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“As he looked down at the murder book in his hands he felt a sharp thrill as well as the familiar rising of dread and guilt. McCaleb knew it was time to go back to the darkness. To explore it and know it. To find his way through it. He nodded, though he was alone now. It was in acknowledgment that he had waited a long time for this moment.��

Ah, back in the safe hands of Michael Connelly with Harry Bosch. Oh, wait. This is Terry McCaleb, isn’t it? Yes, a retired detective with a new heart and a new baby. He lives on a quiet island and runs a charter fishing business with a partner. Excellent for recovery.

So what’s he doing with a murder book? He was at home, on the island, sitting on the back deck of his house with Graciela and baby Cielo, looking out over the bay, when someone appeared driving a rented golf cart up the steep hill to their house. It really is a quietly isolated place.

“Sheriff’s detective Jaye Winston smiled when she saw the child in his arms. It was genuine, but at the same time it was the distracted smile of someone who wasn’t there to admire a new baby. McCaleb knew the thick green binder she carried in one hand and the videocassette in the other meant Winston was there on business. Death business.��

His wife and baby make themselves scarce and McCaleb waits for an explanation. She has brought a green binder of information �� the murder book �� and a video. She tells him she thinks it might be a serial killer, in which case she needs to hurry, and McCaleb is the best profiler she knows. She needs him.

��‘When they took out your heart, they didn’t take out what makes you tick, know what I mean?����

He knows, and now he’s reading through the evidence and viewing the tape and completely hooked �� of course. But what about Bosch?

Bosch is completely immersed as part of the prosecution of a case against a particularly influential, arrogant man, who sits and sketches during his trial while photos of the murder scene of a beautiful, strangled young woman are shown to the jury and many onlookers. This is West Hollywood, and this is another O.J.-type trial.

The connection with McCaleb (although they’ve met before) is that the victim in McCaleb’s murder case was the nasty perpetrator from a previous Bosch case, but the guy wasn’t convicted, and Bosch has been bitter about it ever since. It is known that he keeps track of the guy.

This is two excellent stories in one: Bosch for the prosecution against David Storey, whose trial is being widely televised, putting Bosch in the public eye; then Bosch becoming a possible �� even, leading �� suspect in McCaleb’s case.

As always, while the crimes and investigations are detailed and interesting, it’s the people and what Connelly reveals about their characters �� shortcomings, sacrifices, and heroics �� that stand out. The crimes are heinous, but he doesn’t dwell on the grisly blood and guts other than to make it clear what’s happened.

Such a good series!

Below are my reviews of the earlier Harry Bosch books.
(#1) My review of The Black Echo

(#2) My review of The Black Ice

(#3) My review of The Concrete Blonde

(#4) My review of The Last Coyote

(#5) My review of Trunk Music

(#6) My review of Angels Flight