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Nov 01, 2017gloryb rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A police procedural novel with lots of detailed descriptions of procedures. These descriptions along with dog walks and surfing on the beach are used as fill. Too much use of swear words which are meaningless. Many abbreviations for police departments can be ignored or skimmed over. The novel follows a female police officer who works on solving several cases mainly single handed. Some cases are given more space than others. These cases add interest to the several themes of why murders take place in LA. Don't know what other types of cases Connelly can throw her way after this variety. The expected tensions and relationships among fellow officers/detectives/higher-ups are there. Perhaps what is not expected is that the lead female police officer - Detective Rene Ballard - is not white - perhaps Hawaiian. This character tends to act as a loner although buddies surround her. In that way, she reminds me of Sue Grafton's private investigator, but the cases Ballard pursues are not intertwined. Each chapter ends in such a way that readers want to read the next chapter. There is page turning action mainly in the middle of the book as one of her cases comes to a close; the other cases involve finding the evidence to convict - so it's using the "little grey cells" to figure out the connections - ie not page turners.