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Michael Connelly’s THE CROSSING brings together two of this author’s most popular protagonists, detective Harry Bosch and his half brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, the Lincoln lawyer. Each of these characters has been the sole focus of several previous Connelly mysteries. Although this current book is a Bosch novel, the plot revolves around the two men working together. Bosch, as a police detective interested in finding the bad guys and making sure they are charged and convicted, has not always appreciated the creative ways that Haller has been able to defend his clients. As a rule, the police look with disdain on lawyers, and Bosch is no exception. But now he has retired, although he feels he was unfairly forced to retire and is suing the department.
Bosch does not want to help the defense to free a guilty man. He is is most concerned with making sure that those who commit the crimes are caught and punished, not in helping a guilty man manipulate the jury and the trial to get an innocent verdict. Haller must convince him that someone other than his jailed client, D’Quan Foster, is responsible for the horrific rape and murder of Lexi Parks, an assistant city manager for West Hollywood. She was attacked in her bed and there was DNA evidence pointing to Foster. Bosch agrees to look at the evidence but will not commit to taking on the investigation. As he goes over the murder book in his methodical manner, always looking for patterns and connections, he soon finds too many coincidences. The puzzle for Bosch is also a puzzle for the reader, but in a different way. We are shown the real culprits in the first few pages, but it is not possible for us or for Bosch to easily figure out what is going on.
As with previous books by this author, the details of the case and the intricacies of how Bosch works it are fascinating to follow. By focusing in on one small piece of the information he is given that does not make sense, he begins to follow the trail of the men who may have committed multiple murders to cover their tracks. Soon he himself becomes a target for these killers, as they see him closing in on them. By helping his brother defend an accused murderer, Bosch is crossing over to the other side, something that he despises doing. The title, however, as in other Connelly works, refers to more than one idea. THE CROSSING shows us Michael Connelly’s clever plotting and well-drawn characters. He is an author who never disappoints, but this book is surely one of his best.
§ Anne Corey is a writer, poet, teacher and botanical artist in New York's Hudson Valley.
Reviewed by Anne Corey, December 2015
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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