The Hollow

Retired LAPD detective Harry Bosch delves into the darkest chapter of his past in this electric thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly.

“The final showdown will make your heart thrum with vigilante pride.” (Kirkus Reviews)

When Harry Bosch was eleven years old, his mother was murdered and he became a ward of the state, housed in MacLaren Children’s Center, a notorious facility where abuse was rampant. Decades after its closure, a lawsuit has resulted in a massive settlement for former residents. But when Bosch’s half-brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, brings him word that Harry is entitled to part of it, Bosch says he doesn’t want the money. He wants justice.

The news awakens his memories of a place he had hoped never to revisit, and of a boy nicknamed Chops, a fellow ward who wound up dead. Bosch is certain that Chops was killed in a hidden space under the stairs—the kids knew it as “the hollow”—and his murder covered up. Now he is determined to reopen the investigation and learn the truth, even if the killer is long gone.

As Bosch digs into the files, he picks up the trail of a predator who not only survived, but went on to a life of vicious crime—possibly including one of the city’s most notorious unsolved cases. Forced to face a history that both scarred him and launched him on his mission as a cop, Bosch must bring down a sadistic criminal and finally put to rest the demons of his past.

• “Bosch fans will rejoice at this knockout return…Sixty years ago, a teenage Bosch was assigned into a brutal foster-care facility that left his best friend dead. Bosch gets the opportunity, finally, to investigate…Bosch draws on his strengths—crime-solving brilliance and an almost superhuman determination—to solve cases.”
  Booklist (starred review)
• “Bosch seeks justice for a friend who was killed more than half a century ago…The final showdown will make your heart thrum with vigilante pride.”
  Kirkus Reviews
• “The Hollow explores the former LAPD detective’s origin story…It’s a treat to watch the author add new layers to the characterization of his long-running hero."
  Publishers Weekly