The Drop - Michael Connelly

THE DROP

A Harry Bosch novel

ISBN - 978-1-4091-3649-1
FIRST PUBLISHED - 2011
PUBLISHERS - Hachette
PAGES - 419
GENRE - Crime
BINDING - Paperback
SOURCE - Publishers

AUTHOR - Michael Connelly

BEST-SELLERS - The Reversal

SYNOPSIS - When evidence links to a brutal murder in 1989 to a convicted rapist named Clayton Pell, the case should be water-tight. Pell's DNA was found on the victim - but he was only eight years old at the time.

This is not the only mystery Harry Bosch ha to solve. A man has jumped - or was pushed - from a window. The victim's father i Councilman Irving, who's been intent on destroying Harry's career for years. Now Irving wants Harry to head up the investigation.

Harry uncovers traces of two of the city's deepest secrets : a killer operating for as many as three decades without being detected, and a conspiracy that goes back into the history of the police department.

FL Speak - Readers are right. Michael Connelly may well be the best crime writer in the world. The Drop is one such brilliant work of his. Harry Bosch is a cop who specializes in cold cases. Cold cases are those cases which were not solved before. These cases go back decades. And Harry Bosch is one of the best detectives they have.

When DNA comes back with a positive trace on a convicted rapist after ages, Harry is given the job to bring the rapist back after 20 years of the crime. But that's the twist. 20 years ago, the rapist was a 8 year old boy. Harry and his partner take on the case when a fresh case is dumped into their hands. A body was discovered and Councilman Irvin wants Harry to be on the case as the body belonged to his son. Even though there was history between the two, Harry promised to be a thorough professional.

However it turned out not to be an easy case at all. George Irvin was pushed. Or did he commit suicide? The cops think it was a jumper without the lack of proof. But Harry thought it was murder. And as he peeled over alibis and made slow headway into the case, he realized it was more of a power play in the political struggle at the top that brought him the case. And the prime suspect is a cop who was made the scapegoat by the department.

However even definite proof can be deceitful when Harry realises that he's being pushed to a particular direction while investigation. And his partner may not be on his side. This is why I like Michael Connelly. He really knows  how to push the right buttons. Solving two separate crimes in a novel is a superpower that very people has. And Connelly sure knows what the reader wants.

Riddled with obstacles and an impossible task to locate a killer that has been active for the last 30 years, Harry and Chu follow every bit of trail that has since then gone cold. And what they find is the cumulative of the last three decades. A killer is forever a killer. And Harry and Chu are in the search for the mother of all monsters.

So, I'll say it again. Michael Connelly is the most awesome crime writer again. Detective Harry Bosch is extremely loveable, with his own personal flaws but he's doing enough to keep it in line. I need to read him again. Highly recommended.

My Rating - 4 stars

PRICE - INR 350/-