Sunday, January 31, 2021

The Overlook

Bosch and new partner Ignacio "Iggy" Ferras are summoned to a homicide at midnight.  Dr. Stanley Kent has been found dead next to his car at an overlook of the city.  Harry has hardly begun to examine the scene when Rachel Walling of the FBI arrives.  When Kent's name was posted, the FBI was informed.  It turns out that Kent had access to cesium, a highly radioactive metal that is used in cancer treatments.  If such fell into the wrong hands, it could be used for a dirty bomb.  Harry and Rachel drive to the Kent residence to check on Mrs. Kent.  They find her naked and bound in the bedroom.  She explains how two hooded men had barged into the house and demanded access to her email.  The detectives soon found a picture of Mrs. Kent bound on the bed had been sent to Dr. Kent with a demand that cesium be provided at the overlook.  At that point, the FBI plans to exclude the LAPD.  The homicide is now secondary.  Harry pulls every string he can to stay on the case.  If he can solve the homicide, he should find the cesium.  While the FBI pursue Islamic terrorists, Bosch suspects that's a distraction.

An unusually short novel for Connelly, it is nonetheless very good.  It moves at a lightning clip and shows Bosch as the master detective.  It's not that he's Sherlock Holmes with the deductions but that he is a stickler for every detail.  Highly recommended.

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