Book Review: THE WAITING by Michael Connelly

THE WAITING by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown & Company - October 15, 2024) Hardcover, 407 pages. ISBN # 9780316563796 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

LAPD Detective Renée Ballard tracks a terrifying serial rapist whose trail has gone cold, with the help of the newest volunteer to the Open-Unsolved Unit: Patrol Officer Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter.

Renée Ballard and the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet twenty years ago. The arrested man is only twenty-three, so the genetic link must be familial. It is his father who was the Pillowcase Rapist, responsible for a five-year reign of terror in the city of angels. But when Ballard and her team move in on their suspect, they encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles.

Meanwhile, Ballard’s badge, gun, and ID are stolen—a theft she can’t report without giving her enemies in the department the ammunition they need to end her career as a detective. She works the burglary alone, but her solo mission leads her into greater danger than she anticipates. She has no choice but to go outside the department for help, and that leads her to the door of Harry Bosch.

Finally, Ballard takes on a new volunteer to the cold case unit. Bosch’s daughter Maddie wants to supplement her work as a patrol officer on the night beat by investigating cases with Ballard. But Renée soon learns that Maddie has an ulterior motive for getting access to the city’s library of lost souls.

My Five-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     Not only is Michael Connelly a prolific crime fiction writer, he's also brilliant. Who else could release two books I rated Five Stars in the same year? (The other being RESURRECTION WALK). Just when I think he is not going to completely engage my attention, I stay up late just to read "one more chapter" (or more) in this page-turner.

As always, there is never just one case to be investigated, or just one dangerous situation to be resolved. There are three here and each one reveals character insights into Renee Ballard, Harry Bosch, and Maddie Bosch while at the same time continuing to develop, grow, and mature each of them. 

Harry's not as active as before, but he willingly gets pulled into a dangerous situation when a simple robbery of Renee's badge, phone and wallet becomes complicated and much more serious. Then Renee and her Unsolved Cases task force (which now includes Maddie) get involved in tracking down a serial rapist/murderer from decades past. Finally, Maddie plays a big role in uncovering the truth behind who was responsible for the infamous Los Angeles Black Dahlia murders. This also marks the first time in my memory that Connelly incorporates an actual unsolved crime into the storyline.

All three compelling and engaging cases/situations. You just can't go wrong with a Connelly novel.