The Dark Hours
By Michael Connelly
- Release Date: 2021-11-09
- Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers
Description
A Wall Street Journal and South Florida Sun-Sentinel Best Book of the Year
“A masterpiece”—LAPD detective Renée Ballard must join forces with Harry Bosch to find justice in a city scarred by fear and social unrest after a methodical killer strikes on New Year’s Eve (Publishers Weekly).
There’s chaos in Hollywood at the end of the New Year’s Eve countdown. Working her graveyard shift, LAPD detective Renée Ballard waits out the traditional rain of lead as hundreds of revelers shoot their guns into the air. Only minutes after midnight, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop owner has been fatally hit by a bullet in the middle of a crowded street party.
Ballard quickly concludes that the deadly bullet could not have fallen from the sky and that it is linked to another unsolved murder—a case at one time worked by Detective Harry Bosch. At the same time, Ballard hunts a fiendish pair of serial rapists, the Midnight Men, who have been terrorizing women and leaving no trace.
Determined to solve both cases, Ballard feels like she is constantly running uphill in a police department indelibly changed by the pandemic and recent social unrest. It is a department so hampered by inertia and low morale that Ballard must go outside to the one detective she can count on: Harry Bosch. But as the two inexorable detectives work together to find out where old and new cases intersect, they must constantly look over their shoulders. The brutal predators they are tracking are ready to kill to keep their secrets hidden.
Unfolding with unstoppable drive and nail-biting intrigue, The Dark Hours shows that “relentless on their own, Ballard’s and Bosch’s combined skills…could be combustible” (Los Angeles Times).
Reviews
Another Great Book in the series
5By TigersJC86This series just keeps delivering. This is another thriller with high stakes and shining a light on a pretty distributing world. We see Ballard investigating a couple of different mysteries, dealing with an apathetic bureaucracy and difficult times in politics for both the police and the world as a whole. This book did end on a bit of a cliffhanger and I’m looking forward to the resolution. My only knock is Bosch isn’t featured much in this story and I hope he’s got more of a presence in the next novel.Beautiful Reading
5By elliott LThe way he makes the details of facts of the plot and the police procedural system into enjoyable entertainment is wonderful to experience. I’m now hooked on the Ballard series after having read all the Bosch books and not been a fan of Mickey Haller series.Awesome
2By 808carylDear Mr. Connelly Don’t you dare quit writing. Ever. Mahalo for the fun Aloha and MahaloRenee Ballard
5By CorninGTXShe is a great character that gives women the credit they deserve for the work they do! Partnering with Harry Bosch makes her look great and he is a legend already. Love these books.Ballard Rocks !
5By CaylerwineLove Renee…and of course Bosch Like to see a series with her as the star, kinda like the Bosch seriesDecent
3By BobbieSPDecent story in the Ballard Bosch world. Definitely could have done without the political undertones.My thoughts
5By Agilty GuyVery good read I thought.Great read!
5By sundancebrewsterBallard does not take no for an answer! Love people like that!Great!
5By Keep Walking!Really good book and I was sorry it ended. I will miss the characters and the story line. That is when I know it was a well written book!Great read
4By anthonydaleThis was the first book I’ve read by Michael Connolly. I have heard about him through watching the TV show Bosch and that is one of my favorite shows so I decided to try his books. I started to book 3 days ago and I couldn’t put it down till I finished it.The Dark Hours
5By kerry&$241Another interesting read - well done !Michael Connelly is a Crime Story God
5By Jesssssssa19These books are so incredibly realistic and well-written. I have no idea how he gets inside the mind of a young female cop but he does it and I love him for it. I will always read every book he writes at last 20 times for the pure joy or reading excellent books with flawed and human heroes. Roger that!Fast n furious
5By sipsey wildernessBallard n Bosch what a team!First Connelly
4By andrewwriter16Only complaint is not enough Bosch. Very will written bookBook Review
5By kmeyer430The novel was great!Immerse Yourself
5By HighlanderRobI consider this crime novel to be a good slow burn that ignites one’s imagination to picture the various circumstances the detective Ballard encounters. I liked it for my bedtime story each evening. Big Thumbs Up, Way Up! CheersThe dark hours
4By GibHoxieClassic Bosch, enriched by female detectiveThe Dark Stumble
2By Handsome SmittyConnelly got away with creating a starring unlikeable character in Bosch by creating sympathetic supporting actors around him, not to mention his writing skills that capture the reader no matter how uncomfortable they may become as the kidnapping drags on. Ballard is as deplorable in her antisocial behaviors as her 'mentor' Bosch. And a predictable ending using the 'smart-detective-turns-stupid' trope didn’t do her any favors. Drizzled with a defund-da-police attitude also takes any possibility of an enjoyable read. Perhaps that was Connelly's theme. Or perhaps he just never really like cops to begin with—fool me once, shame on you…fool me 19 times and I wipe my hands.Excellent!
5By Policc FanGreat Detective story! Put Ballard in LAPD management and Bosch as her Specialist. What a team!
