DISCLAIMER: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publishers in return for an unbiased review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for giving me this opportunity.
A body is found bricked up in the cellar of a derelict house and the evidence seems to link the macabre find to a missing persons case from years before. For DS Adam Tyler this initially appears to be a chance to claw back some respect from his colleagues in the South Yorkshire Police and rebuild his stagnating career. When he finds out he’s more intimately connected to the case than he could have known he’s forced to make a choice – declare his conflict of interest to his superiors or stick with the case to the end. But there’s someone watching from the shadows, a sinister observer with an even more intimate link to the murder and a disturbing obsession with fire.
DISCLAIMER: I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest and unbiased review. My thanks to Atlantic Books and NetGalley for giving me this opportunity.
Twenty-five years ago a teacher and a student disappeared from an elite girls’ boarding-school. The fate of these two remains a mystery until years later a journalist uncovers the tragic truth behind the last days of the missing girl, Louisa, and her relationship with both the missing teacher and her closest friend at the school, Victoria.
This is the third in Connelly’s Harry Bosch series, and starts by giving us a flashback to the Dollmaker case that’s been referenced a few times in the first two books. The narrative then jumps forward to the present, and leads us into a court case where Bosch (and the LAPD) is being sued by the Dollmaker’s widow. As the trial gets under way, Bosch receives a letter from someone claiming to be the real Dollmaker, suggesting that Bosch killed the wrong man four years earlier. What follows is an interesting mix of legal drama meets crime thriller.
I picked this one up out of curiosity, and on reflection I have to say it wasn’t too bad. It’s a bit by-the-numbers in places (washed-up cop with a drink problem and a broken marriage), but manages to keep itself fresh with a storyline that includes more than a few twists along the way.
This is the second book by John le Carré, and the second to focus on the character of George Smiley. It is also the only book to feature Smiley that isn’t a tale of cold war espionage.
The Black Ice is the second Harry Bosch book and in my opinion shows a marked improvement over the first in terms of style and substance. Starting with the apparent suicide of a cop the narrative quickly becomes convoluted and engrossing, eventually leading to a twist that isn’t exactly telegraphed but which I have to admit I did see coming quite early.
