When it comes to police procedural thrillers, Michael Connelly pretty much has the genre on lock. Thanks to his wildly successful Harry Bosch series (which was made into a TV series starring Titus Welliver), and fast pace at which he releases new books, his fans are often devoted ones. First published in 2017, The Late Show is the first in a new series featuring a female officer, Renée Ballard who has been relegated to the night shift (hence the title) after making a complaint against a senior officer.
The character of Ballard is compelling. She has a shadowed past, she’s new to town, she’s smart and strong-willed but – probably at least partly due to being an outcast and struggling to survive her youth – she has a hard time making connections with other people. This is exacerbated by the existing friction between female and male colleagues in a tough job. But she’s resilient, and she pursues her cases with a dogged determination that is both a huge asset and a liability.
In this first book, Ballard decides to follow up on two cases that she really wasn’t suppose to work – an attack on a trans prostitute (that she knows will not be given high priority otherwise) and a shooting at a nightclub. She follows up leads on these cases on her own time, uncovering a whole nest of secrets and deceptions. The climax sees her in a dangerous situation where she’s alone and depending on her own skills and quick thinking to save herself. This is, I suspect, going to become a theme with this series.
We don’t come across Bosch in this book, though it’s listed as being in the Bosch series as well as the first Ballard, but there are references to him. Though he isn’t in this book, it’s very much got a Bosch feel to it. There’s the familiar setting, similar friction between a detective who does not play well with others and a regimented, old school police force, a main character who has been through a fair amount of trauma, and who is incredibly resourceful and intelligent. I can see where the two bear similarities, and this book will definitely appeal to fans of Bosch.
As for the writing itself, Connelly has an interesting way of including a lot of detail that, in any other type of book or less skillful hands, would make it feel thick and heavy. But because he’s writing thrillers and there’s a lot of action and forward momentum, he manages to balance it out perfectly. It’s not like any other thriller style I’ve read before, but it’s an interesting quirk. I could see it irritating some readers, but appealing to others, as it does bring in more background research and lead to a more nuanced understanding of police procedure and dynamics than those that gloss over those details.
I enjoyed this book, and went straight on to the next book in the series. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys gritty police procedurals, likes underdog protagonists, or finds gender roles in traditionally male careers an interesting context for a story. I also highly recommend the audiobook read by Katherine Moennig – she did an excellent job and her voice fits the character and story perfectly (I only wish she had continued narrating the rest of the series!). I’m glad I finally circled back around to Connelly’s books, having read the first few Bosch books over a decade ago but none since. I expect to continue on with the Ballard branch of thrillers now that I’ve gotten started, and might even pick up some of the newer Bosch books if I find the time!
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly, a new thriller introducing a driven young detective trying to prove herself in the LAPD
Renée Ballard works the night shift in Hollywood, beginning many investigations but finishing none as each morning she turns her cases over to day shift detectives. A once up-and-coming detective, she’s been given this beat as punishment after filing a sexual harassment complaint against a supervisor.
But one night she catches two cases she doesn’t want to part with: the brutal beating of a prostitute left for dead in a parking lot and the killing of a young woman in a nightclub shooting. Ballard is determined not to give up at dawn. Against orders and her own partner’s wishes, she works both cases by day while maintaining her shift by night. As the cases entwine they pull her closer to her own demons and the reason she won’t give up her job no matter what the department throws at her. – Goodreads
Book Title: The Late Show
Author: Michael Connelly
Series: Yes – Renée Ballard #1, Harry Bosch Universe #29
Edition: Audiobook
Published By: Little, Brown and Company/Audible
Released: July 18, 2017
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Dark
Pages: 405
Date Read: August 12-13, 2022
Rating: 6/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.08/5 (72,915 ratings)