Title:	The Burning Room
	Author:	Michael Connelly
	Published:	2014, Little, Brown and Company
	No. of Pages:	388
	Cover Price:	$28.00 Hardcover; $16.00 Paperback; $3.99 Kindle

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In Michael Connelly's 19th book in the Harry Bosch series, The Burning Room, Harry has a new partner in LAPD's Open Unsolved Unit, Detective Lucia Soto. Because Harry is at the end of his career, Lucia is assigned to him so that he can pass on his experience to her. Lucia is fairly new to the force, and has had no prior experience in homicide. Their first assignment together is to solve a murder that was actually committed ten years earlier – the victim survived, albeit suffered with related health problems due to the bullet being lodged in his spine, and finally dies of complications from the original shooting. So, even though they have a fresh body, all of the evidence, reports, etc. are ten years old – a unique situation for Harry. The odds of solving this murder are certainly against him.

As Harry and Lucia work on finding clues, they also discover some evidence that other murders may be linked to this years-old murder, and as they get closer to finding the truth, their lives and careers become endangered. Harry is his usual self, a loner who has a sad personal life, but who brilliantly solves the crimes, mostly without support from his superiors, and often breaking the rules. LAPD is short on funds due to budget cuts, and to save money, they want nothing more than to get rid of him before his pension can kick in.

Connelly's excellent writing style has been consistent throughout the entire series, but this book seems to be lacking something. While it is a fast, easy read, the usual excitement isn't there, and this novel lacks the depth and feeling of reality that most of the other novels have. Maybe the author is running out of plot scenarios for Harry. There seems to be an underlying sadness in this novel; fans who have read every book in the series are well aware that Bosch's days of solving crimes are numbered – he is aging and coming close to retirement - and we are aware that we are nearing the end of a legacy. To most of us, Harry Bosch is as close to a real hero and real person as there is; we have cheered him on through personal and professional successes, mourned as he lost loved ones, suffered with him as he paid consequences for poor choices, and sat on the edges of our seats as he has come close to losing his life.

The ending has surprises, is a bit upsetting, and leaves things open for another book. For Harry Bosch fans, there is no question that this is a novel that must be read. It isn't Connelly's best, but is much better than many of the books put out by other bestselling authors that are consistently sloppy and shallow.

This book was purchased with personal funds and no promotion of the book was solicited by the author or publisher.

This book may be purchased at Amazon:
The Burning Room (A Harry Bosch Novel) Hardcover
The Burning Room (A Harry Bosch Novel) Paperback
The Burning Room (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 19) Kindle