When a block party goes wrong, Michael Connelly springs into action - Lansing State Journal
"The Dark Hours" by bestselling author Michael Connelly is his latest tough and tight police procedural crime novel.
This isn't a happy, cheery tale with no bloodshed and a happy-tail wagging puppy.
Well - OK - the puppy is there, but violence abounds as hardworking LAPD Detective Renee Ballard gets involved in two distinctively different cases.
Ballard and her partner, Lisa Moore, who works out of the Hollywood Sexual Crimes Unit, are employed with the rest of the department members, covering the reigning chaos and confusion of the New Year's Eve celebration in the streets of Los Angeles.
They are called to the scene of a neighborhood block party, where the owner of a successful auto repair shop may have been killed by a random bullet fired up in the air.
But it doesn't feel right - Ballard thinks otherwise; it may be related to an earlier case handled by retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch.
Ballard is also working a separate investigation, trying to track down a pair of nasty tag-team serial rapists who've been terrorizing the area with increasing frequency.
Moore, who wants to be with her boyfriend, is of little help; Ballard's superior wants the rapist case to be handed over to another division.
Frustrated, Ballard doesn't comply; things get more complicated after she discerns a pattern in the crimes.
The savvy cop goes to Bosch; they are working together as unofficial partners on both cases.
The tension is deftly ratcheted as the gritty crime novel goes into overdrive with a decisive, nail-biting conclusion.
Set in contemporary times, complete with COVID 19, masks and police de-funding issues, Michael Connelly's suspenseful tale "The Dark Hours" will definitely please his huge legion of dedicated fans.
Connelly is the executive producer of the popular TV series "Bosch"; he also hosts various crime-related podcasts.
Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing's Curious Book Shop, has reviewed crime novels and Michigan books regularly since 1987. He avoids neighborhood block parties.
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