In the shadow of the moon (novel)

In the shadow of the moon (English: Void Moon) is the 9th novel by the American crime novelist Michael Connelly , published in 2000 (in German 2002).

action

Cassidy "Cassie" Black has been released early on parole and works for a Porsche dealer in Los Angeles. Cassie had been convicted of manslaughter under the Fellony Murder Rule . She and her lover Max Freeling specialized in robbing Las Vegas gamblers of their winnings in their sleep that night. When Cassie becomes pregnant, they want to make one last coup. Max Freeling rushes through the window of the penthouse on the 20th floor of the Cleopatra Casino into the lobby, where Cassie is waiting for him. As his accomplice, the court finds her guilty of manslaughter under the Fellony Murder Rule . It later emerges that private detective Jack Karch had ambushed Max Freeling and forced him to jump through the window.

Cassie gave birth to a daughter in prison who she put up for adoption because she didn't want her to grow up in prison. Now on parole, she watches her daughter Jodie with her adoptive parents. When she learns that they have sold their house and want to move to Paris, she decides to carry out one last robbery. She wants to steal enough money so that she can go to Paris to be close to her daughter. She turns to Max's half-brother Leo Renfro, who is to arrange an opportunity for her. Leo sends her to the “Cleo” in Las Vegas, where she is supposed to take his winnings from high roller Diego Hernandez. Leo Renfro warns Cassie not to commit the robbery in the time of the Void Moon , because Max Freeling died precisely at the time of the Void Moon .

Cassie breaks into the player's room early in the morning. The robbery does not go completely smoothly, but the problems started before the time of Void Moon . Nevertheless, Cassie manages to escape undetected with the prey.

Change of scene: In the early morning of the following day, the owner of the casino, Vincent Grimaldi, calls the private investigator Jack Karch into the room of the player who was murdered. In fact, it wasn't just a gambler, but a messenger from the Cuban Mafia from Miami, who was supposed to deliver $ 2.5 million to Grimaldi. Now Hernandez is dead and the money is gone. Karch should get the money back.

During surveillance footage, Karch notices that Cassie was watching the player. He manages to identify her and find out her address. Jack Karch pursues Cassie and leaves a trail of blood: Leo Renfro dies because he does not want to reveal anything to Karch; Thelma Kibble, Cassie's probation officer who visits Cassie at her apartment, is seriously injured by Karch; Cassie can just call the ambulance. And Cassie herself barely escapes Karch, who tries to take her into his power during a test drive in a new Porsche. But Karch still has a lever. He learned from Thelma Kibble that Cassie has a daughter. He kidnaps Jodie to Las Vegas and blackmails Cassie to bring him the loot.

In Las Vegas, Karch is confronted that Grimaldi has tricked him. Grimaldi has ordered the murder of Hernandez and wants to let Karch stand as the culprit in order to get the money himself. Karch also murders Grimaldi and his helpers.

Cassie pretends to Karch that she is still on the way to Las Vegas, although she has long been in the "Cleo" and wants to free her daughter. Jodie is locked in the casino penthouse. During the confrontation with Karch, Cassie Karch manages to push through the window - through the window that Max Freeling had fallen through five years earlier. Cassie throws some of the banknotes after the loot to cause a commotion. In the chaos of the greedy people, she and Jodie manage to escape.

On the way back to Los Angeles, Cassie is torn inside. Eventually she struggles and brings Jodie back to her adoptive parents and drives away with the rest of the money and forged papers in the name of Jane Davis that Leo had got for her.

Remarks

1. ^ "Felony murder is a legal rule that expands the definition of murder. It applies when someone commits a certain kind of felony and someone else dies in the course of it. It doesn't matter whether the death was intentional or accidental — the defendant is liable for it. ”See www.criminsldefenselawyer.com

Cross references

In chapter 20 of The Return of the Poet 2004 in Las Vegas, Harry Bosch meets a woman who calls herself Jane Davis and has a daughter who lives in France. In Forgotten Voices , Chapter 8, Bosch speaks to probation officer Thelma Kibble. With Cassidy Black informing the rescue, Kibble's life was saved and she has recovered from the serious injuries that Jack Karch inflicted on her. There is an old wanted photo in Kibble's office of Bosch recognizing Jane Davis and learning from Kibble that her real name is Cassie Black.

expenditure

• Michael Connelly: Void Moon . Little, Brown and Company , 2000 ISBN 978-0-316-15406-2
• Michael Connelly: In the shadow of the moon . From the American by Sepp Leeb. Heyne, Munich, 2002 ISBN 978-3-453-86501-3 ; As paperback: same, 2003 ISBN 978-3-453-87355-1 and 2004 978-3-453-72036-7

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Void Moon , which gave the English original its title, is a special astrological constellation, in German moon pause .