Dark Sacred Night
by Michael Connelly
Review by Ben Hunter
There’s nothing like a new book from Michael Connelly for a full-body immersion in the grimey, lawless underbelly of Los Angeles – that insomniac city that thrives on money, sex, lies and murder. Dark Sacred Night delivers it in spades.
Here for the first time, Connelly teams up the cool-headed and endlessly perceptive Detective Renee Ballard with the living legend of the LAPD, Harry Bosch.
Ballard is trying to keep low profile, working the graveyard shift in a city full of the world’s most damaged and debauched. It seems her every action can make her a target and it’s the men in her own department who pose the biggest threat.
Bosch has been pushed to the edge. Ballard finds him breaking into archive files and digging through decades old handwritten field notes. A cold case has consumed him and Ballard wants in. Together the unlikely duo come up against blood-hungry gangs, religious lunatics, corrupt cops and more.
Connelly is masterful in his ability to balance the two heroes’ development through this book. He jumps from one perspective to the next with each cop coming up against their own set of demons. His meticulously researched world of LA cops and underground crime is rendered fully believable throughout the action. He also leads you to ask questions about the nature of justice in a time of profound inequality and the ongoing misogyny and racism in the police force.
Dark Sacred Night is tight, gritty and mean – even by Bosch standards. In a year that’s packed with brilliant crime this book is going to be an absolute stand out. Everyone I’ve talked to who’s read an early copy has been giddy from the thrills this book delivers. Michael Connelly is a relentless force.
Dark Sacred Night
Detectives Renee Ballard & Harry Bosch
Detectives Ballard and Bosch join forces in a blockbuster crime thriller from the #1 bestseller.
Detective Renee Ballard is working the graveyard shift again, and returns to Hollywood Station in the early hours only to find that an older man has snuck in and is rifling through old file cabinets.
The intruder is none other than legendary LAPD detective Harry Bosch, working a cold case that has gotten under his skin. Ballard kicks him out, but eventually Bosch persuades her to help and she relents.
Bosch is investigating the death of fifteen-year-old Daisy Clayton, a runaway who was brutally murdered. He crossed paths with her devastated mother while working a previous case, and Daisy's story has seized hold of him.
Now, Ballard joins forces with Bosch and his former partner Lucia Soto to find out what happened to Daisy and finally bring her killer to justice..
About the Contributor
Ben Hunter
Ben is Booktopia's dedicated fiction and children's book specialist. He spends his days painstakingly piecing together beautiful catalogue pages and gift guides for the website. At any opportunity, he loves to write warmly of the books that inspire him. If you want to talk books, find him tweeting at @itsbenhunter
On The Pod: What To Read in November 2022, Aunty Donna takes over the podcast!
Comments
No comments