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My review of the last Renee Ballard novel, “Desert Star�� mentioned two things that disappointed me: (1) Ballard appeared to be turning into a bureaucrat, leaving the investigative work to others in her team; and (2) I learned no more about her background, the experiences that formed her strong personality. Both deficiencies have been remedied in THE WAITING. In this, the sixth Renee Ballard novel, Ballard is definitely the main investigator, with Harry Bosch adding support only when needed. And finally, we start to learn about the traumatic events she experienced as a child, the mental wounds that shaped her approach to dealing with the world.

Short Summary

THE WAITING contains three separate investigative threads. The first begins when Ballard has her ID, police shield, and gun stolen from her locked car while she is surfing early in the morning. Because she fears that reporting this theft will derail her career, she decides to handle it herself. However, while undertaking this investigation, she discovers disturbing information and needs Harry’s assistance. This is the only investigation where Harry plays an active role, although he is present throughout the novel, providing mentoring advice where needed.

After the surfing burglary, Ballard goes to work as the leader of LAPDs Open-Unsolved Unit. Her team is composed of volunteers, and here we are introduced to them. I don’t remember if any appeared in “Desert Star��, a novel wherein Harry Bosch dominated as the primary volunteer. Getting to know this team and their current cases slows the action down, just a little, but soon an investigation gets started on a DNA familial search tying a young man who had recently been arrested to the Pillowcase Rapist—a man who had terrorized the city for five years in the early 2000s until one of his assaults ended in murder. After that, there were no more Pillowcase Rapist cases. The perpetrator stopped or changed his modus operandi. The DNA familial search produces a strong lead to his possible identity and the team goes into full operation mode.

However, while the Pillowcase Rapist case is progressing, Ballard is surreptitiously trying to track down the thieves who stole her badge and gun, and in the process of this search, stumbles onto something more serious. Subsequently, she calls on Harry to assist her in an undercover operation.

Just before Ballard and Bosch join forces, Harry’s daughter, Maddie, asks to join the Open-Unsolved Unit as a volunteer, on her days off as a police officer working at the Hollywood Division. She feels that this experience will give her investigative experience to help her reach her goal as a detective. Ballard responds positively to this request, but there are administrative hurdles to overcome before Maddie is added to the unit. Then, Maddie brings Ballard the third major case—materials discovered in an abandoned locker storage that connect to an 1947 case—the famous “Black Dahlia�� case.

Consequently, before the 40% point, the novel is regularly shifting between three independent cases (plus a fourth, in the background, that a volunteer was working on before the story began), as well as inserting short tidbits about Renee Ballard’s childhood experiences. I had no difficulty following the different story threads. I don’t know if someone “completely�� new to the series would find it as easy to shift among the scenarios. (But few thriller readers are going to be “completely�� new to the Harry Bosch series.)

My Perspective

While reading, I was struck by just how much Michael Connelly loved the greater Los Angeles area, and how much city geography/history was embedded in this series. Reminiscing back to earlier novels, I realized that Connelly has often used Los Angeles geography/history as a backdrop, but usually concentrated on a narrower regional area in any one novel. Here the story traverses a large territorial space and it is more obvious. Descriptions of houses and neighbourhoods were easily visualized as the action proceeded.

Also, although he doesn’t preach, Connelly subtly conveys his dismay at how the LA area has deteriorated. For example, after confronting one of the thieves who stole her gun and badge, and receiving the information she needs to follow up on this matter, Ballard doesn’t report their names and method of operating to police authorities—which she could have done surreptitiously—because she knows that such minor crimes are no longer seriously investigated. They’re just another example of the recurring scams occurring in the LA area.

The title, THE WAITING, comes a Tom Petty song titled “The Waiting��, which describes “waiting�� as being the hardest part. Ballard and her team are constantly waiting to receive information back from a lab or the DOJ before they can proceed with their cases.

To me, the Pillowcase Rapist case was by far the most interesting. All the information collected, even that not relevant to the final outcome, provided a good picture of secrets kept from high school years onward, and how different students ended up in different places 24 years later. My only critique of this part was that no information was forthcoming regarding what happened once the rapes stopped (after the murder). Did he stop completely or just change his modus operandi?

The case that included Harry was relatively straightforward, with only Harry being a standout with regards to how he operated. Even though he is battling cancer and can no longer be physically active, his mind is still razor sharp.

The Maddie Bosch/Black Dahlia case was the least satisfying. I don’t know why Connelly chose to bring a “real�� case, one that has never been solved, into the novel. Eons ago, when I first started reading the Harry Bosch novels, I thought that Connelly had based the story of Harry’s mother on the Black Dahlia case, although Harry’s mother was murdered in 1961, and the Black Dahlia murder took place in 1947. But I also vaguely remembered that eventually Harry had solved the mystery of his mother’s killing. (That occurred in “The Last Coyote”—no, my memory isn’t that good but my research skills still endure.) Maybe Connelly wanted to tie Maddie Bosch into the Bosch legacy by giving her this case. If so, he failed. Maddie still hasn’t a compelling backstory, other than being Harry’s daughter, and consequently doesn’t have energizing character traits. She’s nice. She’s competent. But she isn’t driven.

So, my conclusion is that THE WAITING is not as good as “The Dark Hours�� but definitely as good as “Desert Star��. 4.5 stars upped to 5.

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My reviews for previous books in this series:
Desert Star (Renee Ballard #5, Harry Bosch #24)
The Dark Hours (Renee Ballard #4, Harry Bosch #23
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Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for providing an electronic copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.