Publication Date October 15, 2024

Last year, when I reviewed Michael Connelly’s Resurrection Walk (“Highly recommended. Five stars!”), I wrote “I’m generally a big Michael Connelly fan, with the newer series featuring Renee Ballard (sometimes partnered with Harry Bosch) probably being my favorite.” BTW, if you haven’t read The Late Show from 2017, which introduced us to Renee, READ IT. It is amazing! 

So getting a copy of this year’s The Waiting in exchange for my honest review (thank you, Little, Brown and NetGalley) made me extremely happy. The only problem was that my husband was scheduled for major back surgery in the fall, so I needed a TBR pile that included some titles that I just KNEW I was going to love…so I kept putting off reading it, saving it for when I’d need sure-fire entertainment – it was my version of “The Waiting,” I guess. 

Anyway, Harry Bosch is getting older, and we are gradually seeing more of his daughter Maddie (herself now an LA cop) and Renee Ballard, an outstanding protagonist and partner for Harry. 

This one, like many of Connelly’s books, has multiple cases going on at once. This one even includes some ”faction” in the form of the infamous Black Dahlia  mystery. We also begin to get more of the backstory of Renee’s life, which has been revealed very gradually through several books. 

Using the recently hot topic of genetic genealogy as a crime solving tool, as part of her work with the Open-Unsolved Unit of the LAPD, Renee finds a link between a man who was recently arrested and a serial rapist who had seemed to have stopped his crime spree more than 20 years ago. The recent arrestee is only 24, so he can’t be the serial rapist from years ago. It turns out his father was LA’s “Pillowcase Rapist,” who had terrorized LA for five years. Around the same time as this discovery, Renee’s ID, badge, and gun are stolen and she refrains from reporting the theft to avoid giving her enemies in the department reason to get her fired. She needs help – who better to turn to than Harry Bosch? Even more convenient, Maddie Bosch has joined Renee’s unit on a part-time volunteer basis – and, as expected, all these threads come together via Connelly’s incredible storytelling. 

I’m totally anti-spoiler, so I can’t say more – but trust me, this one is SO GOOD. Five stars. I’m glad I waited for The Waiting, and I recommend it highly!