Book review: The Burning Room

Politics often seeps into police investigations, especially when a high-profile case has officials from the city to the state level jockeying for a piece of the action.

LAPD detective Harry Bosch has seen enough of politics interfering with his investigations through the years. Now, as he supposedly enters the last year of his career, Harry is even more tired of this intrusion that erupts constantly in “The Burning Room,” the excellent 19th novel in Michael Connelly’s superb series.

Harry and his new partner, Lucia “Lucy” Soto, get a case that has attracted attention for a decade. Mariachi musician Orlando Merced was shot in the middle of a busy plaza, becoming the living symbol of urban violence and a campaign slogan for Armando Zeyas, who became a popular L.A. city councilman.

Now, the paralyzed Orlando has died, reopening the case. If Bosch and Soto can find a match to the bullet, which has been lodged in Orlando’s spine all these years, they might be able to find the murderer.

The case leads Harry and Lucy on a trek through Los Angeles’ poorest and wealthiest neighborhoods. They link the shooting to a bank robbery and the arson of an apartment building in which several children died.

Connelly has uncovered more of Harry’s psyche with each novel. Now, Harry is in the last year of his job. But will he fight to stay with the LAPD, or has he grown so tired of the politics that he welcomes retirement? Harry’s new partner Lucy further energizes the plot. Lucy makes mistakes but also shows that she has the insight and the grit to make it as a detective.

Even if Harry retires, a year can result in several novels and, as he has proved before, Connelly still has much to explore in Harry’s personal growth.