Review: So, setting aside the length of the story, let's talk about the story itself ...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2014
It's written very well, but that's expected because it's Michael Connelly. It's got a familiar Bosch theme with a victim a lot of people might not feel sympathetic for, but 'everyone counts or nobody counts' is how Bosch operates. Those are things about SWITCHBLADE that go in the plus column. Then Bosch is on his way to San Quentin to visit the guy he believes did this crime. There was some buildup here regarding the interview as if this was the critical part of the story where the veteran detective who had rehearsed his moves for the interview was going to illicit something of value from the killer and be able to use it against him ... But that wasn't the case at all. I'd have been happier with a short story that ended with Bosch beating the guy in his cell in frustration or just flat out losing on this case, but instead there was a contrived 'surprise ending' that was intended to be the payoff here but it just didn't work in my opinion. I get that short stories often end with things that shock or surprise us because it can be difficult otherwise to involve a reader emotionally in such a short time ... I just didn't like the execution of this short story.