I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Slightly slow start as we get to know the characters and the situation, but it makes for a really solid plot and good characterisation. I think this is the first time I've met Renée Ballard (being more of a Haller fan than a Bosch one until now) but I'll go and read the others she's appeared in very soon. I liked her a lot and she was certainly Bosch's match on the page.

In this story, Ballard is looking into two crimes - rapists who strike during popular holidays, and an unsolved murder that has links to an old crime Bosch worked on. I kept interest in both story strands and enjoyed the tension building up over the course of the book.

I always admire characters who are really competent, and you can believe in Ballard's police work (albeit I have no actual knowledge of police work, so this makes it easy for me!). Ok, perhaps she takes it too far towards the end, putting herself in danger to chase people down - but isn't that what we want memorable characters to do?

A good read.