#BookReview Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly @Connellybooks @orionbooks

Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the end of a long, dark night Detectives Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch cross paths for the very first time.

Detective Renée 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.

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"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship". If you have seen the movie Casablanca, then you know this classic line. And, it's such a perfect way to describe the paring of Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch.

DARK SACRED NIGHT is the second Ballard book and the 29th Bosch. And, I was thrilled to get a copy of the book. Bosch was mentioned in The Late Show, the first Ballard book, but I never thought that we would get a crossover so early. I thought perhaps a cameo or something in the two series, or just mentions. However, to my surprise, a dream come true!

Ballard first encounter with Bosch is hardly a friendly one. He's looking through files he has no right to go through and Ballard almost read him his rights, but then she gets curious. Well, after he's gone and she notices what he was looking for. She can't help herself, and soon she teams up with Bosch to work a cold case. And, as they work together, the more of a team they become.

DARK SACRED NIGHT is a great book. I'm a big fan of cold cases and I love the teaming of Ballard of Bosch. The older cop and the younger one that both can learn from each other, not to mention saving each other's lives. The ending gave hope that there will be more crossovers and I can't wait to find out what B&B will do next!

I want to thank Orion for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

#BookReview The Wrong Side of Goodbye (Inte ett farväl) by Michael Connelly @norstedts ‏(SWE/ENG)

The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

Harry Bosch arbetar återigen som privatdetektiv. En döende miljardär behöver hans hjälp och vill att Bosch ska ta reda på vad som hände med en kvinna från hans förflutna som försvann. Hon var hans livs kärlek och de väntade barn när hon en dag var borta. Vart tog hon vägen? Födde hon barnet? Dessutom behöver polisen hans hjälp med jakten på en våldtäktsman. Mannen har redan utfört flera hemska brott och han tycks inte sluta. Nu måste de stoppa honom innan fler kvinnor råkar illa ut.

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Jag har inte läst så många av Michael Connellys böcker, men Harry Bosch series är definitivt en bokserie som jag är sugen att läsa från början, eller från bok 2, då jag har lyckats läsa bok ett plus de senaste publicerade böckerna. Michael Connelly är skicklig författare och jag är hemskt förtjust i Harry Bosch. I denna bok så arbetar han med två olika fall, dels är han på jakt efter en våldtäktsman samt så arbetar han för en döende miljardär som vill ha hjälp med att hitta kvinnan han övergav när han var ung. Det kan vara så att hon var gravid, och nu vill mannen veta om hans har en arvinge som han kan efterlämna allting till.

Inte ett farväl är en bok som har två intressanta handlingar. Det hände ibland när böcker har olika handlingar att någon av dem är intressantare än den andra, men jag var lika intresserad av att följa Harrys jakt på en våldtäktsman samt hans efterfrågningar efter en arvinge till den rike mannen. Jag tyckte det var intressant att läsa om Harrys jakt på ledtrådar gällande arvingen, speciallt med tanke på hur lite han har att gå på. Boken är mycket välskriven och rakt igenom intressant. Speciellt imponerad blev jag över det överraskande slutet gällande arvinge handlingen.

Inte ett farväl är bok 21 men kan utan tvekan läsas fristående. Det är inte alls svårt att hänga med i handlingen, man får förklaring till varför Harry Bosch inte längre jobbar som polis, eller jo på sätt och vis gör han det, men på en frivillig basis.

Tack till Norstedts för recensionexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

Harry Bosch is California's newest private investigator. He doesn't advertise, he doesn't have an office, and he's picky about who he works for, but it doesn't matter. His chops from thirty years with the LAPD speak for themselves.

Soon one of Southern California's biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire is nearing the end of his life and is haunted by one regret. When he was young, he had a relationship with a Mexican girl, his great love. But soon after becoming pregnant, she disappeared. Did she have the baby? And if so, what happened to it?

Desperate to know whether he has an heir, the dying magnate hires Bosch, the only person he can trust. With such a vast fortune at stake, Harry realizes that his mission could be risky not only for himself but for the one he's seeking. But as he begins to uncover the haunting story--and finds uncanny links to his own past--he knows he cannot rest until he finds the truth.

At the same time, unable to leave cop work behind completely, he volunteers as an investigator for a tiny cash-strapped police department and finds himself tracking a serial rapist who is one of the most baffling and dangerous foes he has ever faced.

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I haven't read many of Michael Connelly's books, but the Harry Bosch series is definitely a book series that I'm looking forward to reading from the beginning, or from book two since I've actually been able to read the first book and the most recently published ones. Michael Connelly is a very skilled writer and I'm very fond of Harry Bosch, he's such a fabulous character. Harry works with two different cases in this book, he is looking for a rapist, and he is also working for a dying billionaire who wants his help finding the woman he left when he was young. It may be that she was pregnant, and now the man wants to know if he has an heir to which he can leave everything.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye is a book that has two interesting stories. Occasionally, when books have different stories, is one of them is more interesting than the other, but I was just as interested in following Harry's pursuance of the rapist as his search for an heir. I thought it was interesting reading about Harry's pursuit of clues regarding the heir, especially considering how little he has to go. The book is very well written and was straight through interesting to read without a dull moment. Especially impressed was I at the conclusion of the heir hunt. It really came as a surprise!

The Wrong Side of Goodbye is book 21 in the series, but one can read this one without having read any of the previous books. It's not hard at all to get the hang of the story, you get an explanation for why Harry Bosch no longer works as a police officer, or, in a way, he does it, but on a voluntary basis.

Thanks to Norstedts for the review copy!

The Crossing by Michael Connelly (SWE/ENG)

The Crossing by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

Harry Bosch har äntligen gått i pension efter alla år som polis i Los Angeles. Men hans halvbror, försvarsadvokat Mickey Haller, behöver hans hjälp. Han ska försvara en klient som är åtalad för ett mord. Ingenting tyder på att klienten är oskyldig, men Haller är övertygad om att han är det. I sitt sökande efter sanningen blir han själv en måltavla.

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Det är alltid intressant att läsa en den senaste boken i en serie, där man tidigare bara har läst en bok innan och i detta fall den allra första boken. Och, eftersom detta är bok 20 så har jag några böcker att ta igen. Dock, var det absolut inga problem att läsa denna bok, utan att ha läste de 18 böcker mellan första och denna. Tvärtom, var det synnerligen enkelt att fastna i handlingen och det tog med bara en dag att läsa klart den, både tack vare att den var lättläst (och inte så tjock) samt att berättelsen var intressant.

Harry har nu gått i pension, en något tvingad pension. Dock, så verkar det inte som han ska få tid över att meka med motorcykeln som har stått och väntat på honom i några årtionden. Hans halvbror behöver hjälp. En klient till honom är anklagad för mord och även om det bär Harry emot att hjälpa en försvarsadvokat så kan han inget annat än att börja underska fallet. Speciellt, då han upptäcker att något inte står rätt till. Men det finns de som inte alls är roade över att Harry lägger sig i fallet...

Jag tyckte mycket bra om boken, som jag nämnde innan var den väldigt lättläst, inte alltför komplicerad berättelse samt jag gillar Harry och Mickey skarpt. Jag har länge haft planer på att fortsätta läsa serien då jag fann första boken läsvärd, men jag har bara inte hunnit med det.

Det var kul att läsa denna bok, nu känns det som om jag borde ta och prioritera Connelly och kanske faktiskt ta mig tid och läsa de 18 böcker jag missat.

Tack till Norstedts för recensionexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

Harry Bosch teams up with Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly.

Detective Harry Bosch has retired from the LAPD, but his half-brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, needs his help. The murder rap against his client seems ironclad, but Mickey is sure it's a setup. Though it goes against all his instincts, Bosch takes the case. With the secret help of his former LAPD partner Lucia Soto, he turns the investigation inside the police department. But as Bosch gets closer to discovering the truth, he makes himself a target.

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It is always interesting reading the latest book in a series when one has previously only read one book before and in this case the very first book. And, since this is book 20, have I only a few books to tackle. However, it was absolutely no problem to read this book without having read the 18 books between the first and this one. On the contrary, it was very easy to get hooked and it took just one day to finish reading it, both because the book was so easy to read (and not so thick), and that the story was interesting.

Harry has now retired, a somewhat forced retirement. However, it does not seem that he will find time to tinkering with the motorcycle that has been waiting for him for a few decades. His half-brother needs help. A client of his is accused of murder and although it at first troubles Harry to help a defense lawyer is he soon caught up in the case. Especially when he discovers that something is not right. But, there are those who are not at all amused that Harry has started to investigate the murder...

I really liked the book, as I mentioned before it was very easy to read, not an overly complicated story and I like Harry and Mickey very much. I have for a long time had plans to continue reading the series since I liked the first book enough to wanting to know more, but I just have not had time for it. It was fun to read this book, I feel like I should take and prioritize Connelly and perhaps actually take the time and read the 18 books I missed.

Thanks to Norstedts for the review copy!