Two Kinds of Truth

Bestseller Connelly’s fast-paced 22nd Harry Bosch novel (after 2016’s The Wrong Side of Goodbye) puts the aging L.A. detective, now a volunteer with the San Fernando PD, squarely in the middle of two cases. The execution of two local pharmacists—father and son—sends Bosch into the world of “pill shills,” crime networks that use homeless people, crooked doctors, and greedy pharmacists to amass prescription opioids for illegal resale. The other case dates back 30 years to Bosch’s days in the LAPD, when he helped put convicted killer Preston Borders on death row. When the case is reopened thanks to newly revealed DNA, Bosch stands accused of planting evidence. At times the parallel narrative lines feel too separate, as if two distinct novels are melded into one, but even so, the book unfolds with great urgency and a sense of righteous indignation, particularly about the opioid crisis (“Fifty-five thousand dead and counting”). The two truths of the title encapsulate Bosch’s world: “[the] truth that was the unalterable bedrock of one’s life and mission. And the other, malleable truth of politicians, charlatans, corrupt lawyers and their clients.” This entry isn’t Connelly’s best, but it’s still a solid procedural sure to please his many fans. Agent: Philip Spitzer, Philip G. Spitzer Literary. (Oct.)