Two Kinds of Truth

Author	Michael Connelly
Language	English/Spanish
Series	Harry Bosch #20
Genre	Crime novel
Publisher	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date	2017
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print, e-book
Pages	400 pp.
ISBN	978-0316225908
Preceded by	The Late Show
Followed by	Dark Sacred Night

Two Kinds of Truth is the 31st novel by American crime author Michael Connelly, and the 20th novel featuring Los Angeles Police Department detective Harry Bosch. The book was published by Little, Brown and Company in 2017.

Retired LAPD detective Harry Bosch volunteers as a cold-case investigator for the San Fernando Police Department (SFPD). He is interrupted from reviewing a missing persons case when the DA's Conviction Integrity Unit informs him that his 1987 arrest of death row inmate Preston Borders is under review. New DNA evidence on victim Danielle Skyler's clothing matches a deceased serial rapist, and Borders's attorney Lance Cronyn has filed a habeas corpus petition alleging Bosch planted the key trial evidence — a seahorse pendant. With the LAPD unwilling to defend him, Bosch turns to his half-brother, defense attorney Mickey Haller, to fight the claim.

Simultaneously, Bosch investigates the execution-style murders of father-and-son pharmacists José Esquivel Sr. and Jr. The case leads him into a large prescription opioid trafficking network run by a Russian-Armenian crime syndicate. To expose the killers, Bosch goes undercover as a drug addict and infiltrates the pill mill pipeline — a near-fatal assignment when the syndicate identifies him as a cop and forces him onto a plane over the Salton Sea. Bosch fights his way free and alerts law enforcement, dismantling the operation.

On the legal front, Haller and his investigator uncover that Cronyn had conspired with a financially desperate LAPD evidence clerk, Terrence Spencer, to plant Olmer's DNA in the sealed evidence box — framing Bosch in order to win a wrongful conviction settlement. Haller exposes the scheme in court, the habeas petition is dismissed, and Borders is returned to death row. Both cases resolved, Bosch is nonetheless left unsettled by the moral compromises required to reach the truth.

Mark Sanderson of the Evening Standard wrote that Connelly "splices his twin narratives into a super-gripping thriller that also adds depth and complexity to his central character" and called it "as brilliant as anything Connelly has written".^[1] A reviewer from The Times of India wrote that while the novel "starts slow", it "picks up the pace as it progresses" and features a "solid plot, with fascinating twists and some shocking moments." They considered the novel to be "one of Connelly's finest."^[2]

Jeff Ayers of the Associated Press called it a "well-written and engaging story from a master of the genre"; he wrote that Connelly "tells two compelling stories that individually would make a terrific read but together make an instant classic."^[3] Kirkus Reviews wrote that while the novel features "All the structural problems you’d expect from jamming two urgent but unrelated cases together", with much of the second half spent on "tying up increasingly low-impact loose ends"; further, the "marvelous" courthouse sequence "will bring you cheering to your feet."^[4]