#1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly introduces Renee Ballard, a fierce young detective fighting to prove herself on the LAPD’s toughest beat–the Late Show.Renee Ballard works the midnight shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing few, as each morning she turns everything over to the daytime units. It’s a frustrating job for a once up-and-coming detective, … job for a once up-and-coming detective, but it’s no accident. She’s been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor.
But one night Ballard catches two assignments she doesn’t want to part with. First, a prostitute is brutally beaten and left for dead in a parking lot. All signs point to a crime of premeditation, not passion, by someone with big evil on his mind. Then she sees a young waitress breathe her last after being caught up in a nightclub shooting. Though dubbed a peripheral victim, the waitress buys Ballard a way in, and this time she is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her partner’s wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night.
As the investigations intertwine, Ballard is forced to face her own demons and confront a danger she could never have imagined. To find justice for these victims who can’t speak for themselves, she must put not only her career but her life on the line.
Propulsive as a jolt of adrenaline and featuring a bold and defiant new heroien, The Late Show is yet more proof that Michael Connelly is “a master of the genre” (Washington Post).
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In some ways, Michael Connelly is the Sgt. Joe Friday of the modern crime novel. On the surface, there’s a “just the facts” quality to his storytelling, yet in the course of every novel, he gradually reveals details of his good guy’s infatuation with doing the right thing, as well as his or her contempt for those who put expedience ahead of righteousness. Detective Renée Ballard is Harry Bosch-like in her determination to follow her instincts and refusal to compromise her values. She’s a great character in a terrific story. If Harry ever decides to retire for good, Detective Ballard is an able literary replacement.
Here’s another crime story but this time from one of my all-time favorite authors, Micheal Connelly called The Night Shift. The weird thing is I’m not a Bosch fan. But Connelly’s other books like The Poet and The Lincoln Lawyer are stellar storytelling that I am hooked on.
This time the story is about a female protagonist who is thrown into the night shift as punishment for reporting sexual misconduct on the job. Already… I’m in. This is a relevant story in so many ways and anyone who has know female in law enforcement knows they have so much to deal with on top of just risking their life each night. One thing Connelly is known for is his accurate, detailed portrayal of reporters, lawyers and cops… and he always manages to tie their similar goals together without cliche. This book had me wrapped up in the cop-lingo for days saying, “Check your six,” to the husband. I couldn’t stop reading every chance I had because I wanted to be there with Renée Ballard when she solded the cases and got some damn R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Highly recommend.
At first I was slow to like the new character in this book. Who can compete with Hieronymus Bosch?? This is a young woman! Give me back Bosch! But as the story went on, I began to totally relate to this woman and her life. She’s had her troubles but she has one special person in her life, her granny, and that one voice of approval and love is all she needs to get up and go. Not scared of very much. Daring. Police Officer first and foremost, not a people pleaser, very hard to intimidate this gal. Renee Ballard quickly became one of my obsessions for book-buying. That Connelly, it would be hard to beat him for a good read.
The Late show is Connelly’s new offering, along side Bosch. Renee is on the midnight shift because she accused her supervisor of sexual harassment. In retaliation, he had he put on the trashyist shift possible. But all she really does is take down infor and turn everything over to the real detectives come daylight. She never resolves a case or catches the bad guy.
On one particular night, there are two major incidents, and she doesn’t want to turn loose of either of them. A waitress is killed in a nightclub shooting, and the beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot.
Renee is told again and again to stay away from both cases. She is shut out at every opportunity. But she persists.
Renee is a little tilted herself. She is basically homeless. She has a dog she rescued that she boards at night and then she and the dog sleep on the beach in a tent everyday. She’s smart, well educated, but being abandoned during her early teens has left a serious mark. She has a room at her grandmother’s and uses that as her address so no one realizes she is homeless.
Bosch has issues, but Renee has a lot more. Waiting to see what Renee does next. Should be interesting.
3.5s
I am a huge fan of the author’s Harry Bosch books, and wondered how a new female character would live up to expectations. I was not disappointed.
Detective Renee Ballard has been moved to “The Late Show” or night shift with LAPD, after reporting a senior officer for misconduct. However, she soon proves her worth when the victim of a brutal attack is reported on her watch, as well as a multiple shooting, that takes her on a dangerous dual investigation.
The Late Show is fast paced, and suspenseful leaving the reader wanting more books showcasing this new female detective.
A great new addition to the already enjoyable series of enjoyable murder mysteries this author writes.
I don’t know why it took me so long to get around to this renowned author. This book rocked!
It’s true to say Michael Connelly is a master at this kind of crime fiction. He paints such vivid pictures with words that I truly felt part of the action. As a writer, he certainly knows how to reach the reader’s emotions. His writing skills encompass all it takes to make a thoroughly satisfying crime fiction book.
The characters are believable; the plot flows easily and credibly; the procedures are described accurately as far as I can tell plus he is a master of the small detail. He writes about something that at the time seems insignificant but we later learn it is the key to solving the entire mystery and reveals the identity of the shooter. Brilliant!
This author also sure knows how to write a fight scene. The “confrontation” between the protagonist Detective Renee Ballard and the used car salesman is written so tightly and packed with such details of the realistic mechanics of a fight, it had me on the edge of my reading armchair.
The main story line concerns a multiple shooting in a Hollywood nightclub. Five people are dead, three of whom are customers and appear to be bad guys. That’s where the main investigation starts – who are these bad guys and how are they connected? Ballard becomes involved in this major investigation by chance as she is already at the Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital attending to the case of a transgender who has been brutally attacked. A waitress from the nightclub is brought in to the ER department but is DOA. Ballard does what she can with that victim from a procedural point of view and passes on the information to the squad dealing with the club shooting.
That squad is headed up by her nemesis Lt. Olivas. There is history between them in that Ballard filed an unsuccessful harassment claim against him resulting in her leaving that prestigious squad and being relegated to the “late show.” That’s the night shift where detectives “catch” the crime but pass it on to the day shift or a relevant squad. Detective Chastain is also part of the squad investigating the club shootings and he was a former detective partner of Ballard’s who failed to support her in her complaint regarding her former boss, Olivas.
The whole backstory of her treatment by the Department, and Olivas in particular, is fundamental to the plot and adds yet another layer of intrigue to a fascinating story.
There are other backstories weaved so brilliantly into the main plot and all interesting in their own right. As is Ballard’s own backstory.
I look forward to reading more of Renee Ballard – a formidable but likable woman, and a talented detective to boot!
I review this book from a part perspective of having 14 years detective experience albeit on the ‘other side of the Pond.’
So much of this author’s writing resonates with me. At times I was transported back ‘to the day.’ I enjoyed the part where the psychiatrist is interviewing Ballard about her fitness to return to duty. The shrink goes into soliloquy mode about “the darkness” surrounding crime and the need to find an escape mechanism from it. So true!
Real crime is a very dark place. I’m pleased that crime fiction of this quality can give so much enjoyment.
SPOILER ALERT:
Fast-paced, intriguing detective story of a female detective who can think rings around the boys. Loved how her mind worked. She latches on to a case with the same insomniac intensity as Harry Bosch. Managing to solve a robbery, a quadruple murder, a garage-door cop murder, and sleuth out the perp for an almost-beaten-to-death Trans assault was very impressive. Too bad she couldn’t overcome the chauvinism of a particular fellow policeman, but, hey, the story needs to be believable, right?
suspenseful and interesting.
great read
A Good Harry Basch book.
I love everything this author writes. I spent time in SoCal and it is fun to read about the area.
Superior author
I love anything the author writes. It was exciting to read and the characters were well developed.
Love the Harry Bosch series.
Can’t wait to read more books in the Renee Ballard series.
The LAPD homicide detective stories by Michael Connelly can’t be beat.
In The Late Show, Michael Connolly introduces us to a brand new character – Renée Ballard, a young detective working in the LAPD. This is the first in a planned series with Ballard, with a second book featuring her scheduled for release late 2018.
The title refers to the night shift of the LAPD, a strange world where detectives sweep everything and anything up only to hand it all over to the day shift detectives. Ballard has been demoted to this shift following an unsuccessful sexual harassment claim against one of the Lieutenants in the department. Her partner at the time didn’t support her, which effectively estranged them.
The book begins with a busy shift. A credit card fraud, a vicious assault in a transgender person, and a multiple homicide at a nightclub. Ballard gets involved in all three cases far beyond what would be expected of her role within the late show shift. These three crimes form the strands around which Connolly crafts the book, and he does it very well. It sounds complicated, and it is, but Connolly has the writing chops to carry it off.
Ballard herself has an interesting background. She is of Hawaiian descent and grew up on the beaches of Maui. Her father, a competitive surfer, drowned when she was in High School, and her mother abandoned her shortly afterward. Ballard spent almost a year effectively homeless before being taken in by her grandmother. This spell of homelessness carries over to her adult life in a sense – she spends a lot of time on the beach, either paddling in the water or sleeping in a tent. Her only constant friendship is with a dog called Lola.
The book does start slowly, and gathers pace along the way. Perhaps I’m too used to reading Connolly books where I already know the central characters well, but it took me a good couple of hundred pages to get into Ballard’s character. By the end of the book though, I was completely sold on her.
This book gets a solid 4 stars from me. The relatively slow starting pace and the time it took me to get into the new character costs it that final star, but it’s a very good read.
Can’t wait for more Ballard novels.