This is the latest and thrilling addition to the terrific Harry Bosch series set in LA and San Fernando. Harry is working as a volunteer cold case cop at SFPD trying to get to bottom of the missing, presumed dead, Esme Tavares, when he receives an upsetting visit from the recently created LAPD Conviction Integrity Unit. This consists of his old partner, Lucia Soto, Bob Tapscott and Deputy DA, Alex Kennedy. They inform him that a death row murderer, Preston Borders, is going to be freed, as new DNA evidence points to sexual predator and rapist, Lucas John Olmer, now deceased, as the killer of the woman Borders was convicted of. There are additional vibes that suggest they think Harry and his now dead partner, Frank Sheehan, were responsible for serious misconduct that resulted in this miscarriage of justice. Harry tries to get his head round these astonishing developments, he is absolutely convinced they got the right man. So what is going on?
In the meantime, there have been two fatal shootings of a father and son, both pharmacists at the La Farmacia Familio, in San Fernando. It looks as if these were professional hits, with particular venom aimed at the son. It seems that the son might be involved in gangs which resulted in the hits. However, this turns out to be wide of the mark as Bosch and the SFPD follow up on a complaint made by the dead son about a clinic and the pharmacy's role in a pill shills scam run by the wanted Santos, and Russian criminal elements using desperate and vulnerable enslaved prescription drugs addicts. The DEA are interested in getting to Santos, and want Bosch's help to do this. Despite advice to the contrary, Bosch agrees because he wants to secure justice. At the same time, Preston Borders and his lawyer, Lance Cronyn, point the finger at Bosch as a corrupt officer who planted the evidence that convicted Borders. Bosch is going to need help, and calls on his half brother, Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer. Haller and Bosch begin to pull at the threads of the evidence that appears to clear Preston Borders and begin to unravel a sinister conspiracy for which Bosch is merely the fall guy. However, the allegations cross over into Bosch's role in the pill shill scam, putting him in deadly danger.
By now, Bosch is a battered survivor who still retains his ideals and his determination to secure justice. In this novel, I really felt Harry's tiredness and recognition that justice can, at times, only be short term, as it may possible to get the perpetrators, but not those who control the drug scams and make millions from it; and that shutting down an operation is not enough, as replacement scams emerge. Harry uses his earthquake fund, putting his personal faith and humanity into helping a woman addict who has faced the worst of times. It is a salutory experience for Bosch to observe how those who know him, including his nearest and dearest, still entertain a glimmer of suspicion about his guilt and corruption. However, if there is one thing that Harry has and that is ability to forgive, whilst on occasion using it to call in favours. As ever, this is brilliant crime fiction from an expert. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.