Desert Star

Michael Connelly

Allen & Unwin 2022

This Ballard & Bosch novel is yet another fabulous book from Michael Connelly. Invested in Harry Bosch, as I and millions of other readers have been since his first appearance in 1992 (and now across more than twenty titles featuring Bosch), it is remarkable that Michael Connelly has introduced other characters such as Renee Ballard who, in their own right, carry a storyline. Be it Bosch, Ballard or Mickey Haller, a Connelly novel never disappoints. He is a master at character development, physical place description, and plot creation.

In Desert Star, Renee is heading up a new unit and has carte blanche to choose her team albeit that they will be ‘volunteers’; in this context, she feels free to bring Harry Bosch out of retirement. Intending to look at cold cases over many decades, the first task is to uncover the truth of Councilman Pearlman’s sister’s murder. This takes priority because the councilman’s support was the catalyst for this Open-Unsolved Unit that Ballard is heading up. Bosch agrees on the proviso that he can work a specific case that has haunted him – the murders of the Gallagher family, taken in 2013 and buried in the Desert.

For those who don’t read crime fiction or dismiss it as formulaic, it is an author such as Michael Connelly who might just whet the appetite. Bosch has always been a maverick within the police department which was less about any particular antipathy towards the department and more about his personal moral code. In this, Connelly exemplifies why we avid crime fiction readers commit to these characters – they reflect the complexities of each person and the motivations that drive us to take particular paths or embark on what otherwise might seem foolish actions.

In Desert Star, Harry is true to form – the Gallaghers must not be forgotten, and he cannot rest until he discovers the truth, even if that search places him at odds with Ballard, jeopardises the team, and potentially puts his life in danger.

The books have only grown in stature as Harry Bosch, played by Titus Welliver, hit our screens. He is, for me, the living, breathing Harry – perfectly cast, and the translation to the screen has in no way diminished my enjoyment of the books.

Having many favourite authors from the cohorts of British and European crime writers, Michael Connelly, along with Daniel Silva, are the American authors of this genre who I admire most and who have never produced anything other than the highest quality novels. It is a testament to Mr Connelly that he has sustained this excellence over so many years and so many publications.

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