The Late Show
Michael Connelly
Little, Bown and Company 2017
405 pages
The Late Show is the latest (2017) mystery novel by Michael Connelly. There is a new kid in town. Dog lover, and surfer by day, Detective Renee Ballard is a tough, tenacious, no-nonsense loner who works the late shift in Hollywood. Due to unsubstantiated accusations thrown at a superior officer, she is not exactly on the warm and fuzzy list of her fellow officers. With limited trust running both ways, her investigations are often solo. Kindle version at Amazon: The Late Show on Kindle
Ballard finds herself in the middle of two serious cases: A shooting in a popular nightclub, and a brutal attack on an individual. Ballard ignores protocol and conducts pieces of her investigations on the sly.
The result is that the shooting goes deeper than anyone could have imagined. Many people, including Ballard herself are in jeopardy.
The Late Show takes a while to get going. Characters are sometimes not easy to track. Having read all of Michael Connelly’s mystery novels, I can say that although it is a good procedural novel, the beginning is at times dry, especially compared to some of his works. The Poet, and The Scarecrow for example, are brilliant. I have to admit that I was hoping that Harry Bosch would pop up somewhere, but he is not to be found.
To the author’s credit, the last third of the book is masterfully crafted in the exciting Michael Connelly style that readers know and love. The intricate twists could not be anticipated.
Her personality and back story now established, we will no doubt see more novels with Detective Renee Ballard as the starring character. I will suspend judgement before I decide if I am a fan.