Posted in: Amazon Studios, TV | Tagged: ballard, Bosch, Michael Connelly

Bosch/Ballard: Looking for Series Insights in Connelly's The Waiting

Author Michael Connelly offered interesting insights into the shifting Bosh-Ballard dynamic during his book club livestream for The Waiting.

Bosch creator Michael Connelly had a bookclub with his longtime editor Asya Muchnick to talk about his latest Bosch-Ballard novel, The Waiting, possibly the most intricately-plotted book of his career as it features not only LAPD detective Renée Ballard, to be played by Maggie Q in the upcoming TV series, but also Harry Bosch and his daughter Maddie Bosch, now a rookie cop getting her feet wet as an investigator. Connelly talked about his creative process, the thinking behind the book, and the research he used from real-life detective Mitzi Hartert-Roberts, the inspiration for Ballard, who only recently retired from the LAPD. Hartert-Roberts has also been a consultant for the Bosch TV series and upcoming Ballard series to ensure the portrayal of the cops and the LAPD were authentic as they are in the books.

"The Waiting" Introduces a New Bosch-Ballard Dynamic

In The Waiting. Ballard has to juggle trying to get recover her stolen badge and gun with the help of Harry Bosch while also officially presiding over a breakthrough in a cold case involving the Pillowcase Rapist Murder, and Harry's daughter Maddie volunteering to investigate one of the oldest cold cases in LAPD history: the Black Dahlia murder.

The Waiting is the third book where Ballard heads a Cold Cases unit. The unit uses retired cops and investigators on a voluntary basis, and civilians or "citizen investigators who are adept at finding and connecting clues from the interent. Real-life Cold Cases unit sometimes can't find files from older cases because there are over 30 police stations in LA, and they're still in the process of consolidating murder books, the think folders that collected all the investigative notes, forensics reports, evidence lists, and interview transcripts for cases. It is also the book where Harry Bosch has the least amount of appearances and the first time Maddie and Harry do not directly talk or meet in a book. The two are on their separate paths in this book as Harry uncovers a wider threat than he and Ballard expected, while Maddie and Ballard might actually solve the Black Dahlia case.

"As a reporter," said Connelly. "I knew every detective I talked to has a file on their desk. They keep revising and working on. I've been doing this a long time, so hopefully, I've gotten better at reducing the complexity of characters working on more than one case. There are three signifcant storylines in this book – Renee is in all of them. Harry is in one. Maddie is in another. And I wonder if any reader has noticed Maddie and Harry have no interactions in this book."

Connelly on the Emergence of Maddie Bosch as a Major Character

"If I'm going to be the poet laureate of Los Angeles Crime, how come I've never brought up the Black Dahlia case? How do I do it without solving it officially since it's so old it'll never be solved? Now I can write it, so if they seem to solve it, red tape stops them from being able to declare they solved it. I also wanted to write about Maddie Bosch as an investigator for a long time, but she needed life experience before I can write about that realistically, so this was a two-bird-with-one-stone thing. Finally, we get to see Maddie Bosch reach back for the baton from her dad in this book."

The Waiting is now out in bookshops. Connelly mentioned that the first season of the Ballard series will finish shooting this week. The final season of Bosch: Legacy will premiere in 2025. Stay tuned for more revelations from Connelly's book club.

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