Two Kinds of Truth

Another great Bosch book from Michael Connelly.
Moves with such pace that at sometimes leaves you breathless . With several cases on Bosch's agenda. An old one that comes back to haunt him and a current one involving a scam with prescription drugs which gives the reader plenty of skulduggery to get engrossed in .
Love all of Michael Connelly's books and this one certainly did not disappoint.

Whoop whoop!! Harry is back! This is already the 20th book featuring Harry and once again doesn't disappoint!
Well done, can't wait for the next one!

Having been a fan of Harry Bosch for many years, it was good to catch up with him again. A great story which kept me enthralled until the very end. Highly recommend this book!

8.5/10

Loved this, 20 books in and the pages flow so quickly. Bosch is on two cases, as has been the norm in the last few books; one delves into his past and puts his reputation on the line whilst one is a homicide that’s happened then and there, not a cold case like usual.

The two stories interweave perfectly, knowing when to switch things up and keep things on edge without overdoing it seems to be Connelly’s forte. There are courtroom scenes which really highlight Connelly’s ability and got me on edge but also Harry hunting down the current day killers was gripping in its own right as there’s more tension with it not being a cold case.

This should have got 5*s from me but there were about 30-40 pages when Harry was undercover which annoyed me and I lost concentration a couple of times. Failing that it was one of my favourites in the series.

I can’t wait for the next, but wait I must. It’s nice to be up to date with the series but I hate waiting for the next one. I want to know where Harry goes next in his mission.

I always worry that Harry is going to wind down into retirement one of these days but Two Kinds of Truth shows me that I don't have to worry about that yet! Michael Connelly has produced a fantastic book which I devoured in a day. Cannot recommend this highly enough!

Michael Connelly scores another hit with Harry Bosch.

Interesting theme this time as Bosch goes undercover and also fights a legal battle to clear his name on a previously tried case. Bosch's half-brother Mickey Waller also features and both characters work well in the same book, although being a Bosch novel his brother doesn't steel all the thunder!

A proper page turner where the reader keeps on going as they want to see how the plot unfolds and how it affects the characters.

I will start this review saying that I have read every book that Michael Connelly has written. I really enjoy reading the Harry Bosch books and this latest novel did not disappoint. I really like that fact that the author continues the saga of this character in each book, However I do believe that they can be read on their own without knowing the back history of Harry's life. This latest novel certainly did not disappoint me and I finished it, as usual, wanting to know more and therefore looking forward to the next book.

Excellent new Bosch story - now working out of San Fernando Bosch tackles a double murder and an old case that's back to bite him. As ever great writing from Connelly, you will devour this quickly!

Harry Bosch, a cold case detective, returns in this searing novel from one of my top ten favourite authors. He is called to a double murder at a local pharmacy but, almost simultaneously, a death row inmate claims that Bosch framed him and that he has fool-proof evidence. Bosch has to deal with both cases to find a murderer and keep one behind bars.

I have read all the Bosch books and feel that I have grown up with Harry. I will continue to read them until either the author or I depart this mortal coil! I just love Bosch’s humanity and honesty and the whole series is simply underpinned by brilliant crime writing. In this book, two fascinating stories are expertly interwoven and I find it incredible that Mr Connelly can still keep me glued to this series nineteen books after the first one.

Like all people (!), Bosch is getting older and Connelly deals with this sentimentally by mellowing his gung-ho attitude but whilst still coming at the reader with action aplenty. A character from the distant past, Haller, makes an appearance in this book which I found quite comforting and somewhat surprising and which added even more to the story. Harry’s attempts to save both his reputation and his life gave me a very enjoyable three evenings’ entertainment.

Digger 95

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I have to say my two favourite long running detectives are Ian Rankin's John Rebus and Michael Connolly's Harry Bosch. So, I got to thinking - what is it that makes us pick up these books again and again and immerse ourselves, for a short time, in their lives? The only answer I could come up with is that both characters have aged with me; sometimes gracefully and sometimes not so gracefully. They represent the genre from opposite sides of the pond. But for me, what really sells them to me is their humanity. They are real characters with weaknesses and strengths. They're still sticking to their guns and fighting for the underdog, no matter what the establishment throws at them ... and this is true of the latest Harry Bosch book Two Kinds of Truth.
Two Kinds of Truth kicks off with Harry in jail ... well, actually he's working cold cases from the old disused jail in San Fernando where he's been sidelined to from LAPD. When a pharmacist and his son are shot, gangland style and simultaneously an old case of Harry's is reopened, Harry is plunged into a two pronged work schedule. First he must find out what links the deaths of the pharmacists to a drug running enterprise that utilises the vulnerable. Second, he must prove that contrary to new evidence, he did put away the correct murderer over twenty years previously.
Connolly, with all the skill we've come to expect from this veteran writer, manages to show us an aging Harry (He's in his sixties), yet one who still has fire in his belly. I love the way Harry and his brother Mickey's moral code is thrown up for scrutiny, yet leaves the reader to decide on degrees of rightness. Harry's honesty and humanity sold the book for me. It rang true... even after all these years, and I loved the welcome return of some characters from the past.
It's fast paced, sensitive and reflects the sort of society we live in now whilst contemplating the changes that have occurred over the years. Connolly always provides an observation of human nature and motivations which I find intriguing. reading the book I was often prompted to wonder what I would do in a particular situation.
All I can say to Michael Connolly is ... "Keep 'em coming!!!"

A typical Michael Connelly, Bosch story. It's good to see the softer side of Bosch and his musings and concerns surrounding his daughter. I've seen him age disgracefully, enjoyed as usual.

I love Harry Bosch and was waiting excitedly for this next instalment! It is as brilliantly enjoyable as ever!

I am a big Bosch fan; both of the books and the TV series. In fact, since I started watching the TV series, I now very clearly see Bosh as Titus Welliver as I read. Some great casting that! Amazingly, we are now on book 22 of the series and, where some series have well and truly flagged long before this stage, this one still shows no signs of doing that. Long may it continue.
So, Bosch is back working cold cases for the San Fernando PD. His current case involves that of a woman who disappeared, feared murdered by her husband. Then, a visit from an old partner, accompanied by police investigators brings his world to a standstill. Apparently, one of his old cases is coming back to haunt him. A convicted, death row killer has launched a new appeal. The powers that be are taking it seriously so he must have new evidence. But the investigators are saying little about the details but it appears that they aren't eager to back him up. His world is brought back to the present when he is called to assist the SFPD with the murder of a father and son in their drug store. With his new colleagues backing him in his troubles, he goes all in to repay their trust and get to the bottom of the murders. Even going out on a limb - literally - to get to the truth. Meanwhile, his old partner comes through with details from the case files for his investigation. Time to bring in half brother and Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey Haller to fight his corner whilst he continues to investigate the pharmacy killings.
Oh my Harry, you have the world on your shoulders in this book. One minute you are ticking along quite nicely with your cold cases, no pressure, no time constraints other than wanting to get to the truth for all involved and then BAM! Not only a current case that needs your expertise and experience, but that expertise is also being called into question. Talk about piling on the pressure!
But remember, this is Harry we are talking about. He's seen it all, done it all, hell he wears that T-Shirt like a badge of honour and, if anyone can, Harry can. Even if it means risking his life going undercover. Juggling both the current case he is working on proves tricky when the proverbial hits the fan with the investigation into his integrity. But we have Haller to take up the slack here. Another of my favourite characters and one that I am very happy to have partnered here with Bosch in this book. Chalk and Cheese a bit but they complement each other well and for all their relative pasts, they do have each other's backs albeit not always evidently.
Plotting here is just as tight as other books; especially with regard to the investigation and appeal. At first, I was as clueless as Harry as to how the new evidence could have come about. As things started to come to light, as connections were made, as conclusions once drawn started to break down, I was in awe how well planned out this had been but also, how easily it all started to fall apart once initially shaken. I was also quite shocked at the ease that certain people were able to throw Harry to the wolves despite his over 30 year record, yet his new colleagues backed him to the hilt. It was also good to see Harry get the bit between his teeth once again with his current investigation. It was also really nice to see another old friend appear in this book. No spoilers but it did make me smile. The final part of the puzzle regarding his cold case without giving away anything just redressed the balance to the book. You'll understand this better after you've read it, honestly. But it's inclusion was perfect.
With Harry ageing I am worried for the longevity of this series. I know that Mr Connelly has a new series he has just started staring Renee Ballard which I read and enjoyed earlier this year but there will come a time when Harry has to hang up his cuffs. That'll be a very sad day for sure but, as this book has proved, there is still life in the old dog yet. Roll on the next book.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I expected to love this book and I was not wrong. In fact, having read the previous books in the series, I think this is the best one for some time. It's complex. There are two major plot lines, two cases being pursued and they are not interlinked, except that Bosch is involved in both.

This is the 20th novel in the series. Bosch is retired from LAPD and working as a volunteer for SFPD. He is consumed by his work. He gets up early and works long days, late into the night if necessary. His volunteer case involves the murder of a pharmacist and the investigation leads to a world of prescription drug abuse. Meanwhile is old partner from LAPD turns up out of the blue and drops a bombshell describing an accusation of Bosch relating to an old case. Somehow he manages to juggle both. Haller is on hand to support with legal advice and somehow, in the end, both cases are resolved.

Brilliantly written, this book is Bosch at his best, dealing with something relevant and topical. As well as all the crime content, you see his softer side, especially in relation to his relationships with his daughter and others.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

There’s always a frisson of excitement for me when a new Harry Bosch book comes out and this time was no different. I love the Harry Bosch character; that mixture of world weary seen-it-all cop and yet slightly idealistic for all that as he vigorously pursues the cause of justice.
In the 20th in the series, Harry is involved in three cases. One is a cold case he is investigating involving the disappearance and suspected murder of a young woman named Esmeralda Tavares, a young mother who had vanished, leaving behind her sleeping baby in a crib.
As he is following up on this cold case, he receives a visit from his former partner, Lucia Soto, alongside her current partner, Bob Tapscott and Alex Kennedy, the Deputy D.A. OF Los Angeles. It soon becomes clear that the D.A.’s office is planning to re-open one of Harry’s old cases, one where he knows he caught the killer and put the right man behind bars. New evidence means Preston Borders, a killer he put on death row thirty years ago, could be freed.
Borders and his lawyer claim Bosch planted key evidence and it soon becomes clear that if Harry wants to clear his name, he is going to have to do it on his own.
But first he is called out on a shooting to a local San Fernando drug store where a father and son have both been shot dead. As a result of enquiries made into this killing Harry goes undercover to expose the gangland world of prescription drug selling.
The plotlines slowly begin to mesh together in a way that surprises and shocks as Harry fights to save both his life and then his reputation.
There are intimations of mortality throughout this book. Harry is getting older and though able to take care of himself, he is less fit than he used to be and his thoughts whilst living in extremely dangerous conditions are all about the inheritance he can leave for his daughter.
As Harry pursues his cases, violent confrontations are never far away and he earns the respect of his colleagues as he relentlessly pursues the truth.
Meanwhile, as the D.A. builds his case and seeks to free the killer Bosch has put away, Bosch enlists the help of his half-brother Micky Haller, to help him defend his reputation.
(There’s a lovely piece in the book where Haller adopts the accent used by Matthew McConoughey when playing Haller, which just made me laugh out loud).
Working together, Haller and Bosch are quite a team, but as ever there’s still that adversarial edge to their relationship which means that they will never entirely play nice with each other.
As the story reaches its conclusion, there’s a quote from the book that sums up Harry and his experience.
‘Bosch knew there were two kinds of truth in this world. The truth that was the unalterable bedrock of one’s life and mission. And the other, malleable truth of politicians, charlatans, corrupt lawyers, and their clients, bent and molded to serve whatever purpose was at hand.’
A terrific read, which had me gripped from first to last, this book was never less than compelling.

It has been many years since I read a Michael Connelly book about Harry Bosch and I am not sure why that is! Although he is always being pursued for some injustice I found his character as endearing as every. Two stories intertwined worked well. A very readable book from an accomplished author.

Probably the best Harry Bosch novel I have read. It has everything. Bosch, Mickey Haller, his daughter Maddy, a new murder case in San Fernando a cold murder case from LA and Harry trying to save his reputation which has come under attack.

An intoxicating brew, brilliantly written and researched which grabs you from the first page.

How can somebody write so well? The thriller of the year for me.

I'm a big Michael Connelly fan and have read most of his books including the Harry Bosch and Micky Haller series which now often seem to overlap.
In this Bosch thriller Harry is working for San Fernando Police Department clearing cold cases and also joining in with some current police work. He is approached by some ex colleagues from LAPD investigating claims by a death row inmate that he is innocent and has been framed by the police. This is unfortunately a case Harry investigated 30 years ago and he knows he didn't plant evidence as is being claimed. He resolves to investigate and prove his innocence not trusting the officers he used to work with.
Whilst all this is going on he is also investigating a double homicide of a pharmacist and his son in their chemist shop; this is a case happening in the present day. As part of this he goes undercover and puts himself in extreme danger.
This was a book I read quickly as the story was so compelling and really well researched. The two strands of the plot were not connected but fitted together nicely as Harry looked for "the truth" in both instances. When he realises that he has a problem with the old case he contacts his half brother, the lawyer Micky Haller to help him and the interaction between the two was interesting, Harry is a stickler for the rules and Micky will resort to anything to win a case no matter the cost.
The section where Harry goes under cover to catch a criminal masterminding the drug plot in the pharmacy case is exciting and well written. The reader is left holding their breath hoping that Harry will not get caught as the criminals seem unscrupulous and extremely violent.
This is a great read and despite being the 22nd book in the series it has all the hallmarks of an excellent thriller that we expect from Michael Connelly. Long live Harry Bosch- hopefully he will continue investigating well into his retirement as these books just get better and better.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Oh I do love Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch series. I have missed out on the previous two or three and Two Kinds of Truths is a reminder to download them and to catch up.

Now retired from the LAPD, Harry is working as a volunteer, working cold cases for the San Fernando Police Department. After being called out to a local drug store where two pharmacists, a father and son have been shot to death, Harry stumbles on the lucrative and dangerous big business of pill mills and prescription drug abuse.

As well as investigating the father and son murders, Harry is facing a more personal case from thirty years ago. A death row convict and his lawyer are claiming Harry planted evidence to get the conviction and Harry must now fight to clear his name.

As usual, this book did not disappoint. Great characters, fast paced and a brilliant crime thriller from one of my favourite authors.

Very highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for providing a copy of this book and this is my honest review.

I can't get enough of Michael Connelly and was excited by the prospect of reading his latest novel. This is the 20th book in the highly successful Harry Bosch series and even after reading all the previous books the series still feels fresh with no sign of the high standard dropping.
Michael Connelly is my favourite author, he rarely disappoints and this is no exception. Great characters, well paced plot and exceptional writing.
Now in his sixties Harry Bosch is working cold cases for the San Fernando Police Department and is called out to a local drug store where a young pharmacist has been murdered. Investigations lead Bosch to a dangerous world of prescription drug abuse. At the same time an old case from when Bosch was LAPD resurfaces when a long-imprisoned killer claims Harry framed him, and seems to have new evidence to prove it. His former colleagues are no longer on good terms with Bosch and he needs to fight to protect his reputation. He fights to clear his name and keep the imprisoned killer where he belongs. These are two unrelated case and Bosch discovers that there are two kinds of truth, the kind that sets you free and the kind that leaves you buried in darkness.
I would like to thank Orion Publishing group and Net Galley for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have read many of Michael Connelly's books but this must be the best. Two stories which do not relate to each other are told with Bosch as the link. It is masterly. The reader must be engrossed by the stories but also by the philosophical mind of Bosch. His exoneration is a cause for celebration. This is an outstanding novel.

This is another excellent instalment in the Bosch series, which fans of Michael Connelly will definitely enjoy.
While investigating the murder of two pharmacists, Bosch becomes involved in a DEA operation into illegal scripts and drugs run by Armenian and Russian criminals, and ends up working undercover in a perilous situation.
At the same time his integrity is challenged, as a convicted murderer on Death Row alleges Bosch planted evidence some thirty years earlier to ensure his conviction. Bosch enlists the help of his half-brother Mickey Haller to uncover the truth and to save his reputation.
Simultaneously he is working a cold case trying to establish what happened to a young mother who vanished without trace some fifteen years earlier, leaving her baby asleep in a crib. His search for the truth in that case has an unexpected outcome and leads to a different kind of truth.

Harry, as a retired cop, just seems to get better and better. I do hope that he's solving cases when he's 100. That will give his fans many many more years of crime fiction at its best.

As always Connelly delivers. Bosch has a lot on his plate - a cold case, historic wrongful arrest and 2 recent murders. Bosch has to prove he did not plant evidence in an old case. In the murder cases, he is drawn into the dangerous word of drugs. Reflecting Bosch's age there is not as much action as previously but more than enough to keep the plot moving. Connelly cleverly weaves the 3 cases together but, it is Bosch's reaction to these cases that bind them together rather than the criminals themselves.

There are very few events in my reading history that beat the thrill of delving into a new Michael Connelly/Harry Bosch novel. Harry may well be into his mid 60's now but he still has that hunger, that old coyote weariness about him, that first made him a grade one detective some 30 years ago. He's now older, definitely wiser his skills very much in demand by an undermanned LAPD.

At the start of "Two Kinds of Truth" Harry is doing what he does best, searching through cold case files in a "drunk tank" somewhere in San Fernando. His suspicions are aroused when detectives arrive to confront him about an investigation many years old. With the advance in forensic medicine the investigation that led to the conviction of Preston Borders, in the trial of Danielle Skyler, is now in danger of collapse. This follows the discovery of semen, belonging to a rapist Lucas John Olmer, since deseased, on some of the victims clothing. So the reality is that Borders could be freed and a wrongful arrest case brought against Harry, the ramifications of this are immense as Bosch's 30 year workload could now be open to scrutiny. Our hero is furious but has little time to dwell on his feelings and the rights or wrongs of an old case, as the Los Angeles County once again needs his skill when a double murder occurs at a downtown pharmacy "La Farmacia Familia". In spectacular fashion he arrives, he is a happy man once again as he is now one of the lead detectives on a "live" case. The author so vividly portrays the innermost thoughts and workings of this great detective, and has me the reader cheering when once again Harry is back!! I realize that not only will Bosch solve this case but he will be accompanied by you and me dear reader riding as shotgun, and that is something we cannot miss!

In the background the historic cold case proceeds and meanwhile Bosch's present assignment sees him becoming involved in the processing and handling of illegal prescriptions involving large quantities of drugs. In the course of this operation we once again meet Harry's old partner Jerry Edgar and it is wonderful to witness the "sparring" that still exists between them. Edgar never felt that Bosch truly trusted him and he now feels a little exhilarated that he is supplying vital information to his ex partner..."Bosch asked the question, jumping at the opportunity to show some expertise to the man who had always doubted him"... Connelly has always painted Bosch as a loner and even though he got results and solved cases he was always viewed as a maverick playing by his own set of rules.

The drug scam is quite simple; enlist the poor and desperate in society with a deep and entrenched drug habit. Then with the help of a bogus doctor authorize illegal prescriptions which are "cashed" in at the Farmacia. Bosch estimates that this is an industry worth more than thirteen million per year. To infiltrate this operation our hero has elected to go undercover, something new in a Connelly novel and adding an extra lair of anticipation and excitement! By going undercover Bosch puts himself in grave danger and all his colleagues and friends begin calling and leaving messages on his cell phone. I have a gripe with Bosch and his two sided standards. He loves dearly his daughter Maddie who is now a student and he implores her to be careful especially at night when she collects her car from a dismal concrete car park adjacent to her college. Yet here he is a 68 year old man about to board a small plane in the company of two Russian thugs...and he notices on takeoff that the back door is wedged open.....and they are about to fly over the sea! He is in mortal danger, what will I the reader do if the unthinkable happens? and more importantly what will young Maddie feel that the one stable person in her life her father who she loves dearly...is no more??..."His life and his world had once again clobbered his daughter. If he vowed to make those who did this pay, didn't that include himself?"....."There was no one in the world Bosch trusted more than his daughter. He told her everything, more detail than he had even told the collective in the mobile command post. He felt the details would mean more to her, and at the same time, he knew he was telling her about the dark side of the world. It was a place she had to know about, he believed no matter where she went with her life.".....

I love Michael Connelly. I love the way he has brought the life of H Bosch into my home over many years. His stories are to me about life, love, relationships, the good and bad that happens, and the evil that is prevalent all around us, the choices that we make, the decisions we take and the consequences we must reap. I love the frailties on display through Harry and the bond that exists between him and his daughter the wonderful Maddie and I fear for Harry, I worry what will happen to her if ever the unthinkable were to occur to her father...."People lie, the president lies, corporations lie and cheat.....The world is ugly and not many people are willing to stand up to it anymore"...

So the two story threads are brought to a very fitting conclusion amidst a highly charged courtroom drama involving Bosch's colourful half brother, Los Angeles based attorney Mickey Haller. Yet amongst all this elation Harry is a restless soul, a man who never seems at ease with himself, a nonconformist with a really big heart. I admire the guy, I applaud the way he unearthed $10,000 from his "end of the world emergency fund" to save the drug soul of Elizabeth Clayton, a dope addict he whose life went out of control when her daughter Daisy was killed. Connelly's stories about a Los Angeles detective are as fresh today as when the first book was published some 25 years ago. Harry Bosch may well be in the autumn of his life but he but he still retains magnetism and human qualities that we all recognise. I look forward to his next outing with great anticipation and would like to thank Orion and the good people of netgalley for a gratis copy in return for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Just finished this book which is the 22nd in the Harry Bosch series and I must say I did not want to put it down. As soon as I began reading I was straight back in the familiar character and his landscape.

Harry is now retired but volunteering as an investigator into cold cases at San Fernando Police Department and works out of an old cell as an office. There are several story lines to follow; one is the current cold case investigation into a rape/murder; then a current double homicide when a father and son pharmacists are killed in cold blood at the pharmacy by two masked men. To add to Harry’s problems he is visited by some old colleagues from the LAPD conviction integrity unit who inform him that a murderer on death row is seeking to have his sentence overturned and citing Harry as planting evidence to gain a wrongful conviction.

In investigating the double murder Harry goes undercover to discover how the pharmacy scam works and to see who is involved. During this period a newspaper article reveals him as an ex-policeman leaving Harry in a perilous position.

Meanwhile his brother/lawyer is trying to solve a mystery associated with the accusations against Harry which results in a court case. Add in the Hell’s Angels, a beautiful but flawed woman who is addicted to drugs, Harry’s daughter away at college and Harry’s musings on Lucia Soto’s loyalty (his old partner) and last but not least Harry’s awareness of his increasing age.

This is well-written and evenly paced, I found each element to be of great interest. Connelly always supplies a really good plot and this is no exception and his characterisation is without doubt realistic with Bosch’s personality fulfilling the role of lone wolf aware of, and challenging those who are morally corrupt whether criminal or politician.

If you liked his earlier stories of Harry Bosch, I would be amazed if you didn’t enjoy this.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

I felt honoured to receive a preview copy of the 22nd Bosch novel from NetGalley. And what a treat it was, starting it on Saturday and finishing it on Sunday! With pure tunnel vision for this gripping story.

It never ceases to amaze me how Michael Connelly is continually able to reinvent and reinvigorate Harry Bosch for another novel, 22 books into the series (which I have read in order) there is no dip in quality at all, if anything they are getting better.

Reading a Bosch novel is like meeting up with an old friend you haven't seen in a while and having a proper, good old fashioned, catch up. And I love spending my time with this guy.

As with many other Bosch novels "Two Kinds of Truth" has two distinct story threads, one which refers back to a murder investigation from thirty years earlier (not in a previous novel) and the current strand an investigation into a double murder in a pharmacy. Both stories are superb examples of thriller story writers and we hurtle around Los Angeles at breakneck speed.

Great characters from previous novels pop up here and there, Jerry Edgar his previous partner, Maddie his daughter amongst others. Bosch is now around 65 and is mentoring some of the younger detectives in the small police department he continues to volunteer in from the previous book.

I have no idea how Connelly can regularly release two books a year of such high quality, earlier in the year he introduced us to a new detective in "The Late Show" and that was an equally excellent book.

Unmissable for thriller and crime readers. Let's hope Harry Bosch returns again in 2018!

Twenty-five years ago gruff LAPD detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch first burst onto the page, investigating the murder of a fellow Vietnam ‘tunnel rat’ in a drainpipe in Mulholland Dam.

He was already middle-aged then, a maverick not because he was a youthful upstart, but a man in his early 40s who had a very strong sense of who he was and what was important to him. It's the people who matter, the victims and finding justice, more than rules and systems of his superiors.

Then and now, Bosch lived by the credo 'everybody counts or nobody counts', and felt his mission to find justice for victims deep in his bone marrow.

Plenty of murky water has flowed under the bridge in the quarter-century since The Black Echo. Nowadays, Bosch is a volunteer for the tiny San Fernando PD, spending his days in a converted jail cell combing over cold cases then getting out on the streets to investigate, unable to give up being ‘a closer’ even if the LAPD has jettisoned him and he now qualifies for Social Security.

Various elements from his past come calling in Two Kinds of Truth, a marvelous tale that shows Bosch and Connelly, two of the very best at what they do, are both still at the very top of their considerable game.

There's a lovely mix of familiarity and freshness - a tough balance to strike in a long-running series: give long-time readers what they've loved over many books plus something new, but not so new or 'out of the box' that it jolts or feels 'wrong' in a world carefully created over many years.

Connelly squarely hits that difficult sweet spot in Two Kinds of Truth.

While mulling a cold case disappearance and probable murder that still haunts his new boss in the San Fernando PD, Bosch finds out that one of his own old cases has reared back into ugly life.

New DNA evidence links a dead rapist to a vicious killing that resulted a young Bosch helping put another man on death row. Now that 'innocent' man might be released, but Bosch is certain he was right, then and now. As those in power look to throw Bosch under the bus for what could become a massive, and costly, legal mess, he also heads down a deadly path investigating a double-murder at a local farmacia alongside his SFPD colleagues, who aren’t used to this kind of crime.

Connelly masterfully balances the twin investigations, past and present, providing a rollicking story for new readers and long-time fans. Several ‘guest stars’ from past books make a welcome return, underlining the holistic LA world Connelly has crafted over a quarter-century.

Add in Harry Bosch, approaching septuagenarian status, still facing fresh challenges and being put to new tests externally and internally his vast experience, and that equals one of the all-time great crime series continuing to grow its greatness. Perhaps the Pappy Van Winkle of modern crime.

Harry Bosch has been known to posit observations of the ‘there are two kinds of…’ type, as the book’s title indicates. It puts him at odds with his half-brother, Mickey Haller, though, who lives in the defence lawyer’s very different world of words. Michael Connelly, by contrast, has more room to exercise questions of meaning, intent, and how differently truths can be articulated. This most recent novel, which unites Haller and Bosch, is after bigger game.
Harry is still a welcome volunteer working cold cases in the small, sometimes sleepy, sheriff’s office in San Fernando, and the first of two plots begins a tale which extends back into Harry’s past to worry his present. Called into a homicide at a local pharmacy in which the two pharmacists have been murdered, Harry finds himself leading the investigation on grounds of experience, but hands the role on to his colleague, Bella Lourdes, nominally because she is bilingual in Spanish. He sees more, and is more careful with procedure, than are the San Fernando cops; his role is in one way more that of an instructor than anything else. Along the way Connelly is able to point out the results for policing in the cuts that followed the financial crisis of 2008. This is not his only reference to the breakdown of public services. There is no mention of the attack on the poor and their healthcare, but it is tacitly evident. There are also some interesting tells in Connelly’s vocabulary: the police chief refers to the murdered pharmacists as ‘citizens’, not ‘vics’. And, along the way we learn that San Fernando is so small it depends on LA for forensic analysis.
But there are darker reasons for him to keep a certain distance: one of his old cases is about to be reopened by lawyers for a man who has been on death row for decades, now claiming that Bosch tampered with evidence. Bosch needs Mickey, because his will stand accused of a serious crime. That is easy enough, but the refusal of his former colleagues to stand by him is more than difficult. New DNA evidence has turned up, and it is impossible that the still-sealed evidence box can have been tampered with.
While his attorney goes into action, Harry accepts an assignment to go undercover to try to find out why the pharmacists were murdered, and how the criminal empire creating false prescriptions of opioids functions. To add to the tension, Harry goes undercover without telling anybody not directly involved, including his daughter, Maddy, now away at university. Lest anyone think Connelly, himself a former journalist, is merely boosting the press, they may wish to wait until late on in the book to get a good look at manipulations of reporters by figures at some distance from newspapers. As kinds of truth go, there are a variety of shades of grey.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an advance copy of Two Kinds of Truth, the 22nd novel in the detective Harry Bosch series.

Harry is in a meeting in the San Fernando police department where he now works as a volunteer on cold cases with his ex LAPD partner, Lucia Soto, her new partner and a deputy DA from the Conviction Integrity Unit about Preston Borders' appeal against his 30 year old death penalty conviction so, smelling a stitch up, he doesn't hesitate to walk out when he is asked to help his San Fernando colleagues with a double murder at the local pharmacy. Both cases turn out to be a lot more something than the original nothing they appear to be.

It has been a while since I spent time with Harry and I'd forgotten how thought provoking and compulsive the series is. Mr Connelly, as ever, manages to provide food for thought wrapped up in great storytelling and I am in awe of his skill.

The pharmacy shooting kicks off much of the action in the novel as nothing is as it first seems and widens out to cover some of the ills currently affecting American society. It is informative without preaching and in a very practical way exposes the problem. On a more personal note it and a cold case Harry has on the back burner teach him some very valuable lessons in making assumptions. It is a change to see him humbled.

Preston Borders and his appeal present a more cerebral problem. Harry knows he didn't frame him so it's a matter of trying to work out how the evidence was tampered with. The solution is ingenious and the court hearing which shows Micky Haller at his conniving best is masterful. I love it. I also love the dichotomy in police thinking. The LAPD detectives think that physical evidence trumps everything else so Harry's word and 30 year record of success mean nothing to them while the small town cops who have only known him a short time support him wholeheartedly. It made me think.

Throughout it all Harry is Harry, dogged, tough and smart with his own moral compass. He is a hard character to love due to his nature but after so many novels he's an old friend I never tire of.

Two Kinds of Truth is another excellent addition to the series which I can heartily recommend.