Which book is Bosch: Legacy Season 3 based on? Details explored

Bosch: Legacy is a three seasons-long revival of the Amazon series Bosch that ran for seven seasons between February 2014 and June 2021. Legacy picks up where the previous series left off and follows Harry Bosch working as a private investigator after quitting the LAPD in the seventh season's finale in the last series.

Both, the original seven-season series and the revival adapt the novels Michael Connelly wrote. The first season of Bosch: Legacy brings the nineteenth book The Wrong Side of Goodbye and the twenty-second book The Night Fire to the screen. The second season's story is taken from The Wrong Side of Goodbye and the eighteenth book The Crossing. The upcoming third season will adapt the second book and the thirty-seventh book.

Actor Titus Welliver will be returning for the third season of Legacy, which is also its final one. The ten-episode-long season 3 will be accessible to stream on Prime Video from March 27, 2025, and conclude on April 17, 2025.

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Bosch Legacy Season 3 will adapt which book?

As stated before the original Bosch series and Legacy have adapted multiple books written by American author Michael Connelly. Usually, one season combines the storylines of more than one book. Bosch: Legacy Season 3 will be adapting The Black Ice, the second book in the series published in 1993, and Desert Star, the thirty-seventh book published in 2022.

In this season, the lives of our main characters have to deal with two problems. Firstly, they are rocked by a murder investigation, and secondly, they are tasked with finding a missing family. The synopsis of the upcoming third season of Legacy reads:

"Season Three of Bosch: Legacy is based on Michael Connelly’s best-selling novels Desert Star (2022) and The Black Ice (1993). The murder investigation of Kurt Dockweiler brings dangerous secrets to light and threatens to ruin the lives of our three principal characters. The disappearance of a family haunts Harry Bosch and forces him to confront the limits of justice. In a hotly contested race, Honey “Money” Chandler is poised to become the next District Attorney of Los Angeles. And Maddie Bosch gets entangled in a series of violent follow-home robberies."

The description given above may sound exciting to the fans, but they still have to deal with one major change made to the series.

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What was change did Prime Video's Bosch: Legacy make to the Michael Connelly books?

In the books, Harry Bosch is connected to Mickey Haller, The Lincoln Lawyer as he is the latter's half-brother. In the books, these two characters occupy the same universe. This is why probably Bosch: Legacy until now has combined the storylines of two books for one season, to avoid references to Bosch's half-brother. This issue was addressed by author Michael Connelly himself in a 2022 interview.

In May 2022, Connelly sat down for an interview with AARP in which the author addressed the adaptations. He revealed that the two movie adaptations of his books, Clint Eastwood's Blood Work (2002) and Brad Furman's The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) didn't involve his participation. But he was more appreciative of his collaboration with Netflix for The Lincoln Lawyer by saying:

"Netflix said, “Let’s be really loyal to the book.” In the book the character is Mexican American: His mother is from Mexico; his father is a Beverly Hills lawyer. Matthew McConaughey, he’s iconic, but the Texas drawl and all that kind of stuff is not really from the book. It was a great performance. I really appreciated it. But it is refreshing and fulfilling that one of the very first things Netflix said to me was “We’re going to find a Mexican American actor like the guy in the books.”

When asked about his involvement in the streaming adaptations of his books, Connelly replied:

"I’m in the writing room [in Lincoln Lawyer and Bosch]. That’s really where I can contribute. I don’t know anything about camera angles or lighting or even acting. I don’t get involved in casting; I let people that know way more than me do that kind of stuff. But I do know these characters, so where I can contribute is in the writer’s room. So, yes, I am involved. I wrote episodes on both shows."

Then came the questions fans were wondering about the most. The interviewer asked the author about the possibility of Mickey Haller sharing the screen with his half-brother Harry Bosch. The author's exact quotes were:

"Since we have competing studios, that’s not going to be a thing in the shows. I understand. But if we got Amazon and Netflix working together, we could also solve world peace."

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Thus, for now, it is safe to assume that the characters will remain separate on the screen for now. But don't let this change dampen your excitement for Bosch: Legacy. The final season will be available to stream on Prime Video from next week.

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Also Read: Fact Check: Is The Lincoln Lawyer based on a true story? Origin of the Netflix show explored