CONNELLY IS THE REAL THING... HE WRITES GROWN-UP NOVELS THAT--ALONG WITH THE WORKS OF TIIE. LIKES OF SCOTT TUROW, ELMORE LEONARD, AND JOHN GRISHAM--remind us that the place to look for serious American fiction is not in the schools of creative writing, but out there in the real world.

Harry Bosch's life is on the edge. His earthquake-damaged home has been condemned. His girlfriend has left him. He's drinking too much. After attacking his commanding officer,he's been forced to turn in his L.A.P.D. detective's badge. Now,suspended indefinitely pending a psychiatric evaluation, he is obsessed with investigating an unsolved crime from 1961:the brutal slaying of a prostitute who happened to be his own mother. Even after three decades, Harry's questions gener-ate heat among L.A.'s top politicos. And as the shocking truth starts to emerge, the fallen cop gets closer to an enemy who is very powerful, cunning...and deadly.