Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
It’s only a few months since Michael Connelly introduced us to Hawaiian hottie detective Renée Ballard in The Late Show and yet here’s his old mucker Harry Bosch ready to take on the forces of evil once again. The retired LAPD detective now works cold cases more or less full-time for the San Fernando Police Department. However, when a father and son are shot dead in a local pharmacy Harry soon finds himself going undercover as a “pill shill” to nail Santos, an elusive drugs baron otherwise known as “the Howard Hughes of hillbilly heroin”.
Meanwhile — there’s always a meanwhile — a failed actor turned killer who’s spent the past 30 years on death row is claiming that Bosch framed him. Harry enlists the help of his half-brother Mickey Haller, aka the Lincoln Lawyer, to try and clear his name.
It is hard to think of any other crime series that doesn’t feature at least one dud. Two Kinds of Truth is as brilliant as anything Connelly has written (and he’s written 30 novels). He splices his twin narratives into a super-gripping thriller that also adds depth and complexity to his central character. Bosch, like his boyhood hero Dr Livingstone before him, believes sympathy is no substitute for action. His deeds shine bright in a “dark and horrifying” world.
£10, Amazon, Buy it now