Fiction Review: The Late Show

Last month, as distracted as everyone else right now, I indulged in a fast-paced thriller by a favorite author to hold my attention: The Late Show by Michael Connelly. I have read many books in Connelly's Harry Bosch series (and we love the TV adaptation, Bosch), and I'd been wanting to read this first book in a new series since I gave it to my husband for Christmas in 2017! I enjoyed getting to know Connelly's new female detective, and this twisty mystery kept me guessing.

Renee Ballard is a detective in LAPD's Hollywood division, working what is not so affectionately known as "the late show," the midnight to morning shift. As you might have guessed, this is not a coveted position, though how Renee ended up there is not immediately clear. She and her partner, Jenkins, respond to calls for detectives throughout the night, writing up reports and turning the cases over to their daytime colleagues for follow-up each morning. It's a frustrating job since they never get to see a case through to its resolution. Tonight, though, they pick up two cases that both pique Renee's curiosity, after a slow start to the night. They begin with an elderly woman whose credit cards have been stolen; these kinds of crimes are hard to solve, but they assure the woman the LAPD will try. Next, they are called to a brutal assault. A transgender woman has been savagely beaten, dumped in an empty parking lot, and left for dead. This case really bothers Rene since the beating was particularly horrible and senseless. Finally, an unidentified person shoots five people in a night club, and Renee is still at the hospital when the fifth victim, a cocktail waitress, is brought in. She was still alive at the club but has died en route. Renee heads to the crime scene of the shooting, where she notices some things that don't make sense to her. She asks to follow-up on the transgender beating, an unusual request to stick with a case for the late show, but it is granted. She is also intrigued (obsessed?) with certain aspects of the shooting, but she's been specifically told to stay away from that case, from the head detective who has a vendetta against her. With the victims in mind, though, and her clever mind working overtime, Renee secretly follows up on clues that only she has.

This novel has everything you want from a mystery/thriller: interesting and unusual cases, lots of unexpected twists and turns, and a detective you want to root for, in spite of her flaws (much like Bosch). It's clear right from the start that Renee has a history and some issues (and you learn more as the story continues), but you can also tell that she's a good person and a good cop who cares about the truth and the victims she is helping. I love the way that a good mystery drops breadcrumbs throughout the novel that all eventually come together, and Connelly is a master at that. I really enjoyed immersing myself in the gritty nighttime world of the LAPD again, and now I am extra-eager to read the next book in this series, Dark Sacred Night (which I also gave to my husband as a gift!), in which Ballard and Bosch team up. Can't wait!

405 pages, Little, Brown and Company

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here from the start of the book, read by Katherine Moennig, and/or download it from Audible.

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