The Closers

by Michael Connelly
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Harry Bosch is back on the police force, and he knows now that this is where he needs to be.

Kiz Rider has been working on the sixth, that is to say with the top brass, but is now moving to work cold cases and has brought Harry on board as her partner.

The new chief of police changed the name of the department to Open-Unsolved because, as he tells Harry; "Those aren't cold cases, Detective. They never go cold. Not for some people." Harry feels that although the chief clearly warned him about his return not being guaranteed, he actually connected on some level with the man on top. They both could hear the chorus of forgotten voices and felt the need to respond in some way.

Each team in the Open-Unsolved department is assigned four or five blocks of years. Kiz and Harry have four blocks and a cold hit has just come in for a case from one of their years. In 1988 a sixteen-year-old girl was found shot several days after disappearing from her home. The gun was lying in the leafs by her left ankle and it is DNA taken from this gun that has now come up with a match.

Even before starting to re-examine the case Harry has a run-in with his former boss, Deputy Chief Irvin Irving, who has been pushed aside by the new chief. As they get deeper into the investigation Harry has to confront him again despite his warning that Harry's inevitable failure will be his ticket back in.

Harry can feel in his gut that there is more to this case than finding answers for those involved and closing the case. But that is still what he is working towards, because that is what he is; a closer.

As always, reading a Michael Connelly book is pure delight. He has this amazing ability to write with a language that flows so naturally you can ride on it effortlessly, concentrating on understanding and figuring out the complexities of the characters and the case at hand. He also plays fair with the reader, giving you all the information you need to keep pace with Harry and Kiz and their deductions. And I don't know if he does this on purpose, but he also allows you to make some connections ahead of Harry, but these are not so obvious you feel like pounding Harry on the head for not making them himself.

Michael Connelly stays on my "must read" list.

This series contains, in chronological order:
The Black Echo
The Black Ice
The Concrete Blonde
The Last Coyote
Trunk Music
Angels Flight
A Darkness More Than Night
City of Bones
Lost Light
The Narrows
The Closers

Other books by Michael Connelly:
The Poet (followed up in The Narrows)
Blood Work (losely connected to The Poet, and followed up in A Darkness...)
Void Moon
Chasing the Dime