Lost Light by Michael ConnellyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: The vision has haunted him for four years--a young woman lying crumpled in death, her hand outstretched in silent supplication. Harry Bosch was taken off the Angella Benton murder case when the production assistant's death was linked with the violent theft of two million dollars from a movie set. Both files were never closed. Now retired from the L.A.P.D., Bosch is determined to find justice for Angella. Without a badge to open doors and strike fear into the guilty, he's on his own. And even in the face of an opponent more powerful and ruthless than any he's ever encountered, Bosch is not backing down.
Read as an audiobook. Narrator changed yet again.
In this book, our protagonist has been 'retired' for almost a year, and decides to work on a cold case that he was briefly assigned while on the force. The image of the dead woman deeply affected him, and it was for her sake he wanted to resolve the case. His investigation brought him in conflict with a paralyzed cop, the FBI, homeland security, the LAPD, and his ex-wife Elenor. Only Harry Bosch could rile a hornets nest with so much gusto.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and have only a modicum of criticism. The case uncovered a missing female FBI agent, which is what got the FBI involved when Harry started pulling at threads. She was described as being tall, in excellent shape, with zero percent body fat.... which immediately kicked me out of the story. Totally implausible. I know body builders and it is physically impossible for a woman to maintain zero percent body fat without some very extreme dieting and be able to function normally. A small thing perhaps, but I don't like being kicked out of the plot.
The other item was the way Harry decided to kick the proverbial hornets nest toward the end. Without giving anything away, deciding to confront the antagonists was just...dumb. Dumb, dumb, dumb. It's like in cozy mysteries where the female protagonist decides to walk into the dark house, in a thunderstorm, by herself, with no weapon, and the killer on the inside. I decided this was the male version of stupidity. "Let's go confront the bad guys by myself, without back up, and make them mad!" Smacking myself on the head here... for a cop, he was frikin' stupid.
Other than that, as I noted, I did enjoy this. I think I almost prefer a "private inspector" Harry to a Homicide Detective. Since he seems incapable of working with other people, this role seems to suit his personality better, and I think makes for a better character.
Recommended.
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