82. The Waiting by Michael Connelly

Ballard & Bosch #6

listened on Audible (purchased)

407 pgs.

2024
Adult Mystery
Finished 12/8/2024
Goodreads rating: 4.47
My rating: 5
Setting: LA and vicinity, contemporary

My comments: The Cold Case Unit in LA, headed by Renee Ballard - Connelly spent the 6th in the series about this LA police detective working on three major cases.  They're all intricate and edge-of-your-seat fascinating.  Renee and Harry have become very close friends, having similar thoughts, feeling, and reactions to many things.  What was wonderfully great for me sas that Maddie Bosch is part of this book! (Why is her relationship with her father so strained? and almost secretive?)  This was a really good one!

Goodreads synopsis:  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.

18. The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

#3 Renee Ballard & Harry Bosch
Listened to Audible
narrated by Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin
Unabridged audio (10:04)
2019 Little Brown & Co.
405 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 1/26/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.35 - 18,962 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary LA

First line/s:  "Bosch arrived late and had to park on a cemetery lane far from the grave site."

My comments:  This was an intricately woven series of mysteries stemming from a cold case that Harry Bosch had received from his deceased mentor, and an arson case that Renee Ballard covered on her night shift, as well as some investigative work that Harry completed for his half-brother, Mickey Haller.  Complex but easy to follow, the working relationship and almost affection they have for each other is palpable.  I hate that Harry is pushing 70, but I adore him just as much as I always have.  I love the back-and-forth chapters hearing the voices of both of them.

Goodreads synopsis:  Harry Bosch and LAPD Detective Renee Ballard come together again on the murder case that obsessed Bosch's mentor, the man who trained him -- new from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly
          Back when Harry Bosch was just a rookie homicide detective, he had an inspiring mentor who taught him to take the work personally and light the fire of relentlessness for every case. Now that mentor, John Jack Thompson, is dead, but after his funeral his widow hands Bosch a murder book that Thompson took with him when he left the LAPD 20 years before -- the unsolved killing of a troubled young man in an alley used for drug deals.
          Bosch brings the murder book to Renée Ballard and asks her to help him find what about the case lit Thompson's fire all those years ago. That will be their starting point.
          The bond between Bosch and Ballard tightens as they become a formidable investigation team. And they soon arrive at a worrying question: Did Thompson steal the murder book to work the case in retirement, or to make sure it never got solved?

109. Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly

#2 Renne Ballard/#21 Harry Bosch
istened on Audible, borrowed from Bosler eAudio
narrated  by Christine Lakin & Titus Welliver
Unabridged audio (10:39)
2018 Little Brown
400 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 11/7/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.20 - 31,524 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary LA

First line/s: "The patrol officers had left the front door open. They thought they were doing her a favor, airing the place out.  But that was a violation of crime scene protocol regarding evidence containment.  Bugs could go in and out.  Touch DNA could be disturbed by a breeze through the house.  odors were particulate.  Airing out a crime scene meant losing part of that crime scene."

My comments:  In this episode, Renee and Harry work together on a nine-year-old cold case, Renee from the inside of the police department, and Harry from the outside.  They complement each other in guts and smarts and as the book ends we discover they have decided to continue working together in this way.  I liked it.  Look forward to more.

Goodreads synopsis:  LAPD Detective Renée Ballard teams up with Harry Bosch in the new thriller from #1 NYT bestselling author Michael Connelly.
          Renée Ballard is working the night beat again, and returns to Hollywood Station in the early hours only to find a stranger rifling through old file cabinets. The intruder is retired detective Harry Bosch, working a cold case that has gotten under his skin. Ballard kicks him out, but then checks into the case herself and it brings a deep tug of empathy and anger.
          Bosch is investigating the death of fifteen-year-old Daisy Clayton, a runaway on the streets of Hollywood who was brutally murdered and her body left in a dumpster like so much trash. Now, Ballard joins forces with Bosch to find out what happened to Daisy and finally bring her killer to justice.

58. Looking Glass by Andrew Mayne

# 2 Dr. Theo Cray
Listened on Audible
2018, Thomas & Mercer
312 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 6/30/2018
Goodreads rating:  4.36 - 4196 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary LA & Atlanta

First line/s:  "I'm playing a video game in which someone could actually get killed."

My comments:  Andrew Mayne thrusts you into the mind of a scientist, and reading these books are more than just solving mysteries.  You learn and hear a lot about science and technology that is perhaps "over your head," and a bit unbelievable (some may actually be so!), but entirely interesting and almost-believable.  And Dr. Cray is a really likable oddball.

Goodreads synopsis: Professor Theo Cray caught one of the most prolific serial killers in history using revolutionary scientific methods. Cut off from university research because of the shroud of suspicion around him after the death of his former student and the aftermath of catching his quarry, Cray tries to rebuild his life but finds himself drawn into another unsolved case.
       The desperate father of a missing child, ignored by the authorities and abandoned by his community, turns to Theo for help. The only clues are children’s drawings and an inner-city urban legend about someone called the Toy Man.
       To unravel the mystery behind the Toy Man, Theo must set aside his scientific preconceptions and embrace a world where dreams and nightmares carry just as much weight as reality. As he becomes immersed in the case, he discovers a far-reaching conspiracy—one that hasn’t yet claimed its last victim.

9. The Promise by Robert Crais

listened to on Audible
Elvis Cole #16, Scott James & Maggie #2
2015, Putnam Adult
408 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 1/18/18
Goodreads rating: 4.19
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary LA

First line/s:   "The woman stood in the far corner of the dimly lit room, hiding in the shadows like a fish in gray water."

My comments:  Excellent mystery, written from several points of view.  Of course, the warm and funny Elvis Cole (no p-o-v from Joe Pike in this one, but he is present) in the first person, and then four others in the third person:  the bad guy, "Mr. Rollins,"  a highly secretive government-operative-type-friend-of-Joe-Pike's named Jon Stone (who was a pleasant  surprise), Police officer Scott James (who we met first in his own novel, Suspect), and finally, his German shepherd police dog, Maggie.  I love driving around LA with them, and I gulped down this novel in a day.

Goodreads synopsis: Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are joined by Suspect heroes LAPD K-9 Officer Scott James and his German shepherd, Maggie, in the new heart-stopping thriller from #1 New York Times-bestselling author Robert Crais. 
          Loyalty, commitment, and the fight for justice have always driven Elvis Cole and Joe Pike. If they make a promise, they keep it. Even if it could get them killed.
          When Elvis Cole is secretly hired to find a grief-stricken mother, he’s led to an ordinary house on a rainy night in Echo Park. Only the house isn’t ordinary, and the people hiding inside are a desperate fugitive and a murderous criminal with his own dangerous secrets.
         As helicopters swirl overhead, Scott and Maggie track the fugitive to this same house, coming face-to-face with Mr. Rollins, a killer who leaves behind a brutally murdered body and enough explosives to destroy the neighborhood. Scott is now the only person who can identify him, but Mr. Rollins has a rule: Never leave a witness alive.
          For all of them, the night is only beginning.
          Sworn to secrecy by his client, Elvis finds himself targeted by the police even as Mr. Rollins targets Maggie and Scott. As Mr. Rollins closes in for the kill, Elvis and Joe join forces with Scott and Maggie to follow a trail of lies where no one is who they claim — and the very woman they promised to save might get them all killed. 

MOVIE - Molly's Game

R (2:10)

Wide release 1/5/18

Viewed Saturday, January 6, 2018 at AMC Camp Hill
IMBd: 

RT Critic: 82   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  Powered by an intriguing story and a pair of outstanding performances from Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, Molly's Game marks a solid debut for writer-director Aaron Sorkin.

Cag: 5/Loved it

Directed by Aaron Sorkin

STXfilms

Based on the book by Molly Bloom

Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner

My comments:  So many reasons why I loved this movie.  It was SMART.  Smart people, smart dialogue.  It was looooooong, but moved quickly.  Jessica Chastain was superb. It's a true story, based on Molly Bloom's book.  It flashes back and forth effortlessly, without getting confusing at all.  Fantastic storytelling.  Just fantastic.  We need more like this!

RT/ IMDb Summary:  MOLLY'S GAME is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game for a decade before being arrested in the middle of the night by 17 FBI agents wielding automatic weapons. Her players included Hollywood royalty, sports stars, business titans and finally, unbeknownst to her, the Russian mob. Her only ally was her criminal defense lawyer Charlie Jaffey, who learned that there was much more to Molly than the tabloids led us to believe.

56. The Late Show by Michael Connelly

#1 Renee Ballard, LA Police Detective
listened on Audible
2017, Little Brown  Co.
405 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery/Police Procedural
Finished 9/7/2017
Goodreads rating:  4.06
My rating:  4
Setting:  Contemporary LA

First line/s:  "Ballard and Jenikins rolled up on the house on El Centro shortly before midnight."

My comments:  Renee Ballard is a smart, aggressive, bend-the-rules detective in the Los Angeles police department.  I can't say I really liked her, but I think it's the way that the reader's voice gave her personality - or lack thereof.  Much of it was read in a monotone.  If I'd been reading it myself I would've definitely put different stresses to the words and I think it would've changed Renee's personality for me completely.  The cases were cleverly conceived by Mr. Connelly and incredibly captivating.  Excellent characters, interesting lifestyle for the protagonist, super setting.  I only drove around LA twice, but I can see it in my head as he describes it.  Yes, a good murder mystery of which there will hopefully be more.

Goodreads synopsis: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly, a new thriller introducing a driven young detective trying to prove herself in the LAPD
          Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing none as each morning she turns her cases over to day shift detectives. A once up-and-coming detective, she's been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor.
          But one night she catches two cases she doesn't want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her own partner's wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night. As the cases entwine they pull her closer to her own demons and the reason she won't give up her job no matter what the department throws at her.

31. Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

read on my iPhone
2016, Delacourt Press
328 pgs.
YA CRF
Finished 5/31/17
Goodreads rating: 4.11 - 16,116 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Contemporary Los Angeles, CA

First line/s:  "Seven hundred and thirty-three days after my mom died, forty-five days after my dad eloped with a stranger he met on the Internet, thirty days after we then up and moved to California, and only seven days after starting as a junior at a brand-new school where I know approximately no one, an email arrives."

My comments:  4.5  This was a dreamy YA romance, cleverly told with a combination of first person narrative and text messages between the protagonist and her best friend from Chicago, her new friends in LA, and a mystery classmate at her fancy new unfamiliar high school....who befriends her by text message and won't share his identity.  No, I am not an enjoyer of romance fiction, but this one suckered me in (and I do mean suckered, not sucked...)  right from the start.  An excellent cast of characters, the LA setting (that I wish she'd given a bit more attention to) and the epistolary aspects of the book worked very well together.  The plot includes typical high school angst, typical bullying, but not-so-typical dealing with grief, a new step family...and poetry.  The new stepbrother is even gay, so lots of issues are being "hit."  There's lots of older ya stuff going on - Jesse is a junior in high school - so I wouldn't recommend this for middle schoolers because of some very explicit conversations about sex.  Possible Spoiler alert:  Even though you know practically from the start who her secret admirer is, it's still pretty cool how it's revealed at the very end of the book.

Goodreads synopsis  Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
          It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.
          In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?
           Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends.

15. Echo Park by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #12
listened to the CD in the car driving home from Maine
2006, Little Brown & Co.
405 pgs.
Adult murder mystery
Finished 3/12/2017
Goodreads rating: 4.06 - 33,087 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary LA

First line/s: (Part 1, Chapter 1) "The call came in while Harry Bosch and his partner, Kiz Rider, were sitting at their desks in the Open-Unsolved Unit, finishing the paperwork on the Matarase filing."

My comments:  In this segment of Harry Bosch's investigative ups and downs, I saw more cracks and flaws than I'd seen before.  It's not that I disagreed with the morality and/or righteousness of some of Harry's decisions, but I don't quite remember so many of them in previous books.  Admittedly, it's been awhile since I've read Harry, and iI became totally mesmerized, as usual.  Harry's need to make sure the bad guy gets what he deserves is what really stands out in this story.  Many bad guys, a few assumptions that were wrong, and a satisfying ending.  But ... poor Harry is ladyless again.

Goodreads synopsis:  In 1995, Marie Gesto disappeared after walking out of a supermarket in Hollywood. Harry Bosch worked the case but couldn't crack it, and the 22-year-old woman never turned up, dead or alive. Now Bosch is in the Open-Unsolved Unit, where he still keeps the Gesto file on his desk, when he gets a call from the DA. A man accused of two heinous killings is willing to come clean about several other murders, including the killing of Marie Gesto. 
          Bosch must now take Raynard Waits's confession and get close to the man he has sought - and hated - for eleven years. But when Bosch learns that he and his partner missed a clue back in 1995 that could have led them to Gesto's killer - and that would have stopped nine murders that followed - he begins to crack.

MOVIE - LA LA Land

PG-13 (2:08)

Limited release 12/9/16

Viewed Tuesday, 1/17/17 at RC Carlisle
IMBd: 8.8/10

RT Critic: 93   Audience:  88
Critic's Consensus:  La La Land breathes new life into a bygone genre with thrillingly assured direction, powerful performances, and an irresistible excess of heart.

Cag:  3.5 Liked it, but don't get the hype

Directed by Damien Chazelle

Liongate Films

Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone

My comments: Well, I'm really not sure what everyone is raving about.  The first third of the movie was really slow and I might even say boring.  Some of the singing and dancing were pretty random, some were perfect.  Performances were good...but Academy Award worthy?  It was certainly an homage to Hollywood and its roots.  And an interesting story, but nothing profound.  I was anticipating something really great, but, unfortunately, for me it wasn't.

RT/ IMDb Summary: The story of Mia, an aspiring actress, and Sebastian, a dedicated jazz musician, struggling to make ends meet while pursuing their dreams in a city known for destroying hopes and breaking hearts. With modern day Los Angeles as the backdrop, this musical about everyday life explores what is more important: a once-in-a-lifetime love or the spotlight.

65. Suspect by Robert Crais

Scott James & Maggie #1 (they will reappear with Joe Pike & Elvis Cole)
listened to CD while driving (around Tucson and on Lake Havasu/Flagstaff trip)
performed by Macleod Andrews
2013, G. P. Putnam's Sons
312 pgs
7 unabridged cds (8:34)
Adult mystery
Finished  11/14/16
Goodreads rating: 4.14 - 15,709 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary LA

First line/s:  "Maggie's tail thumped the dirt hard.  This was a game they played often, so Maggie knew what was coming, and lived for the joy of this moment."

My comments:  I was looking for a good mystery from an author I know and trust for my car trip.  I know and trust Robert Crais - I love both Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.  This was a "standalone" about a young LA police officer and his dog.  I almost didn't take it.  I'm not a so-called animal lover (I can't say I even particularly like dogs), and I usually run... fast and far... from literature that gives an animal a major role.  But since Robert Crais is tried and true for me, I decided to go for it.
      This is a long introduction to a short review.  From the very first words I was hooked.  The narration was beautifully done, I liked the two protagonists, the plot, the pacing, and all the twists and turns.  The best part?  Getting a little insight into why man and dog have always had such close bonds.  This is something I've never totally understood.  So I got a great mystery and a little insight. It looks like both Scott and Maggie will appear in a Elvis & Joe mystery, too.  Excellent, I look forward to seeing them again.

Goodreads synopsis:  LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well. Eight months ago, a shocking nighttime assault by unidentified men killed his partner Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty...until he meets his new partner.
          Maggie is not doing so well, either. A German shepherd who survived three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan sniffing explosives before losing her handler to an IED, her PTSD is as bad as Scott's.
           They are each other's last chance. Shunned and shunted to the side, they set out to investigate the one case that no one wants them to touch: the identity of the men who murdered Stephanie. What they begin to find is nothing like what Scott has been told, and the journey will take them both through the darkest moments of their own personal hells. Whether they will make it out again, no one can say.

53. Sugar Skull - Denise Hamilton

#2 Eve Diamond, LA reporter
read on my Kindle
2003, Scribner
Hardcover has 304 pgs.
Adult murder mystery
Finished 10/5/16
Goodreads rating: 3.57 (228 ratings)
My rating: 3
Setting: Contemporary LA - lots of description

First line/s:  "I was sitting at the city desk, halfway through my first cup of cafeteria coffee, when I saw him.  His jacket was flapping, his arms flailing, as he sprinted along the computer terminals and zigzagged past three-foot pile of newspapers, eyes trained on the prize -- a big sign that said METRO, under which I sat, scanning the wires on a slow Saturday morning."

My comments:  Although this is an excellent mystery, there are four very ridiculous scenarios that help the plausibility score plunge.  (Hints...quick romance, way-too-easy and unbelievable confessions - twice,  shrugged-off robberies, finding people in immense, crazy crowds - again, twice...I keep thinking of more and more....)  Eve Diamond is a reporter.  Media.  Yuck.  The best part of the book?  The great vocabulary.  Hamilton uses words that you don't often run across in a murder mystery.  Vitrine.  Puerile.  Oleaginous.  Atavistic.  Penumbra.  Naiads.  Fecund.  I have a whole, wonderful list.  So will I read another?  Sure!
*You also learn a lot about the Latino music culture, which is really interesting.

Goodreads synopsis:  Denise Hamilton, whose phenomenal debut, "The Jasmine Trade, " was an Edgar Award finalist that Michael Connelly hailed as gripping...intriguing...more than a good crime novel," brings back her tenacious heroine, Eve Diamond, in an electrifying new novel of suspense.When a distraught father breaks past security to beg for her help, "Los Angeles Times" reporter Eve Diamond can't refuse. His daughter, caught up in the rough "squatter" lifestyle, is missing -- and Eve, sensing a scoop, wants to know why a privileged teen from Pasadena would hook up with the dregs of Hollywood. When the girl is found dead, Eve suspects there is more going on than the tragic death of a rebellious youth.
     The search for answers will take Eve from the street world of drugs and sex to the upper echelon of L.A. society -- who don't appreciate her digging up their dirt. Even as Eve fights against the powers-that-be who want her off the story, she finds herself mixing business and pleasure when she's irresistibly drawn to the brooding son of a Mexican music titan. For it is in his world -- and in the intricate sugar skulls that mark the Mexican "Day of the Dead" -- that Eve may find the key to unmasking a killer....

70. Deception - Jonathan Kellerman

Alex Delaware #25
audio read John Rubenstein
cd back & forth from school and back & forth from Reagan Airport....
2010 Ballantine
338 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 12/27/15
Goodreads rating: 3.95
My rating: 3.5?  It held my interest...
Setting: Contemporary LA
First line/s:  "The woman had haunted eyes."

My comments:  These Kellerman mysteries keep me involved and thinking, though I appreciate the detective, Milo Sturgis, much more than Alex Delaware, the supposed protagonist, who only seems to be along for the ride.

Goodreads Summary:  Her name is Elise Freeman, and her chilling cry for help comes too late to save her. On a DVD found near her lifeless body, the emotionally and physically battered woman chronicles a long ordeal of abuse at the hands of three sadistic tormentors. But even more shocking is the revelation that the offenders, like their victim, are teachers at one of L.A.’s most prestigious prep schools. Homicide detective Milo Sturgis is assigned to probe the hallowed halls of Windsor Prep Academy, and if ever he could use Dr. Alex Delaware’s psychological prowess, it’s now. As the scandal-conscious elite close ranks around Windsor Prep, Alex and Milo push to expose the dirty secrets festering among society’s manor-born. But while searching for predators among the privileged, Alex and Milo may be walking into a highly polished death trap.

61. Victims - Jonathan Kellerman

Alex Delaware #27
listened to the audio cd on the way back and forth from work
audio read by John Rubenstein - very enjoyable
2012, Random House Audio,
12 hours/10 unabridged cds
338 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 10/6/2015
Goodreads rating: 3.91
My rating: 4/ very good storytelling, though gritty/gross
Setting: contemporary LA area

First line/s:  "This one was different.  The first hint was Milo's tight-voiced eight a.m. message, stripped of details."

My comments:  I haven't read a Jonathan Kellerman for many years, but have read a few in the past, so decided to read this one out-of-order (I'm so anal, I don't usually do this).  Very interesting story, especially when looking at the deep dark workings of the human psyche that have gone awry...very awry.  Alex Delaware is the psycho-therapist sidekick to LA detective Milo Sturgis.  He doesn't really do too much, perhaps sheds a little insight, but when Milo Sturgis is on the track, watch out.  I love the way that John Rubenstein "reads" Sturgis - tough, gritty, but with great empathy.  I enjoyed this one, as super-gritty (gross) as it was...

Goodreads Summary:

34. Never Go Back - Lee Child

Jack Reacher #18
listened to audio CD AND Audible.
audio read by Dick Hill..
2013 Delacorte Press
400 pgs
Adult mystery
Finished 5/12/2015
Goodreads rating: 3.98
My rating:4
Setting:  Contemporary Washington DC & LA

My comments:  Lee Child - and Jack Reacher - always seem to grab me immediately and not let go.  There were a few places in the story where I had to pause for a moment and try to figure out how two plus two equaled four; and my anger at politics and government/armed forces/police hierarchy made me crazy, but good stories should attract strong emotions, right?  If you read this book only to take a look at Reacher and his beliefs, lifestyle and aggressive genius, you won't go wrong.

Goodreads synopsis:  After an epic and interrupted journey all the way from the snows of South Dakota, former military cop Jack Reacher has finally made it to Virginia. His destination: a sturdy stone building a short bus ride from Washington D.C., the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. It was the closest thing to a home he ever had.
          Why? He wants to meet the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. He liked her voice on the phone. But the officer sitting behind his old desk isn’t a woman. Is Susan Turner dead? In Afghanistan? Or in a car wreck?
          What Reacher doesn't expect to hear is that Turner has just been fired from her command. Nor that he himself is in big trouble, accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide. And he certainly doesn't expect to hear these words: ‘You’re back in the army, Major. And your ass is mine.’
          Will he be sorry he went back? Or – will someone else?

32. Gun Games - Faye Kellerman

Decker/Lazarus # 20
10 unabridged cds (on the road back and forth to school)
2012, William Morrow & Co.
Harper Audio read by Mitchell Greenberg - very well
375 pgs.
Adult Murder Mystery
Finished 5/3/2015
Goodreads rating: 3.82
My rating: 3.5
TPPL
Setting: Contemporary LA

My comments:  Actually, 3.5.  Reason?  About 50% of the story is about Decker's 15-year-old foster son, piano prodigy Gabe Whitman, who meets a shy 14-year old LA/Persian Jewish girl, falling, apparently and mutually, head-over-heels for each other.  He's a horny, 15-year old boy, but she's been raised as an Orthodox Jew in a very strict home, and the sex talk...then scenes...are more graphic and in-your-face than what I remember of previous books in this series.  I'm not a prude (at all!), but she was so young and innocent that in some ways her capitulation was believable, but in other ways not.  Of course, their story intersects with the case that Decker is working on (what a coincidence!) and everything turns out okay.... it was all okay - likable and interesting - but a little unbelievable.

Goodreads synopsis:  Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus are back in this gripping mystery involving a secret cabal of some of Los Angeles' most wealthy--and vicious--teens
          LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep--witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city's most exclusive prep schools.
          Gregory's mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen--evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student--a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence. Decker thought he understood kids, yet the closer he and his team get to the truth, the clearer it becomes that he knows very little about them, including his own charge, Gabe. The son of a gangster and an absent parent, the boy has had a life filled with too much free time, too many unexplained absences, and too little adult supervision.
          Before it's over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating at a heart-stopping point of no return.

20. The Closers - Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch #11

Audio read by Len Carriou

10 Unabridged cds

2005 Hachette Audio

432 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 3/8/2015

Goodreads rating:  4.00

My rating:  5

My comments:  Harry Bosch returns to the LAPD and is partnered with one of his previous partners, Kiz Rider. The beginning of the story seemed to drag a bit - there was no action because the facts of a 17-year old cold case were being disclosed to Harry and Kiz.  But as they begin to dig into old facts and look into new clues, the story becomes more-than-interesting, with a few twists and turns and a great deal to think about.  Michael Connelly sure seems to know the ins and outs and dirty laundry of a big city police department!

Goodreads book summary:  He walked away from the job three years ago. But Harry Bosch cannot resist the call to join the elite Open/Unsolved Unit. His mission: solve murders whose investigations were flawed, stalled, or abandoned to L.A.'s tides of crime. With some people openly rooting for his failure, Harry catches the case of a teenager dragged off to her death on Oat Mountain, and traces the DNA on the murder weapon to a small-time criminal. But something bigger and darker beckons, and Harry must battle to fit all the pieces together. Shaking cages and rattling ghosts, he will push the rules to the limit--and expose the kind of truth that shatters lives, ends careers, and keeps the dead whispering in the night...

44. The Narrows - Michael Connelly

#10 Harry Bosch

Audio read by Len Cariou
9 unabridged cds (10:00)

2004 Time Warner Audio Books

427 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 7/25/2014

Goodreads Rating:  4.01

My Rating:  3/ It was okay

Amelia Given Library,, Mt. Holly Springs

Setting: Contemporary LA & Las Vegas

1^st sentence/s:  "I think maybe I know only one thing in this world. One thing for sure.  And that is that the truth does not set you free."

My comments:  I read this without reading The Poet first, but have read every other Harry Bosch, in order.  I could figure out what was going on with this "past case" very quickly, but will admit that it would have been nice to have read The Poet first, thus having all the background.  I love the character of Harry Bosch.  I've loved every one of the books so far, but this one was a little (tiny, tiny) bit disappointing --- and I'm not sure why.  Perhaps I've read the previous books and listened to this one, which made it different? It brings together THREE different books, including Terry McCaleb and bounces back and forth between points-of-view, not just Harry's?

Nice Harry Bosch quote:  "There is nothing like being wanted or being welcomed, being valued."

Goodreads Review:  FBI agent Rachel Walling finally gets the call she's dreaded for years, the one that tells her the Poet has surfaced. She has never forgotten the serial killer who wove lines of poetry in his hideous crimes--and apparently he has not forgotten her.
Former LAPD detective Harry Bosch gets a call, too--from the widow of an old friend. Her husband's death seems natural, but his ties to the hunt for the Poet make Bosch dig deep. Arriving at a derelict spot in the California desert where the feds are unearthing bodies, Bosch joins forces with Rachel. Now the two are at odds with the FBI...and squarely in the path of the Poet, who will lead them on a wicked ride out of the heat, through the narrows of evil, and into a darkness all his own..

36. Lost Light - Michael Connelly

#9 Harry Bosch
audio read by Len Cariou

Listened on my iPhone through Overdrive/TPPL download

9 discs/parts

2004

416 pgs.

Finished 6/11/14 in my cozy PA apartment

Adult murder mystery

Goodreads Rating: 4.09

My Rating: 4.5 Loved it

Acquired: TPPL Overdrive Audio

Setting: LA and Vegas

1^st sentence/s:  "There is no end of things in the heart.  Somebody once told me that."

My comments: Harry Bosch #9 did not disappoint.  This time he's no longer on the LAPD homicide squad, he's out on his own.  Although Virgil Flowers has overtaken Harry as my favorite protagonist, I'm still a total Harry Bosch fan.  I've got the next one on reserve!

Goodreads Review:  The vision has haunted him for four years--a young woman lying crumpled in death, her hand outstretched in silent supplication. Harry Bosch was taken off the Angella Benton murder case when the production assistant's death was linked with the violent theft of two million dollars from a movie set. Both files were never closed. Now retired from the L.A.P.D., Bosch is determined to find justice for Angella. Without a badge to open doors and strike fear into the guilty, he's on his own. And even in the face of an opponent more powerful and ruthless than any he's ever encountered, Bosch is not backing down.

18. Chasing Darkness - Robert Crais

#12 Elvis Cole/Joe Pike

audio read by James Daniels

8 unabridged discs, 7 hours

2008, Brilliance Audio

288 pgs.

Adult Murder Mystery

Finished 3/27/14

Goodreads Rating: 4.14

My Rating: 4.5 (Loved it)

PBS - now it's my turn to send it off into the great unknown -

Setting:  LA (or course!)

My comments:   I really enjoy Robert Crais' writing.  A lot.  He writes believable mysteries that keep me guessing. I love Elvis Cole. He's fun and funny.  I want to learn more about Joe Pike, but I like that he's kept a bit mysterious.   You can read this series in any order - I have and it works just fine. Bring 'em on!

Goodreads Review  It's fire season, and the hills of Los Angeles are burning. When police and fire department personnel rush door to door in a frenzied evacuation effort, they discover the week-old corpse of an apparent suicide. But the gunshot victim is less gruesome than what they find in his lap: a photo album of seven brutally murdered young women -- one per year, for seven years. And when the suicide victim is identified as a former suspect in one of the murders, the news turns Elvis Cole's world upside down.
          Three years earlier Lionel Byrd was brought to trial for the murder of a female prostitute named Yvonne Bennett. A taped confession coerced by the police inspired a prominent defense attorney to take Byrd's case, and Elvis Cole was hired to investigate. It was Cole's eleventh-hour discovery of an exculpatory videotape that allowed Lionel Byrd to walk free. Elvis was hailed as a hero.
          But the discovery of the death album in Byrd's lap now brands Elvis as an unwitting accomplice to murder. Captured in photographs that could only have been taken by the murderer, Yvonne Bennett was the fifth of the seven victims -- two more young women were murdered after Lionel Byrd walked free. So Elvis can't help but wonder -- did he, Elvis Cole, cost two more young women their lives?
Shut out of the investigation by a special LAPD task force determined to close the case, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike desperately fight to uncover the truth about Lionel Byrd and his nightmare album of death -- a truth hidden by lies, politics, and corruption in a world where nothing is what it seems to be.: