The Burning Room, by Michael Connelly

Connelly keeps writing Bosch novels, and I keep reading them. This one is pushing pretty close to the "could this be the last Bosch?" question, but it doesn't have to be.

Bosch teams with a young female partner to crack a cold case where a mariachi musician dies from a ten-year-old gunshot wound, and in the process, takes on a second investigation into an arson that occurred many years before.

Completely satisfying.

A Cold Heart, by Jonathan Kellerman

An Alex Delaware / Milo Sturgis novel. This was an audio book. Published in 2003.

This book begins with the murder of a blues guitarist named Baby Boy who has just come out of rehab and is on the road to making a comeback with his music. As Delaware and Sturgis become involved, as well as Det. Petra Connor and a new character named Det. Stahl, it becomes evident that this murder is related to others, and the mystery deepens.

I was a bit worried about Detective Eric Stahl, as he seemed doomed from the beginning of the story, similar to the joke about the nameless character you've never seen before in any given Star Trek episode, but he turned out to be a bit more multi-dimensional.

It's a good mystery with decent denoument. Kellerman is a master of the form.

At this stage of the series, Delaware is not living with Robin, and has a new woman-friend named Allison, who is also a psychotherapist. Milo is still with Rick, Petra is single. Eric Stahl's story is revealed near the end of the book.

This recording enhanced many miles of commuting.

The Brass Verdict, by Michael Connelly

Mickey Haller, aka "The Lincoln Lawyer," has been out of commission for a couple of years. When he decides to begin practicing again, he's surprised by inheriting the caseload of an old friend, Jerry Vincent, who has just been murdered. Haller finds that, among other cases, there is a high-profile murder defense of a Hollywood film mogul. As he delves into this case, it becomes very complicated, and dangerous.

Connelly is a master of this type of writing. I've enjoyed a few other of his novels, and ripped through this one at speed. Harry Bosch, the taciturn LAPD detective, figures importantly in this book, and plays a role in the interesting denoument.

Here are the opening words of this book, which are repeated at least twice later on:

Everybody lies.
Cops lie. Lawyers lie. Witnesses lie. The vicitms lie.