Mystery/Thriller Reading Friends discussion

Usually, I find Michael Connelly's books flawless in their never ending march to conclusion. There are two investigations running in this book, The first is a transgender male to female that was brutally beaten. The primary investigation is to a shooting at a club. Through this the protagonist Ballard, suffers a campaign to keep her away from the investigation and to drum her out of the police corps. At one point she is railroaded in an officer involved death in the first investigation to keep her away from the club shooting. She discovers that the very police officer charged with investigating her use of force is leaking details to the press in a very negative light. Once the Investigating officer's press leak is discovered and confronted, why didn't they (Ballard and her lawyer) ask him directed him to torpedo her?

Hi Barbara,

I didn't quite understand your question. Can you rephrase it? And is the officer involved death you reference her stabbing of Trent?

Barbara wrote: ".She discovers that the very police officer charged with investigating her use of force is leaking details to the press in a very negative light. Once the Investigating officer's press leak is discovered and confronted, why didn't they (Ballard and her lawyer) ask him directed him to torpedo her? "

I thought there were a couple of loose threads with this book. I too wondered why Ballard and her lawyer did not ask why Feltzer felt it necessary to leak to leak the info to the Times that put her in such a bad light. I assumed he was directed to do it but that was never followed up. Also, I still find it funny that Trent was able to track her down so easily. Perhaps I am as paranoid as Ballard but I thought he had help. I suppose all the above was just misdirection to make us think that Olivas was the mastermind behind everything and I was glad that he was not the guilty party since it would have been so obvious but Carr seemed pulled out of left field.

Agreed there were some loose threads; we might suspect as Ballard did that her van lead Trent to her grandmother's house; but was it a GPS device on the car or was he tailing her? We know she was running on fumes so might not have noted the tail.
And the "who question" for the catalyst behind Feltzer's leak of the damaging info on Ballard was broadly stroked with all kinds of potential: someone higher up with no specific case involvement; just wanting her out; Olivas or even Carr.

Barbara:
I can see that it would have been natural to ask Feltzer who was behind the pressure to leak damaging details; perhaps they didn't think of it in the amount of time to get ready. I found it funny when the lawyer suggested they should have also included a demand they make her captain. .
Barbara wrote: " Once the Investigating officer's press leak is discovered and confronted, why didn't they (Ballard and her lawyer) ask him directed him to torpedo her? "

Ann wrote: "Barbara:
I can see that it would have been natural to ask Feltzer who was behind the pressure to leak damaging details; perhaps they didn't think of it in the amount of time to get ready. I found ..."

Agreed, Ann--hindsight is 20/20. They were trying to clear her and move on ASAP. It could have been Carr trying to shut Ballard down, or the turf-obsessed Olivas wanting to shut Ballard out.

As for tracking Ballard down, I think the idea floated that Trent had a friendly contact in the DMV made the most sense. Either that or Carr leaked Ballard's info to him, hoping Trent would take care of her for him.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book. Fun read and I enjoyed learning details about contemporary police procedures. If the next edition in the series is a group read, I will gladly join in.

Russ, You are right, the friend in the DMV seems more likely.
When Ballard tried baiting Trent when went to the dealership by telling him she had a wife to gauge his reaction to same-sex marriage since he had attacked Ramona/Ramone and was likely to be interested in doing it again it made me nervous for her.
Russ wrote: "As for tracking Ballard down, I think the idea floated that Trent had a friendly contact in the DMV made the most sense.

i enjoyed this one -especially the second half of the book which read very quickly for me. i know this was the first renee ballard book, but since i don't remember what i read after i read it can't remember the last harry book and can't remember if her backstory was in that one. i felt the allusions to chastain and olivas were familiar, but i wasn't sure if they were really or if i imagined it..lol

Good question Sherry, were some of the characters in any previous Bosch books? I don't know; I remember the mention that the actress victim worked on the Bosch tv show and the RHD (Robbery Homicide division) is an integral part of both series, so certainly possible.

Ballard had told Carr about Trent. Carr had also contacted her grandmother and knew where she lived. To me it followed that Carr was the one who told Trent where to go. I didn't trust Carr from the minute he showed up.

Melodie: Very perceptive and highly likely.
Melodie wrote: "Ballard had told Carr about Trent. Carr had also contacted her grandmother and knew where she lived. To me it followed that Carr was the one who told Trent where to go. I didn't trust Carr from the minute he showed up."

Yeah, there seemed some loose ends to me too. Feltzer’s motivations were one, but in the end, I decided that Connelly skipped that one because it makes little difference. The force is split on the Ballard vs. Olivas matter, and whether Olivas put him up to the leak or he did it on his own is almost the same. It’s just a move to get rid of the non-team player. I didn’t think it could be Carr, however, as it would have looked suspicious for him to go to Feltzer with a request like that – unless he just said, Olivas sent me.

Trent finding Ballard at her grandmother’s house was another somewhat untidy thread, but to me, it seemed like it had to be something that Trent did (e.g., tailing her, DMV help, etc.). I just say that because if Carr helped him, Connelly would surely have put that in the book. I mean, Carr’s pretty bent to kill people execution style, but putting a demented killer who would torture her to death on Ballard’s tracks would have moved Carr significantly more toward pure evil. I don’t think the Carr-Trent connection was part of Connelly’s plan, but I could be wrong.

Ballard’s progress on the Dancers/Chastain case compared to that of the Task Force seems even more remarkable (or unlikely if you want to put it that way) if Olivas wasn’t misleading the task force from time to time. I suppose Carr might have provided some misdirection as part of the jobs that Olivas gave him, but could he have done much?

But in the end, the super-investigator, surfer girl who played off the books as hard or harder than most to help the underdog victim is a winner for me.

Good point Bruce:
That would have taken a bent cop out into sadistic territory so Trent who was an evil sadist was probably a solo murderer.
Bruce wrote: "putting a demented killer who would torture her to death on Ballard’s tracks would have moved Carr significantly more toward pure evil. I don’t think the Carr-Trent connection was part of Connelly’s plan, but I could be wrong.


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Bruce: another good point; a skilled author knows you don't have to tell everything. The "turn-the-tables" encounter between Ballard, the lawyer and Feltzer was priceless without it.
Bruce wrote: "Yeah, there seemed some loose ends to me too. Feltzer’s motivations were one, but in the end, I decided that Connelly skipped that one because it makes little difference ..."

Just finished it and enjoyed it thoroughly especially the last half. Lots of thrills and suspense.
Lots of interesting characters and complex relationships.
I was glad chastain ended up being a good guy.

Good to clear all the cases plus help the bust on the gun guy.

Still curious about ballards lifestyle and how she copes doing this. Surprised after 2years shes only just got the itch to help close cases and gets 3 all at once and cant leave any of the alone.

Trent was one scary guy. Was too simplistic how she got him in her sights. His tracking her down was good. I feel he stalked her after the test drive. Potentially a friend at the dmv gave the home location for her.

Loved her setup of the FID guy. Also liked that she sort of made up with olivias

Jack: I was glad and sad about his loss, it was good the Chastain was a good guy and didn't get painted with the guilt he didnt deserve.
In the next book I definitely look forward to learning more about Ballard and her unusual home situation. (And whether the attack by Trent changes her sense of safety) Trent was a seriously scary guy.

Jack wrote: "Just finished it and enjoyed it thoroughly especially the last half. Lots of thrills and suspense.
Lots of interesting characters and complex relationships.
I was glad chastain ended up being a good guy...

Still curious about ballards lifestyle and how she copes doing this. Surprised after 2years shes only just got the itch to help close cases and gets 3 all at once and cant leave any of the alone.
"