Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The Late Show by Michael Connelly


First Line: Ballard and Jenkins rolled up on the house on El Centro shortly before midnight.

Renée Ballard works the late show out of LAPD's Hollywood division. Once an up-and-coming detective, she's now on permanent night shift as punishment for filing an unsuccessful sexual harassment complaint against a superior officer. To her, the downside of night shift is beginning many investigations but never finishing them-- that honor goes to the overworked day shift.

But one night Renée catches two assignments she doesn't want to turn loose of-- the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a shooting at a nightclub. Against orders and her partner's wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shifts at night. 

This isn't just a matter of working on practically no sleep. These cases soon have Renée facing some of her personal demons, and they also make her realize why she will not give up her job-- no matter what the department throws at her.

If there's one book I've read this summer that I would recommend everyone read, it's Michael Connelly's The Late Show. The character of Renée Ballard blew me away. She's from the same mold as Harry Bosch: Everyone counts, or nobody counts. She's intensely private and spends many of her mornings when she's just gotten off shift paddleboarding with her dog Lola. Renée graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in journalism, but the first time she had to cover a crime scene, she realized that she didn't want to write about crime, she wanted to catch the bad guys.

Her journalist's background means she's fantastic at mowing through the mounds of paperwork every police officer has to deal with, and she's become a pro, not only with paperwork but with her timing as well so she can work the cases that will get short shrift by the overworked day shift. (Everybody counts....) As a result of what she continues to deal with after her unsuccessful sexual harassment complaint, Renée has no time for people who won't stick up for her when they know she's right. But she's not all sharp edges and hostility; she can be thrilled to find a bookstore she didn't know existed when walking in downtown Los Angeles-- and there are her grandmother and Lola, too.

As you can tell, I did fall hard for Renée Ballard, but it wasn't just the main character that makes this book so special. The story itself is compelling, and Michael Connelly absolutely blindsided me with whodunit. Yes, The Late Show is so darned good that I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series. Write faster, Mr. Connelly!


The Late Show by Michael Connelly
ISBN: 9780316225984
Little, Brown and Company © 2017
Hardcover, 448 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Renée Ballard mystery
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.


13 comments:

  1. I am next in line to get it at the library. So I will be reading it soon. I am so far behind with the Harry Bosch series.I will be starting this series at the beginning of the books being published. I am looking forward to reading and starting this series. Happy that you liked it so much. Looks like I am in for a good read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm behind with Harry, too. It's almost as if I'm hoarding him, knowing that he's good and will always be there for me. I certainly hope you enjoy Renée!

      Delete
  2. While I liked this book, I didn't like the "woman in danger" bit. too trite

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps, but I was so deep into the story and the character that I didn't mind. Thanks for the different perspective; it's always welcome!

      Delete
  3. I give Connelly so much credit, Cathy, for creating new characters and series over the years as he has. Glad to see that you enjoyed this one so much, and I'll be interested to see where Connelly goes next with Renée Ballard.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Put this on my library waiting list

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm not looking for new books to read because I'm totally inundated with TBR books, but I'm a huge fan of Michael Connelly and delighted he has a new character and new book that you enthusiastically endorse. This book moves to the top of my list once I get my hands on it. Thanks for the heads up.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. I agree.

    Once I opened up this book, I was riveted until I finished it. It was one of those books which I couldn't wait to get back to every chance I got.

    I do have one gripe and that was the "woman in peril" chapter. I was biting my fingernails, eating frozen yogurt, trying to race through it. I was irked and couldn't wait for that chapter to end.

    However, that does not take away from my enjoyment of it and Renee Ballard's character. She is brilliant, driven, hard-working, independent -- and a dog lover.

    I quickly loaned it to a friend who loves Michael Connelly's book and I know she's deeply engrossed in it.

    I can't wait for the next book in the series. Then I can again put off tasks, paying bills, watering the plants, using the phone, etc. And just read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've just written the type of endorsement that every author would love to hear about her/his own books.

      Delete
  7. Well, luckily, I've read several such books this year. Now I'm in post-good-book slump and trying to remedy that with a woman-in-peril book, not usually my thing and not up to Renee Ballard.

    Yes, and my friend, Brenda, finished it in two days and loved it. She should write on a blog or to Connelly.

    A new Bosch book is coming out in the fall. I'll read it.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!