The Night Fire

Not Going Gentle into that Good Night
Review of the Abridged Audio CD editon (6.5 hours) of the full Unabridged Audio edition (10 hours)

Feeling virtuous after voting on Monday Oct. 21, 2019 in Canada's General Election I picked up some books at the Library and then feeling like another treat checked out a local book store where I spotted the new Harry Bosch / Renee Ballard book in audio format on the shelf a day before its official October 22nd release. That seemed like a sign to me and I snapped that up as well, not realizing that it was the Abridged Edition (why do they still make those for audio?).

So anyway, this is a bit of a compromise review as i'm doing an A/B comparison to the full Unabridged Edition on Audible. The 6.5 hour show more running time of The Night Fire is quite complete with the main case of a unsolved 29 year-old murder book that Harry and Renee work together and then 2 secondary cases (Bouchard's tent-fire & Bosch helping Mickey Haller with a court case) where they work apart until the cases merge. There is an entire Bouchard subplot about an apparent teenage suicide which is dropped from the Abridged Edition.

It is hard to escape the feeling that Connelly may be getting ready to phase Bosch out as he is now retired from the LAPD and also fired from his post-retirement San Fernando PD reserve officer job. He is working unofficially as an investigator for Mickey Haller (but resents being called that). His medical issues also seem to be piling up, he is walking with a cane due to a knee replacement and is found to have another underlying medical condition during this book (no spoiler here). But nevertheless, Bosch is not going gentle into that good night, and Bouchard is definitely a worthy replacement. show less

One of the things that Harry Bosch's mentor, Jack Thompson, told him was, "Take every case personally and you get angry. It builds a fire. It gives you the edge you need to go the distance every time out." It's something that Harry has done time and time again, and readers are seeing that Renée Ballard is cut from the same cloth.

The Night Fire is a mystery that kept me guessing, and I loved how all the various subplots were woven together. It takes skill to tell so many stories in such a way that isn't confusing, but long-time fans of Michael Connelly know that he's a master of the craft.

One of the underlying themes of The Night Fire is the fact that you can always learn things about the people you thought you knew well. No one wears show more all their experiences, all their emotions, out in plain sight for everyone to see. During the course of their investigation, both Bosch and Ballard discover that they have a lot of learning to do about their fellow police officers.

Harry Bosch has had a very special place in my heart since I first met him in the first book in the series, The Black Echo-- twenty-three books ago. I've tried to adopt Harry's mantra ("Everybody counts or nobody counts.") in my daily life. If you've never met him and don't feel like dealing with all the books in such a long-running series, I urge you to start with The Late Show. You'll be introduced to another wonderful character, Renée Ballard, who's really a young female version of Harry. And when they start working together, it's a match made in readers' heaven. Please don't miss it! show less

In "The Night Fire," Renée Ballard, who is assigned to the graveyard shift in Hollywood Division, and ex-LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch, join forces to right some egregious wrongs. Bosch is pushing seventy, had a knee replaced, and is looking forward to walking without his cane. Renée, like Harry, is outspoken, brilliant, intuitive, and determined. Also like him, she has stepped on some important toes, and sometimes uses deception to achieve her goals. She generally steers clear of her nemesis, Captain Robert Olivas, and her current post in what her colleagues call "the Late Show" gives her the chance to work under the radar on cold cases. Ballard and Bosch join forces on matters that interest them both, although the two sleuths show more are not usually in the same place at the same time. One inquiry involves the stabbing of a superior court judge, Walter Montgomery ; the next is the immolation of a homeless man, Edison Banks, Jr., who may have accidentally knocked over a kerosene heater in his sleep; the third is the unsolved murder of a twenty-four-year-old drug-addict, John Hilton, in an alley back in 1990.

Michael Connelly places us on the mean streets of Los Angeles, where we feel the desperation and loneliness of the forgotten and unloved. In addition, we share Harry and Renée's frustration at the indifference of burned-out law enforcement officers who frequently take shortcuts to make their lives easier. Connelly paints vivid and often wrenching word pictures, enabling us to understand the motives of the perpetrators and empathize with the suffering of their victims. The author's intricate and clever story, sharply etched dialogue, and delightfully nasty villains keep us invested in the outcome. The protagonists chase down numerous leads, interview a variety of witnesses, and finally learn some shocking facts that would have remain hidden had they not decided to do some digging on their own.

This book derives its title from a lost soul who burns to death, but it also refers to the fervor that motivates cops who will not rest until they identify felons who committed crimes but, thus far, have gotten away scot-free. Harry likes nothing better than combing over a murder book and unraveling its mysteries. Renée barely sleeps, eats when she gets around to it, and is as tough as they come. She and Harry bicker occasionally, but they are basically on the same page. This is a thrilling and engrossing tale, but it has some glaring imperfections. There are too many coincidences for comfort, the plot is not always easy to follow, and the conclusion, although gripping, is melodramatic and requires a large suspension of disbelief. Its flaws notwithstanding, this fast-moving police procedural will keep Connelly's fans satisfied until his next work of fiction hits the shelves. show less

ve been eagerly awaiting the third book in Michael Connelly's Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch series. The Night Fire is newly released - and I couldn't put it down.

Connelly keeps things moving along in real time with his characters. Renee is still without a partner - and that's okay. She's a pariah in her own department and is just fine working the night shift alone. But she does have an unofficial partner in retired Harry Bosch.

After attending the funeral of his old mentor, the widow hands him a binder - a murder book in fact. The case is still unsolved - and no one even knows the book is missing form the department. Yes, you guessed it - Harry can't let it go. He approaches Ballard to help him from inside the force.

Connelly nails it on show more every front. The characters are fantastic. At first I was resistant to a new character in Harry's world, but I really like Renee - she's tough, intelligent and relentless. She and Harry play well off each other. Mickey Haller also makes an appearance in The Night Fire.

The plotting? Again - fantastic. Connelly's mysteries and police investigations are intricate and authentic. Not surprising, as Connelly is a crime journalist. If you haven't listened to his Murder Book podcast you're missing some great investigative listening. As the story progressed, I realized that there were pieces of that real life case woven into this latest book.

Each of the leads are given POV narratives. We are privy to their private lives, both good and bad. This just makes the characters more 'real' for me.

The title? From Harry..."Take every case personally and you get angry. It builds a fire. It gives you the edge you need to go the distance every time out."

This is easily a five star read - and one of my favourites for 2019. show less

Brilliantly written classic Bosch story, intertwining a plot involving Bosch & Ballard, the former now retired from the LAPD, but pursuing cold cases and Ballard working the night shift, pursuing cases others believe closed. Bosch helps his half-brother, Micky Haller, acquit a client of murder, but decides he needs to find the real killer, who LAPD aren't interested in following up. Meanwhile Ballard is assigned an apparent accidental death, which she believes is probably murder and doggedly investigates it, off the books. Bosch and Ballard decide to help each other on their cases and discover they are unexpectedly linked. Excellent plotting, characters and dialogue with the location descriptions bringing the story to life.

Another winner by Michael Connelly, currently still the champion of writers in this genre. The characters become real, make reasonable mistakes, act like real people, involve us in their lives, and make me/us fall in love with them. Reading a Connelly book is like meeting the characters for coffee after not seeing them for a year and spending hours together getting caught up. Needless to say, I finished the book in a single sitting.

While I suppose one would enjoy the book if one had read none of the previous books in the series, I do recommend that the reader start at the beginning and read them one by one. There are 31 of them, so if taking a couple of months to read them is daunting, hunt down the movies and TV episodes first, then show more read the books. You'll still want to. show less

As in the case of all these books, it's the story of multiple murder investigations, several of which dovetail and are tied to one another. In this case, there's a cold-case where a young white kid is killed buying drugs, a homeless person set on fire, a murder suspect who is wrongly accused. Bosch, ex-cop, and Ballard, something of a pariah, work the cases together. The plotting is very good, and the characters too, and the books read really fast.