Michael Connelly won the Barry Award for Best Mystery of the year for DESERT STAR but wasn’t able to attend Bouchercon to receive the award in person. So I sent the Barry Award to Associate Editor Larry Gandle who lives close to Michael Connelly in Tampa, Florida. The stars aligned with an already scheduled dinner that Larry and Michael had set up for Wednesday night. The award arrived at Larry’s home that afternoon and he was able to present it to Michael that night.

Congratulations to Michael Connelly, — in my opinion, the best mystery writer living today. I’ve already read his new novel, RESURRECTION WALK, that is coming out in early November. I’m giving it an A+. I started reading it one afternoon, read about 200 pages before going to sleep, woke up early and finished it that morning. Fourteen hours (including my sleep) from start to finish. It was that good. Literally couldn’t put it down. It is a Lincoln Lawyer novel but Harry Bosch plays a big role in the narrative.