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.
Starred review from September 16, 2024
At the start of Connelly’s unputdownable sixth crime thriller costarring Renée Ballard (after Desert Star), the LAPD detective’s badge and gun are stolen from her car while she’s surfing. In the process of getting them back, she uncovers evidence that an extremist group is planning a terrorist attack in Malibu and enlists her friend Harry Bosch—still recovering from cancer—and the FBI to thwart it. Meanwhile, Ballard handles a number of high-stakes cases as leader of the LAPD’s cold case unit. First, her team of volunteers finds a DNA match that opens the door to solving a string of sexual assaults, dating back 20 years, by the “Pillowcase Rapist.” Then Harry’s daughter, Maddie, a patrol officer, joins Ballard’s team after stumbling on some explosive evidence related to the 1947 Black Dahlia killing, “the most famous unsolved murder in the history of Los Angeles.” As always, Connelly brilliantly renders the ins and outs of these investigations, all while adding layers to Ballard’s backstory—including a moving subplot about her missing mother—and delivering white-hot suspense guaranteed to please his fans. This ranks with Connelly’s best. Agent: Heather Rizzo, Rizzo Literary.