Book Review: City of Bones

City of Bones

It's New Year's Day and a dog digs up a bone in Hollywood Hills. The dog's owner, a doctor, recognises it as human and immediately alerts the police. LAPD detectives, Harry Bosch and his partner Jerry Edgar take on the case and as the crime scene is processed, a shallow grave is discovered, a subsequent forensic analysis revealing that the bones were of a boy, possibly 12 years old and that he had been brutally murdered at least twenty years ago with a blow to the back of his head. Despite being a cold case, Bosch starts an investigation that begins to haunt him of his own childhood days. As they fumble in the dark searching for answers, Bosch gets intimate with a rookie cop Julia Brasher, a sprightly woman in her thirties who has just joined the department - an affair that could cost him dearly, both professionally and personally. Connelly, in this eighth book featuring Harry Bosch, tremendously succeeds in telling a simple, yet skilfully plotted story that's engrossing and unpredictable, at the same time taking a peek into the life of a hard-boiled guy who battles his owns demons while being relentless in pursuing the right with little regard for his career. Riveting and lively, the City of Angels comes alive like never before in City of Bones. Highly recommended!