The Late Show
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4.3 • 164 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
CRIME NEVER SLEEPS.
'CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR' Daily Mail
ONE OF AMAZON'S BEST MYSTERY/THRILLERS OF THE YEAR
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Detective Renée Ballard works 'The Late Show', the notorious graveyard shift at the LAPD.
It's thankless work for a once-promising detective, keeping strange hours in a twilight world of crime.
Some nights are worse than others. And tonight is the worst yet.
Two shocking cases, hours apart: a brutal assault, and a multiple murder with no suspects.
Ballard knows it is always darkest before dawn. But what she doesn't know - yet - is how deep her investigation will take her into the dark heart of her city, the police department and her own past...
The Late Show will keep you up all night: it's time to meet Detective Renée Ballard.
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'The new novel from America's greatest living crime writer is a gripping thrill ride that will entrance you and keep you reading until the small hours' Daily Express
'It has been more than ten years since Connelly, one of the world's greatest crime writers, last launched a major new character. Superb storytelling - this cements Connelly's place at the very top of the crime-writing tree' Daily Mail
'Classy and clever, with a tenacious heroine' Sunday Mirror
'Connelly achieves an enormous amount in these pages: he creates a new character who immediately leaps into life; and controls a complex, fast-paced plot full of surprises' Evening Standard
'The Late Show introduces a terrific female character: Detective Renée Ballard. The pacing is breathless ... Ballard has astonishing resourcefulness and bravery - she is complicated and driven' New York Times
'Although the usual Connelly fingerprints are in evidence here - the real achievement is the creation of his tenacious heroine, Ballard' Guardian
'Ballard is significantly more than a Bosch replacement or clone - an absorbing character on her own terms. Connelly has created yet another potentially iconic tarnished knight of those perennially mean streets' Irish Times
'A characteristically complex tale of murder and police corruption' Mail on Sunday (Thriller of the Week)
'First there was Detective Harry Bosch, then Lincoln lawyer Mickey Haller, and now comes Renee Ballard, ace thriller writer Michael Connelly's first new protagonist in 10 years. A nail-bitingly exciting investigation featuring a finely realised new character from one of America's finest contemporary novelists' Irish Independent
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The title of this excellent series launch from bestseller Connelly (The Wrong Side of Goodbye and 20 other Harry Bosch novels) refers to the midnight shift at LAPD's Hollywood Division. Det. Ren e Ballard has landed there in retribution for filing sexual harassment charges against her former boss, Lt. Robert Olivas. Two major crimes soon concern Ballard: the vicious beating of a woman, who says she was assaulted in the "upside-down house" but passes out before she can explain, and a nightclub shooting that kills five people. Though most "late show" cops hand off cases to their day shift counterparts, Ballard personally investigates the assault (with official approval) and the nightclub shooting (without). Olivas, who's leading the latter investigation, wants her nowhere near the case. What follows is classic Connelly: a master class of LAPD internal politics and culture, good old-fashioned detective work, and state-of-the-art forensic science plus a protagonist who's smart, relentless, and reflective. Talking about the perpetrator of the assault, Ballard says, "This is big evil out there." That's Connelly's great theme, and, once again, he delivers.
Customer Reviews
The Late Show
This is my very first Michael Connelly book. Very involved & complex and I had to repeatedly consult his website to look up police acronyms & jargon. But overall a good, gripping, compelling & satisfying crime thriller. Above all, I love Detective Ballard. Hope Connelly will write more stories with her in the future.
Early days for Ballard
Unusually for a Michael Connelly book, I very nearly gave up on this one. The intro and scene setting was much too long and fragmented and it didn't grab me for a long time.
However I like the Ballard character. She strikes a familiar pose from Connelly, of being at odds with the authority and of being an outsider.
Not quite convinced yet about her alternative lifestyle but give it time.
Will buy the next book to see how her character develops.
Connelly. Enough said
Easily the best author out there. Loved all the Bosch books, this book was just as good. The characters, dialogue, scene setting all superb. Can’t wait to read the next.