The Night Fire

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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...I'm not sure how much I can be involved.”

“You're dumping this case on me. You changed my radio station and dumped the case on me.”

“No, I want to help and I will help. John Jack mentored me. He taught me the rule, you know?”

“What rule?”

“To take every case personally.”

“What?”

“Take every case personally and you get angry. It builds a fire. It gives you the edge you need to go the distance every time out.”

Ballard thought about that. She understood what he was saying but knew it was a dangerous way to live and work.

“He said ‘every case'?” she asked.

“‘Every case,'” Bosch said.

The Night Fire

Dark Sacred Night

That Moment

How

The Night Fire

I write a lot of 5 Star reviews because I find a lot of good in many disparate titles, but I think with Michael Connelly, there was only one book I didn't find excellent, Fair Warning, and one I put down before I could get into, The Black Ice. While I read all of Fair Warning, and liked the Jack McAvoy character, it was too episodic for me, with the point of view changing too often. The Black Ice was probably just too deep for me, so I'll definitely want to give it another go later. In The Night Fire, there is episodic shuttling back and forth, but only between Bosch and Ballard, who gel perfectly in this tale and others. I think Connelly really hit this one on the head, but again, I've read about ten of his books, and each one seems better than the last. It's rare that a narrative can keep my interest throughout my days and nights of busyness, but Connelly knows how to nab a thread and drive it to the core. The Night fire is a perfect seaming of two great characters. Did it have a few too many F-Bombs? For me, yes, but other than that, I think it scores an A+