The Crossing (Harry Bosch)

By Michael Connelly

Rating: 5/5 Stairs

The Crossing is Michael Connelly’s 20th Harry Bosch book, and I believe his 28th novel overall. Here’s another review where I want to tell you where I sit (with Michael Connelly’s books) before I tell you where I stand (with The Crossing).

The first Michael Connelly book I ever picked up was The Lincoln Lawyer. Mickey Haller, the seedy defense lawyer who works out of his Lincoln Towncar, pulled me right in. The Lincoln Lawyer was Mr. Connelly’s first Mickey Haller book, and I was hungry for more. So I turned to his star, Harry Bosch. The Bosch novels are just as great as the Haller – fast paced page turners. We first meet Harry in The Black Echo and follow his career as a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. Mr. Connelly continues to place Harry in different cases and circumstances as we follow his career throughout the books.

My favorite books are those when Bosch and Haller team up. They are few and far between, but they make an excellent team.

When we begin The Crossing, we find Harry Bosch in retirement. Mickey Haller wants to hire Bosch as an investigator on a case. His client is being held on a murder charge, but Haller is sure he’s innocent. Bosch isn’t so sure, and doesn’t want to work a case for “the other side.” He finally relents with the stipulation that if the client is guilty, Bosch will hand all evidence over to the DA. If his client is innocent, Bosch will bring the guilty party to justice. He doesn’t play lawyer games.

Like every other Bosch (and Haller) novel, I was sucked right in. Harry is a diligent investigator, but never boring. In this outing, Bosch is on his own and can investigate his way, not worrying about LAPD procedures or politics. Mr. Connelly is excellent at pacing the book and doling out information to the reader. As a long time reader, it was fun to see Bosch slightly out of his element as a private investigator.

As always, if you’ve never read a Harry Bosch novel you will not be lost starting with this latest outing. Mr. Connelly always does a good job ensuring that new readers can jump right in. And for those of us who have been reading the series for years, every book is a new adventure. Over the years Mr. Connelly has continued to move Bosch forward into new cases and new situations, and The Crossing is no exception.

My only complaint (but it’s not really a complaint, just a preference) was I would have liked to see more Mickey Haller. I think since I started it all with The Lincoln Lawyer, Haller became my favorite Connelly character. I love to read about his thought process and his defense cases. This is a Bosch novel, so Harry is the star of the investigative show with Mickey’s law skills taking a back seat.

As always, looking forward to seeing where Harry Bosch is headed in his next investigation.