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Harry Bosch takes some cases more personally than others. In 1993 Marie Gesto went missing. Harry worked on that case with then partner Jerry Edgar and although he was convinced that Marie was dead, no trace of the body was ever found. Now Harry is back with the LAPD, the Gesto mystery still haunts him and he continues the habit he developed over the years of pulling the case file to ruminate over the likely killer. Unexpectedly, Freddy Olivas of Northeast Division Homicide calls him, looking for the file. Olivas is lead on the Raynard Waits case, one likely to make his career. He is working in tandem with prosecutor Rick O'Shea, a candidate for the position of District Attorney, a position up for grabs in an imminent election. Raynard Waits is copping to nine homicides including the murder of Marie Gesto but only if he escapes the death penalty. Bosch demands to be included in the case. He and partner Kiz Rider are to attend an interview with Waits the following day but Harry wishes to get a feel for the man. Since he is unable to delay the time for the interview and learn about Waits in advance, Bosch, uneasily, seeks the help of his former lover, FBI agent Rachel Walling and asks her to prepare a rush profile of the killer. Before Walling can oblige Harry, Olivas taunts Bosch with a "fifty-one", a handwritten note with Jerry Edgar's initials on it that says a man giving the name Robert Saxon, a known alias of Raynard Waits, called in to say, in 1993, that he had seen Marie Gesto. Harry is appalled since this means he could, by seizing on the name and arresting Waits at the time, have prevented the subsequent murders. As the investigation proceeds, Harry has to cope with a variety of factors that impair his abilities as an investigator. His guilt at the discovery that women have died as a result of his inefficiency as well as his increasing personal involvement with Rachel Walling serve to hinder him as well as spur him on. Harry's tendency to obey his own inclinations rather than orders from his superiors, as usual, sees him in trouble. It also generates problems for other people, such as his partner Kiz. Harry is a very flawed human being but is very attractive despite, or perhaps because of, this. Connelly enhances his narrative by permitting the reader glimpses of his protagonist's tortured soul. As usual, the author presents the reader with an absorbing tale. His creation of a selection of baddies adds to, rather than detracts from, the reality of the tale. Connelly carefully establishes a convincing world with the wealth of detail he incorporates. The characterisations are impressive and the plotting impeccable. The book is, undeniably, a rattling good tale it would be a shame to miss.
Reviewed by Denise Pickles, September 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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