Two stories in parallel. First a case from the Open-Unsolved Unit, a cold murder case where a DNA search comes back with a result pointing to a 29-year-old child abuser. This seems to match perfectly. However, this man would have been eight years old at the time of death. Bosch will follow this lead all the way to the step-father of this young man, who will boast about 37 abuses, rapes and murders in total, all photographed or filmed. The second case is the discovery of the body of the son of a reputed councilman. It looks like suicide, nevertheless, Bosch is asked to look into it. Suicide it was, but Bosch gets entangled and used in what is a political conspiracy. A Harry Bosch novel, the way I like them.
“His earthly vessel had been reduced to a ripped bag of skin containing shattered bones and organs and blood vessels. His body had bled out through every natural orifice and many new ones created by his impact on the sidewalk. His skull was shattered, leaving his head and face grossly misshapen like it would be in a fun house mirror. His left eye had broken free of its orbit and hung loosely on his cheek. His chest had been crushed by the impact and several sheared bones from the ribs and clavicle protruded through the skin.”