In this episode Bosch is again partnered with Renée Ballard who drafts him into her newly reconstituted Open-Unsolved Unit as a volunteer investigator. This gives Bosch the opportunity to dig out an old case he investigated but didn’t close, that of a family of four who were ruthlessly killed and buried in the desert. But first he has to assist Ballard in chasing down leads on the murder of her sponsoring politician’s sister, who was murdered in the 90’s. Harry really wants to get on with his own investigation but understanding Ballard’s need to deliver a ‘win’ he reluctantly sets his pet case aside – for the time being at least. The plot has all the trademark precision Connelly always brings to his story telling, with every step feeling logical and ‘right’. But it’s a bumpy road all the same, with new leads hard to come by and a reliance on DNA technology and genealogy to give them at least something to work with. No badge, no gun,” Ballard said. “But you do get that desk with the six books. When can you start?” Ballard has taken on the task of re-opening the cold case team, using volunteers. Her first ask is Harry and the first talk is finding out who murdered a councilmans sister. Harry, who always marching to his own drum, has his own white whale of a case, that of a whole family murdered. Both Ballard and Bosch are rule breakers, using what they can to solve cases, giving justice to the murdered and their families. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Over eighty million copies of Connelly’s books have sold worldwide and he has been translated into forty-five foreign languages. He has won the Edgar Award, Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Los Angeles Times Best Mystery/Thriller Award, Shamus Award, Dilys Award, Nero Award, Barry Award, Audie Award, Ridley Award, Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), .38 Caliber Award (France), Grand Prix Award (France), Premio Bancarella Award (Italy), and the Pepe Carvalho award (Spain) .

Old Cop, Young Cop: The "old cop, young cop" dynamic that has been going on between young go-getter Renee Ballard and grizzled vet Harry Bosch since the characters were first paired up gets a tweak in this novel. Harry volunteers for Renee's unit, which makes her his supervisor. She has to upbraid him from time to time for not respecting her authority. Desert Star' is the latest in the Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch series, coming after 2021's successful and topical ' The Dark Hours' which I thought was one of the high notes of the crime series so far. After that outing, when Renee became increasingly disillusioned with policing, it's no surprise to find her heading up the cold case unit.If you want it, it’s a done deal,” Ballard said. “I already cleared it before I came here. It’s a different captain now and different people. I have to be honest, Harry, not a lot of people there know about you. You been gone, what, five years? Six? It’s a different department.” With two killers on the loose, it’s once again up to Bosch and Ballard to connect the dots and bring justice to the victims and their families—but this time, they’re faced with new challenges and more danger than ever before. Good,” Ballard said. “See you Monday, then. They’ll have a pass for you at the front desk and then we’ll get you an ID tag. They’ll have to take your photo and prints.”

I remember discovering the Harry Bosch series and not being able to get enough. This passion helped me devour many of the books, as well as the television spin-offs that came from them, keeping me highly entertained over the years. Bosch’s grit and Ballard’s no-nonsense advocacy keep the series strong, particularly while they are still working together. Time will tell what will come of it. Harry, look,” Ballard said. “I’ve apologized for how I handled that but you get part of the blame.” He’s still out there. Somewhere. You want to try to make a case with me, or do you want to just stand on your anger?”She leads a cold case unit, and this gives Bosch the opportunity to try and solve a case he left behind prior to his retirement. Ben Coes, New York Times bestselling author of international espionage thrillers featuring Dewey Andreas

Michael Connelly’s continues the partnership of Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch and Renee’ Ballard, two of our favorite law enforcement officers. It has been a year since their last outing, “The Dark Hours” which ended with detective Ballard quitting the police force in an act of rebellion against the old boy’s political network and blatant sexism. Michael Connelly decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.

Tropes:

Eureka!" Moment: Harry and Renee realize who did it when Hastings tells them he donated a kidney to his good friend, Ted Rawls. I thought it was surprising after the last book and events described with everything taking place during COVID, a year later no one talks about shots, boosters, or is wearing masks. I went huh a few times about that. Also, there’s a smidgen mentioned about a DA that is not seen as being tough on crime being recalled which reminded me of the latest election in California, but that was it. It is always so hard to write a review of a new Michael Connelly book for me. I just want to do him the justice that he deserves. It is no secret that he is a favourite author for me, and I am always excited when a new book is announced and when it arrives, nothing else matters. As the years go on, my love for these books and characters has not faded. The squad is being sponsored by Los Angeles Councilman Jake Pearlman, who hopes the cold case detectives will solve the rape and murder of his 16-year-old sister Sarah in 1994. Renée entices Bosch to join the cold case squad by promising he can investigate the Gallagher homicides, but she expects Harry to look into Sarah's rape and murder as well. Ehhh. Renee didn’t read like herself at all. She’s in essence a boss in this one, and honestly at times not a good one. She seems to need Harry involved with everything and I was like have you met him? One even wonders why she was so gung-ho on having him included. We get to know some of the other volunteers in the unit and I can’t say too much about any of them except for two of the characters because they were essential to the plot. One of them (Hatteras) got on my nerves. I wanted more personal detail from Renee, where was she living, how was this new unit seen by her former lieutenant, and partner from the last book. She was like persona non grata with the last book and the whole thing just got skipped over.