Book Review - The Dark Hours - Michael Connelly
The first surprise is that there hasn't been a ‘dark hours’ in this series before. There have been three titles with black in the title (ice, echo, box) one ‘darkness more than night’ and one ‘dark sacred night’ (Ballard also featured in this). The dark hours are where we find Ballard and her partner, in an underpass awaiting the metal rain and the midnight men to pounce again. Connolly as usual grabs your attention early and you’re straight into another of his twisty, superbly plotted novels.
Renee Ballard
Renee Ballard is working two cases - the midnight men, a pair of rapists terrorising women in their homes and the murder of Javier Rafa, an ex gang member but now a family man running a local garage, who dies during the traditional ‘rain of lead’ , the firing of guns into the air during New Years celebrations in Los Angeles. A lucky break means a gun casing is found close by, and the gun is connected to another murder, investigated by none other than Harry Bosch some years previously. Of course the murder book is missing……..
Ballard & Bosch
‘The dark hours’ is a welcome return for Ballard and Bosch, but Harry should probably be in brackets because although he does have an input, the story is told from Ballards perspective and she’s the one putting herself in harms way and doing the hard yards. But I still prefer it this way, because Harry has aged now and he can’t be diving out of the way of bullets etc It works with him in a mentor role.
Michael Connelly’s writing is as crisp and as exact as ever, and the quality never dips. The various plot lines in ‘the dark hours’ are woven superbly throughout and there is a proper thrilling climax to one of the cases that only Connelly can do, cranking the tension up so you can’t get the pages turned quick enough.
Current
It feels incredibly current, with masks and vaccines, BLM Protests and the police under increasing scrutiny. There is a sense throughout that some of the police are just punching in and out every day, partners not really caring about the job. The are reacting to cases, not being proactive and wary of a public that views them with suspicion, and some of whom want them defunded. Not Renee Ballard of course, driven and determined as ever. I always think this is one of the best qualities about Connelly’s books - there’s a real sense that his books take place in the real world.
Summary
It’ll be interesting to see where Ballard goes after this. There’s a sense throughout that she is going increasingly dissatisfied with her job, and that the bosses don’t have her back. The quality of Connelly’s writing is as high as ever and there’s definitely some mileage left in this series yet. I don’t think ‘The dark hours’ is his last instalment.
If you liked this, you’ll also enjoy the law of innocence from the Mickey Haller series
Book review - The dark hours by Michael Connelly
391 pages, Hardcover
Published November 9, 2021 by Little, Brown and Company