against the incumbent mayor. Her boss hopes that the investigation will eventually help his election bid. (Fallen Star is the type of novel in which virtually every character is somewhat shady.)

However, before Ronin can solve the first murder mystery, a second case literally lands right below her feet. A helicopter piloted by the notorious actor she arrested several books earlier crashes on the hillside below Ronin’s home, killing everyone on board. Several of the suspects in the corruption and barrel murder case were passengers on the helicopter. When the medical examiner determines the pilot was shot, Ronin has a second murder case to solve and must figure out the connection between the two cases.

If this brief plot synopsis seems somewhat cinematic, there’s a good reason. Author Lee Goldberg is a veteran television scriptwriter who has penned dozens of teleplays for mystery series. He applies that style to the plotting of this book. However, Fallen Star and the rest of the Ronin novels go beyond adopting a television approach to storytelling. In one of the most meta developments I’ve ever encountered in mystery novels, Ronin’s personality and success in solving cases led to the development of a streaming television series about her, not surprisingly called Ronin. She now serves as a technical consultant to the show, which stars a different actress, and the public often confuses the exploits of the “real” Ronin and the “reel” Ronin. (To add an additional level of meta to the concept, Madison Lintz, who played Harry Bosch’s daughter on television, has been announced as the lead for an upcoming streaming TV series about Eve Ronin.) The fictional TV series is less of a factor in “Fallen Star” than in other Ronin novels, but the book explores her attempts to balance the various aspects of her life and figure out who she is.

The only person Ronin can consistently count on is her partner, Duncan “Donuts” Pavone. He’s practically a walking advertisement for McDonald’s, as he stops there to load up on calories at least a dozen times in the book. I understand the concept of a running joke about Pavone’s eating habits, but the author overdoes it here. An actual person who consumed as much in the course of a day as Pavone does would weigh 400 pounds. Although Pavone is a shrewd detective, he’s not much help for Ronin when things get physical. For that, she relies on another staple of TV crimefighting: the crossover. The investigation into the helicopter crash involves the Sheriff Department’s arson investigators, Sharpe and Walker, who are the protagonists in another one of the author’s series. Ronin put in an appearance in that series, so they return the favor here. Luckily for Ronin, Andrew Walker has the physical skills to lend a hand in some of the book’s action moments.

I was highly impressed with the author’s attention to detail in Fallen Star. He’s quite familiar with the Los Angeles area, and several sequences are set at actual locations. One major set piece takes place on a rundown stretch of highway outside Barstow, not exactly a prime tourist attraction. The author describes Ronin and the villain’s movements and actions in detail, giving the scene a highly realistic feel. The author has also done his research on modern-day police procedures. He describes how the investigators and medical examiners cover an actual crime scene and does so in a way readers will understand and appreciate. He cheats a bit by having investigators ask each other what they’re doing to allow for information dump explanations. I would rather not have resorted to that gimmick to give the readers the benefit of his research.

The mysteries in Fallen Star shouldn’t be too difficult for genre fans to figure out, especially after the helicopter crash narrows the list of suspects. Similarly, the corruption investigation doesn’t approach the depth you’ll find in the best books of this type. Still, Eve Ronin is a plucky, likable protagonist with great chemistry with her partner. The entire concept of the TV show within the book is highly entertaining. I found it quite easy to overlook the flaws when I got caught up in the book’s rhythm and narrative. The result is what I would expect from an experienced television writer with great attention to research and detail, who turns his talents to police thrillers. Fallen Star resembles an episode of a well-crafted series, fun to watch and not too demanding.  

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.