Breakaway Books

Authored by Michael Connelly; Published 2017; Mystery

⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️

I think I might be too much of a rule follower to enjoy Michael Connelly’s The Late Show. Every time the heroine, Detective Ballard chose to deviate from the accepted rules and procedures, a small voice inside me asked: Isn’t there a reason that those rules are in place? 

I don’t think most people have this aversion. This is a me thing. I’m a stick in the mud. The Late Show Follows Detective Renee Ballard as she unwinds murder and assault cases after she is transferred to the night shift following a politically unwise complaint against a superior. I appreciated the novel’s glimpse—a more accurate and detailed one than most mysteries—into the ins and outs of police work. I liked the insight into how a police station operates over night, and I appreciated the compassion that Detective Ballard had for the victims that she encountered. 

But I had a hard time connecting with Ballard herself. Throughout the book, we learn about the tragedy lurking in her past, and yet, I felt a strange distance from her. I was intrigued by her semi-homeless lifestyle, but I was left wondering why she chose to live this way. I know that these details might be revealed later in the series, but I needed more in this novel to draw me in.

The mysteries contained in the novels were fairly interesting, but nothing too remarkable. If you’re sensitive to sexual trauma or hate crimes, I would avoid this one. I didn’t have a hard time with the level of violence, but only because of years of watching and reading procedurals.

All in all, it was not a standout mystery to me. Perhaps if you love the Hollywood setting—sans any celebrity sightings—you’ll feel differently!