Book Reviews: Two for the price of one with Michael Connolly's latest two Harry Bosch books

There are so many great crime fiction writers out their that occasionally I let one of my favourites drift for a few books to catch up on some others and then I indulge my 'guilty pleasure' by reading a couple form the same author at once... that's what I've done with the fantastic last two Harry Bosch books from King of American crime fiction Michael Connolly.



The Crossing (Oct 2015)
Harry has been forced to retire from LAPD, but, unhappy with

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his forced retirement, he enlists the help of his half-brother Mickey Haller. Haller however is defending a murderer he believes innocent and enlists Harry, against his better instinct to work the case.  Harry soon discovers discrepancies in the case and begins to believe that the accused may very well be innocent. Working against his old colleagues and with rogue cops on his back, Harry works the case the way only he can... feet on the ground, instincts flaring and scant regard for convention in his quest for truth.  A triumph and a compelling read.

The Wrong Side Of Goodbye (Oct 2016)

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Having settled his dispute with the LAPD, Harry has retired and is working part time in a cold case unit in San Fernando where he can indulge his obsession with looking for the truth. Unexpectedly, he is requested by an octogenarian steel magnate to find a missing person who may not even exist... a challenge by anyone's standards.  Alongside this a serial rapist is targeting Latino women and Harry and his colleague, Bella Lourdes,  are trying to find him before he escalates to murder.
The Wrong Side Of Goodbye reminds us of Harry's past as a tunnel rat in the Vietnam war and also reminds us that the legacy of that war is far-reaching and on-going.  The story flows beautifully and the investigative techniques needed to trace a person from the 1950's are enthralling.  
Harry as a character has the reader firmly on side and the  re-emergence of Mickey Haller for a minor role is welcome.  Harry's dogged persistence and care for his clients is laudable.  A damn good read!


So having read and reviewed both these books I started to think about what makes Harry Bosch such a compelling character.  He's not young and trendy... in fact he's slightly out of touch with some elements of modern policing  and he's certainly not a young hotshot, being in his mid fifties.  In many ways he reminds me of our own John Rebus.. dogged, honest and with a healthy disregard for, what our American friends call, BS.