The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio
…[a] nifty new police procedural…There's something for everyone in this jam-packed plot: murder, arson, professional rivalry, salty cop talk and noisy domestic disputes that turn very ugly very quickly. Me, I go for the procedural details: who does what and how things get done from the minute the cops on shift at the Hollywood Division are sent to investigate a murder. Connelly is pretty much the current dean of procedural writers. His main characters—Bosch, Ballard and Haller—use different methods, but nobody misses a trick.
Publishers Weekly
★ 10/14/2019
The sins of the past cast a long shadow in bestseller Connelly’s superlative second novel featuring detectives Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch together (after 2018’s Dark Sacred Night). After the funeral of former LAPD Det. John Jack Thompson, the man’s widow gives Bosch a murder book that Thompson took when he left the force a couple of decades before. The cold case concerns the unsolved homicide of 24-year-old John Hilton, an addict who was killed in an alley in 1990. What’s unclear is why Bosch’s old mentor stole the murder book—to work the case himself in retirement, or to keep other detectives from working it? Bosch takes the book to Ballard, a kindred spirit; both are outliers with a shared fire for fighting injustice no matter where the trail leads. Meanwhile, defense attorney Mickey Haller enlists Bosch, his half-brother, to assist in defending a mentally ill man accused of murdering a superior court judge. Conflicting DNA evidence and a problematic confession complicate the high profile case. Connelly is without peer when it comes to police procedurals, and once again proves that he’s the modern master of the form. Agent: Philip Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"The Night Fire offers more than a few incendiary surprises."—Paula L. Woods, Los Angeles Times
"Connelly is the Raymond Chandler of this generation, and readers will be studying his writing methods decades from now. He has created another novel that feels authentic on every level, and the underlying theme of mortality running through the narrative makes everything in the story more urgent."—Jeff Ayers, Associated Press
"There's something for everyone in this jam-packed plot: murder, arson, professional rivalry, salty cop talk and noisy domestic disputes that turn very ugly very quickly. Me, I go for the procedural details: who does what and how things get done from the minute the cops on shift at the Hollywood Division are sent to investigate a murder. Connelly is pretty much the current dean of procedural writers."—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
"Breathless action...deep character studies...The Night Fire is Connelly's twenty first outing with Bosch, but the author has so much more to show us about him. Only three books in, Ballard has even more fodder for Connelly to uncover. In The Night Fire, Connelly again shows his mission: strong plots and sturdy characters."—Oline Cogdill, Sun Sentinel
"A virtuoso performance...The Night Fire glows with the instincts and intelligence Bosch and Ballard bring to their pursuit of the truth."—Collette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times
"One of the greatest crime writers of all time...Connelly continues to deliver winner after winner, year in and year out...reading one of his books is an experience unlike anything else the genre has to offer."—Ryan Steck, Crimereads
"Connelly is without peer when it comes to police procedurals, and once again proves that he's the modern master of the form."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Remarkable narrative legerdemain...Not only has Connelly created another fully formed series lead in Renée, who has her own fascinating backstory, but he has also forged a fascinating yin-and-yang relationship between the old school Harry and the unconventional loner Renèe...Master chef Connelly has once again combined familiar ingredients into a new and completely satisfying dish. Connelly is on a roll, with three consecutive number-one New York Times bestsellers. Don't bet against number four."—Bill Ott, Booklist (starred review)
"Connelly manages to top himself with his latest intensely gripping thriller...He tells a superb tale with an economy of words using a no-nonsense, fly-on-the-wall style of writing...Fans of this prolific author of crime dramas and either series will find this best-seller-list-bound novel hard to put down."—Library Journal (starred review)
PRAISE FOR DARK SACRED NIGHT:
"Spectacular...Dark Sacred Night is ingenious, frantically suspenseful, and very, very bleak."—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post
"Readers know that when they pick up a Michael Connelly novel they will get a compelling and well-written dive into the world of crime and law enforcement...What makes Connelly so much better than most crime fiction writers is that his police detectives are human and real. The combination is quality."—Jeff Ayers, Associated Press
"Michael Connelly is superhuman...His hallmark has been his precise, faultless plotting...He's always been especially good when it comes to truly creepy killers, and his denouement here is thrilling."—Charles Finch, USA Today
"It was only last year that Connelly introduced Ballard, a fierce and fascinating new protagonist who instantly emerged as a reader favorite. Bosch, meanwhile, is a grizzled veteran by now; Dark Sacred Night marks the 21st novel to center on him. But fans always finish eager to come back for more."—David Canfield, Entertainment Weekly
"One of the best and most affecting Bosch novels since Mr. Connelly began the Bosch saga in 1992...It seems as is the vulnerable Harry Bosch has met the sympathetic Renée Ballard just in the nick of time."—Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrators Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin return to perform Connelly’s newest offering in the Bosch/Ballard series. Connelly has solved the problem of the aging-out of his determined retired detective Harry Bosch. By pairing him with Renée Ballard, a young, relentless detective, we have the old guard complemented by the new and receptive mentee. They work day and night (Ballard is on the night shift) to tackle cold and very hot cases. The contrasts continue as listeners are treated to Welliver’s deep, gravelly voice as Bosch, interwoven with Christin Lakin’s light, softer intonations as Ballard. Each narrator delivers the individual chapters of their character, and together they deliver the dialogue between them. Bosch and Ballard make an unstoppable team as do Welliver and Lakin, who fully engage the listener. E.Q. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-09-02
A cold case pulls Harry Bosch back from retirement and into another eventful partnership with Detective Renée Ballard of the LAPD.
The widow of Bosch's retired mentor, Detective John Jack Thompson, has a present for Bosch, and it's a doozy: the murder book for the unsolved killing of ex-con John Hilton, shot to death in his car one night nearly 20 years ago, which Thompson swiped from the archives without authorization or explanation. Bosch, who wonders why Thompson lifted the murder book if he didn't intend to work the case, is eager to take a crack at it himself, but he needs the resources that only an active partner can provide. But Ballard, settled into the routine of the midnight shift after her exile from Robbery-Homicide (Dark Sacred Night, 2018), has just started working her own case, the arson that killed Eddie, a homeless man, inside his tent. As if that's not enough criminal activity, Bosch's half brother, Lincoln lawyer Mickey Haller, faces the apparently hopeless defense of Jeffrey Herstadt, who not only left his DNA under the fingernail of Walter Montgomery, the Superior Court judge he's accused of killing, but also obligingly confessed to the murder. Working sometimes in tandem, more often separately, and sometimes actively against the cops who naturally bridle at the suggestion that any of their own theories or arrests might be flawed, Ballard and Bosch slog through the usual dead ends and fruitless rounds of questioning to link two murders separated by many years to a single hired killer. The most mysterious question of all—why did John Jack Thompson steal that murder book in the first place?—is answered suddenly, casually, and surprisingly.
Middling for this standout series but guaranteed to please anyone who thinks the cops sometimes get it wrong.
