A new Michael Connelly book is always a highlight! This time it's a Renée Ballard story, she's doing well at LAPD's Open-Unsolved Unit and the cases focused on are fascinating. The book is called a 'Ballad and Bosch' mystery and Harry makes an appearance but it feels like this is the handing over of the baton to his daughter Maddie, a young cop out to prove herself and she plays a large role in the story. There was one strange moment for me, Maddie is referred to by her first name throughout the book, except for one reference where she is called Bosch. This threw me as I wondered for a moment why Harry was suddenly there. She is called by first name again after that, but it reminded me how strong a character he is and how the name Bosch, for me at least, belongs to Harry. Connelly is king of the modern crime thriller and The Waiting is a great read, I'm keen to see where he goes next with Ballard and possibly Maddie, who has a lot of potential as a character.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

As a big fan of Michael Connelly whatever series he's writing, I was keen to read this. Calling this a Ballard and Bosch Thriller might lead to a few fans of the latter being a little disappointed given the amount of page time he has (but to be fair, you do get another Bosch in here...) If you're a fan of the open unsolved unit and Detective Renée Ballard, chances are you're going to like this - the usual quality of the author is all there. There's multiple plot lines at play here that can at times read a little more like shorts or novellas put together, but you can never go wrong with the author.

With Michael Connelly, you expect a page-turner, and this novel delivers just that. It's pacy, edge-of-your-seat reading as the team pulls out all the stops to solve a cold case. There's even a Bosch or two...

"I confess that I was expecting a bit more from 'The Waiting'. While it is an entertaining and well-written book, it didn't captivate me as much as other Connelly novels.
The plot is solid and the tension is maintained throughout the story, but I felt that it was sometimes a bit scattered when dealing with multiple cases at the same time. While I understand that this reflects the complexity of police work, I would have liked to have delved deeper into some of the subplots.
The characters, as always, are very well constructed, but at times I felt that some of them were a bit wasted. However, the relationship between Ballard and Harry Bosch remains one of the strong points of the series.
In short, 'The Waiting' is a good crime novel that meets the expectations of Connelly fans. However, those looking for a masterpiece from the author may be left wanting more."

Michael Connelly’s books about law enforcement in Los Angeles have really built over the years to cover a host of interconnected characters who appear in various groupings. This time we are back to the Ballard and Bosch combination, with the twist being that the Bosch in this pairing is largely Maddie, with father Harry more in the background. Renee Ballard is still leading the Open/ Unsolved Team, currently focused on a case in which DNA evidence seems to provide a link to a powerful figure, with Maddie joining as a volunteer after uncovering information which may help solve one of the biggest unsolved murders on their books. In addition, Renee is also secretly working with Harry to help recover her stolen badge, which uncovers something much bigger.

That’s a lot of storylines which could, in the hands of a lesser writer, become confusing but Michael Connelly is far too talented to let that happen. Each case is interesting in its own right and there’s an excellent balance in the focus on them, managing to make each of them separate and clear but also helping give a sense of how much juggling Renee is having to do with her workload. There’s also an excellent group of background characters and twists and turns throughout which keep you guessing and genuinely surprise.

Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. Michael Connelly is without question one of the greatest writers in this genre and the quality has never slipped over the years, with a real world of characters and place developing. You don’t need to have read any of the previous books to enjoy this one but you are missing out on some brilliant writing if you do so why not go back and read the fabulous back catalogue too.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

The Waiting is another fantastic addition to the Ballard & Bosch series that I absolutely loved! The characters, especially Renée Ballard and Maddie Bosch, are so well-developed and vivid, especially after watching the TV series – I can’t help but imagine the actors in their roles now. The pacing is fast, with nonstop action and twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. Every time I thought I had figured out the villain, I was proven wrong, which speaks to Michael Connelly's brilliant storytelling. The plot is compelling, gripping, and full of surprises. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good crime thriller. You won’t be disappointed!

Very grateful to the publisher for my copy, opinions are my own

Michael Connelly has to be one of the most consistently excellent writers today. In The Waiting, which I loved, he makes a seemingly effortless transition from one Bosch to another, while letting us in on how Harry is doing and showing us that cancer hasn’t impacted any on his mental acuity.

But the Ballard/Bosch crossovers continue as Maddie Bosch has now joined the Open/Unsolved Team, giving Renee Ballard the second police badge she has always wanted in the volunteer team and giving Maddie an opportunity to hone her detective skills.

The Waiting starts with a simple but potentially disastrous bit of petty thievery at the beach. The theft is from Ballard’s car and takes place while she is surfing. This is the first of three concurrent cases that Ballard and one or other of the Bosch family will work.

The second case is that of ‘The Pillow Rapist’ – a case that’s almost a quarter of a century old wherein a rapist perpetrated numerous crimes of violent rape which ultimately ended up in a murder. The rapes stopped and the rapist was never found. Now DNA evidence taken from a recent arrest has turned up a close familial match to the rapist – but the connection is a tricky one politically, and Ballard already has her bosses looking over her shoulder. So the team have to work discreetly and quickly to tie their new evidence to this open, unsolved case.

The third case is a cold case that Maddie finds while she is searching the files. For me, this was the least successful of the crimes in this book, simply because Connelly has picked the most notorious crime in L.A.’s history; so Maddie finding a solution stretches credibility somewhat.

But this is still an outstanding, character driven crime novel which brings home the fact that even cold cases can be very dangerous to work and that volunteers need to bring as much discipline to their efforts as the police do, however much they think the case is dormant.

Michael Connelly gives us some insight into Ballard’s past while placing her front and centre of a very dangerous situation and showing us that she has both courage and determination and will not back down in her pursuit of the truth. She’s also prepared to break the rules to get what she wants, which is probably why she and Harry get along so well.

I loved the span of Los Angeles in this book. From Malibu to Pasadena, he gives his readers a real feel for Los Angeles County and with it, the difficulties of policing such a large area with a lot of petty and not so minor crimes.

Connelly’s plotting is always superb, and his knowledge and experience of the workings of the Police show up in the detail of his descriptions and in his understandings not just of how the Police work, but of the political machinations that run through the culture of the organisation. Ballard is learning how to navigate this culture and so far, she’s doing pretty well, though that doesn’t mean there isn’t a target on her back from within the hierarchy of the department.

The more I see and get to know Renee Ballard, the more I like her. I’m hoping that I’ll find out a bit more about Maddie Bosch now, too. So far, she’s been sitting in her father’s shadow, but this new development will hopefully bring her personality more into the Californian sunshine.

Verdict; Beautifully plotted, exciting, thrilling and certainly nerve jangling, I loved The Waiting. Roll on the next one!

The Waiting is another excellent crime novel from Michael Connelly. It is compulsive reading, with real heart. I very much enjoyed this one and will be impatiently waiting for the next Ballard book because she’s such a great character.

Michael Connelly, one again, has delivered yet another outstanding read, this time continuing the series involving Ballard, Bosch and Maddie, his daughter.

No spoilers, no insight into the storyline, just advice that you should read it!

My thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

This is the sixth in the acclaimed Ballard/Bosch series but the surprise is that the Bosch is not so much the evergreen Harry who features in a minor but key role more as an eminence grise, but his daughter, Maddie who is at the centre of the stage alongside the redoubtable Renee Ballard.

It is a sign of a masterly author then they realise that they have to make changes to a successful and much loved formula. Harry Bosch has aged in real time throughout the entire series of books over the last 30 years and is now apparently coming towards the end of the line although I hope that he will still feature.

Maddie is feisty and determined and a real chip off the old block and Ballard has learnt so much from Bosch, her mentor and gets things done her own way, defying authority and breaking rules much as Bosch has done throughout his long career.

It goes without saying that this is a wonderful book, impeccably plotted and written and was an absolute delight to read.

Thank you Mr Connelly.

LAPD Detective Renee Ballard returns for another excellent novel in this brilliant series.
I enjoy all the characters and especially like that Bosch is involved. Michael Connolly is the best.
I like that there are always more than one case or story on the go and you definitely keep page turning.. This book and the series are a must read

Renée Ballard is out surfing, when disaster strikes - her badge and gun are stolen from her car, and she cannot tell a soul due to her reputation as a maverick. When her open-unsolved unit find a DNA hit on a cold case, they strike gold - until they realise that the Pillowcase Rapist may be the sort of person you don't want to accuse falsely. Ballard brings in Bosch to help her, but this time it's both Harry & Maddie who could help.

This is another fantastic book - whilst it is officially "Ballard & Bosch" (or should that be "Bosches" at this point?), it's very much more Ballard than Bosch for the first time in a while. 5*.

Another brilliant read by the genius that is Michael Connelly!!!

Detective Renée Ballard works the open unsolved unit. When there is a DNA connection from a man who was recently arrested to a cold case The Pillowcase Rapist Renée and the team are on the hunt to find the who the pillowcase rapist is.
There is also a new addition to the team Maddie Bosch daughter of the legendary Harry Bosch.

This is the latest in Michael Connelly's superb series featuring LAPD Detective Renée Ballard, head of the Open Unsolved Unit, overseeing a varied team of volunteers, that include a former prosecutor, an ex-FBI agent, and a genealogy expert specialising in the law enforcement field. However, now Maddie Bosch, Harry's daughter, expresses a desire to join, which Ballard is delighted by as it gives her another badge holder in her team, although it soon emerges Maddie has her own agenda, with information on the darkest, coldest, bleak and most notorious of murder cases from the library of lost souls, triggering a intriguing investigation into history. We are provided with personal details of Ballard's traumatic background, her connections with Hawaii, as she visits a therapist.

To Ballard's horror, her badge, gun, and ID are stolen during her surfing session, but she is reluctant to report this, fearing that her enemies will use this to push her out of the force, not to mention that such crimes are no longer looked into by the police. She instigates her own below the radar inquiries, only to find herself stumbling on something so much bigger, a potential nightmare that has her roping in Harry, a cancer sufferer, to help her. Then DNA information gathered from a recent arrest points to a familial genetic link to the serial Pillow Case rapist and killer from 2 decades ago. This ushers in one of the most dangerous investigations ever undertaken by the unit.

Once again, Connelly provides us with his trademark intricate details of police procedures and location, along with his impeccably plotted and gripping storylines. You get a real feel for the characters, the interactions and the relationships, their support, commitment and loyalty to each other, there are no lines they will not cross when it comes to one of their own. We see Ballard surrounded by the politics of the force, but she is a sharp cookie, certainly no pushover, holding her nerve when matters get dicey, and seeing paths forward when decisions are made that are not to her liking and fail to address injustice. A brilliant addition to what is a fantastic series. I am eagerly awaiting the next in the series! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

I’m a big fan of Michael Connelly and the Ballard and Bosch thrillers are always enjoyable and entertaining books that I look forward to reading.
Renee Ballard is running her unsolved crimes unit, staffed by civilian volunteers. When some dna evidence links a sitting judge to an unsolved rapist and murderer, Renee and her team have to follow the science to find out if he is really the person they want without upsetting the powers that be, a task that proves to be extremely difficult.
Bosch’s daughter Maddie who is now a police officer wants to volunteer in the unsolved team as she has come across some information about a serial killer who operated in the 1940s, the Black Dahlia case, murdering many women.
As if these two investigations are not enough, Renee is robbed whilst she is surfing on the beach and loses her police badge. Whilst trying to get it back she uncovers a terrorist plot!
I raced through this book, there was so much going on I really did not want to put it down. I liked getting reacquainted with Renee Ballard who is a bit of a maverick, doing whatever she can to solve the old cases. She has difficulties with her boss who does not like her unorthodox approach but is gradually working out how to handle him.
I thought it was a great idea to have Bosch’s daughter join the team but was glad that Harry also made an appearance, helping to solve one of the cases. Two Boschs for the price of one is definitely an advantage!
Michael Connolly is so good at plots and characters- I really felt I got to know Renee in this book. She is having issues with her estranged mother who has gone missing in Hawaiian fires. She is so disturbed that she decides to visit a counsellor and this is a good method for the author to build up her back story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.