The Waiting

 

The Waiting is, at least Connelly's 44th book since his first novel in 1992. This one is subtitled "A Ballard and Bosch Novel." I always have high expectations of Connelly's character development and plot line, and he has not disappointed. Although it's hard for me to rate his books since I think they are all pretty good, this one is surely one of his best.

The book begins with Ballard surfing, her best stress reducer. When she gets out of the ocean and returns to her car, she finds the contents in her car have been stolen, including her gun and badge. She has been running the open and unsolved case department, and based on recent conflicts in the robbery division, she is highly alert for any new difficulties. Also she is understandably afraid of the very real misogyny in the LAPD. She fears being fired from the job she loves, solving cold cases. For fear of more retaliation, she is reluctant to declare the the loss of her gun and badge, so she decided to use her detective skills to pursue the robbers without actually reporting it. In the process of doing so, she runs into evidence of a much bigger crime, a terrorist event on the Malibu pier which is scheduled just a week away.

As is typical of the Bosch series, there are many crime stories happening at the same time, and Maddie Bosch appears as a volunteer in Ballard's department. Maddie announces that she thinks she has solved the oldest and most famous crime in LA history, a 74 year-old crime, the rape and murder of the Black Dahlia, a specific unsolved crime that has come up time and again in the Bosch series. However, at the same time, there is a bitter political war happening between the new Chief of Police and the District Attorney.

As always, Connelly is a master at weaving together the various plot lines. If this is your genre, then she should be your book.