City of Bones characters

Appears from the start

An LAPD homicide detective called to a Laurel Canyon property after a dog uncovers a human bone. The victim is a child buried for roughly two decades, and Bosch commits himself to recovering an identity and a history from the sparse remains.

Appears from the start

Bosch's homicide partner. Edgar shares the long investigation from the canyon excavation through old missing-person reports, though he remains more attentive than Bosch to procedure and the cost of letting a cold case consume the team.

Appears from the start

A rookie patrol officer who responds to the discovery in Laurel Canyon. Older than most probationary officers and determined to prove herself in a second career, she begins a relationship with Bosch while remaining subject to close departmental scrutiny.

First appears in chapter 2

The lieutenant commanding Bosch and Edgar's squad. Billets must protect a delicate child-murder inquiry from leaks and premature conclusions while managing Bosch's attachment to both the case and a rookie officer connected to it.

First appears in chapter 9

A boy who disappeared from his Laurel Canyon neighborhood in 1980. Once the recovered skeleton is connected to him, evidence of repeated healed injuries shows that his life had involved sustained abuse before his death.

First appears in chapter 12

Arthur's father, now an alcoholic living with the consequences of the family he damaged. He admits physically abusing his son, making him an immediate suspect when the old remains are identified.

First appears in chapter 13

Arthur's older sister and one of the last people to know his circumstances before he vanished. Her memories of their violent home and the neighborhood children help Bosch reconstruct Arthur's intended escape and final movements.

First appears in chapter 24

A neighborhood boy from Arthur's childhood whose skateboard becomes part of the reconstruction of the victim's last day. As an adult, Stokes is difficult to locate and gives Bosch reason to question the old account of Arthur simply running away.

First appears in chapter 8

A former resident near the burial site whose history makes him a conspicuous early suspect. Public disclosure turns investigative interest into an accusation before Bosch has evidence tying Trent to Arthur's death.

First appears in chapter 3

A forensic anthropologist who studies the recovered skeleton. His reading of age, old fractures, and fatal trauma turns scattered bones into a record of a child's abuse and gives Bosch the parameters needed to search old missing-person files.

First appears in chapter 4

A medical examiner who works with Bosch's team on the remains and the later physical evidence. Her conclusions help distinguish injuries suffered during Arthur's life from the blow that killed him.

First appears in chapter 7

A Los Angeles Times reporter whose coverage can bring resources and witnesses to a cold case but can also make an uncharged person publicly synonymous with a child's murder. Bosch must manage what the department releases to her.