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Book Review of The Burning Room (Harry Bosch, Bk 17) (Audio CD) (Unabridged)

The Burning Room (Harry Bosch, Bk 17) (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
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Retirement is getting closer to Harry Bosch, who is working LAPDs Open-Unsolved Unit, dealing with cold cases. Lest the reader think Harry may run out of work, we are assured that there are 10,000 unsolved murders on the books.

Harry has a new partner, Lucia Soto, a 28 year-old Mexican-American who jumped into the limelight following a shoot-out at a liquor store. With no real experience, Soto is moved to Open-Unsolved and is paired with the old silverback.

This case in unique; the shooting took place 10 years ago, but the victim (Orlando Merced) has just died. With that death, the bullet can be extracted and analyzed which gives Bosch and Soto new leads.

The Burning Room refers to a decades-old fire in an apartment which killed several children and an adult. I thought the way Bosch connects Orlandos shooting to the apartment fire to be a bit far-fetched, but otherwise, the story was pure Michael Connelly.

Theres some sadness as Bosch sees himself as a relic from the past versus Sotos easy use of the latest technologies. My favorite part was Boschs interaction with his daughter when she gets a rare date. We find that Harry makes his daughter tell any intended date that her father is a detective with LAPD and has a gun. What a hoot!

The early part of the story is slow; then momentum takes over and the story races to its conclusion.