The Crossing by Michael Connelly


 The race continues. Can I keep going long enough to finish Michael Connelly's ongoing series of Harry Bosch novels or will I die before Bosch? The good news is, after The Crossing, the 18th in the series, I still enjoy the books enough that I want to give it my best shot (though it wouldn't make me sad if Bosch's story continues even after mine has ended). 

Bosch is now officially retired again—he's already retired once, but then come back under a special program allowing retired detectives to return to duty. He is, however, suing the LAPD for forcing him out: He still doesn't like retirement. Mickey Haller, a defense attorney who, it was revealed several novels back, is actually Bosch's brother, something of which neither of them had been aware, contacts him and asks him to work for him as an investigator. 

Haller has his own Connelly series, so this book is a crossover. I have a vague memory of reading one Haller book, and not being eager to go back for more, but somehow I enjoyed his presence in this novel.

Haller's offer creates a dilemma for Harry. In working for a defense attorney he is going over to the other side, the side that fights to put people the police believe guilty of crimes back on the streets. Haller convinces Bosch that his client, who is being held for a rape-murder, is innocent. When Bosch realizes that this means the actual murderer is still out there, he puts aside his scruples and goes to work.

And as always, it's enjoyable in these procedurals, to see how a skilled detective works with the twist being that, since he isn't actually a cop in this one, he has to do his work as a more or less ordinary citizen. 

I look forward to the next installment.

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