The Burning Room Q & A
5 Questions For Michael Connelly About The Burning Room
Question: The Burning Room is your 19th Harry Bosch novel (and your 27th novel overall.) What is it about Harry Bosch that keeps drawing you back to write about him again?
Michael Connelly: It’s hard to put my finger on it. To me it’s just unfinished business. Somebody said that the storyteller’s job is to create the question What Happens Next? It seems that every time I finish a Bosch book I am left with that question. So it means there has to be another book.
Question: In this novel, Harry is in the last year of his contract with the LAPD. Your readers always want to know what your plans are for him. Can you share anything?
Michael: It seems that every few books the series turns in a new direction. Without giving things away, this is one of those books. Things happen, doors open and I hope to see Harry go through them in the future.
Question: Lucy Soto, Harry’s new partner, is a fascinating character introduced in The Burning Room. What was the inspiration for her character?
Michael: I just felt it was time to write about a young person becoming a homicide detective and that experience. I never did that with Harry. The series started with him already a veteran. With Lucy I can show her learning and being mentored by Harry.
Question: You are currently working on the Bosch TV series. Has watching Harry come to life on screen changed anything for you when you write about him now?
Michael: Not a whole lot. I keep the two separated pretty easily because Harry is different in both. There’s a big difference in age and that somehow keeps them compartmentalized for me.
Question: You’ve always said that bad guys don’t interest you as much as cops do. Can you elaborate on that?
Michael: Just as a writer, I am fascinated with the cop’s bargain. That is that people take this job on knowing that it is very difficult to do right and fairly and objectively. And the hardest trick of all is surviving it without your insides wilting, let alone dealing with the outside pressures and dangers. To me that’s a noble cause and I’d much rather examine that than examine why some evil person has acted out against the rules of society.
