#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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Loved it!
Plausible, no major holes, reasonable characters, good read.
I love Michael Connelly’s new detective. Bosch is great, but Renee Ballard may be my new favorite. Connely just gets better and better.
Really liked this new female detective intoduced. Looking forward to reading more in this series. If you like Bosch, then you should like this.
I always like a strong female cop and this one is no exception. A good read!
What does Great world building mean?
Not quiet up tp Connoly standards
boring
I think if Michael Connelly were to write an instruction manual I would read it from cover to cover. From Bosch, to the Lincoln Lawyer, and now Renee Ballard, I’m a huge fan. Only one problem: I read it all in two days, and I’m hungry for more!
Loved the character? As always the story and writing are 1st rate.
I hope he writes more books with this Character in it loved it
I think Michael Connelly is one of the best writers around. Something about his writing ‘clicks’ with me. So I will admit up front to a certain bias regarding his books.
Having said that, I didn’t feel the first book of his featuring a female protagonist, Void Moon, measured up to his normal high quality. I thought it might be because he didn’t have as good a handle on Cassie Black as he did on Harry Bosch and his other male leads. But I also thought it might be because Cassie was a bad guy (or gal in this case), an ex-con having just gotten out of prison.
So I looked forward to reading this book with divided feelings. I wanted to read it because it was a Michael Connelly book but hesitated because I didn’t want to be disappointed.
Bottom line: I wasn’t disappointed. Connelly got Renee Ballard right. Like Harry, Mickey, and Connelly’s other characters, she’s tough, determined, and dedicated to making things right without being a female clone of any of them. She doesn’t state it, but she adheres to Bosch’s ‘Everybody matters or nobody matters’ mantra – working as hard to solve the beating of a transgender prostitute as the murder of her former partner.
Like every Connelly book, The Late Show has steadily building tension, leaving the reader feeling something BIG is going to happen any second and turning pages to find out what it is.
One review I read said the climax felt a bit rushed. I agree. But the build-up to it was logical, realistic, and feasible. Police work is like that sometimes: a slow assembling of the jigsaw of what happened until that one piece that ties everything together falls into place and makes the picture complete. But I would have liked to see Renee take a more active role in nailing the bad guy.
Will I be back for more Renee Ballard novels? You can count on it!
A female Harry Bosch….worth the read.
This time the protagonist is a woman. But definitely not weak. The brass at Parker center believe her post is undesired, but when push comes pull, she prefers staying in the field rather than H&R down town. She outed a sexual harasser in H&R and the stiff blue line failed to support her, thus her transfer to the night shift in one of the least desired stations.
The main character is not very likable, and I forced myself to continue reading. I was half way through the book before the plot became really interesting. Mr. Connelly wrote a lot of police procedure in this volume. I will continue to read his books…I have read each one over the last 23 years, so You might say that I am ‘hooked’.
This book was okay but not up to my expectations of a Connelly story.
I feel Connelly isn’t entirely comfortable with this new character yet. Where Harry Bosch is believably tempted to cross a line now and then, Renee doesn’t seem to see the line at all, yet she’s the good guy. That’s a plot I’m not accustomed to seeing from this masterful author. I hope the character grows to be worthy of Michael Connelly, because she has potential. Nothing can disguise his excellent writing and plotting, however. And the protagonist’s unusual lifestyle is an interesting twist.
Written well but others of his books have been more well written.
Connelly’s best book since The Last Coyote. I look forward to reading more with Ballard as the main character. I have read all of Connelly’s books, beginning with The Poet. But in the last several years he seemed to have lost his groove. However, he’s back with this one. Great.
Connelly is great! Love the new character.