Michael Connelly is one of the best mistery writer and this was one of his better efforts.

The Black Ice is Michael Connelly's second book in his series of Harry Bosch novels. What makes his books special is the combination of an interesting and complex main character with fascinating story lines that are complex enough to keep you on your toes, but also fun and engaging.

In this installment, Bosch discovers that a suicide of a narcotics officer might actually be a homicide, and that the officer may have been playing both sides. The story bogs down a bit when Bosch travels to Mexico, and the story started to veer off into 3 star territory, but for me, the ending redeemed this book.

It is Christmas, and Harry Bosch is on standby to take calls for any murders. He has the police scanner on, and hears a report of an incident within his jurisdiction. When he investigates, he becomes involved in a messy case involving a police officer. Things develop from there.

There is a lot about bureaucracy and bean counting in the police department. Increase the number of arrests and increase the percentage of solved cases to make the atatistics look good when the budget request goes in. There are continuing conflicts between Harry and his superiors, but there are some tradeoffs. Not everything is as it seems, but everyone seems to come away with something. Sometimes it's better not to look too close.

Black ice, by the way, is a new form of narcotic - an emerging recreational drug showing up on the scene.

The novel is also available as part of the omnibus collection, "The Harry Bosch Novels."