The Late Show by Michael Connelly

The late show, or late shift in the LAPD is where political outcasts with insufficient cause for firing are assigned.  Detectives merely triage criminal cases and hand them off to the day shift.  Detective Renee Ballard is a good detective with empathy for the victims, no matter who they are, and tenacity to follow leads where others won’t follow… a regular Harry Bosch junior.  But Renee made the mistake of challenging the establishment, the good old boys club, by filing a sexual harassment complaint against one of the department’s up and comers, Lt. Robert Olivas.  Unfortunately, her partner, Officer Kenny Chastain had ambitions of his own in the department and failed to support her claim.  Consequently, Ballard is on the late shift in Hollywood division doing only preliminary investigations with a clock watching partner, Jenkins marking time to his pension.  But Ballard makes the most of her assignment where she can avoid the political B.S. and spend the day living her surf bum bohemian lifestyle.  Her permanent address is Tutu’s, her grandmother’s home an hour and a half north in Ventura but Renee actually lives in a utility van and sleeps in a nylon tent on the beach with her rescue dog, Lola.

One night she catches two cases she wants to work and not just hand off to the day shift.  One is the brutal beating of a transgender prostitute and the other the murder of a drug dealing waitress in a nightclub shooting.  Both these crimes represent the reason she became a cop and fuel her drive to catch the bad guys.  She is assigned a couple of duties which are expected to complete her involvement in the two cases but she can’t let go.  Against orders she spends her off duty time investigating where she’s sure her daytime colleagues will not bother.  Her former partner, Kenny Chastain is assigned to the nightclub murders and is assassinated in his garage as he arrives home from work.  Ballard then gets a hint that the club murders may have involved a cop… not just any cop but her nemesis, Lt. Olivas.  Suddenly, she is being investigated and with no political juice or mentors within the department must tread lightly.  Could this be what ends her career at LAPD or worse what ends her life like her former partner?  She can’t let either of those possibilities keep her from finding the truth.

Michael Connelly has created a new fascinating protagonist in Detective Renee Ballard.  One with the same moral code, disrespect for authority, and tenacity to catch the perpetrator at all costs as his beloved Harry Bosch.  I’m hopeful we’ll see more of Detective Ballard but it begs the question, what does he do with Maddie Bosch, Harry’s daughter?  Maddie was clearly headed down the path to follow in her Dad’s footsteps but what is her fate now that Ballard fills that spot?  I can’t wait to see.