Desert Star: The Brand New Blockbuster Ballard & Bosch Thriller

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Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. The most richly accomplished of the brothers’ pairings to date—and given Connelly’s high standards, that’s saying a lot.

If you want it, it’s a done deal,” Ballard said. “I already cleared it before I came here. It’s a different captain now and different people. I have to be honest, Harry, not a lot of people there know about you. You been gone, what, five years? Six? It’s a different department.” There are many things I love about Connelly’s writing, but the key to what always gets me, are his characters – the way he matures them. Renée Ballard stood on the front step. Bosch had not seen her in almost a year. She looked thinner than he remembered. He could see where her blazer had bunched over her sidearm on her hip.

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And so I got wind of it and went to the captain with a proposal. I move over from RHD and reconstitute the Open-Unsolved Unit—work cold cases.” I finished this thoroughly satisfied with the wrap up of the cases but also with a sadness. Wont reveal why. Those who read or has read the book know why. If you're familiar with this crime series you'll know what you're getting - a detailed and satisfying investigation, plenty of surprises, and engaging characters. Michael Connelly also weaves in the latest advances in genetic research that investigators have at their disposal, making everything believable. Just a mystery thriller writer at the top of his game. Ballard tells Bosch that part of the price of working on the Gallagher case is investigating the Sarah Perlman case. Sarah Pearlman was a 16-year-old girl murdered in her home in 1994. Her brother, Jake Pearlman, is now a Los Angeles city councilman, and Jake is responsible for the Open-Unsolved unit being reopened in the first place. Renee tells Harry that he has to put the Pearlman case ahead of his own.

The whole book has a tired feel to it. MC might be interested only in the TV series, but he should know that there are some book lovers who don't watch TV and OTT (like me!). No Name Given: Renee meets the chief of police to brief him before the big press conference. As per Michael Connelly tradition, the chief is not named.I am sorry, Mike Connelly fans. This review is going to be harsh. In my defense, I too am a fan of Michael Connelly. (notice the present tense?) After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written. Kudos, Mr. Connelly, for another stellar piece. Keep them coming, as I know many who love this series in all its forms. Desert Star is a 2022 novel by Michael Connelly. It is the fifth novel to feature Connelly's newest protagonist, LAPD detective Renee Ballard, and the 24th to feature his oldest protagonist, retired LAPD detective Harry Bosch.

Bosch shook his head. He didn’t remember telling her that but he knew it was what he felt. It was what he had told his daughter when she was considering joining the department in the wake of all the recent protests and cop hate. In any case Connelly did his job well if I am contemplating these kinds of questions, if he’s evoked these kinds of emotions. Stars: Michael Connelly always keeps readers current on law enforcement technology. In this one, I learned that there are palm prints in the forensic data bases. The data is limited, but it’s a thing. The story moves at a fast pace. I was engaged from the start. I appreciate that both characters continue to grow with each book. Harry is dealing with the issues that come with age. Renee is trying to figure out how to be a manager. It will be very interesting to see where Connelly takes this series next. First priority for Ballard is to clear the unsolved rape and murder of a sixteen-year-old girl. The decades-old case is essential to the councilman who supported re-forming the unit, and who could shutter it again—the victim was his sister. When Ballard gets a “cold hit” connecting the killing to a similar crime, proving that a serial predator has been at work in the city for years, the political pressure has never been higher. To keep momentum going, she has to pull Bosch off his own investigation, the case that is the consummation of his lifelong mission.I remember discovering the Harry Bosch series and not being able to get enough. This passion helped me devour many of the books, as well as the television spin-offs that came from them, keeping me highly entertained over the years. Bosch’s grit and Ballard’s no-nonsense advocacy keep the series strong, particularly while they are still working together. Time will tell what will come of it. The plot of two separate cases really doesn’t work in this one. I honestly wish we had just followed one and that was it. Especially because of the [redacted redacted] and possibility about connections to other cold cases. It just felt totally like a stretch.