The Drop by Michael Connelly

In The Drop, Harry Bosch is near forced retirement. He has three years left and wants to go out with a bang. He's now working on the Cold Case Squad and picks up two cases in one day. The first case deals with a rape and murder from 1989. There's been a recent DNA match, however, it matches a rapist who was just 8-years-old at the time. The second case is a new one that involves a body dropped from a window in a glamorous hotel. It's not just any body, either. It belongs to the son of a Councilman Irvin Irving, Harry's old nemesis. With two high-profile cases on the go, Harry uncovers some nasty secrets that go back decades.

I really enjoyed this book. It's more of a police procedural and not that action packed. However, it was exciting nevertheless. The story didn't go as I surmised from the book jacket description, but that just made it that much better. I love being surprised by the direction of the story. The book contained two great main storylines, as well as a more personal one with Harry's daughter.

This book is Connelly's 17th book with this character (24th novel overall), but the first one that I've read. I didn't feel like I missed much, but I'm sure reading the other books would have helped me understand Harry and his motivations better. I still think this book can be read as a standalone book.

Bosch is such a great character. His motto, Everybody counts or nobody counts, makes him a great detective, who sees that justice is served for everyone. His investigations lead him where others fear to go because of this.

I have a number of Connelly's books on my bookshelf that I picked up at a used book sale after hearing how great they are. However, I've only read two of them. The Poet (before I had a blog) and The Scarecrow (my review). I really enjoyed them both. Both of these feature Jack McEvoy. I really must get to the other books on my shelf.

Highly recommended. I can't wait for the next book to come out. Since I haven't read the others in the series, I have lots to catch up on in the meantime.

For more information about this book or to browse inside, please visit Hachette's website.

For more information about the author and his other books, please visit Michael Connelly's website.

I'd like to thank those nice people at Hachette Book Group for this review copy.

The Drop by Michael Connelly, Little, Brown and Company, ©2011. ISBN 9780316069410(Hardcover), 388p.