|
|
|
|
|
Detective Harry Bosch is haunted by a lot of ghosts. One of those ghosts is Marie Gesto, a young woman who disappeared thirteen years ago. Back then, Bosch was on the case—but he was never able to solve it. Marie Gesto was never found, nor was her killer. Today, Bosch is working in the Open-Unsolved Unit of the LAPD—and Marie Gesto’s file is still sitting on his desk, waiting for answers.
One day, Bosch gets a call from the DA’s office, asking for Marie Gesto’s file. A serial killer known as Raynard Waits, dubbed the Echo Park Bagman, was recently caught transporting the bodies of two women, and he’s offering to confess to a number of other murders in order to escape the death penalty. One of those murders is that of Marie Gesto.
Though Bosch is eager to finally close the case that’s haunted him for thirteen years, he’s also skeptical. Unless Waits can lead him to Marie Gesto’s body, he won’t be convinced. And since the deal comes at the perfect time for prosecutor Rick O’Shea—who’s looking for a little publicity to help him in his campaign for district attorney—Bosch is suspicious.
As the story unfolds, one of O’Shea’s men discovers a clue in the murder book that Bosch and his partner didn’t investigate. If they had, it would have led them straight to Waits. Shaken by the mistake that cost several more women their lives, Bosch begins to crack just before he has to go head-to-head with the man he’s been hunting for more than a decade.
If you’re looking for a suspenseful crime novel, you just can’t go wrong with a book by Michael Connelly—and Echo Park is no exception. Connelly doesn’t waste time with a lot of build-up before jumping right into the story—but even if you’ve never read a Harry Bosch book before, you’ll have no problem keeping up. And once you start reading, it’s one of those books that you’ll carry around the house with you, just in case the opportunity arises to read a page or two.
It may be a bulky 400-plus pages long, but you’ll zip through it in no time. Connelly’s style is so effortless and yet full of urgency—and his characters are so real—that you’ll find yourself engulfed in the story. If you’re a crime-fiction fan, don’t miss this one—but don’t start reading until Friday night. Else you’ll have to call in sick until you finish—because there’s no way you’ll be able to put it down.
|
|
|
|
