s help. She cannot hire him as a police officer, but he is the best person out there for the job she has to fill. She knows she can use his help. She also trusts him and can work well with him. She calls him and pitches her idea. He eagerly accepts the job as a volunteer working for her office.
The first thing Harry does is what he does best; he directly disobeys her orders and copies records. Renee understands his reason, and although angry, she lets it go after getting his promise not to do it again. One wonders, however, will he do it again anyway? Together, with the rest of the team, Ballard and Bosch begin to investigate two cold cases. One case is a case that Bosch had never been able to solve, a case that had haunted him. An entire family, including two children, had been brutally murdered in a gangland style killing. The murderer was never caught. The other unsolved case concerned a suspected serial killer. In their effort to solve that case, they learned of a young man sitting in prison that had been wrongfully convicted of a murder he had not committed. They set out to try and free him by reopening that case, as well.
The book is sometimes confusing because of the many characters; perhaps there are simply too many tangents involved. In the process of investigating the cold cases, Harry is often in danger. As the investigations progress, they expose corrupt police practices. They reveal that corrupt judges and corrupt politicians make deals with each other. They reveal a system that is flawed. Innocent scapegoats are often blamed for the sins of the guilty. With an election coming up, the politicians cared more about votes than innocence or guilt, and that mindset is sadly in our own headlines today, with the current President’s White House.
The book makes one thing clear, there is a question that must be answered. Is it ever okay to do the wrong thing for the right reason? Is it ever okay for law enforcement or the people’s representatives to cut corners and ignore the rules? Another question the reader will ponder, at the end is whether or not the Harry Bosch character will be retired? I sure hope not. I will miss him.