The Wrong Side of Goodbye

by Michael Connelly

My tough reviewing crumbled under the absolute perfection of this novel. I thought The Crossing was the best Harry Bosch to date—well, it was, but then came The Wrong Side of Goodbye.

Bosch has been forced into retirement and while he’s doing something about that (suing the department), in his ever pragmatic approach to life he’s moved on. He works part-time—the same as full-time in his world—for the small San Fernando Police Department and as a private investigator when an interesting case comes along. The novel weaves Bosch’s history in Vietnam with more than one character in the story and Vietnam becomes part of the book.

In this instance dying billionaire Whitney Vance hires Bosch to find out if Vance has a missing heir. The long and complicated journey that Bosch goes on makes this book worth reading twice. It is complex and believable. I’ll admit to having tears in my eyes as that part of the story came full circle.

The other story arc connects to the SFPD and a nasty, escalating rapist. Harry’s partner, Bella Lourdes, is one of the most complete females to grace the Bosch books. She is a well-developed character with depth rather than a prop to bounce the story off of.

Captain Trevino is believable as the coworker who doesn’t want Bosch around since he is aware of the ups and downs of Bosch’s complicated history with the LAPD. The evolution of this character rings true.

This book kept me awake late a couple of nights as I didn’t want to put it down. That usually means I’ll be rereading it sometime soon and soaking it up all over again.