An Old Case and Two Modern Ones Heat Up
I’m still about six years behind on Michael Connelly’s books, but I feel like I’m catching up. Considering he often writes two books a year, I still have a few years to go before I’ll actually be reading his new releases as they are published. But his books are so good I’m enjoying catching up, and The Night Fire was another great one.
This book is the second time he’s teamed up retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch and current LAPD Detective Renee Ballard. Renee typically works the night shift out of the Hollywood station, which means her cases are passed on to others, leaving her with time to work on other cases that catch her interest.
Which is what happens here when Bosch brings her an old murder book that his mentor, John Jack Thompson, took when he retired. The case is decades old, but Bosch is hoping that Ballard can shake something lose by taking a fresh look at it. Their initial review of the documents leaves them with questions about what work, if any, has been done in the last twenty years. Can they find anything new?
Meanwhile, Bosch gets involved in a case his half-brother, Mickey Haller, was defending in court. Is Mickey’s client guilty of killing a judge? And Ballard gets involved in the case of a vagrant who was burned to death in his sleep.
Obviously, there is plenty to keep the reader engaged. There are some other storylines that pop up for a scene or two that are just as entertaining as the main mysteries. We might have a couple of things that are too convenient over the course of the story, but I didn’t mind because I was having fun, and I was enjoying seeing what unfolded as the book went along. The climax was great and my questions were resolved when I was done.
As with the last team up with the two characters, we get chapters from both of their points of view. That means, we get updates on other characters in each of their lives, which I appreciated. It also means we get to see some growth in both of them. Each time the point of view shifts, the change is clearly labeled, which is helpful.
Each character we meet, whether a regular we’ve met before or some kind or a suspect or just a random character, feels real, which always pulls me into the book.
This book introduces a storyline that I knew was coming, and I’m not going to like watching it play out in future books. But it is what it is, and did play into this book well.
These books are police procedurals, so they have more sex, language, and violence than in the books I would typically read. That holds true here again as well. Usually, it’s easy to skim past the worst scenes if that kind of things bothers you, but keep that in mind before you pick up this or any of his other books.
I read this via audiobook again, and Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin shared narration duties. This time, any time Bosch was speaking, Titus delivered his lines, and same for Christine as Ballard. Then, each actor narrated the sections from their character’s point of view. This was different from their first team up. I found I enjoyed this, and it helped me get even more lost in the story.
The Night Fire proves why Michael Connelly is still
considered one of the top of today’s mystery writers. If you are looking for a book you won’t be
able to put down, you’ll be glad you picked this one up.
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