THE DROP - reviewed on Radio New Zealand today.

The Drop is the 24th novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, and the fifteenth novel featuring Los Angeles Police Department detective Harry Bosch. It was published worldwide on 22 November 2011.

A new Michael Connelly book is a very big deal. Especially when it features his much-loved veteran LAPD cop Harry Bosch. Harry is one of the good guys but is often in conflict with authority. I like him enormously.

He is a veteran homicide cop with more than 30 years with the LAPD and is currently working in the Open-Unsolved crime unit (often called the “cold case” unit). Together with his younger partner David Chu, he is given cases to investigate when DNA from an old case is matched to the DNA in the nation’s databases and then the case is re-opened. These cases are called cold hits.One such case is given to Bosch and Chu at the start of The Drop. It’s a puzzling case because the blood found on the neck of a young woman’s body found 20 years ago, matches that of a sex offender who was only 8 years old at the time. Bosch and Chu are given the job of finding out whether there has been contamination during sample collection, or if not, finding some other explanation.

Before the investigation gets underway however, Bosch is pulled off the case and put onto another one by the chief of police himself, via Bosch’s former partner Kiz Rider, who now works as the chief’s assistant. A man’s badly damaged body has been found on the footpath outside a famous LA hotel, The Chateau Marmont. Did he fall? Did he jump? Was he pushed?

This is of special interest because the corpse is that of George Irving, son of Bosch’s old enemy and nemesis, Irvin Irving, who had to retire from the police force but is now a powerful city councillor who controls police budgets. Bosch would rather carry on his cold-case investigation as he has little time for police politics but has to comply with the order of the chief. So he tries to carry out both investigations in tandem.

One of the underlying themes of the novel is the excessive resource and pressure brought to bear on them to solve the current case, and the total lack of interest by the police management in the older case.

As well as the two investigations, Bosch is constantly rowing with his partner Chu. The two men have a major falling out, partly because Bosch always keeps things to himself and has an autocratic style but also because Chu is leaking information to the press to impress a female reporter. As with all of Connelly’s books there are other themes and subplots, including Bosch’s love life and his relationship with his 15 year old daughter Maddie who lives with him, all of which keep you involved in a detailed and enjoyable read

Oh and I should mention the title - the drop in this case refers to Deferred Retirement Option Plan - DROP. When Bosch was assigned to the Open-Unsolved Unit, he knew it would be for a limited time, but now he's hoping to get the maximum extra time of five years allowed before being forced to retire.

As usual though with Michael Connelly and with Bosch, there are ambiguities: the drop might also refer to those drops of blood from the long-unsolved rape-murder or to the death of George Irving.

In my view it's Connelly at his best, and really there aren't many better. Some rate him as the greatest living American crime writer as is quoted on the book’s cover. Certainly he is right up there with Lee Child, Sara Paretsky, Sue Grafton, and Patricia Cornwell.

I read the book until late into the night over the weekend, it is a must read for crime fiction fans. I should add that it runs to 388 pages so it will keep readers involved and entertained for days. An excellent plane or beach read. It might also be one for Dad’s Christmas stocking.
Allen & Unwin - $39.99

The complete list of Harry Bosch series (from Wikipedia)

1. The Black Echo (1992)
2. The Black Ice (1993)
3. The Concrete Blonde (1994)
4. The Last Coyote (1995)
5. Trunk Music (1997)
6. Angels Flight (1999)
7. A Darkness More Than Night (2001) – also featuring Terry McCaleb and Jack McEvoy
8. City of Bones (2002)
9. Lost Light (2003)
10. The Narrows (2004) – also featuring Rachel Walling and references of Terry McCaleb
11. The Closers (2005)
12. Echo Park (2006) – also featuring Rachel Walling
13. The Overlook (2007) – also featuring Rachel Walling
14. The Brass Verdict (2008) - also featuring Mickey Haller
15. 9 Dragons (2009) - also featuring Mickey Haller
16. The Reversal (2010) – also featuring Mickey Haller and Rachel Walling
17. The Drop (2011)