The Crossing
Michael Connelly
A Harry Bosch Novel
Little, Brown and Company 2015
388 pages
You can rely on Michael Connelly for an excellent mystery. The Crossing, the twenty-second Harry Bosch novel is no exception. It represents, however, a major change in the life of Connelly’s foremost character. The Crossing refers to Bosch now working as a private investigator therefore having in the parlance of the police crossed to the dark side. Kindle: The Crossing (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 18) on Kindle
The Crossing opens with Bosch having been forcibly retired from the LAPD. His half brother, Lincoln lawyer Mickey Haller, is representing him is a wrongful dismissal suit. When one of Haller’s clients claims his innocence and his main investigator is put out of commission, the lawyer tries to get Bosch to do the detective work to prove his client’s innocence. Bosch is reluctant to do so. Haller is smart enough to hook Bosch in by asking him to “just look at the case file”. Bosch soon sees things do not add up and he is determined as always to find the truth.
This Bosch mystery is a bit of a change in terms of how Connelly sounds, There is something tentative to some of the writing and developments. A literary critic would say the author is doing it on purpose to mirror the character’s situation. I think it is Connelly being a little less sure-footed about what is next for his legendary character and feeling his way into a new situation.
If you are new to Connelly and the Bosch series, you do not need to be familiar with the series to appreciate The Crossing. Familiarity does however make the story that much more interesting.