Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  In this latest Waiting on Wednesday I take a look at the next epic book from the master of crime fiction, Michael Connelly, Desert Star.

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Over the last few years, I have started to really become much more of a crime fiction reader after years of primarily focusing on other genres.  During this time, I have had the pleasure of reading excellent series from several great and impressive crime fiction authors, however one of my absolute favourites is legendary author Michael Connelly, who has been one of the leading figures of this genre since his debut back in 1992.  Despite becoming a fan of Connelly much later than most readers, I have really enjoyed his recent work which features an intriguing range of murder mysteries and thrillers set inside one combined crime fiction universe.  While I have had the pleasure of reading novels from his Jack McEvoy (Fair Warning) and Mickey Haller (The Law of Innocence) sub-series, the books I have read the most are the Ballard and Bosch novels.

Starting in 2018 with Dark Sacred Night, the Ballard and Bosch books brought together one of Connelly’s newest protagonists, Renee Ballard, with his most iconic and heavily featured character, Harry Bosch.  This fun team up worked really well, and I loved seeing the fantastic mentor/mentee relationship that formed between the cynical and damaged female detective and the retired, veteran investigator still trying to stay in the game.  Connelly followed this initial novel with two brilliant books, The Night Fire (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2019) and The Dark Hours (one of my favourite books of 2021), both of which utilised the combination of characters extremely well.

It looks like this fun will continue later this year as Connelly is producing another Ballard and Bosch book with Desert Star.  This awesome upcoming novel, which is currently set for release in November 2022, contains an incredible sounding story that will see these two impressive characters team up for another complex case.

Synopsis:

LAPD detective Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch work together to hunt the killer who is Bosch’s “white whale”—a man responsible for the murder of an entire family.

A year has passed since LAPD detective Renée Ballard quit the force in the face of misogyny, demoralization, and endless red tape. Yet, after the chief of police himself tells her she can write her ticket within the department, Ballard takes back her badge, leaving “the Late Show” to rebuild the cold case unit at the elite Robbery-Homicide Division.

For years, Harry Bosch has been working a case that haunts him but that he hasn’t been able to crack—the murder of an entire family by a psychopath who still walks free. Ballard makes Bosch an offer: come work with her as a volunteer investigator in the new Open-Unsolved Unit, and he can pursue his “white whale” with the resources of the LAPD behind him.

The two must put aside old resentments to work together again and close in on a dangerous killer. 

I really like the sound of Desert Star and think it is going to end up being a particularly awesome and memorable entry in this extended universe.  There are several interesting storyline elements already hinted at in the above synopsis that have grabbed my attention.  I am very intrigued to see the fallout from the previous book where Ballard quit the LAPD, and it will be pretty cool to see her return to the force and start up her own investigative unit.  At the same time, we get some compelling investigative elements as Bosch attempts to catch a killer he has been pursuing for years, and no doubt there will be some other connected cases that Ballard is working on.  Some of these storylines have been hinted at before in some of the previous books, and I look forward to seeing how they are resolved, as well as the impact that they have on the main two characters.

Another part of the book that I am quite keen on seeing is the continued partnership between Ballard and Bosch, as well as the overall impressive character development of this sub series.  Both characters have gone through a lot in their last few books, and I am curious to see how some of their storylines continue here.  Ballard’s brush with sexism, corruption and harassment in the LAPD, will no doubt be continued, and it will be fascinating to see how her recent decisions will impact that.  It will also be great to see Bosch finally get a chance to solve a case that has been bugging him for years, and I’m sure there will be some follow up to the family and health focused storylines that have been hinted at in some of the prior books.  I am also a little curious to see how much Bosch is utilised in Desert Star, considering he was partially sidelined in the previous novel.  Based on how much he is featured in the synopsis above, I would assume he’ll once again be used as a point-of-view character here, and it will be interesting to see his take on all the relevant events.  I have a feeling there is going to be some major, passing of the torch moments in Desert Star and I cannot wait to see how everything turns out.

Look, based on how much I have loved Connelly’s latest books I was already extremely confident that I was going to love Desert Star, even before I knew all the details about it.  However, now that I’ve seen the plot synopsis above, I reckon this is going to be an incredible read.  Not only does the central mystery element sound really cool, but it seems like this one is going to present some major changes for the main two protagonists.  I cannot wait to see how this awesome novel unfolds and I foresee Desert Star receiving a five-star rating from me.