The Waiting: Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch, Book 6

4.6 | 27,543 ratings

Price: 19.1

Last update: 12-23-2024

About this item

LAPD Detective Renée Ballard tracks a serial rapist whose trail has gone cold, and enlists a new volunteer to the Open-Unsolved Unit: Patrol Officer Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter.

Renée Ballard and the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet twenty years ago. The arrested man is only twenty-four, so the genetic link must be familial: His father was the Pillowcase Rapist, responsible for a five-year reign of terror in the city of angels. But when Ballard and her team move in on their suspect, they encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles.

Meanwhile, Ballard’s badge, gun, and ID are stolen—a theft she can’t report without giving her enemies in the department ammunition to end her career as a detective. She works the burglary alone, but her mission draws her into unexpected danger. With no choice but to go outside the department for help, she knocks on the door of Harry Bosch.

At the same time, Ballard takes on a new volunteer to the cold case unit: Bosch’s daughter Maddie, now a patrol officer. But Maddie has an ulterior motive for getting access to the city’s library of lost souls—a case that may be the most iconic in the city’s history. Complex, satisfying, and full of dexterous twists, The Waiting demonstrates once more that “you can’t do better than Michael Connelly” (Forbes).

Bookzilla

Compelling

Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2024

Michael Connelly is a must buy, must read author. This stand-alone is easy to follow. No editing errors, gratuitous violence or drag-you-down drama. Not all questions are answered.

Intriguing storyline about cold cases, trying to solve them, the always dangerous “office” politics and criminals. Descriptive writing that draws the reader into each scene. Realistic procedures, actions and reactions. Believable characters with distinct personalities and emotional baggage. Thought-provoking and memorable dialogue.

“You’ll learn this: Part of being a good detective is knowing your boss and how he thinks.”
“Or how she thinks.”
“Right. Your dad can tell you a lot about all of this.”
“Uh, I don’t think my dad did too well in supervisor psychology.”
“True.”
“I mean, he threw a lieutenant through a glass window in the watch office once. They still talk about that at Hollywood Division.”

“Then I’ll let you go. But remember, Ballard, think before you act. There are consequences. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The laws of politics are the same as the laws of physics.”

I will re-read this story and always look forward to, pre-order when possible, new works by this author.

Richard B. Schwartz

Wild Plotting, But Should Be Ranked As One Of The Books Of The Year

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2024

Of course this is a wonderful book. Michael Connelly is a top-five crime writer, a master of his craft. He knows L.A. like the back of his hand and he represents it (and its travel times) realistically. He has created iconic characters; he takes on significant themes and he can plot with exquisite skill.

Two things concerning this book should be noted. First, this is not really a ‘Ballard and Bosch novel’ so much as a Ballard and Bosch family novel. Harry appears very briefly in the book (though at important moments), perhaps 5% of it. His daughter Maddie joins Ballard’s cold case group (in important ways) for about 20% of the book. This is not a criticism; it is simply a matter of truth in advertising.

Second: the plot. There are actually three plots. Ballard’s team is searching for a serial rapist, primarily through DNA evidence. Second, Ballard’s badge and gun are stolen while she is surfing and she must recover them or face threats of seeing her unit dissolved and herself transferred to far more trivial and far less interesting duty. Finally (and this is the wild wrinkle), Maddie approaches Ballard with evidence of the identity of the murderer of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short. This titanic discovery is presented with a modern twist: the politicized D.A. refuses to prosecute (i.e. close the case, since the perp is long dead) because the chief of police backed a different candidate in his election and he values his personal spite over the public’s need to know and the remaining families of the other victims’ thirst for justice.

The evidence for the identification of the Dahlia’s murderer turns on a relatively new technique, which involves the precise measurements of the elements of a person’s ear (more precise than fingerprint evidence). This gives MC the opportunity to show his (very considerable) procedural chops.

While the plotting is ‘different’ and totally unexpected it is also engaging and memorable.

Bottom line: it is hard to rank a MC novel because the quality is always there. I can only say that this should be ranked as one of the books of the year for 2024. An easy 5 stars.

G F Armstrong

Pretty good read.

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2024

Multiple plots but well presented. It’s a quick read without a lot of dull detail which Mr. Connelly often gets bogged down by in some of his novels. Maybe the Bosch series has run its course. Renee Ballard is a good character, almost as completing as Harry Bosch. His first three Ballard books were better. This one is still worth reading.

jms

Ballard and Bosch 6

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2024

Connelly has done it again. With a new partnership between Renee Ballard and Maddy Bosch (Harry’s daughter), he has crafted a wonderful novel filled with ties to the notorious Black Dahlia murder in the 1940’s and another serial case. His writing is fluid and the plot moves right along. The reader is carried along a trail of clues that lead to an exciting conclusion. I highly recommend the book. Many times after a slew of novels about a character, the writing becomes stale. I am happy to report that this is not the case. Enjoy!

big time reader

another good Connelly book

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2024

Well developed story that didn’t drag. The main characters are believable and not perfect which makes the book much more realistic. Renee Ballard is a perfect follow up to Bosch.

F. Cardenas

Renee Ballard rocks

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2024

I received the book yesterday and finished reading it today. That’s how it is with me and Michael Connelly books. They are normally really good and The Waiting is no exception.

The story seems to have more twists and turns than the usual Connelly story. However, all the angles are neatly resolved by books end.

I wonder how Connelly likes writing for a woman lead character. All his previous lead characters have been men until Ballard came outta the surf.

The backside of the jacket has “praise for Desert Star”, a prior Connelly book. I wonder if it’s a typo or intentional.

Overall, it’s a great novel with two primary plots. Both are enjoyable although one feels far-fetched.

Linda

Good Read—Two Actions Going On

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2024

Michael Connelly continues to write good mystery books. This is Book 6 in the Renee Ballard series. This time involving Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter. Maddie is a uniform cop wanting to be a detective. She offers to volunteer to Ballard’s team in hopes of getting some recognition. Ballard is surfing and discovered her car has been robbed of her badge and ID. She doesn’t want to announce it for fear her enemies will use it against her so she asks Harry Bosch to help her get it back. While this is underway, she and her team continue to look at DNA to identify a killer from 20 years ago. It is a well written novel and one to continue to take the reader away from Harry Bosch into new characters. Harry cannot live forever but he is doing okay for now.

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