Dark Sacred Night, by Michael Connelly

 The Book

    Harry Bosch is busted by Renee Ballard breaking into the file cabinets in the Hollywood division. She throws him out, but is intrigued by his story. Ballard, like Bosch, can't just let a case go once it's gotten into her bones. She knows the signs when she sees them. So she follows up, discovering that Bosch is working alone on a private case. He's looking for the murder of Daisy Callahan because he tried to rescue her mother, Elizabeth. Ballard offers to form an alliance with Bosch because she thinks he is right when he wants to go through all of the field interview cards. Meanwhile she's trying to keep her head above water alone, since her partner is out on bereavement leave. 

    Bosh is still working cold cases for the San Fernando PD, and he's hit pay dirt with a witness. The manage to get enough to get a warrant, to see if they can solve the cold case of a dead gang banger. If the witness is right, then this wasn't gang on gang crime, but just an old fashioned mafia like move for one of the pissed off bit players to move up in the world. Just as he gets confirmation that the witness is for real, the witness is found dead, and Bosch knows his investigation has sprung a leak. 

    With both Ballard and Bosch working both day and night on their cases, they finally get breaks in both, that is, until the gang decides they should take out Bosch. But that has deadly repercussions. 

My Thoughts

    This is a very solid book. It does a good job of channeling the inner drive of both Bosch and Ballard. It's clear Michael Connelly deserves every word of praise he receives for his books. His scene selection is excellent, his character development is superb. He also tracks the changes from generation to generation in our crime solvers. His characters have clearly been amalgamations of real people he's worked with in the past. To his credit, as times change, Connelly does he research and keeps up. I like Ballard more than I like Bosch. I like that she is frequently conflicted about working with him. I like her drive and creativity. I love her instincts. She balances Bosch out in a way that Eleanor Wish never did. This book never jumped the shark, which I think is a great thing because Connelly has learned how to compel a reader through his book without making the book to surreal. Having said all of that, I still hate Bosch as a character. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

    This book is a first edition hardcover that entered my library on Nov 1, 2018. The book itself is in remarkably good condition. It was, again, easy to hold open, which shows that it has been read several times. If it weren't for the ease of holding it, I would hardly know. There are no folded edges, dog ears, rough patches or grubby finger smudges in the book at all in this 431 page book. Having a 400 page books is quite par for the course with a Connelly book, but this is longer. The narrative is tightly done, with no extraneous scenes and few extraneous details. The cover lists the book at $29.00. 

This Book                               $29.00

This Summer                        $531.85

    

Still Here? 

    Do me a huge favor and subscribe to the blog. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here. Thanks, it means the world to me!