Ok so this is actually one of the better Connelly books I’ve read. It definitely merits the 4-star. So why three? There’s just this one thing I can’t let go and I can’t discuss it without spoilers…
Also, these spoilers are going to reference the #MeToo Movement and sexual assault in general. I won’t go into graphic detail but if any of that makes you uncomfortable, give it a pass…
(Spoilers ahead)
Ok so Connelly wrote this at the height of the #MeToo Movement. I noticed it was published in 2018 but given that the turnaround on Connelly’s books is fast due to his popularity, he likely wrote a lot of this in the shadow of Weinstein and The Reckoning. Connelly doesn’t shy away from putting contemporary moments in his books so as the novel was breaking, I sensed there would be something.
Sure enough, there’s a C-plot where Renee Ballard is called to the home of some big celebrity. A woman has called Hollywood Division saying she was raped. The celebrity claims it all was consensual.
It turns out that the woman was faking the rape to get famous and might’ve gotten away with it if not for the celebrity having a hidden camera to record everything.
Now Michael Connelly cannot summarize an entire movement in fiction, nor should he. It can be transparent when writers try to tackle the Issue of the Day and do it in a heavy handed manner that makes them try and side with the Good Guys. Connelly’s not doing that here.
Still, there’s something unsettling about it. Again, this was written at the height of the moment. There was, at last, some public accountability for toxic male behavior (or worse) in Hollywood and the world writ large. And to have a scene where someone files a false report of rape — something that does happen but is incredibly uncommon, especially compared to the staggering number of rapes never reported — just feels wrong.
This would have been an opportunity for Connelly to use his knowledge of the LAPD, as well as his stellar writing acumen to tease out a real story. He could have actually had the case prosecuted and showed that these things are complex, that the legal means of investigating them is fraught with peril, that there’s no such thing as a perfect survivor.
Instead, Connelly took what I thought to be a cowardly way out.
And again, he doesn’t need to prove a point through his writing, nor can he answer for how law enforcement polices rape and sexual assault. It’s a work of fiction. But it was disappointing to see him drag up a scenario that is exceedingly rare and is often used to dismiss the very real testimony of actual survivors.
And this impacted my feelings for how he wrote Renee’s relationship with Harry Bosch. Bosch, as he often does, steps the line over and over and every time Renee gets angry and every time she pulls back for reasons that are unclear or illogical. Bosch is a retired cop with a sketchy reputation who needs a different hobby. She doesn’t owe him the time of day. And yet, Connelly has to contrive of reasons why they must work together.
Which to be clear: would not normally bother me that much but combined with the false rape scene and yeah, Connelly’s got to find a way to do better. He’s a good writer. We can expect better.