The Narrows (Connelly novel)
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Founder | Michael Connelly |
| Products | Crime novel |
The Narrows marks the 14th book by American crime writer Michael Connelly and is the tenth installment featuring Los Angeles detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. This novel weaves together unresolved plot threads from The Poet, Blood Work, and A Darkness More Than Night within the Bosch series, as Bosch collaborates with FBI Agent Rachel Walling.
Plot
At the request of the wife of former FBI profiler Terry McCaleb, Bosch investigates McCaleb's death, suspecting involvement from Robert Backus, a serial killer and ex-FBI supervisor known as The Poet, who was believed to be deceased. Bosch's inquiry leads him to Las Vegas, where he encounters FBI personnel. Concurrently, FBI agent Rachel Walling—once Backus’s protégé and reassigned to South Dakota following the events of The Poet—receives communications from Backus. Both Bosch and Walling, operating outside the main FBI investigation, decide to collaborate.
The story shifts between Bosch's first-person narration and third-person accounts focusing on Walling and Backus. During the investigation, Bosch meets a neighbor who is later identified (in The Closers) as Cassie Black from Void Moon, and begins a romantic relationship with Walling. Additionally, he accepts an invitation from former partner Kiz Rider to rejoin the LAPD as a homicide detective within the Open-Unsolved Unit of the Robbery-Homicide Division.
In the climax, Bosch and Walling confront The Poet in the submerged concrete channels of the Los Angeles River, where Backus drowns—confirming his demise, in contrast to his fate in The Poet. Their relationship dissolves after Bosch uncovers that the FBI concealed evidence proving Backus was not responsible for McCaleb’s death. It is revealed that McCaleb had taken his own life to prevent his family from facing financial hardship due to complications with his failing heart transplant.