Here's a little bit of an oxymoron for you: Michael Connelly is one of my favorite authors, yet I haven't read one of his books in a while. I love the way he writes, but somewhere along the way I lost track of which Harry Bosch books I've read so far, so I've missed a bunch of them. I'll have to just suck it up and read from somewhere in the middle, because he sure knows how to tell a story.The good news is, with The Late Show , he's introduced a brand new character to get hooked on, LAPD Det...

As if he did not have enough on his plate, Michael Connelly has decided to launch a new series (or at least a standalone) that takes a new approach to policing, still in the busy city of Los Angeles. Renée Ballard is a well-established detective with the LAPD, working the ‘late show’, police talk for the 11pm-7am shift. It’s mostly picking up the scraps of the nightlife and directing cases to daytime divisions, but police work all the same. Called out whenever the need arises, Ballard is left wi...

With this book, Michael Connelly adds yet another character to the Harry Bosch Universe, LAPD detective Renee Ballard. Ballard has much in common with Bosch who remains Connelly's principal protagonist. Like Bosch, Ballard is a loner. Like Bosh, she had a difficult childhood and lost her mother early. Like Bosch, her partners are sometimes unreliable; like Bosch, she has problems with people up the chain of command. Like Bosch, she has trouble following orders, particularly when she's told to st...

"I've seen long careers and careers cut short. The difference is in how you handle the darkness."And L.A. police officer, Renee Ballard, is living and breathing in that darkness. She's been relegated to the late shift, the underbelly of the beast, the dark side of the moon. When Ballard's sexual harassment complaint against a fellow officer goes south, she's been assigned to cases that exist under the midnight rocks that hardly see the rays of sunshine the next day. It's a hand-off game at best....

I am a big fan of Harry Bosch so I am very happy to find that Mr. Connelly is able to produce a similarly excellent female main character for his newest series. Renee Ballard is talented, down to earth, smart and very capable of looking after herself. I am very much looking forward to reading more about her in future books."The Late Show' (currently unable to insert a link because GR is having another of its little technical hiccups) is a thoroughly enjoyable read with lots and lots of interesti...

Michael Connelly has begun an exciting new series with a new LAPD detective, Renee Ballard, who with her by the book partner, Jenkins, works the Hollywood nightshift, otherwise referred to as The Late Show. This means they pick up cases, which are then passed on to the dayshift cops, Renee has been shunted onto the Late Show because she had the temerity to file a sexual harassment complaint against the head of the homicide team, Lieutenant Robert Olivas. She had been betrayed by her then partner...

5 Stars. Michael Connelly at his Absolute Best. Detective Renee Ballard is Cop. Plain and Simple. Except that she is anything but. She works “the late show” at the “Hollywood Division” of the LAPD after being shipped off there for filing a complaint against her former boss (Lieutenant Olivas). A Sexual Harassment Complaint. It wasn’t well received. Now she is kind of known as a black sheep and she works cases with her new partner Jenkins. Cases that require no follow up. None. Its killing her in...

Michael Connelly is labelled a “thriller” writer and it used to be an accurate description for a lot of his books. Ten years ago I loved novels like The Lincoln Lawyer, The Scarecrow and Echo Park for their fast-paced plots with Connelly throwing his characters into tense situations against murderers and sadists. Alas, that’s not the Michael Connelly of today who only seems capable of robotically churning out dull police procedurals like The Late Show. Detective Renee Ballard works the graveyard...

4.5 starsAnother Michael Connelly great mystery thriller. This is book 1 in the Renee Ballard series. She is a detective working the overnight shift, 11pm-7 am, aka "The Late Show." She was once an rising star, but was relegated to this shift after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against her boss, Lieutenant Olivas. Her then partner, Ken Chastain, was a witness to the incident, but refused to corroborate her statement, fearing that it would damage his career. Her routine is such that she...

Like many others, I am a huge fan of Michael Connelly’s books. I mean all of them, not just the Harry Bosch series. With this book, Connelly introduces a new main character, Renée Ballard. I hoped I wasn't going to get a female Bosch, and though there are some similarities, I don't think I did.Ballard has ten years of experience as an LAPD detective, so she’s tough and smart. As a female cop, she’s had to put up with sexual assault from a superior, betrayal by her partner who witnessed the incid...

The late show. The graveyard shift. Where crimes scenes are initially developed, then turned over to their respective departments in the morning when the full investigation begins.Renee Ballard was an up and coming homicide detective rising up through the ranks. Until she stood up to her boss. Now she’s the queen of the late show. Running down calls all night, only to reluctantly hand them over without the chance to get her hands dirty.But Renee is not the type of person to just walk away. She h...

The start of a new series by a go to author of mine, usually I would be a little alarmed, Would this new series be as good as his others? Is he still going to write the Bosch series, my favorite of his.?Well by the third page I was hooked, seems good authors, dependable authors can do that, just pull in a reader, quickly. Renee Ballard, stuck on the night shift after an accusation against a higher up leaves her in a bad spot, is a very likeable character. She is strong, more than capable and n a...

4.5 StarsOk....just finished Book #1....Bring on Book #2 and more Detective Renee Ballard!THE LATE SHOW brings to the reader another police procedural by Michael Connelly that you can sink your teeth into, but this time with a quick-witted and fiesty female on the job working the dreaded night shift.As a 15 year veteran of the LAPD. Ballard knows how to play the game and won't be toyed with....not even when there are consequences....not even when her job's on the line. Her lifestyle....and livin...

3.5 stars Michael Connelly is the author of two best-selling mystery/suspense series. One series stars Harry Bosch, ace investigator for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).....and later the San Fernando Police Department. The other series features Mickey Haller, the cleverest attorney in Los Angeles.Now, Connelly has started a new series - starring Detective Renee Ballard - a driven thirtysomething cop who likes to paddleboard and surf; sleep in a tent on the beach; and hang out with her d...

Renee Ballard lost her sexual harassment case against her supervisor and because of this she has to work the 11:00 pm-7:00 am shift called the late show shift. She starts the investigations and then sends them to the morning shift to finish them. Ballard and Jenkins first call on their shift was a burglary of an old woman's house and a credit card gets stolen. Immediately after this, they are called on another case to the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center to check out an assault and all they...

I am a huge fan of Michael Connelly and was curious to see how this, the start of a new series, would be. Boy, it does not disappoint. The story engages you from the get go. And I love how Connelly provides lots of back story on Ballard. She is a wonderful heroine, gutsy, sharp, competitive. At one point, her partner shares a Japanese proverb about the nail that sticks up gets pounded down. Renee is that nail and there are quite a few in the bureaucracy that want her pounded down. Connelly not o...

I’ve long believed Connelly to be a master storyteller, he tells it straight and he keeps the lines clear. I don’t get confused when I read one of his books – I always know what’s happening. That’s not to say I necessarily know where it’s going, that’s a different story. In fact, he normally keeps me guessing, with hidden linkages, motives and agendas. His lead characters speak their mind, can be abrupt to the point of rudeness and take no crap from anybody. I love his books.Here he introduces a...

(Renée Ballard, #1; Harry Bosch Universe, #29)… the 29th book in the Harry Bosch universe, so surely this will be formulaic and just an average page turner? How about not at all. Meet American-Polynesian Renée Ballard, consigned to the Late Show (night shift) after losing a sexual harassment case against a senior officer; she has a cute Ridgeback cross dog called Lola, loves paddle boarding and sleeps on the beach at night as she is technically homeless, by choice! A viciously assaulted Trans wo...

It’s nice to see author Michael Connelly come up with a female lead for his new series with Renee Ballard.Renee Ballard works for the LAPD on the night shift or “Late Show”. She was recently transferred from the homicide division after a failed complaint against her LT. NO SURPRISE THERE! Her partner didn’t back her up after witnessing their LT trying to stick his tongue down Renee’s throat. NO SURPRISE THERE EITHER! Career always comes before a female’s reputation of course!The good news is she...