By Michael Connelly
Harry Bosch (with a hearty nod to Michael Connelly) has a way of pulling you into his orbit. Some may argue that Bosch's gravitational pull is no stronger than any other protagonist of any other popular novelist of note. I disagree. With Titus Welliver playing with nuanced delight the role of Harry Bosch in the Amazon series as well as narrating the audible and with twenty-three books in the series and who knows how many million in print, Bosch may not be a Sherlock Holmes in notoriety or plot, but he is probably as close as you get.
In The Crossing, Mickey Haller (of Lincoln Lawyer fame) persuades the reluctant and recalcitrant Bosch to "cross over" to the defense side of law. Lexi Parks, a long-time city worker, has been murdered. Haller is convinced the prosecutor has pegged the wrong guy. He asks Bosch to "step across the aisle" (from prosecution to defense) to help out. Fearing the undoing on his of his reputation, but compelled by his search for the truth and his personal credo, "everybody counts or nobody counts," Bosch goes investigative.
There is a double entendre here as Bosch, having crossed over, now looks for "the crossing point,"
"the place where the predator first enc0unts his prey. The job of the investigator is to find the circle of the crossing, the place where the circle of the victim's life overlaps the circle of the predator."
Bosch is up to the job, but uncovering a criminal may threaten his own life as well.
I could give most every Michael Connelly novel five stars ... for plot, character development, suspense, action, and engagement -- including The Crossing, but I settled for four. Connelly kept me engaged as usual and the book was thoroughly "enjoyable" (do novelists write to be "enjoyed"?); but The Crossing was not memorable in the way of "you have to read this because . . . !" Perhaps that's a nod to my familiarity and, if so, a reason to bump this to five stars -- because despite my familiarity, I'll still pick up the next installment knowing it will be fresh and engaging.
Notable to me:
Mel Blanc's headstone: "That's all folks" (Among The Stones)
Bosch's attitude to working "across the aisle."
"I'm sorry man," he continued."That's how it is. It's not like I haven't thought about this, but there's a line I can't bring myself to cross. You're not the first one to ask." (Chapter 3)
The Bosch work ethic: Bosch's sign at the partition of his cubicle at Robbery/Homicide: "Get off your ass and knock on doors." (Chapter 24)
