Hardcover, 225 pages
English language
Published May 12, 2007 by Little, Brown and Co..
Near Mulholland Drive, Dr. Stanley Kent is found shot twice in the back of the head. It's the case LAPD detective Harry Bosch has been waiting for, his first since being recruited to the Homicide Special Squad. When he discovers that Kent had access to dangerous radioactive substances, what begins as a routine investigation becomes something darker, more deadly, and frighteningly urgent. Bosch is soon in conflict with not only his superiors but the FBI, which thinks the case is too important for just a cop. Complicating his job even more is the presence of Agent Rachel Walling, his onetime lover. Now guarding one slim advantage, Bosch relentlessly follows his own instincts, hoping they are still sharp enough to find the truth--and a killer who can annihilate an entire city.
This one was a ton of fun. This is the book that the bulk of Bosch season 6 is based on, but there are some major differences. Most of the subplots in the TV show are not in the book.
It moves fast, and it kept my attention the whole way, even though I already knew a couple of key points because of watching the how.
A wild ride.
A physicist has been executed on Mulholland Drive, his wife terrorized by masked men who apparently wanted the physicist to provide them with cesium. Is a dirty bomb in the works? Bosch tries to solve a murder but the FBI and local Homeland Security officials are investigating it as a terrorist plot. Bosch's motivation for clinging to the case like a bulldog with a bone is insufficiently developed given the apparently threat to public safety, but the twists and political wrangling are more satisfying. Originally serialized in the New York Times Magazine, the book version fills out some of the scenes with more detail. Still, it's a short book (nothing wrong with that) covering an investigation that clocks in at only 12 hours.
