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They call him the Dollmaker, a serial killer who stalks Los Angeles and leaves a grisly calling card on the faces of his female victims. When a suspect is shot by Detective Harry Bosch, everyone believes the city's nightmare is over. But then the dead man's widow sues Harry and the LAPD for killing the wrong man -- an accusation that rings terrifyingly true when a new corpse is found with the Dollmaker's macabre signature. Now, for the second time, Harry must hunt down a ruthless death-dealer before he strikes again. Careening through a blood-tracked quest, Harry will go from the hard edges of the L.A. night to the last place he ever wanted to go -- the darkness of his own heart...

A civil lawsuit is brought against Detective Harry Bosch for the wrongful death of a man that Harry believed to be a serious criminal. Harry had no doubts that the man was the rapist and murderer he was investigating -- until a new body is found and it matches the killings Harry thought he had stopped. Is there a copycat killer who somehow knows intimate details of the prior murders, or did Harry kill the wrong man?

This is the third Harry Bosch book and it is easily the best so far. I loved the duality of the investigation and the trial. I will admit my bias due to my interest and training in law, but I found it very interesting how Connelly developed the court case. Another factor that may have contributed to my enjoyment was that when Harry was in court he was vulnerable. And a vulnerable Harry Bosch is a better read than a Harry Bosch who is always in charge -- he often gets too over-the-top cowboy in those situations and it becomes unrealistic (see my review of Harry Bosch #2 - The Black Ice).

One thing that I like about Michael Connelly is how well he writes frustration. I find that many other authors who write serial detectives will always have them unsure of a situation to keep the story believable, but with those other authors you never really get a sense that the bad guy might get away. Granted, there are times when Connelly gets away from this, but I have already detailed that for you.

I'm through three Harry Bosch books now and they seem to be written more quickly than I read them (I don't like to read a series back-to-back), but I am still interested enough to try to catch up. And if the others are as good as this one, that catching up will be well worth my time.

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