Monday, November 14, 2016

The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connolly



Harry Bosch is back. After a forced retirement from LAPD, he's now volunteering for the short staffed, and much smaller San Fernando Police Department while still acting as a private investigator in his free time. This novel covers cases from both of those jobs and Bosch goes back and forth between the two. 

The PI case starts when Bosch gets a super weird call from an LAPD old colleague who he didn't like much and his offered $10K for meeting the prospective client. Despite his reservations, Bosch goes to the meeting and winds up working on a missing persons case for a billionaire that's cloaked in secrecy. 


His big SFPD case (every time I read that acronym in this book I had to remind myself it wasn't San Francisco) is about the "Screen Cutter," a serial rapist and killer. Normally, I stay away from both serial rapist and serial killer books. Connolly always handles these tough plots well.

As always, I like the character of Harry Bosch and his commitment to finding the bad guys. I like his relationship with his daughter. I love the setting in LA. As a Dodger fan, I particularly loved the dedication to Vin Scully and the shout out. Because it's really, it's always time for Dodger baseball. 

I also loved the appearance of Mickey Haller - The Lincoln Lawyer. Of Connolly's two characters, Bosch is definitely my favorite but Haller worked well as a cameo here. 

The pace of the plot was good for me - not too fast, not too slow, but just right. Loose ends are tied up and the action is realistic. I heartily recommend The Wrong Side of Goodbye. 

If you've never read Michael Connolly, I'd start at the beginning of the list with The Black Echo and work your way through the Harry Bosch books. Then hit The Lincoln Lawyer. Amazon also has the Bosch books as a TV series starring Titus Welliver.  







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